July 25, 2019

A Cross Wrapped in a Card, Inside a Khinkali


A Cross Wrapped in a Card, Inside a Khinkali
Pelmeni (allegedly). Wikimedia Commons

Throwback Thursday

Vladimir Vysotsky
Vladimir Vysotsky. / Wikimedia Commons

On this day in 1980, the legendary bard singer Vladimir Vysotsky died. His legacy lives on in the dozens of Russian rock groups who directly or indirectly pay tribute to him. But it also lives on through his films and poetry (Vysotsky was an actor and poet, too). In one of his poems, Vysotsky commented wryly on the Sino-Soviet split, writing a sardonic “open letter” to the Chinese government from workers in Tambov. Read a translation of his poem from the Sep/Oct 2013 issue of Russian Life.


Street Art and Artful Renaming

1. A khinkali by any other name… Long ago, a famous Communist made Georgian cuisine popular in Russia. So it’s ironic that today Communists decry the popularity of Georgian food in Russia. “They spit at us, but we wipe it off,” declared one deputy, referring not just to the current Georgia-Russia spat, but also to the fact that Russians like Georgian food. They propose renaming khachapuri as pyshki (fried dough) and khinkali as pelmeni. Clearly, as one satirist puts it, this will once and for all restore the dignity of “disgraced Russia.”

2. Three, seven, king? In the gamble for Internet fame, one graffitist played their cards right. An intricately illustrated quadriptych at a Kamensk-Uralsky bus stop depicts four Russian politicians as face cards: Putin as the King of Spades, Dmitri Medvedev as the King of Hearts, Patriarch Kirill as the King of Clubs, and spokesman Dmitri Peskov as the King of Diamonds. The impromptu exhibition abruptly ended after four hours, when a resident started erasing Medvedev’s portrait. Nevertheless, viewers retain fond impressions of the drawings. “It’s clear the author meant to say a lot with this,” reflected one resident.

Graffiti of Russian politicians as face cards
No jokers in sight. / Podslushano Kamensk-Uralsky

3. An asphalty cross to bear. Yekaterinburg authorities crossed a few wires when they approved a new work of street art — a giant cross in the middle of a main square. But they drew even more wrath when street pavers inadvertently paved over part of the cross. The incident was “a crime against art, culture, and the city,” declared one news editor, while Instagrammers joked that they should start painting crosses over potholes to get them fixed. Fortunately, the artist, though justifiably annoyed, has volunteered to restore the artwork. He bears no grudges against the pavers… or, we might say, he isn’t terribly cross.

The original cross artwork
The original artwork. / Pokras Lampas

Blog Spotlight

In these tough political times, can you be both a Russophile and a Ukrainophile? Katrina Keegan says yes.

In Odder News

  • Muscovites started the weekend by staging an epic cake fight (albeit clad in protective clothing).
Muscovites throwing cake at each other
Get caked! / Moslenta
  • Creative Russian environmentalists hijacked the comments of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Instagram. (Story credits to David Edwards.)
  • While gathering food in an Arkhangelsk forest, a boy got lost. Fortunately, he was found safe and sound seven hours later. His only complaint? He couldn’t find berries for his mom to bake pies with.

Quote of the Week

“well, Alexei”

— Photographer Evgeny Feldman, responding to oppositioner Alexei Navalny’s plagiarism of his iconic photo of the ongoing Moscow protests

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Some of our Books

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

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.

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.

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.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

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.

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.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

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.

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.

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