March 23, 2020

Performing for Empty Halls: Online Cultural Resources


Performing for Empty Halls: Online Cultural Resources
Museums and cultural sites are closing down due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn't mean you can't still see concerts! Image by ruthchia via Pixabay

With most of the world staying home, people are looking for ways to stay entertained. Thankfully, many cultural institutions are making resources available online for free, and Russia’s cultural sites are no different. Here are a few sites you can also check out without leaving your sofa!

For starters, St. Petersburg’s Alexandrinsky Theater is moving the premier of its newest play, “Mauzer,” online. It will be the first time in the 264-year history of the theater that a play will be performed without an audience watching.

Another project, Stay Home with Russian Seasons, kicks off March 23 and features cultural activities such as concerts and ballet recitals. The next day, March 24, Zaryadye Hall will feature the online broadcast of an organ concert by soloist Lada Labzina. More concerts will be broadcast online in the months of March and April.

A museum in Volgograd, Russia—My History, is developing materials to post on their Instagram account, @myhistory.vlg. They initiated this project at the request of local teachers, students, and museum visitors.

Cultural institutions aren’t the only ones helping to get online access to cultural material. Sberbank partnered with the online movie platform Okko to present Art Online, a collection of plays, concerts, virtual exhibits, and other video content from Russian cultural sites.

So, if you’re stuck at home and looking for a little cultural enrichment, check out some of these amazing Russian cultural resources!

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Jews in Service to the Tsar

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The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
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Fearful Majesty

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Moscow and Muscovites

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The Moscow Eccentric

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