April 12, 2013

Snail's Pace


Snail's Pace
Russia's postal system is overwhelmed and under fire.
 
The Russian Post (RP) continues to stoke the fury of millions. But now it is no longer just Russians who are  complaining of lost or delayed mailings. The antiquated, surly RP is even getting the attention of foreign countries.
 
A reported 500 tons of undelivered international parcels (many from internet merchants who ship from abroad) have accumulated in the Russian postal system and RP has even gotten an official letter from Deutsche Post, asking them to straighten out the situation. For its part RP is pointing its finger at slow customs officials.
 
Here is a Channel 1 report on the problem [all videos linked on this post are in Russian only].
 
 

For decades, Russians have put up with a postal system known best for its dusty offices, long lines and rude officials, but most importantly, for completely unpredictable services. Many who often place onlines, such as collectors scouring Ebay for rare finds, say they have to bring cakes and flowers to their local postal workers as a form of added insurance, so that their mailings will not disappear.

Despite some level of computerization in recent years, even letters mailed within Moscow take up to a month. Talks of reforming the company, Russia's biggest employer, have dragged on for years, with no apparent effect. The company has requested 220 billion rubles (about $8 billion) for modernization.

Meanwhile, citizens are taking matters into their own hands, shooting videos of nasty interactions with RP workers and officials. This one of a Russian citizen trying to register a foreigner in his apartment (he was refused because the copy he presented was in black and white, not color), shows him, at about minute 9, being chased out of the postal office by a worker with a broom. [The video has gone viral with half a million views in just a few days.]

 

And then there is this one of RP workers unloading boxes from a train – many of the boxes even appear to have a distinctive logo on their sides. Hold on to the end to see one of the workers toss a box at the videographer.

 
And, because we can't leave you on a note like this, check out htis final video put out by RP itself (maybe that's why they aren't getting things delivered?). It's a hilarious rap video by the Tambov Post department. Very catchy.
 
 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955