March 08, 2018

Births, Rebirths, and Nuclear Weapons


Births, Rebirths, and Nuclear Weapons
The Circle of Life for Nukes, Trucks, and Churches

1. New nuclear weapons? Fire away! With your naming suggestions, that is. That’s right, the Russian government is holding what they are literally calling a “name-that-weapon contest” for three new nuclear weapon systems that President Putin unveiled earlier this week. Predictably, suggested names range from the serious (“Volodya”), to the political (“Goodbye America”), to the purely ridiculous (“The Kraken”). The competition is highly reminiscent of a British competition to name a polar research ship, and the runaway winner of that competition was “Boaty McBoatface.” Here’s hoping the resulting names will follow suit and be less bombastic, more bomb-tastic.

2. An old Soviet truck has another shot, or many shots, at a new life. An Italian man is transforming an abandoned Soviet military truck into a massive old-fashioned ambrotype camera and darkroom. This type of photography was invented in the mid-1800s, and Kurt Moser is learning and using the method to capture the Italian Dolomites mountain range and its inhabitants. The project, incidentally, has a pretty flash-y name of its own: “The Lightcatcher.”

Photo: lightcatcher.kurt.moser

3. Cutting out the power for a higher power? No problem. Power lines were taken down from around the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, located near Vladimir. The church was built in medieval times and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Until recently, huge power lines obstructed and marred views of the beautiful and historic church, but now the church can be viewed in its full and original, pre-electrification glory. Ironically, fewer power lines might make it easier for people to see the light.

Photo: Dmitry Kamshilin

In Odder News:
  • The need for overpriced mediocre coffee as fast as possible is universal: this week the first drive-thru Starbucks in Russia opened in Moscow

  • The British national soccer team asked Russia to build a 6-meter (20-foot!) fence around its World Cup training field in order to keep people from spying. Maybe we should investigate England’s number (00)7 more closely.

  • Speaking of walls: one architect didn’t put any windows in one side of a building because it overlooked an important government official’s estate. Talk about great benefits!

Quote of the Day:

“Nukey McNukeface, Subby McSubface [and] Lasey McLaserface, obviously”

—One online user’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion for the names of the new nuclear weapons.

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

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

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.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

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