April 07, 2021 Milk Foam Pancakes is Only the Beginning By Anna Kharzeeva Traditional Yakut meals get a second chance thanks to local museum. Tuyara, museum employee and part of the program to bring back these recipes, shares her story. Food & Drink Regions Rural Life Food Stories
March 10, 2021 Eggplant Caviar, on the Shelf and at the Dacha By Anna Kharzeeva Brought to Russia in the seventeenth century, eggplant caviar became wildly popular after a Soviet comedy movie. A Russian blogger shares her story. Food & Drink Travel Food Stories
February 17, 2021 From Tvorog to Protests By Anna Kharzeeva Natalia was raised between downtown St. Petersburg and a small village. She is passionate about sharing all aspects of Russian life: both the good and the bad. Food & Drink Regions Food Stories
February 03, 2021 Shurpa: Gulnaz's Taste of Home By Anna Kharzeeva Gulnaz has lived in many places: the Siberian North, St. Petersburg, Georgia, and Moscow. And shurpa has been with her wherever she went. Food & Drink Regions Food Stories
January 17, 2021 From the Urals to San Francisco By Anna Kharzeeva Olga was born one year after the collapse of the USSR, but she witnessed both scarcity and communal living. Optimism and creativity have served her well. Food & Drink History St. Petersburg Food Stories
January 05, 2021 A thirst for travel... and kefir By Anna Kharzeeva Leo started traveling as a young man. Upon emigrating, he traveled around the world twice, and has been to 120 countries. At 84, he yearns for more. Food Stories
December 17, 2020 Oksana and Her "Jewish" Zakuska By Anna Kharzeeva In which we meet Oksana, Russian millennial and cook. She shares childhood memories of a surprisingly abundant 90s, and her favorite snack: the "Jewish" zakuska. Food & Drink History Science Food Stories
November 25, 2020 An Immigrant's Story, with Cake By Anna Kharzeeva Polina Chesnakova's family moved from Russia to Georgia, then from Georgia to Ukraine, and to the US. A cookbook author and cooking instructor, Chesnakova keeps her family traditions alive through cooking and baking, and inspiring others. Food & Drink Regions Russians Abroad Food Stories
November 15, 2020 Dumplings Fit for a Surgeon By Anna Kharzeeva Tuyana loves being a doctor. But she has a passion for pozy – steamed dumplings rooted in Buryatia that are shaped like a yurt. Food & Drink Regions Food Stories
October 26, 2020 A Hotelier Shares the Love By Anna Kharzeeva Raised between classy Moscow and a farm in Krasnodar region, Elena Manienan learned a few things from both her grandmothers and is spreading the love at her remote hotel and eco-village. Culture Food & Drink Regions War Food Stories
October 07, 2020 Seaweed, salami, and potatoes on bikes By Anna Kharzeeva Anton Morozov grew up on potatoes and seaweed in the hungry ’90s. He still eats seaweed every day, and now has turned many Russians onto it. Culture Food & Drink Food Stories
September 18, 2020 A Russian Millennial's Path to Vinaigrette By Anna Kharzeeva Growing up in post-Soviet Russia can make you crave anything foreign. Here is how a salad helped a Russian millennial develop a taste for her own culture. Culture Food & Drink History Food Stories
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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Spine of Russia This coffee table book is the photographic journal of an epic 6000-kilometer road trip. The book includes over 200 compelling images of Russians and Russian places met along the way, plus a dozen texts (in both English and Russian) on everything from business to education, from roads to fools.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
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...
Red Star Tales: A Century of Russian and Soviet Science Fiction For over 100 years, most of the science fiction produced by the world’s largest country has been beyond the reach of Western readers. This new collection changes that, bringing a large body of influential works into the English orbit.
The Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Latchkey Murders Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Murder at the Dacha Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
A Taste of Russia The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry By Anatoly Liberman On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature
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
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water By Tiffany Zhu Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink
August 22, 2016 Magical Kefir By Philip Seifi Kefir is the most popular fermented milk in Russia. But it did not get there overnight. Kefir and Russia have a long history... Food & Drink History
October 31, 2016 Why Stalin's Corpse Was Exhumed on Halloween By Alice E.M. Underwood The body of Joseph Stalin was removed from the mausoleum on Red Square on October 31, 1961. It may not be as spooky as Halloween, but the former leader still haunts Russia today. History Politics Social Issues
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