May 07, 2015 The Controversial Composer The personal and professional have become increasingly intertwined in considerations of the life and work of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Music historian Richard Taruskin shows that this is nothing new – it all began shortly after the master composer's death. Culture History Russia File
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science Russia File
April 17, 2015 How Well Do You Know Russian Fairy Tale Characters? Sure, everyone knows the name Baba Yaga. But do you know where she lives? Do you know Koschey the Immortal, or Zmey Gorynych? How well do you know the spirits of the forest? Read up on these key characters of Russian fairy tales! Culture Russia File
March 28, 2015 Smoktunovsky: Portrait of an Actor A generation of Soviets grew up seeing the face of actor Innokenty Smoktunovsky in his varied roles, both on screen and on stage. But what was his actual life like? In this snippet, he gives a taste of the trials he underwent as a soldier fighting the Nazis. History Russia File
March 08, 2015 Celebrating Women on Women's Day International Womens' Day; Russia honors the role of all women in Russian culture. Culture Holidays Russia File
March 02, 2015 Dizzy with "Success": The Horrors of Collectivization Collectivization in the Soviet Union was a time of hunger, suffering, and massive death tolls – even as the papers proclaimed phenomenal success. One former peasant's memoirs give us a window on that terrible time. History Russia File
February 28, 2015 Boris Nemtsov On Friday night, just steps from St. Basil's Cathedral, one of the bravest and most vocal opponents of the Kremlin was gunned down by unknown assailants. How are Russians reacting? Politics Russia File
February 23, 2015 Decoding Leviathan Leviathan is not, as virtually every mainstream critic has presumed, “anti-Russian.” I watched the movie resolutely prepared to intensely dislike it. I fully believed it would shamelessly pander to an American public eager to see a film that demonized Putin and made the country seem like a hellish landscape of unsalvageable bleakness. But that was not at all the case. Culture Film & TV Russia File
February 14, 2015 The Sino-Soviet Love-Hate Relationship On Valentine's Day 65 years ago, the USSR and China signed their Treaty of Friendship. But their budding romance was not to last: just six years later the relationship went south, and nothing has been as rosy since. History Int'l Relations Russia File
February 03, 2015 Who's Out to Get Russia? As oil prices drop, the Russian economy finds itself facing an ever bleaker future. Is someone targeting Russia? Russian bloggers weigh in. Economy Russia File
January 31, 2015 An Amazing Ride! We have just finished our 45-day Kickstarter project for the book Red Star Tales, and we are speechless. Almost. Literature Russia File
January 15, 2015 Trotsky on Trotskyites How can you be accused of wanting to restore the bourgeoisie when all you've said is that the current policy isn't anti-bourgeoisie enough? Leon Trotsky responds to the nonsense dominating Soviet courtrooms in the 1930's. History Russia File