A fortress town built half a millennium ago by Ivan the Terrible (to conquer Kazan) is enjoying a new life as a cultural tourism destination.

If these walls could talk. The history and horror of one of the most epic construction projects of the Soviet era.

In which we review a novel about Bulgakov and his love, Margarita (Mikhail and Margarita, by Julie Himes); Soviet Salvage, by Catherine Walworth; and The House of Government, by Yuri Slezkine.

A strange church in St. Petersburg’s outskirts offers a fascinating historical side trip.

Deep in a northern forest, a restless adventurer discovered a crumbling relic of a bygone era. Since then, he has been fighting against the odds to restore it.

An iconic radio tower in Moscow is in threat of being razed, despite what activists, international experts, or the law has to say about it.

Unraveling the mysteries of an intricately baroque church just outside Moscow takes us back to the time of Peter the Great.

Of all the figures that have risen to prominence throughout the history of Russian culture, few have been so plagued by misfortune as architect Vasily Bazhenov.

Anyone visiting Moscow knows about the city’s famous “Seven Sisters.” But few know that there were supposed to be eight. That is just one little-known aspect of their fascinating architectural history. We asked a noted urban historian to tell us more