February 23, 2017

100 Years Ago, In a Monarchy Far, Far Away...


100 Years Ago, In a Monarchy Far, Far Away...

1917, 2017, 1945

1. The February Revolution bears that name because it began on February 23. At least, in the Julian calendar it did. By the Gregorian calendar – used by much of the world, including Russia after early 1918 – the riots and strikes that led to a new world order began on March 8. Still, in honor of that day in late February, here’s a head start on the people who led the rallies that changed the face of the world, the role of World War I, and how the tsar himself was feeling as he saw his country collapsing around him. 

2. Antsy for a jaunt into space? Soon you’ll be able to book your ticket to the cosmos with S7, Russia’s most successful private airline. After receiving a license for space operations in Russia, S7 Group’s affiliated aerospace company plans to launch a Zenit-M rocket later in 2017 from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. After that, the company will use a floating launch platform called Sea Launch, forecasted to service 70 launches over the next 15 years. It’s T minus soon until the commercial space race blasts off.

3. Forget giving Goofy a hug or riding a rollercoaster: Russia’s Patriot Park is building a miniature Reichstag building for storming practice. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the scaled-down replica will grant the Russian Youth Army (Yunarmia) the opportunity "to storm a specific location, not something abstract." The new building, along with other military attractions, is meant to bolster young folks’ patriotism by giving them a taste of World War II.

In Dogger News

  • Rumors are flying of a dog trekking around Russia and saving children in buses. Is it really the same dog? Hard to say. Is it a good story? Da, darling.
  • The U.S. has the Renaissance Fair. In Russia, there are at least five festivals that give you a true medieval experience, from jousting to log-throwing to hen football. Yes, hen football.
rbth.com
  • If you want to test your prowess but don’t go for medieval pursuits, try burying yourself in a coffin for 24 hours. That’s what one blogger did, and he’s stronger for it (at least, so he says).

Quote of the Week

“Why are we doing this? Just because it is beautiful.”
—S7 chief Vladislav Filyov on the decision to resurrect the Sea Launch initiative, with the goal of sending commercial flights into space. 

Cover image: A.M. Gerasimov, Skobelev Square during the February Revolution. Source: wikimedia.org

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

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.
White Magic

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.
The Latchkey Murders

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...
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

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. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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.
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.
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.

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