July 09, 2020

(Almost) Jet Ski Season, (Almost) Presidents, and Online (Almost) Learning

In this week's Odder News: a president by any other name, distance learning gets its due, and fences turn out to be more contentious than we thought they could be.

The new head of Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation has been in charge for more than a week now, but he's refused to take the title of president. Why? "In fact, the answer is very simple — there is only one president in the country, and we all know him."
In the wake of coronavirus, schooling from home could become the norm in some parts of Russia. The Ministry of Education is planning an experiment on the feasibility of more widespread remote learning, which would start this fall and last for two years. If it means more Minecraft for us, we're game.
Speaking of, a bill recently introduced into the Duma that would allocate funds as part of maternity payments to help families afford the technology necessary for long-distance learning, which we definitely wouldn't use to play Minecraft.
The numbers are in: reportedly, of the 15 million Russians precluded from work during quarantine, only about 680,000 actually lost their jobs (4.5%). According to the Ministry of Economic Development, "This is generally not a bad result."
Hundreds of Russian jet ski enthusiasts took to the waters of St. Petersburg last week to celebrate the opening of jet ski season, which, honestly, we didn't even know was a thing.
Can fences get you in trouble? Apparently. An investigative reporter in the Trans-Baikal region found himself receiving death threats from a contractor after lampooning a shoddy barrier on social media. We think they should resolve the issue with a swordfight: fencing over fencing.

Tags: st. petersburg sports Siberia Internet journalism education politics economy

Query
Template: /muraWRM/core/mura/content/feed/feedGateway.cfc:250
Execution Time: 0.907 ms
Record Count: 0
Cached: No
Lazy: No
SQL:
SELECT
tcontent.siteid, tcontent.title, tcontent.menutitle, tcontent.restricted, tcontent.restrictgroups,
tcontent.type, tcontent.subType, tcontent.filename, tcontent.displaystart, tcontent.displaystop,
tcontent.remotesource, tcontent.remoteURL,tcontent.remotesourceURL, tcontent.keypoints,
tcontent.contentID, tcontent.parentID, tcontent.approved, tcontent.isLocked, tcontent.contentHistID,tcontent.target, tcontent.targetParams,
tcontent.releaseDate, tcontent.lastupdate,tcontent.summary,
tfiles.fileSize,tfiles.fileExt,tcontent.fileid,
tcontent.tags,tcontent.credits,tcontent.audience, tcontent.orderNo,
tcontentstats.rating,tcontentstats.totalVotes,tcontentstats.downVotes,tcontentstats.upVotes,
tcontentstats.comments, tparent.type parentType,
tcontent.path, tcontent.created, tcontent.nextn, tcontent.majorVersion, tcontent.minorVersion, tcontentstats.lockID, tcontentstats.lockType, tcontent.expires,
tfiles.filename as AssocFilename,tcontent.displayInterval,tcontent.display,tcontentfilemetadata.altText as fileAltText,tcontent.changesetid
FROM
tcontent
left Join tfiles on (tcontent.fileid=tfiles.fileid)
left Join tcontentstats on (tcontent.contentid=tcontentstats.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentstats.siteid)
Left Join tcontent tparent on (tcontent.parentid=tparent.contentid
and tcontent.siteid=tparent.siteid
and tparent.active=1)
Left Join tcontentfilemetadata on (tcontent.fileid=tcontentfilemetadata.fileid
and tcontent.contenthistid=tcontentfilemetadata.contenthistid
and tcontent.siteid=tcontentfilemetadata.siteid)
WHERE
tcontent.siteid in ('default')
and tcontent.active = 1
and tcontent.Approved = 1
AND tcontent.isNav = 1
AND tcontent.moduleid = '00000000000000000000000000000000000'
AND tcontent.searchExclude = 0
AND tcontent.contentid <> '00000000000000000000000000000000001'
AND tcontent.type <>'Module'
and (
tcontent.parentid
=
'00D7703B-EC1E-2B5C-C0AF805AD77A8818'
and
tcontent.subtype
=
'footnote'
)
AND (
tcontent.Display = 1
OR
(
tcontent.Display = 2
AND
(
(
tparent.type!='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2026-04-03 13:05:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-03 13:05:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
) OR (
tparent.type='Calendar'
and tcontent.DisplayStart <=
{ts '2027-04-03 13:05:00'}
and (tcontent.DisplayStop >=
{ts '2026-04-03 13:05:00'} or tcontent.DisplayStop is null)
)
)
)
)
AND (
tcontent.mobileExclude is null
OR
tcontent.mobileExclude in (0,1)
)
order by
tcontent.lastUpdate desc

siteid

title

menutitle

restricted

restrictgroups

type

subType

filename

displaystart

displaystop

remotesource

remoteURL

remotesourceURL

keypoints

contentID

parentID

approved

isLocked

contentHistID

target

targetParams

releaseDate

lastupdate

summary

fileSize

fileExt

fileid

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

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.

Culture Nonfiction

November 16, 2011

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.

Fiction

May 01, 2024

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided.

Bilingual Books Language Learning

December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Fiction

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.

Fiction

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards.

Bilingual Books Fiction Language Learning

December 24, 2022

Kashtanka – A Bilingual Reader

A bilingual presentation of one of the great classics of Russian literature.

Bilingual Books Fiction Language Learning

January 01, 2013

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.