A polar bear travels the world, a historian serves up the Rhyme of Troubles, the Kremlin gets a new alien, and Presidents Putin and Trump get along by the skin of their teeth. 

In 1865, vodka joined bears and matryoshkas as an eternal symbol of Russia. Here's how it happened, plus nine trivia tidbits on Russia's most beloved, harmful, and historical libation. 

Photographer Anton Karliner explains why trains, a metro bridge, and World War II have a place in Novosibirsk history.

Adapting to life in Russia? Comic books. Craving cuteness? Piglets getting saved from a fire. Not Russian enough for you? Ice swimming. And for good measure, zombies. 

Today marks the 185th birthday of the artist Ivan Shishkin, whose paintings evoke Russia's beauty and vastness. With a nickname like "Forest Tsar," his trees must be good.

Maria Plotnikova acquaints us with Tchaikovsky. No, not the composer, the town named for him in Siberia's Perm Krai.

Some people see spies everywhere. Other people just see dumpsters, birds, snow, dogs, boars, or artists seeking political asylum. (That's at least 4 separate stories).

Photographer Kristina Syrchikova explains what a goose has to do with Samara and the Volga River.

The year's coldest ride, hottest statue, most scandalous yoga teacher, and best way to learn the names of all of Russia's federal subjects. And it's just the first TWERF of the year. 

Artist Anastasia Bogomolova takes us on a tour of Chelyabinsk, famous for its meteorite, tanks, and a very special forest.

A tour of ten distinctive Moscow monuments that goes a long way to summarizing the state of the art in Russia today.

Photographer Daria Kozinova takes us on a tour of the capital of the Urals: Yekaterinburg.