October 13, 2016

Solzhenitsyn, Alf, and raccoons all around


Solzhenitsyn, Alf, and raccoons all around

Culture, Counterculture, Cuba

1. An effigy of the anti-communist author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was hung – or rather, hanged – on the gate of Moscow’s Gulag Museum. In a letter pinned to the effigy, a group called the Revolutionary Communist Youth Union claimed responsibility, calling Solzhenitsyn a “traitor” who “shamelessly lied about the Gulag.” The museum’s director seeks punishment for those responsible, as the act is not merely hooliganism, but represents a violent vein of historical revisionism.

2. In a gentler approach to culture, thanks to the group 2D Among Us, famous pop culture characters are popping up in everyday Russian settings. A lightsaber battle blazes in Rostov-on-Don; Jon Snow walks through Russian snow; the batmobile is parked at a dacha; Forrest Gump sits by a Lenin statue; Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddle outside a Soviet apartment block. And don't forget Alf on the Metro.

rferl.org

3. Cuban Missile Crisis, Take 2? That’s the fear, as the Russian military is considering reopening bases in Cuba and Vietnam. The Cuba base could put the Russian military as close as 144 km from U.S. soil – perhaps too close for comfort, given deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations in recent months. However, with Vietnam in fine financial shape and Cuba and the U.S. becoming buddies again, the task may be easier said than done.

In Odder News

Raccoon enthusiasts and pet owners (yes, of raccoons) attend a raccoon festival in St. Petersburg. You can bet your boots you're not seeing any coonskin caps at that party.

themoscowtimes.com

Is something wrong with those trees? No, something is right with that art. Take a peek at Gorky Park’s latest sculptures, a series of land art meant to augment the natural landscape.

themoscowtimes.com

How do you translate a word like “shlakoblokun'"? Quick answer: you don’t. You just enjoy the portmanteau of “cinder block” and “bass” and get on with your life.

meduza.io

Quote of the Week

“Often, fictional, drawn, or photographed images can inspire someone else’s fantasies to the point that they don’t want to look at reality anymore."
—Administrators of 2D Among US, a group that superimposes pop culture characters into scenes of urban life.

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

At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Marooned in Moscow

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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Survival Russian

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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
A Taste of Russia

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.
How Russia Got That Way

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.

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