August 25, 2022

This MiGht Be an Issue


This MiGht Be an Issue
Coming to an airspace near you. Wikimedia commons, Dmitriy Pichugin

At 6:40 pm on August 18, two Russian MiG-31s allegedly flew over the Gulf of Finland and entered Finnish airspace. The suspected violation is said to have lasted for two minutes and the planes are said to have entered a kilometer into Finnish airspace.

The Finnish air force sent out its own fighter jets to investigate the matter further; Finnish authorities have not elaborated on whether the Russian fighter jets were escorted out of Finnish territory.

This incident comes after Finland is seeking NATO membership, which could greatly alter Russia's behavior in Ukraine. Finland suspects Russia will infringe upon their airspace more in future if it could somehow prevent Finland from joining NATO. But of course the opposite would seem more likely.

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Survival Russian

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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. 

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
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Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

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Fearful Majesty
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