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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Some of our Books

Bears in the Caviar
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Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
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Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.

Russian Rules
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Moscow and Muscovites
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Moscow and Muscovites

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At the Circus
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At the Circus

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.

Steppe
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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.

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