A deep dive into the history and philosophy behind Tetris, and the reasons why it has managed to stay relevant for so long and will probably still be in the future.

This week: Putin cracks down on smartphones, some things go online that probably shouldn't, and new coronavirus advice seeks to preserve the peace (and health).

One of Russia's top universities goes online, via Minecraft.

A grassroots campaign to remember the WWII fallen goes south.

“I don’t know what to do here. What am I supposed to do, sing, dance? I don’t understand what people do on TikTok. ”

– Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in his first post to TikTok, where he gained 130,000 followers in less than a week

This week we explore the upsides and downsides of self-isolation, strange new laws, and virus testing.

Putin's comparison of coronavirus to medieval nomadic invaders has tickled the internet.

There will surely be some great April Fools' news items this week. These, however, are some that we wish were jokes.

As Russia follows the rest of the world in asking people to self-isolate, struggling venues are launching online shows, tours, and even cooking classes. Here are some streaming options from Mother Russia.

Since many people are stuck at home, cultural activities have to adapt.

Siberian sable fur was once Russia's biggest luxury export, but now we can't get enough of Instagram star Umora, the sable inspiring Russians to never look at fur coats again.

This week's Odder News features three survival stories: survival in the Russian wilderness, on the internet, and in a world filled with cell phones.