April 12, 2013

Snail's Pace


Snail's Pace
Russia's postal system is overwhelmed and under fire.
 
The Russian Post (RP) continues to stoke the fury of millions. But now it is no longer just Russians who are  complaining of lost or delayed mailings. The antiquated, surly RP is even getting the attention of foreign countries.
 
A reported 500 tons of undelivered international parcels (many from internet merchants who ship from abroad) have accumulated in the Russian postal system and RP has even gotten an official letter from Deutsche Post, asking them to straighten out the situation. For its part RP is pointing its finger at slow customs officials.
 
Here is a Channel 1 report on the problem [all videos linked on this post are in Russian only].
 
 

For decades, Russians have put up with a postal system known best for its dusty offices, long lines and rude officials, but most importantly, for completely unpredictable services. Many who often place onlines, such as collectors scouring Ebay for rare finds, say they have to bring cakes and flowers to their local postal workers as a form of added insurance, so that their mailings will not disappear.

Despite some level of computerization in recent years, even letters mailed within Moscow take up to a month. Talks of reforming the company, Russia's biggest employer, have dragged on for years, with no apparent effect. The company has requested 220 billion rubles (about $8 billion) for modernization.

Meanwhile, citizens are taking matters into their own hands, shooting videos of nasty interactions with RP workers and officials. This one of a Russian citizen trying to register a foreigner in his apartment (he was refused because the copy he presented was in black and white, not color), shows him, at about minute 9, being chased out of the postal office by a worker with a broom. [The video has gone viral with half a million views in just a few days.]

 

And then there is this one of RP workers unloading boxes from a train – many of the boxes even appear to have a distinctive logo on their sides. Hold on to the end to see one of the workers toss a box at the videographer.

 
And, because we can't leave you on a note like this, check out htis final video put out by RP itself (maybe that's why they aren't getting things delivered?). It's a hilarious rap video by the Tambov Post department. Very catchy.
 
 
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.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

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.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

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.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

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.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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