September 13, 2023

Thumbs Up!


Thumbs Up!
Ready to get emoji-onal? Wu Yi, Unsplash.

The Fifteenth Arbitration Appellate Court in Rostov-on-Don has upheld an initial court's ruling that the "thumbs-up" emoji serves as legal confirmation, tantamount to a signature on an agreement.

In March 2022, entrepreneur Siranush Harutyunyan finalized a R685,000 purchase (about $7,000) with another entrepreneur, Rodion Rudenko, for a mobile trading kiosk in the form of a retro van. The contract stipulated that the kiosk's color scheme required mutual approval through an additional agreement. Harutyunyan paid a R479,000 deposit, with the balance due before delivery. The contract also recognized the legal validity of documents exchanged via email or communication platforms, including WhatsApp.

Due to a delayed delivery, Harutyunyan sought a refund on his deposit. Rudenko claimed no additional agreement on kiosk colors was reached due to production delays. However, WhatsApp messages were presented in court in which both parties discussed kiosk color and size. On April 6, Rudenko suggested "A good yellow strip on a white background," receiving a thumbs-up emoji in response from Harutyunyan, and then went forward with the color scheme, which eventually led to the court case.

“This emoji means ‘good,’ in common sense when communicating through electronic correspondence,” the court order noted. The court also clarified that, following the emoji, Harutyunyan did not specify the actual meaning behind the thumbs-up answer, and that “the defendant took this answer as an agreement that did not require additional explanation.”

You Might Also Like

iPhones Banned
  • June 27, 2023

iPhones Banned

Members of the government have been forbidden from bringing iPhones to cabinet meetings.
Hold Your Tongue
  • December 19, 2022

Hold Your Tongue

The State Duma began reviewing a new law that would restrict the use of foreign loan words in official Russian communications.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

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.
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 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...
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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.
The Best of Russian Life

The Best of Russian Life

We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
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
PO Box 567
Montpelier VT 05601-0567

802-223-4955