July 03, 2020

Voting From Space


Voting From Space
Voting from the ISS is now possible. Image by NASA via flickr

Russians are going to the polls to vote on changes to the Russian constitution. But not everyone can make it in person – online voting is a popular variant, and one man is making history. The Russian astronaut Anatoly Ivanishin was reputedly the first person in the world to vote online from space.

Ivanishin is currently onboard the International Space Station (ISS). He was able to vote online, since he has permanent residential registration in Moscow. Way to keep your documents up to date, even from space!

One other Russian astronaut, Ivan Wagner, will also cast his vote from the ISS. Unlike his colleague Ivanishin, however, Wagner’s vote will be made via proxy – Wagner will communicate his vote to the proxy via a secured connection, and the proxy will cast the actual ballot.

Voting on amendments to the constitution took place in Russia from June 25 through July 1. Among the several contentious questions is whether Vladimir Putin will be allowed to run for president again.

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Some of our Books

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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.

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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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Little Golden Calf
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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.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
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The Little Humpbacked Horse

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A Taste of Russia
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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.

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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White Magic
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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.

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