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.

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.​

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?"

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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...

The Battle for Stalingrad turned the tide of WWII in the Allies’ favor. Marked by the loss of nearly 2 million lives, it is one of the most devastating battles of human history. Yet it also continues to be embroiled in controversy, given the complex relationship Russians have toward Josef Stalin. 

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.

When the Editors at Russian Life asked me to write about how my friends and I (“the younger generation”) view the current state of Russian-American relations, given the events of 2014, I honestly had to pause and think about it.