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The Russians are Coming

July 2007

Yes, the Russians are coming. Prepare to be carried off to a new and surprising Russia where cybersex coexists with calligraphy, the traffic police steal cars, and Brezhnev can make time stand still. And do keep coming back: the landing continues throughout the month. Special thanks to intern Rohan Kamicheril for his help in discovering these jewels of the new Federation.

Calligraphy Lesson
By Mikhail Shishkin
Good God, what criminals? They’re ordinary people.
Translated from Russian by Marian Schwartz
Akiko
By Victor Pelevin
My name is Akiko. What glorious name do you bear? Type it and press “enter” and Akiko will unlock her door.
Translated from Russian by Andrew Bromfield
Estuary
By Alexei Parshchikov
Once again, darling, yours is a resinous, intimate whisper.
Translated from Russian by Wayne Chambliss
Joan
By Andrei Gelasimov
He just loved that little gizmo.
Translated from Russian by Alexei Bayer
The Man Who Couldn’t Die
By Olga Slavnikova
Something suggested to Nina Alexandrovna that in this halted time there was no important difference between order and disorder.
Translated from Russian by Marian Schwartz
Zaporozhets
By Maria Arbatova
Our first car was a beige Zaporozhets made in the USSR, which had a Beetle-like design.
Translated from Russian by Dinara Georgeoliani & Mark Halperin