BIRCH BRANCH BUNCH BANYA BEATDOWN: MARCH 8, 2025
Your favorite Russia-related open thread is BACK (again)
There is no plumbing in Edward’s village. This means that once a week it is necessary to fire up the ol’ banya and scrape off the multiple layers of dirt—the inner core, the outer core, the mantle, and the crust—that have formed over the past seven days on your face and limbs and nether regions. And don’t forget behind the ears. You’d be amazed.
This ritual is typically conducted on Saturdays.
Starting today, Saturday will also be open thread day. Yes, I am resurrecting for the sixth time the weekly open thread. I am calling it Birch Branch Bunch Banya Beatdown.
I want to use this weekly feature to communicate more with readers—especially my elegant, charming, beguiling, and very cherished and beloved paid subscribers, who are very nice and physically attractive. So if you have a question for me, I encourage you to ask it in the comments section below.
THIS WEEK’S MAJOR NEWS EVENT:
All the snow melted last night.
That about covers it.
(If you are craving Russia-related news, I recommend reading Nakanune, Katyusha, and Yaplakal. You can also browse Russian-language news sites (ranked by traffic) or check out Edward’s nifty and easy-to-use guide to Russia watching:
You are invited to share your own news items/miscellaneous URLs in the comments section below. Or just say hello.
Also: I recently spoke with Maryann Gebauer about all sorts of Russia-related things. Watch/listen!
I was chatting with a friend yesterday who lives in what originally was a one up, one down (rooms) cottage. The toilet out in the yard, where they now keep coal for the stove. It was extended before she bought it and now includes kitchen downstairs, bathroom and further bedroom upstairs. I would imagine it had a single cold water tap and sink. I agree that water on tap would be my choice over electricity. I wonder how far mains water is from the village? Whilst on my tour of Kaliningrad Oblast, I did see a stand pipe in a village with modern houses. The well dressed villagers were there getting water, gallons, and placing in their big 4x4s. Just read that Russia spreads across 11 time zones. That's a lot of pipes!
I have a friend in Vermont who also has no plumbing. She collects rainwater in big barrels, and heats water on the wood stove for bathing. She also has a bathtub outside, fed by rainwater. It is set up on bricks so that she can light a fire underneath and get the water nice and warm.
Her cabin doesn't have electricity or a phone line, but there are a couple of small solar panels with a big battery, so she can charge portable devices. And of course, there is an outhouse, which is fun to use in the middle of winter when it's snowing; at least there are no mosquitoes or ticks then.
I've stayed at her place many times, and enjoyed those visits, so I'd probably fit in well in your village.
P.S. I wasn't familiar with the Onegin ballet, but as soon as I heard the opening bars I knew it was Tchaikovsky. He's not my favorite Russian composer, but I do like his ballet music.