Fyodor Tyutchev (whose 115th birthday is today) was endowed with genius and good luck: a great Russian poet, he was not killed in a duel or in the Caucasus.  Nor did he rot in Siberia, but instead lived until he was 70 and died in his own bed. 

Everyone in Russia knows the great writer Ivan Turgenev, whose 200th birthday is today, and they make his acquaintance in three stages. 

The writer Eduard Uspensky passed away recently. In this language section, we look back at one of his contributions to Russian literature and folklore.

A look back at year end stock-taking, at changes that have been promised in years past, and promises that have been un-kept.

In which we review The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessions from Russian Literature, by Viv Groskop, and Restless Empire, by Ian Barnes.

An American writer consumed by Anna Karenina goes in search of the great writer’s little-known refuge beyond the Volga, near Samara.

To selfie or not to selfie? That is the question, or at least one of the questions, addressed this week.

Today is the 190th anniversary of the great writer's birth. We thought we would share a few readings to get you in a Tolstoyan spirit.

We review books of fiction (Chekhov, Remizov, the Brothers Strugatsky, and Anderson) and an enticing cookbook.

In which we review a novel about Bulgakov and his love, Margarita (Mikhail and Margarita, by Julie Himes); Soviet Salvage, by Catherine Walworth; and The House of Government, by Yuri Slezkine.

In which we review Amy Knight's Orders to Kill, Linor Goralik's Found Life, a new translation of Monday Starts on Saturday, and the new novel Gogol's Head.

In which we review three books and a DVD we like. See the book reviews section for detailed reviews.