December 16, 2021

Yappy, Gigolos, and Timofei Chalamov


Yappy, Gigolos, and Timofei Chalamov
In Odder News

In this week's Odder News, a surprising temperature range, TikTok has competition, and overnighting in a movie theater. 

  • Thank god for the Russian government: starting December 29, Russian women will be safe from "migrants and gigolos." A new law requires most foreigners staying in Russia longer than 90 days to be fingerprinted, photographed, and examined for infectious diseases by state doctors. (The article says the law applies to visa-free guest workers, complaining about Uzbek men in particular, but it actually applies to all foreigners.) Did you know that during Soviet times, foreign visitors to Moscow were highly educated, talented, and socially responsible? But these days, any old creep can "brazenly deceive the native people" of Russia!
  • Move over TikTok, Russia is getting into the short video social media business! The new app is called Yappy (Of course it is). Gazprom Media created Yappy, and you can download it from the Apple App Store and Google Play. TikTok has become one of the top five social media apps in Russia; here's hoping Yappy will join that list before long.
  • Russia is not the frozen wasteland many foreigners think: it has almost reached the biggest simultaneous temperature differential in one country in history. The differential last week was 85.6 degrees Celsius (186.08 degrees Fahrenheit). In Chechnya, it was 24.5 C (76.1 F), while in Sakha, it was -61.1 C (-77.98 F). The typical daytime temperature range in Russia is 10-15 C (50-59 F). Climate change is being blamed for such a range, though we think Russia's absolute hugeness is primarily to blame. Oddly enough, the United States still holds the record with a range of 88 C (190.4 F) in 1954.
  • An unexpected snowstorm left over 100 people trapped in a Norilsk movie theater overnight. Visibility was almost zero with winds at 27 meters per second. Of course, it is not the worst place to be stuck: all-night movies and all-night popcorn. Well, it is Russia: all-night tea and wafers, not popcorn.
  • Meet Timofei Chalamov, Russia's Timothée Chalamet lookalike. The lookalike – actually Artyom Privalov – recorded a peach pastry commercial for Tsekh 85 bakery chain that is taking the internet by storm. The new pastry is even called the Chalamet. Check out the lookalike, or the pastry, here.

You Might Also Like

Long Term Expats
  • September 01, 2011

Long Term Expats

There is a certain breed of expatriate in Russia who puts down deep roots and seems destined never to return home. Perhaps it is because, whether they admit it or not, Russia is now their home. We meet five American long-term expats whose ?stories reveal as much about them as about the attractive mystery that Russia exudes.
Snow More!
  • December 07, 2021

Snow More!

In an unusual turn of events, students in Chelyabinsk protest for more snow in the upcoming year.
Get Your Freeze On
  • December 04, 2021

Get Your Freeze On

Winter is here, and ice swimmers are diving in across Russia.
Leaving the Mark of Marriage at the Altar
  • August 02, 2021

Leaving the Mark of Marriage at the Altar

A move to allow Russians to choose whether their marriage status will be included in their passports has met with traditional backlash. What was that about a ball and chain, now?
A Blog for Babushka
  • December 23, 2020

A Blog for Babushka

A recent survey of the elderly finds that one-fifth of pensioners hope to supplement their income with a blog.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

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.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

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