July 22, 2021 IKEA, Invasive Species, and Cat Kidney Transplants By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, elite cat care, the cutest reunion ever, and IKEA furniture is really from Russia. Animals Rural Life Sports Odder News
July 21, 2021 Let Sleeping Bears Lie By Alexandra Curtis A Russian zoo will open its very first exhibit to allow the observation of hibernating bears, but will it allow the bears to get some good shut-eye? Animals Cities & Towns Environment Russia File
July 19, 2021 An Olympic Reintroduction By Alexandra Curtis Everyone is excited for the long-awaited Games this summer, especially the Russian Olympic Committee, who is taking the opportunity to reintroduce us to their two new(-ish) Olympic mascots. Animals Sports Russia File
July 14, 2021 Putting the Buzz in Buzzed By Alexandra Curtis Bees and people aren't really that different after all: Apparently, both get a little disoriented when the weather gets too hot and they have had a little bit too much to drink. Animals Environment Russia File
July 08, 2021 Animals, Animals, Animals... and Faking Your Own Kidnapping By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, Russian highway drivers stop for a duckling crossing, a woman fakes her own kidnapping and pays for it, and what does it signify if two black sphynx cats cross your path? Animals Humor Internet Pop Culture Odder News
July 01, 2021 Sandwiches, Suitcases, and Swaddling Clothes By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, marked up sandwiches, magic suitcases, and Chadian soldiers as alarm clocks. Animals Military Travel Odder News
June 24, 2021 Aeroflot, Achilles, and Alushta By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, a noble Hermitage cat predicts the UEFA tournament in St. Petersburg, new rules for flying with pets, and Russia's three biggest problems. Animals Children Sports St. Petersburg Odder News
June 21, 2021 You've Gotta Be Kitten Me By Alexandra Curtis A viral video shows some sleepy and very rare kittens in the Altai region. Animals Environment Regions Russia File
June 21, 2021 Drinking Not En-Cur-Aged By Haley Bader If you’re craving hair of the dog, Russia’s State Duma might recommend leaving the dog—or any pet, for that matter—behind. Animals Government Law Russia File
June 17, 2021 Apparitions, Animals, and Cannabis By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, moose loose, ghost spotted, and hemp growing under the government's nose. Agriculture Animals Music Pop Culture St. Petersburg Odder News
June 14, 2021 A Furry Fugitive By Griffin Edwards In America, people go to country clubs to escape from the drudgery they bear. In Russia, bears escape from country clubs. Animals Cities & Towns Moscow Sports Russia File
June 10, 2021 Inbreeding Animals, Escaping Arrestees, and Zhiguli Is Back By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, we have mutant dolphins, wild rappers, and (of course) vintage Zhigulis. Animals Humor Music Pop Culture Odder News
June 28, 2021 to August 08, 2021 Atomic Alert!: Confronting "The Bomb" in the New Atomic Age The Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA The exhibition explores the U.S. government’s Cold War era efforts, in the 1950s, to educate Americans about what to do before an atomic attack, how to react to a sudden blinding flash, and what action to take in the aftermath of a catastrophic blast. Exhibit, Other
November 01, 2021 to November 30, 2021 Yuri Gorbachev's 18th Annual Exhibition at the Byrne Gallery in Middleburg, Virginia The Byrne Gallery | Middleburg, VA Susan Byrne and Bill Byrne are celebrating their Gallery's 26th anniversary this year in Middleburg with a celebration and exhibition of the vivid oil and enamel paintings of internationally-acclaimed artist Yuri Gorbachev. Art Exhibit
22 Russian Crosswords Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started...
Marooned in Moscow This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
East of the Sun: The Epic Conquest and Tragic History of Siberia The very word Siberia evokes a history and reputation as awesome as it is enthralling. In this acclaimed book on Russia’s conquest of its eastern realms, Benson Bobrick offers a story that is both rich and subtle, broad and deep.
Moscow and Muscovites Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin.
Fearful Majesty This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Driving Down Russia's Spine The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia.
Bears in the Caviar Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Russia Rules From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Jews in Service to the Tsar Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.
May 09, 2020 Russian/Soviet War Movies You Can Stream By Yuliya Ballou Some of the best Russian and Soviet films about World War II that you can stream online. Film & TV Reference War CVSG
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus By Margaret Godwin-Jones Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall By Alice E.M. Underwood June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War
March 14, 2020 Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers By The Editors Russian literature has an answer for everything. In the times of coronovirus, this is your guide. Art Literature CVSG
February 20, 2014 Russian Genealogy By Ginny Audet A comprehensive listing of resources, online and off, for researching your Russian roots, courtesy of Ginny Audet. History Reference
April 06, 2020 A Russian Gift By Mark C. Medish A look at how the Jesuits, Pope Francis, and Georgetown University all share an interesting connection to Russia. History Int'l Relations Religion
