Remember the days when a superpower could shoot down a plane full of civilians just for wandering into its airspace? We called those days the Cold War – and the plane was KAL Flight 007, shot down by a Soviet fighter pilot on September 1st, 1983.

After a deadly tsunami hit Japan in 2011, followed by the nuclear tragedy in Fukushima, the port of Vladivostok received a number of radioactive cars. Two years later, radioactive car parts are still arriving in Russia. Outrageously, Russian customs authorities have had to detain and send back to Japan over 930 radioactive cars since 2011.

Being patriotic in the Soviet Union was a duty, a challenge, and a potential pitfall, all rolled into one. The story of one Soviet singer, Joseph Kobzon, shows how one cultural idol walked that dangerous line.

Ever wonder why Soviet houses looked so drab, colorless, and interchangeable? It all started with Nikita Khrushchev's battle against architectural excess, and continues to plague Russia to this day.

In addition to highlighting local issues, Moscow's mayoral race has generated lively discussions of various national topics. Front and center among these is Russia's immigration and migrant worker policy.

Sergey Udaltsov, a leftist protest leader currently under house arrest pending investigation of his alleged planning of the May 6, 2012 Bolotnaya Square riots exemplifies the popular saying: “out of sight, out of mind.” Yet he is not alone in his plight...

It's back to school time! Has your college Russian gotten a bit rusty? Looking for some fun, useful, but most important effective ways to brush up on your Russian? The internet is here to help! 

It would be an understatement to say US-Russian relations have hit a low point. Not a Cuban Missile Crisis or even a 1980 Olympic Boycott sort of low point. More like a US bombing of Belgrade or Russian sleeper spies discovered in America sort of low point.

A compendium of 13 useful websites for persons interested in traveling to Russia, covering everything from the latest visa information to cruises, to what not to do when in Russia (etiquette).

Today I stumbled across an interesting article online. At first I thought it should be filed in the "someone is trying to stir the Cold War pot again" but then I read on...

Say what you will about the various gay bars in North America that are boycotting Stolichnaya vodka and (horror of horrors), pouring it into the gutter. But the fact is, as reported elsewhere, they didn't do their research. These days, Stolichnaya vodka is about as Russian as Edward Snowden...

We're holding a fiction contest, asking for short stories based on the intriguing cover of our July/August issue. Click thru for full contest rules and instructions.