February 14, 2019

From Russia with Love


From Russia with Love
Polar bears in Novaya Zemlya. Irina Elis

Things We Love: Dads, Camels, and Polar Bears (in Moderation)

1. Don’t let us catch you talking about un-bear-able weather, because some Russian villagers might have a bone to pick with you. Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Circle, is currently dealing with an invasion of at least fifty-two polar bears that has been terrorizing two villages. Scientists suggest that the polar bears have taken to land given the lack of sufficient ice to live on. This puts residents and Russian authorities in a dilemma: do they take violent measures against the legally protected bears, or do they continue living in a state of emergency amid dangerous circumstances? That it is to say, should they bear arms, or simply grin and bear it?

2. In your humble editor’s opinion, the camel is a truly underrated animal. This was demonstrated this week, when a camel pulled a car out of the snow in Saratov. The camel, part of a local circus, put on quite the show of force in this episode, yanking the Lada (of course it was a Lada) out of the snow bank and running it forward about 100 meters. Honestly, at this point we’d believe it if you told us a camel could just walk right through the eye of a needle.

3. Russia wants better dads. As such, the Duma is discussing a law that would extend the current five day paid paternity leave to a whopping ten days. Hopefully the dads will stick around longer than ten days, too. That’s the goal of Duma deputy Boris Chernishov, who wants to introduce fatherhood classes in high schools to teach boys about the importance of family, which is meant to reduce the number of kids growing up without fathers. Hopefully, the young men who elect to take part in the classes will become textbook examples of good fathers. (Yes, that was a dad joke. Those should definitely be part of the curriculum.)

In Odder News

Student Cat Costume
Garfield makes the grade. / E1.RU
  • The cat’s pajamas: one student manages to impress their teacher (and maybe get good grades for life!) by wearing a cat costume to class
  • Abracadabra, praise be to Putin-a! A society of witches cast spells to enhance the power of Vladimir Putin.
  • A rare bat named Pushkin was granted sanctuary in Ufa. He is expected to hibernate for several months, and we hope he uses that time to gestate a historical masterpiece.

Quote of the Week

“But I feel so very sorry for the bears. After all, it’s not like they’re our guests — we’re the ones who live on their territory.”

Nadezhda Volf, resident of Novaya Zemlya

~ Thank you to Katrina Keegan and Tiffany Zhu for the story contributions! ~

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Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
A Taste of Russia

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.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
The Moscow Eccentric

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.
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. 
The Little Golden Calf

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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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)

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