Neither Tatar or Russian, the Kryashen are a fascinating ethnic minority that struggles to defend its place, and identity, in southern Russia.

Photojournalist Mikhail Mordasov traveled to Russia’s furthest northwestern outpost to see the town where the acclaimed movie Leviathan was filmed.

Kenozersky National Park is a portal back in time, where the ways of life, traditions, and beliefs are those of many decades before.

We asked Ivan Kobilyakov, whose story on filming wild wolves in Putorana appeared in the Sep/Oct 2014 issue of Russian Life, to give us an update on the project and how filming has gone this summer. He also supplied new photos.

Russia’s renewed interest in the Northern Sea Route is enabled by global warming and mirrors efforts of a century ago.

Russia's occupation of Crimea, part of the sovereign nation of Ukraine, is wrong. It is wrong under international law, it is in violation of several treaties Russia has with Ukraine and the West, and it is even wrong according to Russia's own foreign policy "principles." So why did it happen?

At the furthest edge of the Russian Far East, in a quiet bay near the very top of the Kamchatka Peninsula, a tiny community of Koryaks struggles with the loss of its traditional culture.

The Russian North is rich in superstition and mysticism. Monsters... UFOs... shape-shifters... dwarves living underground... There seems no end to the stories.

As the old saying has it, you can never tire of watching fire, water and other people working. Northerners would also add that you can look endlessly at ice drifting down a river.

It’s not your average traveler who chooses to traverse remote Kolyma through the depth of a Siberian winter. But then Mikael Strandberg is no average traveler.