January 10, 2019

Crooks and Crazies this Russian Christmas


Crooks and Crazies this Russian Christmas
The coldest race in the world. Gavril Sobakin

Baby it’s (Very) Cold Outside

1. Does the thought of running a marathon send a chill down your spine? Does the mention of temperatures below -45º Celsius make your toes curl? Well, imagine doing both at once. This week, runners in Sakha completed the “coldest race in the world,” racing distances of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 42 kilometers while in Oymyakon, which holds the world record for the coldest temperature recorded at an inhabited settlement. At the beginning of the race, temperatures were at -52° Celsius, and as one runner crossed the 39 kilometer mark, they had risen to a positively balmy -48° Celsius. Don’t feel too bad, though, participants were superheroes of all stripes: two world marathon champions, one veteran, and one mother of eight.

Coldest Race in the World
The coldest race in the world. / Gavril Sobakin

2. From crooks to crones: money seized in Russian corruption cases will now go into Russia’s pension fund. The move comes on the heels of a contentious rise in the retirement age, which had the elderly (and the soon-to-be elderly) up on their feet. It’s unclear whether or not this extra padding will make everything right, though: while the estimated gain from this measure is expected to be R1.2 billion by 2024, it takes a whopping R20 billion per day to fund the national pension fund. But hey, a kopek saved is a kopek earned.

3. Season’s greetings, from above! At least two aerial holiday stunts were spotted this holiday season, both meriting a second glance into the Moscow sky. Santa and one of his elves tightroped across a street in Moscow, shouting out holiday greetings and doing the chicken dance. Additionally, Santa-suited skydivers rained down upon the city, passing on their own New Year’s wishes to crowds people. Maybe this means that things will start looking up in 2019.

In Odder News:
Quote of the Week:

“This is a nightmare… I’ll tell the internet about this”

— One babushka speaks disdainfully of the Liberal Democratic Party’s New Year giveaway

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.

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

Some of Our Books

At the Circus

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.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
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.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

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