“The [Moscow] police’s actions, I think, have been pretty lenient…”
1. Welcome to Dead Sea, St. Petersburg. Normally, Lazurnoye Lake is right what it says on the tin: an azure lake. However, this summer the lake has evaporated, and along with it some Petersburgers’ hopes for a picturesque weekend getaway. Still, one man’s missing lake is another man’s sea of opportunities. Instagrammers are flocking to the former lake, posing with clever captions like “At the bottom of the lake.” And plenty of visitors come to admire the sky, which, unlike the nonexistent lake, is still very much azure.
2. Charles Darwin repents! While in London, a Russian priest visited Darwin’s grave. He asked Darwin’s tombstone if he still believed in evolution. To the priest’s shock, Darwin replied: “Father, do not be tempted by my theory… I put forward this hypothesis, which I now repent.” If this were true, Darwin would have joined the ranks of those spiritually reborn after talking to Russian priests. But as it happens, this is not true. The priest drew raised eyebrows and eventually had to clarify that he was joking. Can jokes win Darwin Awards?
3. Where there’s (barbeque) smoke… August 3 and 4 saw the “Shashlyk Live” rock festival in Moscow’s Gorky Park. Attendees heard legendary rockstars for free, while local restaurants served up a whopping 12,500 portions of shashlyki. But despite the meat, there was something fishy about it all. None of the headliners knew they were invited. The city claimed afterwards it had more attendees than Coachella. Most importantly, “Shashlik Live” was announced just two days before a planned protest, eliciting suspicion it was grilled up to lure away potential protestors. As they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
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.
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.
Russian Life PO Box 567 Montpelier VT 05601-0567
800-639-4301 802-223-4955
[email protected]