October 20, 2020

Upward Mobility


Upward Mobility
Marina Udgodskaya, newly-elected village official. Youtube, Soroka News

Marina Udgodskaya never set out to become a local official in her townm Povalikhino, Kostroma Oblast. Now, however, her rise to power has led to international fame.

Radio Free Europe reports that Udgodskaya, who made her living cleaning the village's administration building, was enlisted by the Kremlin-approved incumbent as a token challenger during recent elections. She ended up winning with 62% of the vote.

Her story grabbed national headlines, spurring interviews, articles, and even the arrival of a news helicopter, which created a stir in the village.

The 35-year-old mother of two, who lives on a nearby livestock farm, seems to be up to the task, even as she's tried to avoid the press.

"I'm not interested in politics, but if we hadn't found a second candidate, we would have had no election," she said. "I have no idea what people were thinking."

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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.

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A Taste of Russia
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