February 25, 2022

Where the Sidewalk Ends


Where the Sidewalk Ends
A typical Saratov sidewalk. Photo by the author

A blogger from Saratov (the home of this author) raised a simple question: can I go for a walk? The answer turned out to be a bit more complicated than one might expect.

Elena Nalimova walked around the streets of downtown Saratov for five hours with a stroller and met quite a few obstacles along the way.

In her video investigation, Nalimova strapped a child-sized doll with the face of the mayor, Mikhail Isaev, into a stroller. She affectionately referred to her creation as Misha, before pushing him over mountains of snow, under dangerous icicles, and around a confrontational stray dog. All this to bring attention to the poor snow-removal practices of the city.

Speaking from experience, walking around Saratov in the winter can feel a bit like a dangerous mountain expedition (or a game of Frogger). However, parents with strollers and people with disabilities face a much larger challenge when it comes to running simple errands. If only there were a way to clear the sidewalks!

Meanwhile, and on a completely unrelated note, multiple bureaucrats are under fire for stealing funds intended for winter road maintenance in Saratov. Coincidence?

You Might Also Like

Metro Station Shower
  • January 19, 2022

Metro Station Shower

A nice refreshing outdoors shower? Or a dangerous collapse waiting to happen?
The Art of the Fall
  • January 14, 2022

The Art of the Fall

A St. Petersburg artist draws attention to the city's ice and snow problem.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

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.
A Taste of Russia

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.
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.
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.
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.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
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. 
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.

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