February 24, 2022

Bass Guitar, Baby Goats, and a Break for Guys


Bass Guitar, Baby Goats, and a Break for Guys
In Odder News

In this week's Odder News: planting forests as a present, a light thief, and a head-banger's fantasy.

  • One lucky go-getter's dreams came true at an Aria concert in the Moscow Oblast. The heavy metal band noticed his sign in the crowd which read, "I want to play Rose Street [one of Aria's songs] on the bass!" To the boy's shock, he was invited onto the stage to do just that! If you haven't heard of Aria, perhaps you need a refresher on Russian rock.
  • February 23 is Defender of the Fatherland Day, a holiday in Russia on which people celebrate the men in their lives. However, according to a new survey, nearly half of all Russians questioned consider the holiday to be only for military personnel. This doesn't stop the majority of Russians from taking the day off work, however.
  • On the other hand, if you're one of the people that do celebrate the gendered holiday, you will need a gift to give to the men in your life. Luckily, project Plant a Forest has you covered. They are running a promotion called "Trees Instead of Socks," whereby you can pay to have a tree planted in areas affected by fires and natural disasters around Russia.
  • Some people will steal whatever isn't bolted down, but even that doesn't stop everybody. One ambitious thief was caught on film carrying an entire light post home in the Moscow Oblast. Although it remains a mystery how or why the man would steal such a heavy object, we can only hope that he puts it to good use.
  • Don't worry, we didn't forget to add a bit about animals! Several baby goats have been saved from a garbage can in Chelyabinsk Oblast by children that heard their squeaks and called for help. But who would put such cute and useful animals there in the first place? A mystery, much like our light-pole-stealing friend.

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The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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A Taste of Russia

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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.
Bears in the Caviar

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.
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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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The Latchkey Murders

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Tolstoy Bilingual

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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.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

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.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

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.

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