January 05, 2022

Dead Morose: Never Too Late for the New Year


Dead Morose: Never Too Late for the New Year

“We answer each of them individually. There are a lot of letters. We didn’t expect that there would be so many. There is no negative at all. Thank God no one is writing any filth. Everything somehow really worked out very soulfully. This kind of thing is a sincere message to the other. We have not regretted a single thing."

– Representative of the Omsk ritual company “Heritage”

This year, a deceased Father Christmas by the name of Dead Morose will deliver personalized New Year’s letters to departed loved ones through a service offered through the Russia-based company “Heritage.”

According to the company’s advertisement on Instagram, the service is intended to help individuals grieve the loss of loved ones. “Writing a letter is a way to continue a relationship with the deceased person and tell him what you were unable to say during his life.”

Interested customers can order delivery of the letters, which are written by individuals and not bots, until January 14. No letters will be published publicly.

For this, all customers should be grateful. No one will ever know how much Uncle Misha hated watching the New Year’s classic “The Irony of Fate” at babushka’s every year – but babushka can now!

 

 

 

 

 

You Might Also Like

Ringing in the New Year
  • January 01, 1998

Ringing in the New Year

New Year's is Russia's best celebrated national holiday. We look at the traditions, old and new, surrounding this annual event.
The Irony of Fate
  • January 01, 1996

The Irony of Fate

A profile of Russians' favorite holiday movie, "The Irony of Fate."
Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas
  • January 01, 2000

Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas

This time of year, many Russians pine for the calmer, friendlier New Year's celebrations of decades past, and struggle to preserve family holiday traditions
Bringing in the New Year
  • November 01, 2004

Bringing in the New Year

From her village in the Bryansk region, Laura Williams offers a distinctly rural picture of the New Year's holidays in Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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.

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.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

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.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

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.

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.

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.

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 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...

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.

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