January 15, 2022

(NOT) Morgenshtern


(NOT) Morgenshtern
Sounds like Russian Life has a bit of competition.  Photo by Okras via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0

Russian rapper Morgenshtern is looking to disrupt the media industry by debuting his own media and news company cleverly titled “Not Morgenshtern.” 

The rapper announced this new business venture on his Instagram story explaining that he was uninspired by the current quality of the Russian language news he saw on the internet and wanted to produce something that could offer Russians more. Not only does he promise his readers hard-hitting news stories but also (and perhaps most importantly) memes

The project is still actively looking to hire members for pretty much every aspect of production (writers, editors, even “meme-models”), but that hasn’t stopped them from producing content already. You can get a taste for the style of writing that Morgenshtern is going after by scrolling through the new project’s Telegram page; most of the articles appear to be satirical takes on real news events, sort of like a Russian Onion but with more blatant sarcasm and memes. 

As for the unusual name of this side hustle, Morgenshtern wanted to be sure that his dubious connections to the Russian state (he recently left the country after being accused for supposed “drug charges” and is living in America indefinitely) wouldn’t get in the way of the young media company’s ability to publish. He promises that the name will help clear any connections he has to the company that of course, the top rapper himself is creating. 

You Might Also Like

Bling Defiantly!
  • May 25, 2021

Bling Defiantly!

How to counter the "shameful" designation of "foreign agent"? With some bling, of course.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

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.

 
Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

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.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

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.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

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.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

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.

A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

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.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

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