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Todorov Announces Bread and Blood: The Bakers of Kyivan Rus, a Satirical Journey Through Slavic Folklore and History
Alexandria, VANew book combines mythology, medieval history, baking-inspired satire, and cultural storytelling in an unconventional exploration of Kyivan Rus Author Todorov has announced Bread and Blood: The Bakers of Kyivan Rus, a satirical exploration of Slavic folklore, mythology, medieval history, and cultural resilience told through an intentionally absurd world of bakers, bread princes, flour gods, and […]
Alexandria, VA
New book combines mythology, medieval history, baking-inspired satire, and cultural storytelling in an unconventional exploration of Kyivan Rus
Author Todorov has announced Bread and Blood: The Bakers of Kyivan Rus, a satirical exploration of Slavic folklore, mythology, medieval history, and cultural resilience told through an intentionally absurd world of bakers, bread princes, flour gods, and culinary empires.
Jacketed in blue and yellow, the book uses baking and corporate parody as a storytelling device to introduce readers to figures, legends, and historical personalities associated with Kyivan Rus and the wider Slavic tradition.
The idea for the book began while Todorov was working on material inspired by Norse mythology. According to the author, his time serving in Kyiv as part of the U.S. Embassy’s Defense Attaché Office also influenced his decision to explore Ukrainian and Slavic history through humor.
“The posting definitely helped in the decision,” Todorov said. “I developed a close connection and affinity to the country and people of Ukraine.”
Rather than approaching the subject as a conventional academic history, Bread and Blood: The Bakers of Kyivan Rus uses satire to make mythology and medieval history more approachable to general readers.
“Using humor is the best way to confront violence and war,” Todorov said. “Readers did not need another dry academic treatment of Slavic myth. I wanted to create something they would actually finish.”
Slavic Folklore Through an Unconventional Lens
The book reimagines well-known figures from Slavic folklore through the language of bakeries, corporations, startups, supply chains, and culinary competition.
Baba Yaga becomes an off-grid pioneer operating a mobile bakery from her legendary chicken-legged hut. Koschei the Deathless is recast as the immortal executive behind a fictional “Big Bread” empire, while Vasilisa appears as an ambitious culinary apprentice navigating an exaggerated medieval marketplace.
Other sections reinterpret Marya Morevna, Ivan Tsarevich, Solovei the Robber, and figures from the Slavic pantheon, including Perun, Veles, Mokosh, Svarog, Dazhbog, Stribog, Svetovid, and Triglav.
The book also introduces the “Bogatyr Bakers,” satirical versions of legendary heroic figures including Svyatogor, Mikula Selyanovich, Volkh Vseslavyevich, Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich.
Historical rulers associated with Kyivan Rus—including Rurik, Olga of Kyiv, Volodymyr the Great, and Yaroslav the Wise—are similarly reimagined as executives overseeing an elaborate fictional baking economy.
Beneath the parody, the book explores themes of cultural continuity, mythology, trade, political power, resilience, and the connections between the medieval societies of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Byzantium.
History Beneath the Humor
Todorov describes the book as both comedy and an attempt to introduce readers to a body of mythology that is less familiar to many English-language audiences than Norse or Greek traditions.
The book presents the author’s interpretation of Kyivan Rus as an important medieval political and cultural center whose history was shaped by Slavic communities, Scandinavian traders and settlers, Byzantine influence, and extensive regional connections.
“Even though it is presented in a humorous form through baking, it demonstrates the resilience of the Ukrainian people through their history,” Todorov said.
Historical and political interpretations contained in the book represent the author’s perspective and are presented through a satirical literary framework rather than as an academic or scholarly reference work.
From Flour Gods to Bread Princes
Among the book’s major sections are:
- The Flour Gods of Kyivan Rus, which reimagines the Slavic pantheon as a dysfunctional corporate baking conglomerate.
- The Bogatyr Bakers: The Elders, featuring legendary heroic figures recast as larger-than-life founders of a medieval culinary economy.
- The Bogatyr Bakers: The Defenders, following Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich through exaggerated baking conflicts.
- The Bread Princes of Kyivan Rus, which transforms major historical rulers into fictional executives overseeing the development of a sprawling baking society.
- The Unyielding Crumb, a satirical reflection on later periods of Ukrainian history and cultural survival.
The resulting combination is deliberately unconventional: part mythology retelling, part historical parody, and part culinary satire.
A Broader Slavic Series
Bread and Blood: The Bakers of Kyivan Rus is intended as part of a broader series exploring different areas of the Slavic world.
A second volume, Bread and Blood: The Balkan Ovens, is currently in final edits, according to the author. A third volume is in early development.
Together, the planned books draw inspiration from different Slavic cultural and folkloric traditions while maintaining the same baking-centered satirical approach.
Slavic Folklore Through an Unconventional Lens
The book reimagines well-known figures from Slavic folklore through the language of bakeries, corporations, startups, supply chains, and culinary competition, while drawing on recognizable characteristics from the traditional stories and historical figures that inspired them.
Baba Yaga, one of the most recognizable figures in Slavic folklore, traditionally appears as an unpredictable witch or supernatural woman who lives deep in the forest in a magical hut often depicted as standing on chicken legs. Depending on the tale, she may threaten, test, mislead, or unexpectedly assist those who encounter her. In Bread and Blood, Todorov transforms that mysterious independence into culinary satire, portraying Baba Yaga as an off-grid pioneer operating a mobile bakery from her legendary wandering hut and tending volatile sourdough cultures beyond the reach of conventional authority.
Ilya Muromets, one of the best-known heroes of the traditional Kyiv cycle of epic songs known as byliny, represents the heroic side of the book. Traditionally depicted as a powerful bogatyr who defends the realm and confronts formidable enemies, Ilya becomes the book’s heavy-hitting defender of the independent crumb. Todorov recasts his legendary strength through exaggerated feats of kneading, baking, and culinary combat while retaining the broader image of Ilya as a protector facing threats to the world around him.
Rurik, or Riuryk, is presented through the book’s corporate parody as a Scandinavian regulatory consultant arriving to impose order on a chaotic culinary marketplace. According to the medieval Primary Chronicle tradition, Rurik was a Varangian chieftain invited to rule in the north in the ninth century and became the ancestral figure associated with the Rurikid dynasty that later ruled Kyivan Rus. Todorov turns that dynastic origin story into a satire about administration, regulation, and the consolidation of an unruly baking economy.
Yaroslav the Wise, who ruled Kyiv during one of Kyivan Rus’s most important periods of political and cultural development, becomes the book’s “Chief Legal Officer of the Lamination.” Historically associated with the development of Ruska Pravda, the legal tradition of Rus, as well as the growth of education, religious institutions, architecture, and dynastic relationships with European royal houses, Yaroslav is reimagined as an executive attempting to bring legal order, infrastructure, and international reach to the fictional Kyivan baking enterprise.
Other sections reinterpret Marya Morevna, Ivan Tsarevich, Solovei the Robber, and figures from the Slavic pantheon, including Perun, Veles, Mokosh, Svarog, Dazhbog, Stribog, Svetovid, and Triglav.
The book also introduces additional “Bogatyr Bakers,” satirical versions of legendary heroic figures including Svyatogor, Mikula Selyanovich, Volkh Vseslavyevich, Dobrynya Nikitich, and Alyosha Popovich.
Historical rulers associated with Kyivan Rus—including Olga of Kyiv and Volodymyr the Great—are similarly reimagined as executives overseeing an elaborate fictional baking economy.
Varangians and the Dnipro Trade Route
The historical backdrop also incorporates the Varangians, Scandinavian traders and warriors who traveled through Eastern Europe along the medieval route commonly described as the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” The network of waterways and portages connected Scandinavia with the Black Sea and Byzantine Empire, with the Dnipro River forming a major part of the southern route through the lands of Kyivan Rus.
Varangian groups became involved in the commercial and political development of Rus, serving at different times as traders, warriors, military retainers, and mercenaries. Medieval chronicles describe Varangian-led forces moving along the Dnipro and becoming closely connected with the emerging princely dynasties. Varangian fighters also served rulers of Rus during struggles against both external opponents and internal rivals, although their political and military role diminished as the state developed its own established ruling and military structures.
In Bread and Blood, that mixture of Scandinavian movement, trade, warfare, and cultural interaction provides another layer for Todorov’s satire, placing the fictional baking empires within the same network of rivers, commercial routes, competing rulers, and shifting alliances that shaped the medieval world surrounding Kyiv.
Beneath the parody, the book explores themes of cultural continuity, mythology, trade, political power, resilience, and the connections between the medieval societies of Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Byzantium.
About the Author
Todorov is an author whose work combines history, mythology, satire, and cultural storytelling. According to the author, his experience serving in Kyiv as part of the U.S. Embassy’s Defense Attaché Office contributed to his interest in Ukrainian history, Slavic folklore, and the cultural connections surrounding Kyivan Rus.
His Bread and Blood series uses culinary parody and modern corporate language to reinterpret mythological, folkloric, and historical figures for contemporary readers.
Verification Disclaimer
Historical interpretations, biographical details, military or diplomatic service references, and cultural claims in this release are based on information supplied by or on behalf of the author and should be supported by authoritative records where available. The book is a satirical literary work and should not be treated as an academic or scholarly history.
References to historical nations, governments, institutions, and cultural figures do not imply endorsement of the book or its interpretations.
Media Contact Details
Evgueniy Todorov
Email: Send Email
Website: genetodorovreads.com
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Second Arrest Warrant Issued for “Vegas Dave” Oancea After Missed Debtor’s Exam in $30 Million Nevada Judgment; Bail Set at $1 Million
Las Vegas, NVDefendant skipped a court-ordered asset examination on Sept. 30; an earlier no-bail warrant followed a six-day contempt trial.
Defendant skipped a court-ordered asset examination on Sept. 30; an earlier no-bail warrant followed a six-day contempt trial.
Las Vegas, NV
A Nevada judge has issued a second bench warrant for the arrest of David Oancea, a Las Vegas sports betting personality known online as “Vegas Dave,” after he failed to appear for a court-ordered debtor’s examination on Sept. 30. Bail is set at $1 million.
The examination was part of efforts to collect a $30 million judgment against Oancea for breach of contract, defamation and business disparagement, won by Cabo Platinum, a Los Cabos luxury vacation rental company.
The case began with an injunction request after Cabo Platinum said Oancea was blocking paid vacation rental bookings. Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court agreed. When Oancea repeatedly disregarded court orders and injunctions, the court held a six-day contempt trial, found him in contempt and issued a no-bail bench warrant.
Oancea has not been taken into custody. His public social media posts show private-jet travel to destinations including Bora Bora and Thailand, with posts from a Thai island appearing around the time he was due in court.
Court records show Oancea swore under oath, in four declarations, that he personally owned three Cabo San Lucas homes. After the judgment was entered, he claimed the properties belong to his father. Those homes are now listed by agent Hamead Rashead of Selling Sur Real Estate, which did not respond to a request for comment.
“Two warrants, a $30 million judgment, and a courtroom he keeps declining to enter,” said Mishan Andre, Managing Partner of Cabo Platinum. “The court has given Mr. Oancea every opportunity to comply. We will keep pursuing this judgment until it is satisfied.”
Website: https://vegasdavelawsuit.com/
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Artefact and BigID Announce New Partnership into North America to Secure the Data Foundations Behind Enterprise AI
New York, USAThe combination of BigID’s data security and AI data intelligence platform and Artefact’s AI Risk & Data Trust practice gives North American enterprises a single path from data exposure to governed, defensible
The combination of BigID's data security and AI data intelligence platform and Artefact's AI Risk & Data Trust practice gives North American enterprises a single path from data exposure to governed, defensible
New York, USA
Artefact, the global AI-first consultancy, and BigID, the data security, compliance, and AI data intelligence platform, today announced a new strategic partnership across North America.
The alliance adds BigID’s data discovery, classification, and security posture management layer to Artefact’s AI Risk & Data Trust practice, giving joint clients a path that starts with knowing where sensitive data actually lives and ends with an enforced, auditable AI governance program built on top of it.
This partnership responds to a risk many enterprises are only beginning to address: AI tools now reach more of the business’s data than security teams can see or control, from shared drives and SaaS systems to the files and prompts that power today’s AI agents. As sensitive data increasingly flows into AI systems without oversight, it runs into a fast-expanding wave of state data-security, breach-notification, and AI governance requirements. These exposures land on a CISO’s or general counsel’s desk directly, not as a line item in an AI governance policy.
“Enterprises want to move faster with AI, but they need confidence that sensitive data won’t end up in the wrong hands or the wrong AI workflow,” said Ian Williamson, SVP of Alliances at BigID. “BigID brings visibility and control over the data people and AI agents can access. Artefact brings the expertise to put those controls to work across the business. Together, we help customers build security into their AI programs from the start and keep pace as those programs grow.”
Artefact’s North American entity, led by Ghadi Hobeika, pairs regulatory and governance-architecture expertise with hands-on technical build, including policy-as-code implementation and MCP governance work for agentic AI systems, alongside advanced deployment partnerships with Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
Artefact was also named Google AI Partner of the Year in EMEA for two consecutive years and is among a select group of firms worldwide holding deployment certifications across all three major frontier AI platforms.
“Governance frameworks only work if you know what you’re governing,” said Ghadi Hobeika, CEO North America, Artefact. “BigID gives our clients the visibility and control layer; what sensitive data exists, where it lives, and who or what can reach it, including the AI systems now querying it directly. We build the program on top: executing the access controls, the audit trails, the operating model that turns visibility into an enforceable standard. This partnership lets us start engagements a step earlier and hand clients something more defensible at the end.”
Co-delivering AI trust and security
The partnership combines BigID’s Data Security Platform, including Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), AI Security Posture Management, DSPM-Augmented DLP, Data Access Governance, and AI Governance, with Artefact’s implementation capabilities across the data security and AI-readiness lifecycle: data discovery and classification, access governance design, AI data-exposure assessment, DLP and DSPM policy tuning, and integration into broader AI governance and automated decision-making technology (ADMT) programs already underway at client organizations.
As part of the expanded relationship, Artefact has also been certified as a BigID reseller for North America, allowing Artefact-led engagements to include BigID licensing directly under a single commercial relationship, reducing procurement friction for clients who want one accountable partner for both the technology and the delivery.
The substance of the partnership is the delivery model: joint methodology, cross-trained technical teams, and Artefact staff operating the BigID platform as part of broader AI Risk & Data Trust engagements, not a standalone software resale motion.
“The conversation about AI governance has gotten ahead of the conversation about data,” said Paul Laurent, Head of AI Risk & Data Trust, Artefact. “You cannot write a credible AI policy for data you haven’t classified, or attest to controls over access paths you haven’t mapped. This partnership lets us close that gap for clients before it turns up as a finding in their next audit.”
The partnership includes joint go-to-market programs, coordinated client enablement, and delivery teams cross-trained across both platforms, extending Artefact’s AI Risk & Data Trust practice down into the data security layer it depends on.
About Artefact
Artefact is a leading AI-native consulting and engineering firm that bridges the gap between visionary strategy and production-grade delivery to reshape the future of work. Headquartered in Paris and leading the market across Europe, our global force of 2,500+ professionals across 27 countries helps the world’s top brands turn AI potential into massive, measurable value. Since 2014, our team has moved past the pilot phase to design, build, and scale high-impact AI programs and agentic workflows for over 1,000 global clients, including some of the world’s most recognizable brands.
In North America, our specialized AI Risk & Data Trust practice works with enterprise clients in financial services, insurance, healthcare, and technology to build the crucial governance infrastructure required to deploy AI responsibly at scale. Backed by Cinven, Artefact holds advanced deployment partnerships with industry giants Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI, and was proudly named Google AI Partner of the Year in EMEA for two consecutive years. This is where top-tier consulting meets engineering-grade execution to build a smarter, more responsible, and more productive tomorrow.
For more information, visit artefact.com
About BigID
BigID helps organizations connect the dots in data & AI: for security, governance, privacy, compliance, and AI data management. BigID enables customers to find, understand, manage, protect, and take action on high-risk & high-value data, wherever it lives. Customers use BigID to reduce their AI & data risk, automate security and privacy controls, achieve compliance, and understand their data throughout their entire data landscape: from the cloud, on-prem, and everywhere in between. BigID has been recognized for innovation as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer; named to the Forbes Cloud 100; the Inc 5000 for 4 consecutive years; the Deloitte 500 for 4 consecutive years; Market Leader in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM); and an RSA Innovation Sandbox winner.
For more information, visit bigid.com
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Dalyce Semko
ExpandCommunication
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Website: expandcommunication.com
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NovaChargeX Unveils XDriveMax™, a New Hybrid Energy Architecture Designed for the AI Infrastructure Era
SAN FRANCISCO, CAProtected standalone-capable technology developed to enhance existing energy systems and support growing power demand from AI data centers, industrial facilities and next-generation infrastructure
Protected standalone-capable technology developed to enhance existing energy systems and support growing power demand from AI data centers, industrial facilities and next-generation infrastructure
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, data centers and electrified infrastructure is creating a growing challenge for the global energy sector: how to provide reliable, scalable electricity while existing grids, renewable resources and generation assets continue to face capacity, efficiency and reliability constraints.
For NovaChargeX, this challenge represents more than a market opportunity. It reflects the growing need for new energy technologies and different approaches to how energy systems are designed, integrated and enhanced.
NovaChargeX has developed XDriveMax™, a protected hybrid regenerative energy architecture designed to operate as a standalone system or integrate with existing energy infrastructure. The technology is intended to expand energy-system capabilities in environments that may already include grid electricity, solar, wind, battery storage or other generation resources.
Unlike technologies designed around a single operating configuration, XDriveMax™ provides flexibility across multiple applications. It can function independently where a standalone energy architecture is required or be deployed within existing energy environments to support broader system performance without requiring the replacement of infrastructure already in operation.
This flexibility reflects NovaChargeX’s focus on developing new energy architectures rather than simply introducing another source of electricity. The company has designed XDriveMax™ as a technological platform capable of operating independently while also complementing existing and emerging energy systems.
The significance of this approach is becoming increasingly clear as global electricity demand accelerates.
Modern AI data centers require substantial and continuous electrical power, often operating around the clock. Reliability, availability and resilience have therefore become central considerations for developers, utilities and infrastructure operators seeking to support expanding computational workloads.
Meeting future energy requirements will likely require multiple technologies working together, alongside architectures capable of operating independently when necessary. Existing generation assets and electric grids will continue to play a critical role, while additional technologies can contribute greater flexibility, integration and capacity to support the expansion of high-demand infrastructure.
Within this evolving environment, NovaChargeX is pursuing a clear objective: bringing XDriveMax™ into commercial applications supporting AI computing facilities, data centers, industrial operations, commercial developments and other energy-intensive infrastructure through either standalone deployment or integration with broader energy systems.
The company is actively exploring commercial deployments, strategic partnerships and integration opportunities across multiple international markets as it advances commercialization of the XDriveMax™ platform.
Rather than positioning the technology solely as a replacement solution, NovaChargeX is focused on environments where its hybrid regenerative architecture can provide independent capability or work alongside existing infrastructure to expand the flexibility and resilience of broader energy systems.
NovaChargeX is also developing the NCX digital infrastructure layer alongside XDriveMax™ to support deployment authorization, operational data management, system coordination and future infrastructure administration across installations.
NovaChargeX’s technology is supported by intellectual-property filings and protections in the United States and other jurisdictions, forming part of the company’s strategy to establish and commercialize its proprietary energy architecture internationally.
As demand from AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing facilities and other energy-intensive industries continues to grow, generation capacity, reliability, system integration and intelligent energy management are becoming increasingly interconnected.
NovaChargeX intends to participate in this transition by bringing a new energy architecture to market—one designed to operate independently when required and to work alongside the energy infrastructure already being built and deployed around the world.
The company’s next chapter is therefore not simply about supplying more energy. It is about expanding the ways energy can be generated, integrated and managed for a new generation of power-intensive infrastructure.
About NovaChargeX
NovaChargeX is a U.S.-based energy technology company developing XDriveMax™, a protected hybrid regenerative energy architecture designed to operate as a standalone system or enhance existing and emerging energy systems, together with the NCX digital infrastructure layer. The company focuses on deploying and integrating its technology across industrial, commercial and next-generation infrastructure applications.
NCX Infrastructure Layer: www.novachargex-ncx.com
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NovaChargeX
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Website: www.novachargex.com
Second Arrest Warrant Issued for “Vegas Dave” Oancea After Missed Debtor’s Exam in $30 Million Nevada Judgment; Bail Set at $1 Million
Artefact and BigID Announce New Partnership into North America to Secure the Data Foundations Behind Enterprise AI
NovaChargeX Unveils XDriveMax™, a New Hybrid Energy Architecture Designed for the AI Infrastructure Era
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