April 20, 2017

Counterfeit TP and Commuting By Ball


Counterfeit TP and Commuting By Ball

Ice, Ice, Baby

1. In the northernmost Arctic, an enormous Russian flag disrupts the expanse of snow. Is it a frozen mirage? Nope: it’s Russia’s newest and northernmost military complex, Arctic Shamrock, of which you can take a 3D tour here. Russia’s Arctic military presence aims at keeping tabs on other countries’ military activity and maintaining control of the region’s resources and the Northern Sea Route. And, on top of bolstering Russia’s Arctic presence, there will be ping pong.

rbth.com

2. How do you have an election when there are no candidates? That’s the question the Siberian city of Omsk is dealing with after all candidates withdrew from its mayoral election. To be fair, “all” was two, since Omsk’s electoral process involves the Commission for Mayoral Election selecting two candidates out of sixteen for a final round. After the selected candidates withdrew, the City Council declared the election invalid, and, for the first time, will be in charge of appointing a mayor for the city.

3. Counterfeit money wasn’t made by the mint. Counterfeit cheese gives a whiff of palm oil. But counterfeit toilet paper opens a whole new line of questions. In this case, however, the renegade rolls were manufactured in a facility in the Chelyabinsk region and sold under the label of a well known-brand, The discovery of the forged paper products was part of a wide sweep to discover and suppress the illegal production and dissemination of goods sold with false branding.

In Odder News

One way to beat traffic: roll through the streets in a giant inflatable ball (it's called a zorb). Yes, there’s a video.

rbth.com

Art of the Soviet avant-garde, smuggled to Uzbekistan on trains and trucks, is now part of a massive exhibit in Moscow. Get a sneak peak.

themoscowtimes.com

How do Russians celebrate Easter? With giant eggs, cakes and candies, religious services, and much more.

themoscowtimes.com

Controversy of the Week

Hold your breath (and your sequined outfit) – Russia will not be participating in Eurovision this year. After Ukrainian authorities effectively banned Russia’s contestant, Julia Samoilova, from participating, based on her having traveled to Crimea, Russia’s Channel One announced that it will not broadcast this year’s contest. The decision brings a layer of politics to a competition that’s usually about special effects and outrageous costumes.

Quote of the Week

    “One of the criticisms that Eurovision always gets is that it’s just kitsch and doesn’t mean anything. If you restrict that space further and take a harder line on what counts as political, you chip away more and more at the things that popular music can actually be about."
    —Catherine Baker, a historian who has written academic work about Eurovision, on the damaging impact of the increasingly political focus of the contest.

    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.
    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.
    Jews in Service to the Tsar

    Jews in Service to the Tsar

    Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
    Steppe / Степь

    Steppe / Степь

    This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
    Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

    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.
    Moscow and Muscovites

    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. 
    The Moscow Eccentric

    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.
    Woe From Wit (bilingual)

    Woe From Wit (bilingual)

    One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
    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.

    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