September 26, 2019

Save Russia by Air, Land and Sea!


Save Russia by Air, Land and Sea!
Now “I am the Walrus” sounds like a veiled Cold War era threat…  Leonid Kruglov | Russian Geographical Society 

Quote of the week

“Yo Gai-gui, save Russia!”

– A push notification sent to users of Moscow metro free wifi. Who sent it? Unknown. Who is Gai-gui? Unknown – maybe something in a southern Russian dialect for a boisterous holiday – but now it is temporary promocode to get ad-free wifi on the metro. 

 

Gotta Walk the Walk (on Thin Ice)

1. NATO, you taking notes? A female walrus attacked and sunk a Russian naval vessel. She was enjoying life on a Far North nature sanctuary with her young calf when she was disturbed by an expedition retracing the path of nineteenth century explorers. Probably fearing for her baby’s life, she attacked a rubber blow-up landing craft (not the main vessel) and successfully caused it to sink, while the crew made a quick escape to safety. No walruses were harmed in the making of this story. 

Caption: Now “I am the Walrus” sounds like a veiled Cold War era threat… / Leonid Kruglov | Russian Geographical Society 

2. Siberian shamans keep trying to exorcise Putin from Russia. In March a shaman from Yakutia set off on foot to Moscow – a two year journey – to banish the “evil spirit” Putin from the Kremlin, and was recently detained in Buryatia on charges of religious extremism. He was joined by a few dozen followers, whom he recommended pause the journey as he goes through the apparently perfectly pleasant and fair legal process. They refused, and continue to march on Moscow with a new shaman leader, seemingly in good spirits. 


The original shaman and his followers camp for the day near Lake Baikal shortly before he was detained. / Aleksandr Gabyshev Shaman | Youtube

3. Russia has officially ratified the Paris Climate Agreement three years after signing it. The announcement coincided with the UN summit on climate change on September 23. According to Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Gordeyev, Russia will adopt laws with concrete measures to reduce emissions above and beyond the Paris Climate Agreement by the end of the year. The country might be a little hot and cold on fighting climate change – on the plus side, new Arctic sea passage; on the downside, fires in Siberia – but with this ratification and promises of further legal action, it seems that Russia has definitively warmed on the idea. 

 

In Odder News

Horse trying to board bus in Russia
Get off your high horse, Voronezh (and bus driver, for refusing an unconventional passenger). Dima Bredov | Vkontakte 
  • You might be now allowed to take your pets on the Moscow metro for free, but please, hold your horses. An unaccompanied horse tried (unsuccessfully) to board a bus in St. Petersburg. 
  • Putin ate bread with sweetened condensed milk. Yes, that was a headline
  • In a shocking upset, St. Petersburg is only the second most arrogant city in Russia. The top place actually goes to Voronezh. (Moscow is in a pitiful 7th place!) 
     

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

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.
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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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.
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. 
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.

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