September 04, 2020

Good Deed Punished


Good Deed Punished
Having gramatically incorrect ballots in this case would only add insult to injury. Yaromir Romanov, Znak.com

Sometimes doing the right thing can get you in trouble. That's what happened to 80-year-old Lyudmila Stolyarova, a pensioner in the town of Yeisk, who is faced with a fine for election fraud in Russia's constitutional referendum this past summer.

Stolayarova, a pensioner in that southern city of 88,000, was visited at her home by election commission officials on June 25, who offered to cast her vote for her. She accepted. A couple of days later, more officials stopped by with the same offer, but Stolyarova refused to open the door for them, as she'd effectively already cast her vote.

She then went to a polling place to double-check, to ensure her vote was counted. Seeing that she was not marked as having voted, she was handed a ballot, which she submitted.

Almost two months later, police called Stolyarova into the station and accused her of voter fraud. Her granddaughter says the allegation is bunk, as the tale highlights breaches in vote administration.

Regardless, on August 28, the court's ruling was handed down: a fine of 15,000 rubles, about $200. Which, on Russia's pension system, is pretty hefty.

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

Some of Our Books

Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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.
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.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
The Samovar Murders

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.
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.
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. 

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