Questions tagged [carbide]

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3 votes
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Why did Carbide say that Béla Bartók was from Vedmediv?

Carbide mentions in passing that the composer Béla Bartók "hailed from Vedmediv" (which is, of course, entirely fictional). He was actually from Nagyszentmiklós, which was then in Hungary ...
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1 vote
0 answers
72 views

Who would normally accuse political opponents of being foreign agents?

When facing criticism of the Fountain project (which was actually cover for the smuggling tunnel), the mayor of Vedmediv accused the critics of being foreign agents: Much to Zola Burton's credit, he ...
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1 vote
0 answers
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What superstitions about coroners is "Carbide" referring to?

In Carbide by Andriy Lyubka (set in Ukraine near the border of Hungary from the post-Soviet 1990s until at least 2012), many people were afraid of the coroner, who had a "horrible reputation"...
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1 vote
1 answer
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Is Taras Shevchenko's poetry collection really called "Kobzar" in Ukraine too?

Carbide refers to one of Tys's college classmates "holding a copy of Kobzar", which was a collection of Taras Shevchenko poetry. There's also a book called The Complete Kobzar in English. Is ...
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3 votes
1 answer
108 views

What was the "Bear Empire"?

In Carbide, the town square of the fictional town Vedmediv was called "Peace Square." The book mentioned that it had been called that "ever since the days of the Bear Empire." I'm ...
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4 votes
1 answer
477 views

Why did "Carbide" refer to Viktor Yanukovych as an "ex-con"?

In Carbide, Icarus was elected to public office 3 years after being in prison for smuggling: In October 2010, three years after he got out, the Vedmedivites elected him as deputy of the regional ...
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15 votes
4 answers
6k views

Were schoolteachers really paid substantially less than $45 per month in 1990s Ukraine?

Shortly after Tys graduated from university and started teaching in Carbide (by Andriy Lyubka), he'd periodically borrow money from his friend Icharus: By that time, Icarus had become a businessman (...
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3 votes
1 answer
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Why did Carbide consider one to two bottles of vodka a small amount?

Carbide by Andriy Lyubka Tys came home trailing a wake of aromas that stung Marichka's eyes, but a demented smile adorning his face. That may account for why his wife thought he was still hammered. ...
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3 votes
2 answers
64 views

Why was the illegal tunnel in Carbide mostly used to smuggle illegal cigarettes?

Possibly related: What is "Galacian tobacco" and what is its significance? Carbide by Andriy Lyubka starts with the following news item: BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - A smuggling title the length ...
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