January 01, 2022 A Glutton's New Year Feast The pirog is quite capable of holding the flag as the most important dish in Russian cuisine. It is a filling, generous, and hearty meal, containing all the major food groups (vegetables, animal protein, grains, and bread) rolled up in one. Food & Drink Holidays Regions
November 01, 2021 A Perfect Holiday Centerpiece It’s that time of the year again, when afternoons are short, the colors are subdued, and the appetite for rich spicy foods is at its highest. What a perfect occasion to cook a hearty Central Asia pilaf with mutton, lots of cumin, and (if you can find them) barberries (also known as berberis or “northern lemon”). Customs Food & Drink Regions
September 01, 2021 A Crumble for All Seasons A crumble cake in Russia is something like banana bread in the US – the varieties are endless, and every avid baker has her “grandmother’s recipe” in their repertoire. Culture Food & Drink
May 01, 2021 A Taste of Early Summer Nothing says Russia and summer better than tvorog with greens! Food & Drink Rural Life
March 01, 2021 The Taste of Childhood Digging back through memories, and unearthing a cream puff. Food & Drink
January 01, 2021 A Time for Pirogi January – and the winter months in general – are a great time to master the hearty Russian recipes for all kinds of pirogi. Customs Food & Drink
November 01, 2020 Taste of the Holidays For several generations of Russians, few things signal Christmas and New Year’s better than tangerines. So we offer a delicious holiday cake built around this fruit. Food & Drink Regions
September 01, 2020 How to Start a Fall Day A perfect recipe for fall, apple fritters, is offered with two variants. Family Food & Drink
July 01, 2020 A Cold Soup to Beet Summer A beet-based cold soup to spice up your summer soirees... Food & Drink Language
May 01, 2020 A Celebratory Cake А фestive Napoleon Cake that is plenty complex to offer lots of stress baking relief. Food & Drink History
March 01, 2020 Cooking with Nettle Ah, spring, when nature wakes from its winter slumber, and the farmers markets come alive with fresh greens like spinach, sorrel, and green onions. Food & Drink
February 28, 2022 to February 23, 2032 Free Russian Language Guided Tours Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY Russian-speaking guides conduct tours of the museum's highlights every Monday at 11 am. Art Exhibit
February 22, 2022 to February 22, 2032 Russian-Language Gallery Tour Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn, NY Russian-language tour exploring our collection in depth, second Sunday of each month at 1 pm. Free, reservations required Art Exhibit
April 10, 2022 to October 23, 2022 Martin Roemers: Relics of the Cold War Wende Museum | Culver City, CA On view in the Wende’s West Gallery and garden, this exhibition presents work by Dutch photographer Martin Roemers from 1998 through 2009, when he captured the structural and topographic remnants of the Cold War in both the East and West over an eleven-year period. Art Exhibit
June 18, 2022 to July 16, 2022 The Art of Icon Painting Christ Chirch | Kennebunk, Maine Master icon maker and art historian, Marina Forbes, will offer "The Art of Icon Painting" workshop at the Christ Church in Kennebunk, ME. Other
February 03, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Tea Is For Tradition Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA The objects associated with Russian tea are tactile reminders of this important tradition and evoke warmth, home, and family. Art Exhibit
May 05, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Images of Atheism: The Soviet Assault on Religion Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Exploring the role of visual propaganda in the Communist Party’s seven-decade war against religion (ca. 1920– 1990). Art Exhibit
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.
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...
Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history.
White Magic The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
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.
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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.
Fish: A History of One Migration This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
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.
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.
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.
September 07, 2021 Using Laughter to Cope These eight outstanding Soviet comedies show some of what has made Russians laugh over the past century. Most are still watched today. (First in our new series on learning about Russia through its films.) Culture Through Film
January 10, 2014 Why Don't Russians Smile? It is a common trope that Russians never smile. Which of course is interpreted to mean they are unfriendly, gloomy, sullen – positively Dostoyevskian. This, of course, is a complete misreading of body language and cultural norms. Culture Humor Language
February 03, 2018 12 Myths/Truths About Russians and Vodka Think you know your vodka? Take this True/False quiz (just 12 items) about Russians and their vodka and see if you are right about that... Food & Drink
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History
September 01, 2013 Why Russians Don't Run A tale of two long distance road races – Russia’s oldest and its most prestigious – and what they tell us about the state of running and fitness in Russia. Sports
December 19, 2016 10 Things (And 5 Jokes) You Didn't Know About Brezhnev Soviet leader Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would have been 110 on December 19. There are plenty of fun facts and surprising jokes behind the eyebrows. History Humor Politics
