The Russian Fairytale Wars

When Russia and Ukraine argue, which is basically all of the time,  it usually has something to do with gas supplies.  But now they've found something much more fun to squabble about. 

The Russians have produced a national fairytale map which features thirty-odd characters from popular folklore and traces their origins to various parts of Russia. Which would be fine, except that the Ukranians already had their own map and it features some of the same characters. 

At the centre of the controversy is Kolobok, a plucky currant bun who skips through the forest to avoid being eaten greeedy monsters.  The Russians say he comes from the Ulyanovsk region (also the home of Vladimir Lenin who the BBC describe as
"less cute, though more revolutionary" than Kolobok.  And to think people worry that the BBC is dumbing down.)  Meanwhile the Ukranians say Kolobok is one of their own, and are quick to point out that 'kolo' is a Ukranian word meaing 'round'.  Then again, apparently 'kolob' is a Russian word meaning 'round dough', so who knows which side to believe.  No one seems to be laying claim to Vladimir Lenin.

I sort of like the fact that they're arguing about this.   Partly because it's funny to imagine a currant bun running through a forest, but mainly because people only argue over things they consider valuable.  It's easy to measure the value of gas pipe-lines and their contents; much harder to put a dollar amount on stories and mythologies.  It's easy to forget that this doesn't make them any less important.  Or valuable.  

Of course we'll probably never know who had the story first, and it may well have orginated somewhere else entirely - there's a gingerbread man version as well, remember, as well as endless other variations - but that's not really the point.

Those Crazy Russians

Sputnik I launched today.  I mean today in 1957, obviously.  I just thought I'd mention it, because no one else seems to have, and that surprises me a bit.  After all, it was a pretty big deal; first man-made object in space, start of the space race, contribution to rising cold-war tensions and all that.  Given that today has been a pretty slow news day* I thought someone might have picked up on it.

That's a picture.  It's a lot smaller (the size of a beach-ball, not counting those pointy bits) and faster than I realised; it took about an hour and a half to orbit the earth which, when you think about the maths, is crazy fast.

*So far.  If something really really important** turns out to have happened today, and you are reading this post with that knowledge, please assume it hasn't happened yet.

** Really important (in this context)  = more important than public outrage over choice of X-factor finalists, nasty tube-strike, and child-benefit cuts. Just to set some parameters.