Do you like cocktails? Perhaps a bloody Mary for instance? Last week was a real cocktail of events but instead of vodka, tomato juice and tabasco sauce, it was full of blood, drama and a dash of spice.
Top searches in Russia last week were “Game of Thrones” and “Oles Buzin”. Game of Thrones, the bloody history-fantasy HBO series had its highly-anticipated 5th season premiere last week while the country was shaken by the tragic death of journalist, writer and TV presenter Oles Buzin (Oлесь Бузин).
Oles Buzin
Oles Buzin was a Ukrainian journalist and rumours are circulating that his murder was in order to silence his strong opinions – but no one is quite sure which side are the culprits. It feels like another episode of Game of Thrones and we only can imagine what happens next. Both were searched more than 100,000+ times daily.
Last Thursday 16th April, Russian president Vladimir Putin held a television conference with the general public. Citizens could phone in to ask the president a question. This topic trended very highly. Popular questions asked to the President focused on living costs, for example, how to live on 6.000 RUB a month (for pensioners) and 9.000 RUB a month (for the average worker). The current conversion for a RUB to GBP is, 6.000 RUB to 75.55 GBP.
One for the boys perhaps, Grand Thief Auto V was released on PC in Russia, and became highly searched. While the game has been criticised for its violence and misogyny the focus was mainly on how good the game looks on a PC rather than on gaming consoles.
Lastly, a shocking (and disturbing) viral video of young teenagers from Orenburg dancing provocatively was the fifth top search.
But no matter how salty last week’s Russian cocktail was, there were several sweet themes. Holidays in the Russian calendar such as Orthodox Easter and Astronaut’s Day were also big news, and also reminded everyone of Russia’s history, and the importance of family. These days make us think about our past, present and future, because even today will be a part of history tomorrow.
