June 14, 2018

The World Cup Whirlwind Begins


The World Cup Whirlwind Begins
Mustaches of Hope Spring Eternal

1. Today, June 14, marks the first day of the 2018 World Cup, which Russia is hosting (if you didn’t know that, please let us help you out from under the rock that you’ve been living under). The festivities begin with a match between Saudi Arabia and Russia, but, unfortunately for Team Russia and its fans, Russia is now the lowest ranked team in the tournament. However, television personality Ivan Urgant has a bold plan to rescue Russia’s chances in the World Cup: grow a mustache (or, at the very least, paste one on). This large-scale campaign, called Mustaches of Hope, draws inspiration from the mustachioed Russian coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, and it has already garnered a wide array of adherents from fans of all ages, genders, and even species. Will Team Russia really benefit from the proliferation of handlebars and goatees? We mustache you to wait and see.

Photo: валерия кристовкая

2. A schoolteacher in Omsk, Viktoria Popova, made a splash after a modelling agency posted photos of her in a bathing suit in a pinup style, and she was fired from her job. However, every splash has an opposite and equal counter-splash (that’s Newton’s third law of splashes for you), and dozens of teachers across the country posted photos of themselves in bathing suits with the hashtag “teachers are humans too” (#учителятожелюди) As a result, school administrators offered Popova her job back. Maybe things will actually go as swimmingly as the first pictures indicated!

3. Here’s a little ray of sunshine to brighten everyone’s day. “Does the Sun Have an Off-Switch?” is the title of a book produced by a group of Russians who are transitioning to life after prison. The book, an anthology that engages with an excerpt of Plato’s “Republic,” is the result of a creative writing workshop called “Freedom Words.” The workshop was led by an American University of Chicago student who engaged participants with readings, discussions, and writing exercises. The workshop generated healing and growth for those who participated (not to mention a deep dive into Plato!).

In Odder News:

Photo: Meduza

  • For sale: a “life in Krasnoyarsk.” One man is auctioning off his whole life (which, if you’re curious, includes an apartment, a dacha, two cars, and even a cafe)

  • One German is driving to Russia for the World Cup in a tractor with a small house attached, which travels at the quick clip of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) per hour: it should only take him 10 days!

  • June 12 was Russia Day, which was celebrated in style across the country

  • A picture of a missing Russian creepily follows you. In Russia, the poster reads you!

Quote of the Week:

“Everything is against him now: expectations, the weather, the laws of physics, the anatomy of certain footballers and just plain-old logic.”

— Ivan Urgant, referring to Stanislav Cherchesov and Russia’s chances of succeeding in the 2018 World Cup

Want more where this comes from? Give your inbox the gift of TWERF, our Thursday newsletter on the quirkiest, obscurest, and Russianest of Russian happenings of the week.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
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.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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.
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.

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