Our bimonthly roundup of news on Russia most others missed.

Some thoughts on George Turberville, who served as secretary in the embassy of Queen Elizabeth I to Russia’s Ivan IV, and was one of the earliest observers (and reporters) of Russian mores.

Despite the pandemic (and a bad reputation for a distinctly Russian grimace), it’s not all sad faces in Moscow at the end of 2021.

A Russian tree retailer lends some tips on how to land the perfect spruce you've been pining for. 

In this week's Odder News, new planking record, Krasnoyarsk Squid Game, and 100% preschool attendance.

The Moscow Regional Coronavirus Headquarters are using all the available weapons at their disposal to fight the spread of COVID-19, and they've pulled out their biggest gun yet: cat memes. 

In this week's Odder News, gig work gets some much-deserved attention, Muscovites "celebrate" the imminent lockdown by going nuts, and the wild comes to the streets of St. Petersburg.

"We did not have a fox in the monastery, definitely not ours, but it’s probably someone’s pet. They write that someone [at the monastery] was scared, but the fox was the most scared of all – a hundred people chased after her with their phones;  she is the main victim.”

– A resident of the Srtensky Monastery in Moscow denied that a young fox accused of terrorizing parishioners had come from the premises.

The third annual Corgi Ball took place outside Moscow, and yes, it was just as cute as it sounds like it would be. 

The journey between Moscow and St. Petersburg is about to get a lot faster.

After twenty years outside the public eye, celebrated author Viktor Pelevin comes to Moscow to greet fans and sign books. Or does he?

Archaeologists have just completed digging through layers of cultural strata in the middle of the Kremlin, unearthing some interesting finds they totally forgot were down there.