{"id":9503,"date":"2017-11-12T08:51:08","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T13:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/?p=9503"},"modified":"2017-11-12T08:51:08","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T13:51:08","slug":"fugitive-radioactivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/aivakhiv\/2017\/11\/12\/fugitive-radioactivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Fugitive radioactivity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Washington Post reports<\/a> that “Ruthenium-106, named after Russia” has been wafting all across Europe.<\/p>\n

Two quick observations here.<\/p>\n

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(1) “Ruthenia<\/a>” is the Latin rendering of Rus’<\/a>, which predates Russia (as we know it) by several centuries. The chemical element Ruthenium<\/a> was named by its discoverer, Karl Ernst Claus, after the 11th century invaders of his Estonian home town of Tartu\/Dorpat\/Yur’yev, who made it part of ancient Rus’. Ruthenians today<\/a> are a stateless people who live mostly in the Trans\/Sub\/Carpathian parts of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, and western Ukraine. Ruthenians of yesterday<\/a> (the early 19th century, to be specific) changed their name to “Ukrainians” to prevent confusion with Russia\/Rossiya (which took the Greek version of the Rus’ name, Rossiya, for themselves when they — that being the Grand Duchy of Moscow — were seeking the credibility of an ancient and royal pedigree). <\/span><\/p>\n

(2) There’s something poetic about a fugitive radioactive element which may or may not be produced somewhere in southern Russia and may or may not be masquerading as one of Andy Warhol’s people (the Carpatho-Ruthenians, from the center of Europe<\/a>; as shown delightfully in Stanislaw Mucha’s films Die Mitte\/The Center<\/a> and Absolut Warhola<\/a>, see below) making its way stealthily through the former imperial Austria, Germany, and the rest of Europe to the puzzlement of Europeans and the denials of Russians. <\/span><\/p>\n

Something about it all reminds me of Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu… (Forgive me for playing on stereotypes of old Central\/Eastern Europe… Having written about<\/a> them a little, I should know better.)<\/span><\/p>\n