January 19, 2022 Metro Station Shower By Rachel Rodriguez A nice refreshing outdoors shower? Or a dangerous collapse waiting to happen? Architecture Cities & Towns Moscow Transportation Russia File
January 14, 2022 The Art of the Fall By Amanda Shirnina A St. Petersburg artist draws attention to the city's ice and snow problem. Architecture Art St. Petersburg Urban Life Russia File
December 26, 2021 10 Things About Moscow at the End of 2021 (With Pictures!) By Haley Bader Despite the pandemic (and a bad reputation for a distinctly Russian grimace), it’s not all sad faces in Moscow at the end of 2021. Architecture Art Cities & Towns Moscow Travel
December 23, 2021 Bunkers, Beglov, and Bad Weather By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, next year will be better, St. Petersburg's mayor should move to Africa, and bunkers are hip. Architecture Int'l Relations St. Petersburg Odder News
October 11, 2021 A Glorious Gazebo By Griffin Edwards A village in Bashkortostan has opened a new gazebo as a gathering place for the community, and photos certainly make it look welcoming. Architecture Government Rural Life Russia File
September 01, 2021 News Notes By The Editors Pressure on independent journalism, champagne importers, and some Olympics and architectural news. Architecture Culture Journalism Politics
September 01, 2021 Moscow's Modernist Marvel By Evgeniy Lesnyak Sometimes the most incredible things can be hidden in plain sight. In this case, a main thoroughfare in the capital. Architecture History Moscow
August 30, 2021 A Revolutionary Restoration By Griffin Edwards After almost ten years, the Alexander Palace, the final home of the Romanovs, is back and open for visitors. Architecture History St. Petersburg Travel Russia File
August 22, 2021 Four Russian Treasures in North America By Amanda Shirnina Remnants of the Imperial Russian past are all over Alaska – and California, too. Architecture Culture History Russians Abroad Travel
August 11, 2021 Hell's Builders By Haley Bader “There is not a single builder in Paradise.” – Stanislav Lisichenko, Russian restaurateur, providing an anecdote for Russia’s “Builder’s Day," August 8. Architecture Culture Holidays Quote
May 01, 2021 News Notes By The Editors The latest under the radar news from all across Russia. Animals Architecture Environment Music Politics
May 01, 2021 What Lies Beneath By Alexander Mozhayev On the architectural heritage of Moscow that is being lost, bit by bit, though not without some resistance by dedicated scientists and activists. Architecture History Moscow
October 15, 2021 to April 03, 2022 Icons for Our Time: Orthodox Art from Around the World Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Fifteen contemporary icons from fifteen countries explore iconography today. Presented in celebration of the museum's 15th Anniversary. Art Exhibit
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 Little Golden Calf Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Woe From Wit (bilingual) One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
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.
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.
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.
Murder and the Muse KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
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 Moscow Eccentric Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
March 01, 2019 Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky W.W. Norton has released a new translation, by Michael Katz, of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. We excerpt here the novel’s opening. Literature St. Petersburg
September 07, 2021 Using Laughter to Cope By Kate Skorodinskaya 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
March 15, 2017 Who Invented the Ancient Slavic Gods, and Why? By Kasya Denisevich How it was that in the eighteenth century Russian mythology was trumped-up in the Western manner? Who wanted it? And where did we get Lel, Yarilo and Zimtserla? We explain everything you'd want to know about Russian fakelore. Culture History Literature Religion
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
January 01, 2022 Erasing Memory By The Editors The government wants to close down Memorial, while at the same time not be seen as the sort of repressive state that brought about the need for a Memorial. Lose-lose balancing act. Government NGOs Politics
January 28, 2020 Meet Russia's favorite sable By Maria Antonova Siberian sable fur was once Russia's biggest luxury export, but now we can't get enough of Instagram star Umora, the sable inspiring Russians to never look at fur coats again. Animals Internet Interview
