"I knew Hafez Assad, I knew Saddam Hussein, I knew Muammar Gaddafi. We had very good and close relationships with them. We met with them. I'll tell you, the greatest thinkers!”

– President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko name drops on November 10.

"Sometimes there is a desire to remain silent about something, to not have a falling out, but this is the wrong strategy. Conversations, conversations, and more conversations. Find out from the get-go who cannot put up with what, for whom some moments are unacceptable, what responsibilities and rights you will have, and so on.”

– Russian Psychologist Kristina Yakubova, giving advice for couples in their first year of marriage that might do any (ahem) conflicted pair some good.

Russia and Ukraine have a long history of disputes over beloved territory, to say the least… But this time, it’s Gogol.

In this issue's language page, we look at the influence that Italian has had on the Russian language.

Dmitry Muratov, the longtime editor in chief of the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta received the Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the award with Philipina journalist Maria Ressa.

Due to a gas shortage, one former Soviet city has been forced to shut off a war memorial: an "eternal" flame that was never supposed to stop burning.

How has Russia changed since the last time you were there, pre-pandemic?

Let's take a trip to a nation that no longer exists! We've got an old hard-cover travel guide to lead the way. 

In which our language insert looks at Russian words with German roots.

An often-overlooked high-seas tale of swashbuckling adventure, empire, and exchange between Russia and Japan.

Not-Russia took home more Olympic medals than it thought it would, placing third in the overall medal count race.

Look out NFL – the Russian Super Bowl was held in the Moscow region last weekend.