The thematic arc that unites our features in this issue is that of creativity in the face of neglect, persistence in the face of oppression, resilience in the face of difficulty.

This issue of Russian Life is issue number 600. Given this milestone, I would like to give a shout out to some of our unsung heroes.

As the stories for this issue coalesced, I realized that all of our long feature stories were actually about the same thing: the power of language and the elusiveness of truth.

At a time when international travel has come to a screeching halt, I can think of little better service our magazine can provide than to take readers to far-flung places.

“Geography is destiny,” Napoleon is said to have uttered. Shortly afterward he invaded Russia, proving both his maxim and that of one of his imperialistic predecessors, Julius Caesar: “It’s only hubris if I fail.”

We didn’t realize how connected we were until we had to disconnect.

Here’s the thing about history: you can’t see everything that is going on when you are living it, and then, when you try to dredge up what really happened, all you’ve got is your frail memories.

It always hurts when death comes. Particularly when it is sudden and all too early.

We are driven by a passion to tell interesting stories about the most interesting country on Earth. And it helps that we are egged on by our passionate readers.

Is Russia somehow different from other nations, or is it just like any other?

The features in this issue have something in common. And it's not necessarily what you might expect.

There is never a shortage of political-cultural land mines on which to trod when one’s brief is to cover all things Russian.