October 03, 2019

Beer, Balloons, and (GMO) Babies


Beer, Balloons, and (GMO) Babies
Expect more of this in the next recession. Annen Stuckart via Flickr

Quote of the Week

“You have a silver tongue.”

— Elon Musk, in response to a slickly produced invitation video to a business forum

The Elon (and Economy) Strikes Again

1. Trying to predict the next recession in Russia? One researcher suggests tracking illegal homebrews. “With an increase in economic difficulties, the population tries moving from expensive legal alcohol to cheaper self-production or black market alcohol,” explained researcher Alexei Zubets. The observation was simple, but it launched a vigorous debate. One economist argued that actually, homebrewing is an expensive hippie hobby, so it’s the other way around. A news site accused Zubets of furthering “institutional Russophobia.” Zubets ended up walking back his observation as a joke. (Maybe you had to be drunk to get it?)

2. Russians have long been enamored with Elon Musk, but he hasn’t always returned the favor. Earlier this year, after months of what everyone thought was banter, Musk threatened the head of Roscosmos with a rap battle. Still, some Krasnodar entrepreneurs made a plan to win him over. The entrepreneurs bought a billboard near SpaceX and displayed a QR code that linked to this video. Three minutes long, the video features an ode to Elon Musk (including a Musk balloon) and invites him to their annual forum. Sadly, Musk responded ambiguously, but if it’s any comfort, he did so in fluent Russian.


The most slickly produced love letter ever made. / Форум Дело за малым
 

3. Since a Chinese scientist announced the birth of genetically modified twins last June, scientists have been debating how to regulate human genetic modification. But while most debate in public, some Russian scientists took the debate to endocrinologist Maria Vorontsova. Vorontsova is no ordinary doctor — she’s rumored to be Putin’s daughter. Reports have it that she’ll convey their opinions to Putin, who will make the final decision. Vorontsova didn’t commit to either side, but if Putin agrees to greenlight genetic modification, it could be the first step to literally remaking Russia in his image.

In Odder News

  • A Russian Arctic explorer serenaded walruses with an accordion song.

Appropriately, the song was from the movie “My Sweet and Tender Beast.” / ParaWorldAerial
 
  • The latest Moscow art trend: Covering up parts of metro station names to create new (funnier) words.
Kotiki
Kotelniki becomes Kotiki (cats). / Pikcher via Vkontakte
  • Last week, Russian Instagram saw the rise of a hashtag, #СоМнойВсеТак, to talk about body positivity. Read some Instagrammers’ reflections on beauty standards and personal growth.

Want more where this comes from? Give your inbox the gift of TWERF, our Thursday newsletter on the quirkiest, obscurest, and Russianest of Russian happenings of the week.

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Some of our Books

The Moscow Eccentric
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.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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.

 
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.

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.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

At the Circus
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.

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.

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.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

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