March 31, 2016

Chess, Traffic and Briefcases


Chess, Traffic and Briefcases

Once upawn a time

1. The movement “StopKham” (“Stop Rude Folks,” more or less) has been liquidated by the Moscow City Court. The movement acted up against drivers who broke road laws – for example, putting a snarky sticker on the car of Olympic gymnast Alexei Nemov for a bad parking job in February. Group organizers say they’ll fight the ruling for their right to pester parkers and drivers who bend the rules.
  
2. Forget little green men: knights and bishops will wage the real battle over Crimea. Chess grandmaster Sergei Karjakin is on the rookout for the world chess champion title, which he’ll face off for against Norway’s Magnus Carlsen. Pawnder this: Karjakin was born in Crimea, but now plays for Russia, and in case you wanted to check (mate), he supports the annexation of Crimea and thinks Putin is king. Or rather queen, to keep up the metaphor.
 
3. US Secretary of State John Kerry visits President Putin, and everyone is disappointed. That briefcase looked like it at least had some matryoshki in it (like he bought on his last trip), or money for diplomatic bargaining (is that a joke or a request, Mr. P?). As much as everyone wants better US-Russia relations, boring old peace documents were a bit of a letdown.

 


Quote of the Week

"Today, when I saw you coming down from the plane and carrying your effects, I got a little upset. On the one hand, it is very democratic; on the other, I think: things are really bad in the U.S., there is no one even to help the secretary of state carry his briefcase.”
—President Vladimir Putin quipping about
the contents of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s mysterious briefcase.

 


In Odder News

  • This TV host has fashion fixes for every need. This week: how to dress for a plane crash. But will it pass muster in Milan?

  • What if Russia’s national symbol weren’t a bear, but a shaggy rhino? New Siberian rhino research evokes images of a bear crossed with a unicorn.
  • Ukraine bans all Russian films made after 2013 because they “threaten national security.” Good thing Star Wars isn’t Russian.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

White Magic

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.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

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. 
How Russia Got That Way

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.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955