June 12, 2017 "Tear Down This Wall!" Thirty years ago today, US President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Two years later, the wall came down after a German bureaucrat misspoke. History Int'l Relations Russia File
February 15, 2017 Spies Like Them As the FBI investigation deepens into Trump-Kremlin ties, we thought it would be useful – a public service, really – to provide some handy tips on spotting Russian spies. Humor Int'l Relations Russia File
September 01, 2016 Yes, We're a Sexagenarian Sixty years ago, bureaucrats and journalists on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain came to a remarkable agreement that led to the founding of Russian Life... History Int'l Relations Russian Life Magazine Russia File
August 19, 2016 August 1991 Coup Attempt Twenty-five years later, we take a look back at the August 19 coup attempt in Russia. Led by the Gang of Eight, men who owed their political careers to Mikhail Gorbachev, the coup plotters were attempting to restore dictatorship in the ailing Soviet Union. History Int'l Relations Russia File
July 22, 2016 The First Canine Cosmonauts The Soviet Union’s first pair of pups launched into space on July 22, 1951, and their suborbital flight was a big pawprint in the Cold War Space Race. History Int'l Relations Science Russia File
May 12, 2016 Questions of Life and Death On Victory Day, Russian photographers Mikhail Mordasov and Ignat Kozlov captured images of World War II veterans and young Russians who are the same age as the veterans were when they went off to fight in the war. They asked each of their subjects two questions: "What should one live for?" and "What should one be willing to die for?" History Int'l Relations Photography Russia File
May 09, 2016 Not to Be Forgotten For 45 years, the Cold War made it politically incorrect to recognize Soviet sacrifices and victories in defeating Hitler in World War II. This essay from 2010 is still relevant today. History Int'l Relations Russia File
April 12, 2016 Gagarin Lives! Yury Gagarin’s 108-minute space flight on April 12, 1961, propelled him to a level of celebrity never before known to any Soviet. His smiling face graced postal stamps, Palekh souvenir boxes, and fine porcelain, as he mingled with the beau monde of planet Earth. Culture Int'l Relations Science Russia File
April 01, 2016 Crimea Crisis Solved? In a surprising move that has shocked international pundits, Secretary of State John Kerry today announced he has arranged the de-annexation of Crimea by Russia. Humor Int'l Relations Regions Russia File
December 02, 2015 Poetry, The Russian Riddle, and International Politics What can we learn about Russia, now and throughout history, from its poetry? This month we try to find out, with help from The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry, to be released later this month, as reviewed in the Nov/Dec issue of Russian Life. History Int'l Relations Literature Russia File
July 13, 2015 Join Us. Get a Book. Why can’t we get along with Russia long term, nor can Russia seem to long enjoy our company? Our Spine of Russia project aims to find out. Int'l Relations Travel Russia File
June 24, 2015 What a Difference a Decade Makes We will send two photojournalists – one American, one Russian – on a month-long road trip down “The Spine of Russia,” to gather the story of modern Russia, to talk to Russians about what they think about America and Americans... Int'l Relations Russian Life Magazine Russia File