April 27, 2021

A Romantic Russian River Cruise


A Romantic Russian River Cruise
Girls love it when guys pick them up in a cool ride. Patrick Kelley, Wikimedia Commons

Champagne, caviar, and icebergs: all you need for a romantic evening in the northerly Russian port town of Archangelsk.

A pair of Russian teenagers were rescued from a romantic evening gone awry recently as the coastal sea ice they were walking on broke away from shore and began to float out to sea. The couple, 16 and 17, were out on a date and enjoying a walk along the shore when they found themselves drifting away from dry land, as spring thaws had loosened the chunk of ice.

Fortunately, the piece of ice was large and stable, and they were able to make an emergency call. Dispatchers sent (what else?) a hovercraft to make the rescue. But a boat-driving bystander got there first, bringing the kids back to shore, no worse for wear.

At least they didn't break any quarantine laws for the sake of love.

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This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
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This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
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Okudzhava Bilingual

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Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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Chekhov Bilingual

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Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

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