November 15, 2018

Whoosh, Bark, and Boo


Whoosh, Bark, and Boo
Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Clean Energy

1. Russia is blowing with the wind, at least when it comes to renewable energy. The Russian electric company RusHydro has opened up a wind farm above the Arctic circle to help one town move away from expensive generators and fuel deliveries. Tiksi, a town of 5,000, will use three particularly hardy wind turbines to offsetits use of diesel by 500 metric tons a year. This project was done with the help of Japanese researchers, in an effort to better supply remote municipalities with a stable source of energy.

2. There’s life in the old dog yet… one dog was recently memorialized for being the true best friend that every person wants, but doesn’t quite deserve. Belyash, a dog in Chelyabinsk, waited for his owner for two years at the last place he saw him, not knowing that his owner had died in a car accident. A few years after the death of Belyash, Chelyabinsk has given him new life through a statue, which portrays the dog in motion, looking for his master. (It’s okay, we’re all crying).

Waiting dog

Photo: tim_miloslavskii

3. What’s scarier than Halloween? Only someone trying to ban Halloween, which is a common pastime in Russia. This year was no different. For example, State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov said the holiday should be banned, because it is based on Satan and the worship of dark forces. A couple of Hallow-haters claimed that Halloween either encouraged mass shootings or was disrespectful to victims of violence, and to top it off one archpriest said Halloween was for the brainless (to be fair, that is an apt description of zombies). Although most Russians don’t celebrate Halloween to begin with, we personally hope this didn’t dissuade the few that do!

In Odder News:

President Pumpkin

Photo: president_rf

  • This Putin-o’-lantern is something that happened, please take note.

  • Should you be able to eat caviar in prison? A probe into a convicted gang member’s luxe life behind bars aims to find out.

  • Sweet caper: one man stole 18 tons of chocolate to pay off his debts.

Quote of the Week:

“A celebration of unscrupulous and brainless people”

— Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, condemning Halloween and its adherents

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.

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Some of our Books

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

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.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

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.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

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.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

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. 

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.

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