November 11, 2021

Spider-Man, Siberian Tigers, and Sputnik V


Spider-Man, Siberian Tigers, and Sputnik V
In Odder News

In this week's Odder News, Russia eats too many burgers and fries, leaders get COVID-vaccinated six times, and a Chechen boxer has a magic touch.

  • Spider-Man is on the loose in Moscow – specifically, in the metro system. Though typical in cities like New York, buskers hanging from subway poles and flinging their legs inches from unsuspecting riders' faces is not normal in Moscow, although, apparently, increasingly common.
  • Fast food narod? This week, Komsomolskaya pravda bemoaned the fact that the pandemic has made Russia a country that consumes massive amounts of fast food. The "big three" are McDonald's, KFC, and Burger King. (Sadly, Russian KFCs do not sell bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy. What a waste!) There is no denying that fast food – especially when it is delivered right to your house – has helped some people get through the pandemic. Meanwhile, the pandemic hit traditional "sit down" restaurants hard, with a 52% collapse in the industry's profits in the first half of 2020. The number of purely takeaway joints has risen two and a half fold. The KP journalist writes with regret: "We're turning into a fast food country."
  • "Give him an Oscar!": At a boxing tournament in Grozny, Chechen boxer Abdul-Kerim Edilov defeated his opponent practically just by touching him. Boxer from Ghana Richard Larty lost "artistically and improbably." Edilov barely hit Larty, who fell to the mat and surrendered, leading to calls online to "Give [Larty] an Oscar!" for his acting performance.
  • An Amur (Siberian) tiger is on the loose near a village in the Khabarovsk region. Family dogs are especially under threat as Amur tigers have an "inexplicable craving for dogs." A tiger will watch a dog and its owner for hours and then strike as soon as the owner is no longer near the dog. Keep your dogs hidden and with you at all times, and call 112 (the Russian 911) if you see an orange blur.
  • The head of Russia's Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug got six Sputnik V vaccinations against COVID-19 as part of an "experiment." She got vaccinated back in March 2021 and yet, somehow, was pretty sick with COVID in October 2021. Apparently quantity does not change the likelihood of getting infected. LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky also reported getting six jabs since vaccines became available in Russia.

You Might Also Like

Russia's Restaurant Boom
  • May 01, 2018

Russia's Restaurant Boom

A vibrant cuisine is testing the limits, fusing with other national cuisines. How is this happening in Russia?
A Big Win for Big Cats
  • September 06, 2021

A Big Win for Big Cats

Big cats can rest easy knowing that both the Amur Tiger and the Amur Leopard have been declared safe from the possibility of extinction. 
Sinfully Good Burgers
  • August 13, 2021

Sinfully Good Burgers

A Russian woman is suing McDonald's for producing advertising so effective she gave up on Lent.
Printing Nuggets
  • July 24, 2020

Printing Nuggets

A Russian company is partnering with KFC to produce a new type of nugget.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

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