Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov holds a somewhat odd place in Russian literature. He is at once a famous writer, a recognized classic, yet he has not won the same honors granted to the “first tier” writers.

On the 110th anniversary of Lev Tolstoy's death, we look back at his link to cinema: Tolstoy is more closely linked to the history of the cinema than any other writer of his time.

News from around Russia, on everything from bicycles to Bunin, from mystery graves to trolleybuses.

On this, the 300th anniversary of one of literature’s most famous fabulists, we look back at some of Russia’s greatest liars and taletellers.

In which we review Dina Rubina's Leonardo's Handwriting, and the nonfiction book, The Pianos of Siberia.

Catherine I finds herself at a turning point upon the death of her husband, Peter the Great.

A well-known musician posted a poem in response to the sentencing of his friend, the actor Mikhail Yefremov.

This week, Lukashenko turns action hero; chocolate is serious business; and a classic Russian author is proven to be right all along.

When Tolstoy started Anna Karenina, he was forty-four. He guessed that he would finish the novel, conceived as only a novella, in two weeks. Anna Karenina took him more than four years.

We review Good Citizens Need Not Fear, by Maria Reva, and Fandango and Other Stories, by Alexander Grin.

How the work of one of Soviet Russia's greatest poets found new life through modern music.

We asked our editors, advisors, and frequent contributors to share a Russian literary work they felt was particularly apt to read during The Great Pause.