18-year-old Adam Kadyrov, the son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has been awarded the title of Hero of the Chechen Republic for the second time.
This time, it was for “outstanding services to the state, selfless service to the people, active and fruitful work aimed at comprehensive support for the special military operation, and in connection with Russia Day.”
VR-assisted childbirth has started being used in Russia, according to Baza.
The technology is already being introduced in state maternity hospitals. During contractions, women in labor are given VR glasses showing relaxing landscapes — the sea, forests, sunsets, and mountains — helping shift the brain’s focus away from pain and anxiety.
Russians should pray before going on vacation, lawmaker Mikhail Ivanov has urged.
“We should not ask God for a vacation; we should ask for a blessing for our rest. Then the Lord will arrange things so that your boss grants the vacation, and the trip goes without incidents or tragedies. You should pray to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos,” he said.
BMW and Audi cars have started being brought into Russia disguised as Chinese cars. They simply cover the badges with Chinese Changan logos before crossing the border.
The scheme helps simplify the export of cars from China amid restrictions and increased inspections. After the cars are imported into Russia, the stickers are removed, and the vehicles become BMWs and Audis again.
Russians are now being asked to send recruiters Reels and memes to get a new job. Companies call it a “vibe check” — a test of compatibility with the team.
Russia has issued its first fine for criticizing the Taliban.
A 19-year-old was fined 10,000 rubles (~$136) after calling the Taliban “cave-dwelling a**holes” in a VKontakte comment.
The court said it incited hostility between Russians and Afghans.
Photo by DepositPhotos.com
A man in Moscow had his wife committed to a private rehab facility outside the city — paying about ₽450,000 (roughly $5,000) for a six-month stay — all to avoid dividing property during a potential divorce and to take custody of their child.
Earlier this year, the couple’s relationship started to fall apart, and 34-year-old Oksana began considering divorce. Her husband noticed the shift and decided to act first. After she returned home from an evening out with friends, he brought in a pair of “extraction workers” — people hired to forcibly transport someone to a rehab program.
Two men showed up, injected her with a sedative, and took her away. She woke up locked inside the facility.
According to Oksana, the staff didn’t beat or threaten anyone, but food was scarce — one chicken for 30 people. At home, she had a young child and urgent work obligations. Oksana is a well-known gemologist who creates jewelry for celebrities and wealthy clients, and disappearing for half a year was never an option.
While she was held against her will, her husband managed to withdraw nearly ₽500,000 (around $5,500) from her bank card, supposedly “for treatment,” and signed a contract with the rehab for ₽75,000 per month (about $830).
Her lawyer was the one who eventually located her. When Oksana didn’t respond on March 8th, the attorney grew suspicious, found the facility’s address, and arrived with several people. After banging on the gate and shouting, the staff opened up — unwilling to draw attention from neighbors in the quiet residential area. Oksana was taken out and brought to safety.
During her confinement, shipments of precious stones worth $15,000 fell through. She had already been paid but couldn’t deliver the goods, leaving clients frustrated and damaging her professional reputation.
Oksana says about 30 people were housed at the center — and at least seven women had been brought there in the exact same way: husbands sending them in for personal gain. According to her, those women are still inside the facility.
Photo by DepositPhotos.com
A 19-year-old from Russia’s Astrakhan Region has been classified with a Category III disability after consuming energy drinks and using vapes every day for nearly a year. The teen reportedly drank three to four cans of energy drinks daily in hopes of boosting his chances of winning a luxury car in an online giveaway. Participants were encouraged to register as many receipts from energy drink purchases as possible.
Before this, the young man led an athletic lifestyle and had plans to apply to the FSB Academy in St. Petersburg. A routine medical checkup before the academic year showed no health issues. But during exam season, under high stress, he began using e-cigarettes and drinking energy drinks more frequently. After entering the contest, his consumption escalated to daily high doses.
Over time, his health quickly deteriorated. He experienced rapid weight loss and persistent fatigue. Medical tests revealed that his blood sugar had spiked to nearly four times the normal level — around 19 mmol/L instead of the standard 5–6. Doctors diagnosed him with type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes, along with severe dysfunction of the thyroid and pancreas, conditions that automatically qualified him for disability status.
According to physicians, a combination of chronic stress, irregular eating habits, and excessive use of energy drinks likely triggered a major breakdown in his body’s systems. Because of his diagnosis, the teen had to abandon his plans to enter the academy and stop all athletic training.
He is now learning to manage his condition by monitoring glucose levels, administering insulin, following a strict diet, and undergoing regular specialist checkups.
Unfortunately, this tragic story comes at a time when energy-drink consumption in Russia is growing rapidly. According to recent data, the share of Russians who drink energy drinks rose from 16.6% in 2013 to 22.8% in 2023. Sales of energy drinks in the country more than doubled between 2019 and 2023, from 498 million liters to 1,096 million liters. Experts warn that regular, excessive consumption of such drinks — especially among youth — can lead to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disorders, metabolic issues, and other chronic conditions. This case should serve as a stark warning about how dangerous the “energy-drink culture” is becoming in Russia, especially for vulnerable young people seeking quick energy boosts or social recognition.
If you thought October was wild, November said: “Hold my tea.”
From heated gadgets to heated rhetoric, from patriotic school bells to teenage mustaches — Russia delivered another month of news that feels like a cosmic blend of satire, sociology, and pure chaos.
Here’s your November rundown of the strange, surprising, and spectacularly odd.
This fall, Russian women rushed to buy vibrators at a record pace. Sales in October jumped nearly fourfold, setting a new annual high.
The most popular models? Heating vibrators — apparently perfect for long, cold evenings.
Psychologists say gloomy weather disrupts biorhythms, pushing people to seek comfort, stress relief, and, well… warmth.
A priest from the Russian Orthodox Church declared that a woman is merely a “helper to man” and cannot exist without a husband.
Without a man, he warned, she drifts around “like a leaf in the wind.”
Somewhere, thousands of independent women rolled their eyes in unison.
In November, Russian schools are replacing bells with patriotic music for the second year in a row.
The playlist includes songs such as “My Brothers,” “Mother Russia,” “Lovely Russia,” “We Are United! Invincible!” and Denis Maidanov’s “Flag of My State.”
The initiative marks Unity Day and aims to unite schoolchildren — one chorus at a time.
In another fiery statement, a ROC bishop claimed that women who undergo abortions are “serial killers” who should face trial, while doctors performing them are “executioners covered in blood.”
Doctors report a surge of teenage girls developing facial hair.
Previously, clinics saw 2 out of 10 girls with this issue — now it’s 6 out of 10.
The cause? Hormonal imbalance linked to obesity, lack of physical activity, and fast food.
Experts urge families not to panic: switch to healthy eating, move more, and start treatment. TikTok filters, sadly, can’t fix hormones.
Meet Olga Ivanovna, a 77-year-old Counter-Strike 2 streamer from Nizhny Novgorod.
She went viral after single-handedly taking down an entire enemy team on her stream.
Now she’s nominated by NNYS for the “Best Gaming Moment” award — proving that esports in Russia has no age limit.
With New Year approaching, demand for intimate haircuts among Russian women is up 60%.
Full epilation is out — creative, lightly hairy designs are in.
Your esthetician is now your festive-mood stylist.
The city of Berezovsky in Kuzbass unveiled a Christmas tree so worn-out that locals immediately compared it to a toilet brush.
Festive? Debatable.
Memorable? Absolutely.
Lawmakers want to fine men who send unsolicited dick pics to women.
The proposal has already been sent to the Ministry of Justice.
However, MP Wasserman insisted the ban would be “unnecessary and excessive.”
A bold hill to die on.
In North Korean schools, Russian has become a compulsory subject starting from 4th grade.
A Russian man tried to treat prostatitis with “healing” Chinese tea — only to discover during a traffic stop that the tea contained cannabis.
Police tested him, revoked his license for nearly two years, and fined him ₽45,000.
Not exactly the herbal therapy he imagined.
Gramota.ru’s contenders for Russian Word of the Year include:
“red flag,” “sigma,” “pupupu,” “imba,” “limb,” “zoomer,” “burnout,” “prompt,” “slop,” “brainrot,” “highlight.”
A linguistic snapshot of the country’s cultural chaos.
Speech therapists say Russian remote workers are losing verbal skills: shrinking vocabulary, simplified sentences, and reduced clarity 😵💫📉.
Stickers and emojis are slowly replacing real communication 😂👉📲.
Efficiency up — eloquence down? 🤷♂️🧠⬇️
Introducing “Let’s Pray”, an offline Orthodox dating project.
No app, no website — only in-person meetings.
Participants are expected to find each other through religious events, traditions, and shared values.
Swipe right? No. Bow politely.
In the Sverdlovsk region, officials have announced that new parents will receive a plastic medal for having a child.
The head of the regional Health Ministry, Tatyana Savinova, says the initiative is meant to boost the birth rate.
To complete the full medal collection, parents will need to have four children, the minister noted.
Russia has begun issuing fines to tarot readers.
In one case, a woman from Krasnodar was found guilty of displaying extremist symbols after posting a tarot card on VKontakte featuring Baphomet and a pentagram.
A court ruled the imagery represented symbols of the so-called “International Satanist Movement”, which is designated as extremist and banned in Russia.
In the latest linguistic twist, the word «жопа» “ass” has been officially labeled obscene in the new Explanatory Dictionary of the State Language, published by St. Petersburg State University.
No more “ass” in public discourse — at least not without risking a slap on the wrist from the language police.
Valentina Matviyenko urged young Russian women to start having children immediately after turning 18, calling it “normal” and “fashionable.”
For context: she had her own child at 24.
And that’s November — a month of heated gadgets, heated debates, viral grandmas, patriotic jingles, unexpected mustaches, and more cultural plot twists than a late-night soap opera.
Stay tuned — December is usually even stranger.
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