January 04, 2022

The New Year's Fairytale Nobody Asked For


The New Year's Fairytale Nobody Asked For
His story certainly doesn't lack creativity.  Photo via YouTube

As part of Russia's annual "Holiday Tree of Desires" campaign, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (Vladimir Zhirinovsky) decided to grace a young Muscovite with a toy dog for the New Year, but in a rather peculiar fashion. 

Zhirinovsky began his video presentation with a rather sad story about how in his youth he didn’t have such robotic dog toys, nor even any toys at all for that matter. Then he decided to present the girl with an additional gift: a little blue bag filled with candy and printed with the initials of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. 

But this bag is not just a bag; it comes along with an incredible story too. Somehow Zhirinovsky was able to see into this little girl's future and told her that this bag will lead her to her grandmother, who lives in the woods in a house with chicken legs (a lá Baba Yaga). Through a rather chaotic series of events, the little girl would be detained, but would then be saved when another politician from the Liberal Democratic Party (Vasily Vlasov) decides to make her his wife. 

Zhirinovsky ends his story by saying that this marriage will be the best thing to happen to the little girl, but a great tragedy for the Russian politician, and it is all thanks to the little blue bag and the robodog toy he gave her.

Many Russians aren't sure what to make of this story; some suspect Zhirinovsky is speaking in code to describe the political events of Russia, others suggest he had a bit too much to drink in celebration of New Year's Eve. As for the four-year-old girl in question, I'm sure she is just happy to receive some toys and candy

You Might Also Like

How to Celebrate the New Year
  • December 28, 2015

How to Celebrate the New Year

Are you sure you know how to appease the Fire Monkey and get your New Year off to a good start? We have tips! Learn how to decorate your house, what food to serve, and what to wear to ensure good luck in 2016.
New Moo
  • December 01, 2021

New Moo

In which, after not a small bureaucratic scuffle, a thirteen-year-old boy receives the gift from Putin that we all are really hoping for this Christmas: a brand new cow. 
Better Take This Seriously
  • February 18, 2020

Better Take This Seriously

“We wanted to draw attention to the problem: a lack of medical masks in pharmacies, the lack of information on the coronavirus. We were not trying to scare our compatriots or laugh at a hot topic. We just set up a social experiment.” – One of two men fined for their video pranking the coronavirus
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

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.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

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.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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