Culture & Customs

There has long been anxiety about a “Chinese takeover” of Siberia. Even Lake Baikal is not immune.

A new village police station, unveiled with much pomp, occupies what appears to be a repurposed corrugated metal shed.

Some new historical treasures have been pulled from the sea near Kamchatka.

In this week's Odder News, elite cat care, the cutest reunion ever, and IKEA furniture is really from Russia.

Everyone is excited for the long-awaited Games this summer, especially the Russian Olympic Committee, who is taking the opportunity to reintroduce us to their two new(-ish) Olympic mascots.

The Tampa Bay Lightning just won the NHL championship, and there were definitely Russians involved.

It looks like a penal colony in Russia’s Oryol region has met the challenge of prison reform with a solution as cool as a cucumber.

In this week's Odder News, a skydiver plunges into family breakfast, Russian and American actors fly into space, and robots are taking over.

Is there anything that could make cheese any better than it already is? A new patent in cheese-making with an unusual ingredient is attempting to do just that. 

In Moscow, a pair of legs with hot red stilettos on one end and a plush purple QR code at the other flounced down a Moscow street and into a restaurant.

Youthful tourism ambassadors might be coming to a Russian region near you.

In this week's Odder News, Russian highway drivers stop for a duckling crossing, a woman fakes her own kidnapping and pays for it, and what does it signify if two black sphynx cats cross your path?