December 29, 2021

Sock the Competition


Sock the Competition
A competition to keep you on your toes.  Photo by Giulia Bertelli via Unsplash

While sock knitting is usually an event reserved for relaxation and gift preparation, the town of Rasskazovo (Tambov region) decided to raise the stakes and turn the peaceful activity into a national competition

Sixty-six knitters from thirty-three different regions of Russia competed in the challenge. Competitors came from all different walks of life: pensioners to school children, librarians to athletes, tax workers, museum workers, housewives, and servicemen. 

There were three different rounds in the competition: an introduction round, a speed-knitting round, and a freestyle round. The winner of the completion was Tatyana Porokhova from St. Petersburg, who knitted a set of socks with children's storybook characters on them. The runner-up, Galina Polugyaeva, knitted a set of socks themed with the different animals from the zodiac signs.

Other notable awards included "The Most Unusual Sock" which was given to an enormous sock, fittingly titled "A Sock for a Giant." The winner of the video competition discussed the process of creating a knitted Coronavirus cell costume

Overall, what really knocked the socks off the judges was just the sheer amount of creativity that the Russian people presented in the competition. 

You Might Also Like

Someone Else's Granny
  • May 01, 2019

Someone Else's Granny

Even when you do a good deed, you need to pay attention, or you may chart a new road to humility.
Crafting Markets
  • November 01, 2018

Crafting Markets

An assemblage of crafters, knitters and felters talk about what it means to be a small producer in Russia.
A Cone-petition
  • December 17, 2021

A Cone-petition

A challenge to collect the most pinecones turns out to be about more than just the competition itself. 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

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.

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.

 
The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

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.

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.

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.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

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.

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