Russian driving students may be asked to bring their own gas to the driving exam.
Because fuel shortages are spreading after Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries.
Apparently passing the test now includes finding gas first.
Updates from July, 2026
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Bear Witness
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Bear Witness
Because of higher commissions on Wildberries and Ozon — Russia’s biggest online marketplaces, basically local versions of Amazon / Walmart Marketplace — sellers are returning to the oldest marketing trick: sex sells.
In other words, fees went up, so sellers are trying to stand out with more provocative product photos and ads.
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Bear Witness
Russia will introduce a new school subject in 2026 called “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia.”
It will start with 5th grade, then expand to 6th and 7th grades in the 2027/28 school year.
The course already has 83 selected “heroes,” including participants in Russia’s war in Ukraine, who will be featured in documentary films for students.
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Bear Witness
Russia now has a tangerine vodka home diffuser.
It is not actual vodka — it is a home fragrance called “Vodka / Tangerine.” Price: 425 rubles, about $5.50.
Because nothing says “Russian New Year” like making your apartment smell like vodka and tangerines.
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Bear Witness
A touchy Russian IT guy took cyber revenge on his former boss.
After a fight at a clinic in Cherepovets, the sysadmin hacked into her job-search account, deleted her normal resume and work experience, added insults about her work, and started applying to random jobs — cleaner, warehouse worker, waitress.
He also messaged potential employers and insulted them.
At first, the woman couldn’t understand why nobody wanted to hire her. Then she saw her edited profile.
The revenge hacker was fined 40,000 rubles — about $512 — and ordered to pay 15,000 rubles — about $192 in compensation.
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Bear Witness
Russia is running out of baby Maxes.
The name Maxim has reportedly fallen out of Russia’s top male baby-name rankings after holding 3rd place in 2022–2023.
The timing is funny: Russia is now aggressively pushing MAX, its state-backed messenger — so “Max” suddenly sounds less like a baby name and more like mandatory software.
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Bear Witness
Russia’s Health Ministry will treat depression with electric current.
Under new rules, treatment may include extremely high-frequency acupuncture currents, electroconvulsive therapy, and electrical brain stimulation.
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Bear Witness
Russia has lowered its beer foam standards.
Under a new national standard approved by Rosstandart, the minimum beer foam head has been cut from 30 mm to 15 mm — about 1.2 inches to 0.6 inches.
Foam stability was also reduced from 3 minutes to 1 minute.
Fun fact: for years, beer under 10% ABV in Russia was treated more like a regular food product than alcohol. Only in the 2010s did beer get stricter alcohol-style regulation.
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Bear Witness
Gen Z Russians have started renting storage units because rent and mortgage prices in Moscow are insane.
A 108-square-foot unit near downtown Moscow costs just 17,000 rubles — about $218 a month, while smaller boxes for clothes and other belongings cost around 3,000 rubles — about $39.
Meanwhile, rent for a one-bedroom apartment starts at 70,000 rubles — about $900 a month.
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Bear Witness
Text on the meme:“Dad, where is our gas?”
Context:
This is a remix of an old Russian meme that originally said “Dad, where is our child support?” — a joke about an absent father.
Now, after recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and fuel shortages, the punchline has been changed to “Dad, where is our gas?”
Basically, the meme shifted from family drama to Russia’s gasoline crisis.
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