December 20, 2011 6 Things Russian Babushkas Disapprove Of What comes to mind when you think of a Russian national icon? Vodka, matryoshkas, bears? Fyodor Dostoyevsky? Alla Pugacheva? Cheburashka? Surprisingly few people, including Russians themselves, mention babushkas, the omnipresent grandmothers in head scarves. Yet their influence is huge. Red Square huge. Katyusha rocket huge. So it pays to know how to please them... Culture Humor Russia File
November 01, 2010 Frogs Who Begged... The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina. Culture Literature Bilingual Books Fiction
September 01, 2010 301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started... Culture History Reference Nonfiction
August 01, 2010 A Russian Under Every Bed Ok, I might be biased, given that at Russian Life we're focused 24/7 on things Russian. But lately it seems like Russians are popping up everywhere, even in the most unlikely of places. Culture Humor Russia File
July 07, 2009 Obama's Speech in Moscow President Obama gave a nice tribute to Russian culture in his speech to Moscow college students. Culture Int'l Relations Russia File
May 05, 2009 Must See Films, Must Read Fiction In our 100th issue, we have a long feature, "100 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia," with loads of factoids, notes, lists and essays. We figured our list of the "must read" fiction and "must see" movies would be a bit contentious (and certainly foreshortened). So we are posting the lists here for reader comment and supplementation... Culture Film & TV Literature Russia File
February 01, 2009 Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words. Culture Language Reference Language Learning Nonfiction
September 20, 2008 Russian Folklore Editor's choice of books about Russian folklore and folktales. Culture Literature Russia File
September 09, 2008 Marriage Customs A Modern Russian Wedding: The Art of Getting Married. A look at Russian wedding traditions, past and present. Culture Russia File
January 10, 2008 Twin Christmases In February 1582, the Catholic Church, in the person of Pope Gregory the thirteenth, decreed a new, more accurate calendar to replace the Julian calendar, which had been in use since 45 BC. The revision meant dropping 10 days off the year... Culture History Holidays Humor Russia File
November 29, 2007 Prianiki for the Holidays Brief history of Russian prianiki (gingerbread) and a traditional recipe to enjoy during the holidays or anytime throughout the year; especially with a nice hot pot of tea! Culture Food & Drink Holidays Russia File
September 04, 2007 Ded Moroz Ded Moroz; Grandfather Frost; is the Russian counterpart to the Western Santa Claus and other Gift Givers worldwide. He and his assistant, Snegurochka, continue to delight children and adults alike. In 2000, Santa Claus traveled to Russia to meet Ded Moroz for the first time! Culture History Holidays Russia File
