September 15, 2016

Siberia's natural wonders meet the Duma elections


Siberia's natural wonders meet the Duma elections

Sink your tusks in

Amos Chapple, rferl.org

1. There’s a treasure hunt on in Yakutia, and X marks the fossilized woolly mammoth. In the hunt for ancient ivory, illegal tuskers spend their summers carving, spraying, and finagling excavations of Siberian permafrost, avoiding police patrols and having some casual drunken fights amid the labor of looking for priceless white gold. Follow Amos Chapple on a powerful photo journey documenting the hunt.

Sergey Karpukhin, dailymail.co.uk

2. Is that a backdrop from an old Star Trek set? Nope—it’s the natural world’s latest wonder: towering granite formations in a part of Russia so remote they’re believed never to have been spotted before. The formations spout from the ground in almost inaccessible part of northern Yakutia (a few thousand miles north of the tuskers). After they were spotted by air, wildlife photographer Sergey Karpukhin crowdfunded a snowmobile journey to the site and returned with the first pics of Russia’s answer to Stonehenge.

youtube.com

3. Elections for Russia's parliament, known as the Duma, take place tomorrow. It may be predictable that United Russia will score pretty high, given the state’s low tolerance for opposition candidates and continued popularity, but the elections will be legitimate, analysts say. Some Russians don’t need to read the analysis: they’ve voted for the same candidates for years. So where’s the excitement? In the campaign ads, which add a spark (and some sweet scything) to this electoral party.

In Odder News

dailymail.co.uk

Quote of the Week

“I know it's bad, but what can I do? No work, lots of kids.”

—A man who spends his summers in the difficult, often futile labor of hunting mammoth tusks in the hopes of striking it rich. Only 20-30% of tuskers find enough to make a profit.

RosKultLit
Russian Cultural Literacy

What do this year’s Duma elections really mean for Russian politics and Russian society at large? Sure, the ruling party’s win is predictable, but with post-Crimea patriotism, a tighter focus on traditional values, and the aftermath of the 2012 protests shaping political change of recent years, this round of elections may have more to it than meets the eye. But don’t take our word for it: get down-and-dirty on the Duma with this in-depth analysis.

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

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.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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.  
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Russia Rules

Russia 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.
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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.
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.
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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.
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.

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