Two women are talking on a bus. One is going to Kyiv, the other to Riga.
— Why are you going back?
— Oh that. I have to bury the husband, at last. He’s been lying in the crematorium for four months. They’ve finally cleared the cemetery of mines.
— …
Source: Anastasia Magazova, Facebook, 10 August 2022. In the original, the dialogue between the two women is in Russian, while the two introductory sentences are in Ukrainian. Translated by the Russian Reader
We were cruising the Moika by boat and came upon three military men standing on the hump of Singers Bridge — an infantry officer, a naval officer, and an aviator in the Syrian Army. They smiled at us and waved. At the last moment the sailor also shouted, nearly without an accent, “Glory to Russia!” FML
Source: Nikolay Konashenok, Facebook, 11 August 2022. Translated by the Russian Reader
while I was feeding the baby, the culture channel showed the culture news. a priest said, but our parish’s residents (we heard “rapists”) defended Russia in Chechnya and other wars. images of icons featuring saints in military uniforms flashed on the screen. such are the culture news in the russian federation.
Source: Roman Osminkin, Twitter, 11 August 2022. Translated by the Russian Reader
While waiting for a friend in Kuzminki, I overheard a conversation between two old men. (Chemists?)
— Do you mean to say, Mikhail Innokentyevich, that collective responsibility doesn’t exist?
— Why not? It does exist. But you can’t dissolve in it or engage in handwringing. You have to be firm whenever you can.
— But the proportion of such a solution is what matters to me. When should one dissolve, and when should one remain a solid substance with one’s own interests?
— Well, let’s suppose it’s CaCO3.
— And what do we use to dissolve it? Water? Or hydrochloric acid?
— Hmm, hydrochloric acid, probably. But what do we do now? Can’t we even precipitate?
Source: Zhanna Chernenko, Facebook, 12 August 2022. In Russian, the set phrase vypast’ v’ osadok, aside from its literal, “chemical,” meaning — “(to) precipitate (out of a solution)” — can also mean 1) (to) be very surprised; 2) (to) break with one’s circle; and 3) (to) get very drunk. Translated by the Russian Reader
The Russian Reader 