April 06, 2017

The bad, the sad, and the ice laser


The bad, the sad, and the ice laser

It's a rough week for news. And ice.

1. Russia is still reeling after Monday’s tragic explosion on the St. Petersburg metro. To honor the victims of the attack, St. Petersburg officials have declared three days of mourning, during which entertainment events have been canceled and many have placed flowers at the Technological Institute metro station. Officials are also organizing mass anti-terror demonstrations. 

2. A report claims that over 100 men suspected of being gay have been detained in Chechnya in recent weeks, and at least three are now dead. Chechen officials have not condemned these likely “honor killings” of gay people, who are not tolerated in the conservative region; Kheda Saratova, a member of Chechnya’s Human Rights Council, expressed sympathy for families who would commit such an act, though she later said that her statements had been taken out of context. What will happen to the detained men is not yet known.

3. A laser that can cut through ice will help ships navigate Arctic waters all year long. It may sound like sci-fi, but the laser is able to focus on stress cracks in large ice floes and break them down with a focused ray of heat. When mounted on a ship, the device will enable travel through waters that are normally inaccessible, creating opportunities for trade and navigation. Testing is slated to take place in the Arkhangelsk region late in 2017.

In Odder News

  • Like Russian literature? Like kitties, horsies, and puppy dogs? Now’s your chance to learn about Russian authors and their favorite pets.
rbth.com
  • A quarter of Russians believe the sun circles the Earth, a sociological study reveals. On the bright side – or is it the dark side? – astronomy classes are to return to Russian classrooms.
  • How about a near-death experience with that chewing gum? Packs of gum with “truth or dare” stunts written on the wrappers are surrounded by a bubble of controversy.

RosKultObit 
Russian Cultural Obituary

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, versatile poet of Soviet dissident fame, died last weekend at age 83. Yevtushenko – also a novelist, dramatist, actor, and screenwriter – was particularly known for his poems about humanity and justice in the 1960s and ‘70s. One of his most famous is “Babi Yar,” which laments both the Nazis’ brutal massacre of Jews and history’s failure to remember the tragedy. With over 150 poetry collections and a Nobel Prize nomination under his belt, he will be remembered as one of the Soviet Union’s finest poets.

Quote of the Week

    “You can't detain and harass someone who doesn't exist in [this] republic. If there were such people in the Chechen republic, law enforcement wouldn't have a problem with them because their relatives would send them to a place of no return.”
    —Alvi Karimov, spokesman for the Chechen government, denying the allegations of honor killings of gay men in Chechnya based on the assertion that there are no gay men in Chechnya.

    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.
    Russian Rules

    Russian Rules

    From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
    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.
    Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

    Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

    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.
    Bears in the Caviar

    Bears in the Caviar

    Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
    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.
    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.
    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.

    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