June 30, 2016

What Brexit means for Russian economic and territorial expansion


What Brexit means for Russian economic and territorial expansion

It Means Those 3 Stories in 1 Newsletter

1. By now it's old news that Britain has voted to leave the European Union – but what does that mean for Russia? Some pundits say Brexit will be great for finance-savvy Russians in the UK and Europe; to others, it’s the personal failure of United States president Barack Obama. Just how much it'll weaken the EU and set the scene for a new role for Russia in Europe remains to be seen

2. Sorting out territorial claims is child's play. Literally: a school in the South Ural Mountains put on a play featuring a kid in a Putin mask claiming that Alaska would soon again be Russian territory. That puts it next in line after Crimea, but beating out the Kuril Islands, currently disputed territory between Russia and Japan. The theatrical explanation: “We take only our own lands.” To cede or not to cede, that is the question.

3. It’s a bridge! It’s a rocket! It’s Mother Russia herself! Nope: it's the latest image to grace Russian banknotes. That may sound anticlimactic, but Russia’s Central Bank has launched a contest for citizens to submit design ideas for the new 200 and 2000 ruble notes. The actual prints may not show up for a few years yet, but it only takes a dream to boost the economy, right?

    RosKultLit
    ​Russian Cultural Literacy

    The Russian ruble's had a rocky road. And that’s not a jibe at the economy – that’s the norm when you go through a few dozen currency designs in a century. Whether the imperial coat of arms, a locomotive, an Olympic snowboarder, or a monument from any number of Russian towns and cities, there’s an art to creating currency – and to keeping it afloat. Okay, that one was a jibe at the economy.

    banknotes.com

    Quote of the Week

    "Rural, provincial, working Britain said ‘no’ to the union created by the financial mafia, globalists, and the rest of them."

    —Russian ultranationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky on the “great feat” accomplished by British folks who voted for Britain’s exit from the European Union.

    In Odder News

    • Your puppy pals may be in danger: food shortages and price hikes have seen a rise in – brace yourself – eating dogs. At least all dogs go to heaven.
    • Russia invents the Google Tax: a new law requiring foreign companies to pay tax on apps, games, and other online content.
    • What everyone's been waiting for: why go to the beach to sunbathe when you can just hang your backside out the window?
    news.ngu.ru

    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. 

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    Some of our Books

    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.

    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. 

    Bears in the Caviar
    May 01, 2015

    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.

    Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
    November 01, 2012

    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.

    A Taste of Russia
    November 01, 2012

    A Taste of Russia

    The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

    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.

    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.

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