June 13, 2021 Vladimir Pozner: Soviet Soldier-Journalist By Haley Bader Vladimir Pozner Jr., Russian-American journalist and television host, describes his path to disillusionment. Biographies History Journalism Media
May 25, 2021 Bling Defiantly! By Haley Bader How to counter the "shameful" designation of "foreign agent"? With some bling, of course. Gifts Government Journalism Media Russia File
May 11, 2021 Hacking into the Mainframe By Griffin Edwards Don your fingerless gloves, put on your dark sunglasses, and grab your trusty black Anonymous hoodie: a new study reveals Russians are just as sloppy with their internet security as the rest of us. Internet Media Statistics Russia File
April 07, 2021 Trolling Horse People By Haley Bader “For those not familiar with the lyrics of this song, I recommend it. It’s some horse people and absolute drivel. I simply don’t understand what it is. What is it about?... Somehow everything is very strange, mildly speaking.” – On March 31, Russia’s Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko commented on the lyrics of “Russian Woman,” a song that the Russian-Tajik artist Manizha, who is known for her feminist activism, will soon be performing at Eurovision. Government Media Music Women Quote
April 05, 2021 Tripping on Tolkien By Haley Bader If you’re a fan of hairy fairy folk with a hint of пошлость (crass banality), look no further! Russia’s Channel Five recently published two episodes of a supposedly “lost” television show based on “The Lord of the Rings” that was filmed in 1991. Film & TV History Literature Media Pop Culture Russia File
March 07, 2021 Kalling All Krokodils By Haley Bader The Soviet satirical magazine Crocodile, which ran from 1922 until the 2000s, was both a government tool for propaganda as well as space for artists, comics, and writers to engage in hard social and political critique. History Humor Journalism Media
March 02, 2021 Just Ten More Minutes By Griffin Edwards A Russian gamer was forced to forfeit a cash prize of $16,000 after his dad turned off the internet. Family Media Sports Russia File
December 16, 2020 Shrek Lives in Kirov Oblast By Griffin Edwards Russia has everything, including Shrek's house. Environment Film & TV Media Rural Life Russia File
November 12, 2020 Security, Ships, and Spooky Sand By Griffin Edwards This week, boats take to land; dogs get the recognition they deserve; and human bones are found in an unlikely place. Cities & Towns Media Men Politics Odder News
September 14, 2020 The Hunt for Movie Russian By Griffin Edwards "Kakov nipudt pakaru!" The classic 1990 movie Hunt for Red October had a $30 million budget. Apparently none of that went towards Russian language coaches. Film & TV Humor Language Media Pop Culture
September 14, 2020 The Latest RosCosmos Launch: A TV Channel By Griffin Edwards A TV channel for Russia's space agency will be blasting off in the coming months. Culture Media Science Space Russia File
August 13, 2020 Strange Celebrations, Cereal, and Wildlife Sneakiness By Griffin Edwards This week: cereal jingles go viral, animal crossings save critters, and paratroopers take a swim in a fountain in celebration. Sounds pretty run-of-the-mill. Animals Culture Health Internet Media Moscow Music Social Issues Transportation Odder News
November 01, 2021 to November 30, 2021 Yuri Gorbachev's 18th Annual Exhibition at the Byrne Gallery in Middleburg, Virginia The Byrne Gallery | Middleburg, VA Susan Byrne and Bill Byrne are celebrating their Gallery's 26th anniversary this year in Middleburg with a celebration and exhibition of the vivid oil and enamel paintings of internationally-acclaimed artist Yuri Gorbachev. Art Exhibit
September 01, 2021 to October 17, 2021 Communism Through the Lens: Everyday Life Captured by Women Photographers in the Dodge Collection Dodge Wing Lower Level | New Brunswick, NJ Spanning almost the entirety of the Soviet Union's history from the 1920s through the 1990s, this exhibition of rarely seen images explores themes of political art, documentary photography, and gender, offering a historical look at how women photographers interpreted life in the communist state. Art Exhibit
October 01, 2021 to October 01, 2021 Virtual Lecture: Dr. Erika Wolf on Soviet Photography Zimmerli Art Museum | New Brunswick, NJ The Zimmerli welcomes Erika Wolf, presenting a lecture about Soviet photography in print, focusing on the work of women photographers and artists. This event is held in conjunction with the Zimmerli's exhibition "Communism Through the Lens: Everyday Life Captured by Women Photographers in the Dodge Collection." Please register. Lecture
October 01, 2021 to October 09, 2021 Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans Town Hall Theater | Middlebury, VT Opera Company of Middlebury (VT) will present an operatic rarity – Tchaikovsky's version of the Joan of Arc story, Orleanskaya deva or The Maid of Orleans. It will be sung in Russian with English subtitles. A sweeping tale in the style of French grand opera, it offers stunning orchestral passages, vibrant choruses, and a heroic role for the young mezzo-soprano playing Joan, sung here by Annie Rosen. Opera
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
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.
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.
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.
Russia Rules From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
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.
Marooned in Moscow This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin.
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...
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...
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
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.
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 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian By Tiffany Zhu Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall By Alice E.M. Underwood June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War
Virgin Arctic By The Editors Russia is pushing ahead with a new drive to populate the country’s remote and unpopular fringes. Starting this year, Russians can claim a hectare (about 2.5 acres) of land in the Arctic zone – absolutely free. Agriculture Cities & Towns Government Regions Social Issues
July 01, 2013 The Russian Bees Will Save Us By Paul E. Richardson American bees are dying from mysterious causes, putting our agriculture at risk for lack of pollinators. Russian bees might be part of a solution. Agriculture Environment Science
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
