March 08, 2020

Vote for Oleg, Not Olga


Vote for Oleg, Not Olga
The Moscow Kremlin: Surprisingly not as woman-friendly as one might assume. A. Savin, Wikimedia Commons

A recent study by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) reveals that the majority of the Russians would be against a woman president.

According to Lenta.ru, the survey found that 68 percent of Russians oppose the idea of a female president, while 21 percent would be in favor. Strangely, more were amenable to a female Prime Minister, with just 56 percent against and 31 in favor. However, 69 percent would approve of a woman as Minister of Health, Social Security, or Education.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, younger citizens tended to be more accepting of (hypothetical) women in positions of power: among Russian respondents aged 18-24, 53 percent said they would approve of a woman president, and 50 percent approve of the idea of a female prime minister. Among those over 60, 78% percent consider the presidency to be a male-only profession.

By the way, Women's Day, a massive holiday in the former USSR, is today. Happy Day.

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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.
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
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Murder at the Dacha

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