Russian President Vladimir Putin shows his playful side by only making a veiled threat against neighboring countries.

Recently the Russian Geographical Society held a ceremony to honor a pair of bright young boys who excelled at the subject of geography during a televised competition. During the event, five-year-olds were given the rare honor to meeting his head-of-state Vladimir Putin in the flesh.

The Russian leader decided to test one of the lads with a question that would make a Jeopardy contestant flinch: “What is the capital of Burkina Faso?” Without missing a beat the child replied “Ouagadougou.”

Next Putin asked to Timofey Tsoi, “Where does Russia’s border end?” Tsoi quickly went into his known-by-heart response beginning with the Bering Strait until Putin butted in with his own answer, “The borders of Russia do not end.”

He follows up with “That was a joke,” a punchline that wraps up all of the best jokes.

Now, if the prince of Lichtenstein made such a quip nobody would raise an eyebrow. And if we’re going to be really technical about it, Putin is absolutely right: the border is a loop around the country, so it technically doesn’t have an end.

But when your country was very recently accused of annexing another one, it adds a little streak of terror to the frivolity, especially to those whose countries share one of these borders with Russia. Here’s how some Japanese viewers reacted to Putin’s joke.

“((((；ﾟДﾟ))))”
“I can’t tell if that was a joke or not.”
“Countries not neighboring Russia probably found it funny.”
“Did he conquer the world?”
“Eh, I’ve heard worse.”

For those of you who think Putin was only kidding, we have a chilling development: the following day on 25 November Putin and the Russian government annexed action legend Steven Seagal, presenting him with a Russian passport at a press conference.

With Hollywood’s greatest warrior in Russian hands, there is no telling how many of their enemies will be flipped-over by their arms.

Yes, it seems inevitable that Russia will annex us all eventually. Luckily, now that I have an idea of the President’s sense of humor, I think I can worm my way into a staff position writing jokes for his various public appearances. Here’s my portfolio so far.

“That jacket you’re wearing is nice. It is mine now…. That was a joke.”
“I never have, but I think I could crush a man’s throat with one hand…. That was a joke.”
“I heard what you did. How dare you sabotage the interests of Russia?! You will die…. That was a joke.”

It’s coming along and should be ready by the time he invades Japan. I just have to get a little more manifest destiny material… and maybe some Vladimir Putin calendars and cologne.

Source: BBC Japan via My Game News Flash (Japanese)
Top image: YouTube/euronews

DO NOT TRY THIS AT YOUR HOME (PLATFORM)!

When most people see a sign warning them not to do something, they see it as just that – a warning. But then there are other people who see it as something else – a challenge.

YouTuber KinotroniX recently uploaded a video showing a man in a Russian subway station disobeying possibly the most important rule of being around trains: not to jump in front of the train. You can watch the short, hair-raising video here:

I… I don’t even know what to say after that. Japan is of course infamous for people jumping in front of trains to commit suicide, but for someone to do it for fun? As a daredevil trick? That’s just unimaginable.

Here’s how Japanese netizens reacted to the video:

“That is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“What if he just slipped a tiny bit?”
“Well that’s about as extreme as parkour can get I guess.”
“Oh god… just watching made me sick.”
“Are we sure this isn’t fake? It looks like CGI.”

While there hasn’t been anything confirming either the validity or fabrication of the video, for those doubting that there are people crazy enough to do this, we present another sweaty-palm-inducing video made by yet another Russian thrill-seeker in Toronto:

▼ The skyscraper antics of olegcricket have earned him
over 305 thousand followers on Instagram.

So while we don’t know for sure whether the train-jumping video is fake or not, there is certainly a precedent for people doing things that look absolutely crazy.

In the meantime, for those looking for other impressive jumps that aren’t quite as scary, we present the legendary two-person groin-to-chest dive in China. Now that’s a jump made of pure love instead of fear.

Source: YouTube/KinotroniX via Golden Times
Top image: YouTube/Kinotronix

Put on this helmet and you’ll be yelling, “Can’t catch me meow!”

Cat ears can be found on a lot of things in Japan, and people still love it. You can pick up a pair of velvet cat ears for about a dollar at your local 100 yen store. There are entire stores dedicated to cat-related merchandise. And let’s not forget that cat ear headphones got plenty of attention when they came out. Now, there’s a little something for motorcycle (and cat) lovers.

This is the Neko-helmet, a motorcycle helmet produced in Russia that has–you guessed it–cat ears. It’s sleek, comfortable, and will definitely turn some heads when you’re wearing it on the road. Catwoman biker cosplay, anyone?

The Neko-helmet was created by Nitrinos, a company based in Russia. Sizes range from extra-small to large. In Japan, it’s available for pre-order in black, white, or yellow. According to the product’s English website, there are a number of other customization options available, including adding more colors and even etching an actual cat face onto the helmet.

Of course, this kind of purr-fection doesn’t come cheap. Reservations for the Neko-helmet opened in Japan on December 2, with prices starting at 69,800 yen (USD$612), but if you put in a request anytime after the end of December, that price jumps up to 84,800 yen (USD$743). They’re expected to ship out about two to three months following your reservation date. If there was ever a time to impulse buy, it would be now, cat lovers.

No matter the price, we’re sure there are at least a few die-hard cat fans in Japan that would do anything to get their paws on the Neko-helmet.

Sources: Fashionsnap, Nitrinos
Images: Fashionsnap

Who needs a bouquet of roses when you can get a nod to this season’s biggest sports anime hit?

It’s customary for passionate figure skating fans to shower the rink with flowers after their favorite athlete finishes a performance, and things were no different for Evgenia Medvedeva at the recent International Skating Union Grand Prix competition in Marseille, France. After the Russian star finished her short performance, a team of attendants skated around to gather the bouquets, but Medvedeva herself picked up one gift and personally carried it off the ice.

However, what caught Medvedeva’s eye wasn’t a particularly beautiful bundle of blossoms, but instead a stuffed animal, as shown in the video below. Well, technically a stuffed foodstuff, since it was a large plushie shaped like a triangular onigiri, or Japanese rice ball, that a fan had tossed onto the rink for her.

Those familiar with Medvedeva’s love of anime (the woman who greets her as she exits the ice can be seen holding a Luna, of Sailor Moon, stuffed animal) might think this is a nod to her love of Japanese pop culture, and that conclusion is half-right. But more specifically, the unusual gift was a reference to this season’s breakout Japanese animated hit, male figure skating anime Yuri!!! on Ice. Following an impressive performance in one episode by series protagonist Yuri Katsuki, the appreciative audience throws plush versions of various types of Japanese food to him, and someone thought to recreate the gesture in real life for Medvedeva.

Of course, that clever fan probably knew the skater would zero in on the onigiri, since 17-year-old Medvedeva has been extremely vocal about how much she’s been enjoying Yuri!!! on Ice. Just last month, she cosplayed as Yuri K. and shared the result with her Twitter followers…

Mother is shocked, dog is shocked. I'm happy and can't stop my laughter #YuriOnIce https://t.co/jeeRJF8dgj

—
Evgenia Medvedeva (@JannyMedvedeva) November 17, 2016

…and on December 9, the day of the ISU Grand Prix short program, she managed to carve out enough time in her busy schedule to tweet about the latest episode of the anime.

Aghrshgvsbdjsjzttdjhebah #dreamcometrue https://t.co/VXLUw0ZVfK

—
Evgenia Medvedeva (@JannyMedvedeva) December 08, 2016

The love seems to be flowing both ways, as Yuri!!! on Ice character designer Mitsuro Kubo has drawn the anime’s Victor cozying up to a caricatured Medvedeva.

💕😍💕 @JannyMedvedeva #yurionice https://t.co/Tr778HjIpA

—
久保ミツロウ (@kubo_3260) November 17, 2016

Kubo was also watching Medvedeva’s performance seen in the video above, which prompted her to send out the following tweet.

▼ “I don’t know who it was that threw that onigiri, but whoever you are, thank you.”

どなたか知りませんがオニギリ投げ込んでくれた方…ありがとうございます…

—
久保ミツロウ (@kubo_3260) December 10, 2016

So after inspiring musicians and boosting Chanel sales, Yuri!!! on Ice has now come all the way back where it started by influencing real-world figure skating fandom.

Source: IT Media (1, 2, 3)
Images: YouTube/Loïc MR

Even bears can’t get any privacy these days.

It’s no surprise that Google Street View is full of surprises from around the world – from Sumo greetings to flocks of pigeon people. But now it seems that the service has gotten into nature-documenting as well, with this shot of a bear dining on some fish.

The 360-degree panoramic view can be found in Kurile Lake (also known as Kurilkoye Lake) located on the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. It is a crater lake; the result of a massive eruption tens of thousands of years ago, but more currently it is known for its huge population of sockeye salmon, which can be easily seen by tilting the image downward.

And as nature dictates, where there are salmon, there often are bears trying to catch them. Not only the one big boy standing front and center, but several other bears can be seen running around on the shore trying to catch dinner.

This 360-degree shot was also not your typical Google Street View team shot. It was actually taken by AirPano, a Russian non-profit photographic association who take aerial 360-degree pictures and video of some of the most famous places from around the world. Their Victoria Falls videos are especially breathtaking.

There’s plenty of eye candy to be had over at AirPano but be sure to keep your eyes peeled on Google Maps too, because you never know what other treats wait in store, like bathing monkeys and security guard dogs taking a pee on the job.

Source: AirPano, Google Street View (English) via Hamusoku (Japanese)
Top Image: Google Street View
Insert images: Google Street View

Yekaterinburg court to issue verdict on May 11.

Russian prosecutors requested a 3.5-year sentence on Friday for Ruslan Sokolovsky, a Russian blogger charged with inciting religious hatred for allegedly playing the Pokémon Go smartphone game in a church. The trial concluded in Yekaterinburg, Russia on Friday, and the judge said the verdict will be issued on May 11.

Sokolovsky has been on trial since March. If convicted, he faces up to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

Russian Prosecutors Seek 3½ Years for 'Pokemon Go' Blogger clkmein.com/qOle5h https://t.co/KakPkTNMpC

—
  (@tech_newsUS) April 28, 2017

Sokolovsky had been in pre-trial detention since October, when a court reversed the house arrest he had been serving at his attorney’s apartment. Sokolovsky had been released from pre-trial detention in September. According to the U.K. human rights group Amnesty International, he was not allowed to use his phone or the Internet during house arrest. Sokolovsky was originally ordered to stay in jail until November pending a trial, but filed an appeal against the arrest.

The now 22-year-old blogger reportedly posted a video on August 11, which showed him playing the game inside the Church of All Saints. He has been charged with “incitement to hatred and attacks on the liberty of faith.” The Russian Orthodox Church reportedly said the alleged provocative nature of the video led to Sokolovsky’s prosecution rather than the act of playing Pokémon Go. The church where the blogger allegedly played the game is built on the supposed site where Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, and his family were killed.

After the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot performed in protest at a Moscow church and recorded a music video there, three members were convicted of the same offense of “incitement to hatred and attacks on the liberty of faith.” The three members were sentenced to two years in prison in 2012, although one member had her sentence suspended.

Pokémon Go is already banned in Iran due to security concerns, and developer Niantic Labs disabled the game in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in August.

The Pokémon Go app launched in select countries including the United States on July 6, and has since launched in more than 50 countries.

Source: ABC News
Featured image: Twitter/tech_newsUS

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Although reportedly popular in his own country, President of Russia Vladimir Putin faces criticism from people in many countries, including Japan.

To explain the world leader’s complex personal history, East Press released the Manga de Wakaru Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (Understanding Through Manga: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin) manga book on Monday. Toe Shinme drew the manga, and journalist Kenrō Nagoshi supervised the work.

The manga’s story begins when an editor flies overseas after his boss orders him to make a manga about Putin. He visits various authorities and specialists to uncover the truth about what kind of person Putin is.

Putin is known for his harsh policies in dealing with his enemies. He has been quoted as saying he would even track down and kill terrorists in a bathroom. He is a former KGB foreign intelligence officer and is also known in Japan for having a black belt in judo.

The Russian government is known for its strict law enforcement and heavy punishments for committing crimes. Blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky received a three-and-a-half year suspended sentence after being found guilty of “inciting hatred” and “offending believers’ feelings” after posting video of himself playing Pokémon GO inside a Russian church. However, the sentence was later reduced to two years and three months.

A Russian television network also canceled its airing of an episode of The Simpsonsanimated series that referenced the Pokémon GO case. Various organizations and groups in Russia have also criticized and called for bans on various manga and anime such as Death Note and Ikki Tousen.

Source: Comic Natalie
Images: Amazon Japan

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Vocaloid virtual singer Hatsune Miku comes to life in cute Russian cosplayer, Saya Scarlet.

A Russian cosplayer who appeared on the Japanese TV programme You wa nani shi ni nippon e? (What did you come to Japan to do?), which interviews foreigners coming to Japan at the airport, has recently taken Japanese social media by storm, winning countless fans.

▼ The look of someone overwhelmed with joy.

15 mln... wat... https://t.co/IW9ILTFVas

—
Saya Scarlet (@SayaScarlet01) October 16, 2017

The cosplayer, who goes by the name Saya Scarlet, was stopped at the airport on her way to this year’s Magical Mirai, a concert and exhibition celebrating everything Hatsune Miku.

She told the camera crew (via the magic of a Russian to English translation app) that as “the administrator” of the largest Hatsune Miku fan club, she was hoping to take photos and video to raise Hatsune Miku’s profile in her native Russia, where she also hoped to organise a Hatsune Miku concert one day.

▼ Saya Scarlet performs as Hatsune Miku in alternative
music videos, here in the song “Senbonzakura…”

▼ …and here in “Ievan Polkka.”

Despite not speaking much Japanese, she managed to sing one of Hatsune Miku’s songs with near-perfect pronunciation. Her infectious laugh and quirky mannerisms also had viewers swooning over the vocaloid (whose contribution to music is required reading in school) seemingly come to life.

▼ Saya also attended a 10th birthday bash
for the virtual idol during her trip to Japan.

▼ With fellow Hatsune Miku fans at the Magical Mirai event.

Japanese social media users seemed smitten with her mix of good looks, mannerisms, and anime character-like ridiculously high-pitched voice.

“Her voice is great!”
“I really like that super-cute Russian!”
“She’s just too cute, I want to marry her!”
“Russia has loads of good-looking people, that’s why their cosplaying is so good!”
“What is she!? That face! That voice! Those actions! Perfect!”
“I think I could be in love….”
“I can’t believe that someone like me is lumped together in the same species as someone like her.”
“It’s decided, I’m definitely going to Russia.”

While the TV programme is often criticised for perpetuating Japanese people’s skewed view of foreigners as Japan-loving oddballs, ignoring the majority of perfectly normal people who come to Japan, surely there won’t be many grumbling at the programme for bringing Saya’s cosplaying to our attention.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Instagram/saya_scarlet

President Putin chocolate is one of five recommended items you can buy at this specialty food store.

It’s easy to come across “Western” or “ethnic” food stores in Japan, but what about those looking for Russian groceries? Many will be surprised to know there’s now a store for that, and it’s located in Tokyo’s upmarket Ginza district.

▼ Aka no Hiroba (“Red Square”) is the bricks-and-mortar branch of import food company Victoria Foods Market, which opened in February 2021

Victoria Foods Market specialises in Russian imports, and as soon as you step foot inside the store, you’ll be greeted by shelves upon shelves of exciting, unfamiliar products.

▼ It’s not just groceries that will entice you — there are popular Russian souvenirs like Matryoshka dolls on sale as well.

If you’re specifically looking for Russian souvenirs, you can’t go past this section of the store, dedicated to Russian President Vladimir Putin. When we visited, these T-shirts had already sold out, but staff say they’ll be in back in stock soon.

They did, however, have these Putin chocolate bars in stock, which staff say are incredibly popular. At 20-percent off the usual retail price of 324 yen (US$2.95), we immediately added one to our shopping basket.

The store also sells Russian sweets like “Shirok“, which has become increasingly popular in Japan in recent years. Shirok is a sweet made from cottage cheese, which is coated in chocolate.

▼ These sweets are sold frozen for maximum freshness.

Everything looked enticing, so we asked staff to introduce us to their top five recommended items. We already had one of those items, the Putin chocolate, in our basket, so the friendly staff there added four other products for us, and after paying for it all, we took them home for a taste test.

First up, we have this gorgeous-looking Chocolate Caviar (529 yen). These smooth, glistening pieces of dark chocolate really did resemble Russian caviar, but cost about a tenth of the price. This product is ideal for gift-giving, as anyone who receives this jar of chocolate will be delighted to see these glorious little pieces!

Next up is the Premium Cheese, and the one we bought was the dark chocolate variety (322 yen). These are popular due to the fact that they contain 20-percent milk fat, which is higher than regular cheese on the market, which usually contains around 5-percent milk fat.

▼ Higher fat makes for a creamier product.

This was a real treat for the taste buds, melting on the tongue like a super-rich cheesy ice cream, with the crisp chocolate coating adding just the right amount of sweetness. It was somewhat similar to a thick cheesecake as well, although it was a lot denser and heavier, meaning that you wouldn’t be able to eat a lot of these in one sitting.

Moving on to the next sweet, we have the Prague Chocolate Cake (594 yen). This thick, rich morsel of chocolate contains chocolate butter cream, fruit jam and chocolate sponge within its dark chocolate coating. It was a lot sweeter than we’d anticipated, but incredibly decadent and delicious.

Next up is a gorgeous pink product called Honey-Souffle Wild Strawberry (1,188 yen). This was the most expensive of the lot, but it promised to deliver a very unique flavour, which staff recommended we try on toast.  

When we opened the jar, we expected to see pink jam, but the texture was less like jam and more like…souffle! This was due to the fact that it was made with an unheated honey paste, which had been blended with wild strawberries and a small amount of water.

▼ When we spread it on hot toast, we were surprised to see it melted with the heat and became a moist paste!

We were glad staff had recommended the Honey-Souffle to us, as it was something we’d never seen before, and it tasted fantastic on toast, where the tart fruit and sweet honey flavours melded harmoniously with the hot bread. Staff also say you can drop a spoonful into a cup of tea for some added sweetness.

Last but definitely not least, we have President Putin’s Dark Chocolate (259 yen). Inside the box were two small foil-wrapped chocolate bars, and as we ripped into them we hoped we might see Putin’s face on the chocolate as well, but alas, Putin’s visage was only on the box.

▼ Still, a great souvenir or Christmas stocking-stuffer for unsuspecting friends and family, who’ll enjoy the darkly sweet flavour of the President’s chocolate.

So there you have it — five products to introduce you to the sweet taste of Russia, without having to travel all the way there. With travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic, this shop in Ginza really is the next best thing to visiting the real Red Square at the moment, and hopefully when the year comes to an end, they’ll have these Putin calendars in stock too.

Store information
Aka no Hiroba / 赤の広場
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 1-20-14
東京都中央区銀座1-20-14
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. (weekdays); 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (Saturdays)
Closed: Sundays and public holidays

Photos © SoraNews24
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St. Petersburg doesn’t want people to watch Neo Tokyo EXPLODE.

More than 30 years after its release, Akira is still widely considered a must-see both by serious anime enthusiasts and scholars of theatrical animation. That opinion, though, is apparently not shared by the Russian government.

Bounding Into Comics reports that the 1988 anime film classic has been banned in the country, citing a statement from the official Telegram messaging account of what the website calls the “Courts of St. Petersburg.” No judicial body matching that exact name seems to exist, and while St. Petersburg is the location of the Constitutional Court of Russia, the Google-translated version of the Telegram posting shared by Bounding Into Comics references the “Frunzenskiy District Court of St. Petersburg.”

▼ Trailer for Akira

According to the translation, the Frunzenskiy District Court issued its ruling in regard to a prosecutor’s request that distribution of Akira be banned on the grounds that its content “can be harmful to the health and mental development of children.” The translation adds that “By the same decision, reference to the Elven Song is prohibited. Another decision was made to ban further references to Tokyo Ghoul and Death Note,” with Elven Song likely being the anime Elfen Lied (which translates from German as Elven Song). However, it is unclear from the quality of the translation whether the statement’s use of “reference” is meant as the court ruling to ban Akira specifically because of the precedent of banning/restricting distribution of other anime series previously, or if it is simply included in the statement to provide historical context.

Source: Bounding Into Comics via Yurukuyaru via Jin, Telegram
Top image: YouTube/Madman Anime
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