December 19, 2019

Tik-Tok Goes the Progress Clock


Tik-Tok Goes the Progress Clock
Let the wedding bells jingle this holiday season! Erika Ashrakova | RIA Novosti

Quote of the Week

“I listen to music and horse sounds in my apartment. I also knock on the walls all night.”

– A man who was arrested for inflicting mental suffering on his neigh-bors. (Pun credit to Moscow Times)

 

Transgender marriage? Rap and roll!

1. Two transgender people got married in Kazan, Russia. The bride said that they encountered no problems because they had already changed their appearance to look like a traditional man and woman, and received new documents that reflect their gender identity. It is unknown whether this is the first case of transgender persons getting married in Russia, though the bride Erika said she has heard of others. First came love, when the couple met two months ago, then came marriage, and soon may come a baby in a baby carriage – the newlyweds are planning to stay in Kazan for now, but may later move to Europe and adopt a child. Shout out to the Russian media, which used their correct pronouns. 

2. The All-Russia People’s Front, an organization founded by Russian President Vladimir Putin, apparently counts teenagers as part of all Russian people. They demonstrated this by creating a TikTok account this week. So far, their focus seems to be on fighting use of snus – smokeless tobacco packets that are placed under the lip. They even enlisted the rapper Ptakh to help convince kids not to “waste their health on dangerous amusements.” The account only has about 500 subscribers so far, but there are eight million active users of TikTok in Russia, spending an average of 39 minutes on the video site every day. Tick tock goes the clock, the People’s Front is wasting no time modernizing.

All-Russia People's Front TikTok
Staying in front of the latest trends. / Website of All-Russia People’s Front

3. Nothing says the Russian holiday season like rolling up to an office party with… sushi rolls? The food ordering and delivery app Delivery Club found that sushi was the most popular large advance order of the holiday season in Russia. They drew the same conclusion from March 8th Women’s Day orders. Clearly, sushi is on a roll in Russia. Just don’t expect the Japanese version: almost all Russian sushi is made with cream cheese, and some even includes chicken and mayonnaise. Continuing the trend of localized foreign foods, the second, third and fourth most popular orders were khinkali, kebabs and pizza. 

 

In Odder News

  • A pine tree saved the life of a 16-year-old Russian girl, whose accidental fall from her ninth-story balcony was softened by the tree’s branches. Who needs birds and pears? The best Christmas gift is a girl in a pine tree. 
  • No time like New Year’s to give yourself a present. One out of ten Russians is planning to treat themselves this holiday season. 
  • A 97-year-old World War II veteran Alevtina Gruzdkova became a poetry-reciting and war-stories-telling Instagram star after she was robbed. She used her popularity to let Putin know she was robbed of justice after the crime. 
Elderly woman World War II Russian veteran
Who says Instagram is only for the youth? / Rambler

 

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

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.
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.
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.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
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. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part 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