January 24, 2019

Mud-slinging and Money-making


Mud-slinging and Money-making
"Our boys in Salisbury," Russia's newest board game. theins.ru

Trash, Taxes, and Trolling

1. You’ve got mail! Siberian activists sent packages of trash to four State Duma members and one senator to viscerally impress upon them the odious and odorous cost of Russia’s continuing garbage crisis. Piles and piles of trash have been stacking up around the country, with little action taken to staunch the stench. In extreme examples, overfilled landfills have led to extreme sickness in children and animals. We suppose these activists are trying to prove the more literal sentiment to the phrase “waste not, want not.”

2. Don’t want to pay taxes? Join a trade union! Such was the brilliant idea of Sergei Dymokin, who claims that by joining his trade union, Union SSR, one can legally evade both taxes and utility payments by claiming they are citizens of the USSR. Sounds great, doesn’t it? All this is allowed because Dyomkin published (the fire background is a nice touch) a contract on behalf of the members of Union SSR that Vladimir Putin has not personally responded to, and because a few technicalities might mean that the Russian constitution never took effect. While people across the country are following Dyomkin’s lead, law enforcement (amazingly) hasn’t yet taken the bait.

3. International intrigue isn’t all fun and games… or is it? A hot new Russian board game has been released that is based on the Skripal poisoning story. The game, “Our Boys in Salisbury” (Наши в Солсбери), follows the path of the two men accused of poisoning former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. You can partake in the “fun” for cheap, as the game costs less than two dollars! Who says crime doesn’t pay?

"Our Boys in Salisbury." / theins.ru
In Odder News:
Putin's 10-year challenge. / Alec Luhn
  • Russians took on Facebook’s viral “10-year challenge,” and the results are perfection
  • A purr-fect ending: animal rights activists bought a lioness that had been seen on the streets of St. Petersburg
  • Not their swan song, after all: a rare breed of swans were spotted in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast for the first time in a century!

Quote of the Week

“The anti-extremism center has summoned me so many times! I start telling them everything, and they always crack up. And then they let me go.”

—  Sergei Dyomkin, explaining his relationship with law enforcement

 

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

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.
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.
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.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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.  
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.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
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.
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.

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
PO Box 567
Montpelier VT 05601-0567

802-223-4955