July 22, 2021 IKEA, Invasive Species, and Cat Kidney Transplants By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, elite cat care, the cutest reunion ever, and IKEA furniture is really from Russia. Animals Rural Life Sports Odder News
July 01, 2021 Kvass By Darya Grebenshchikova Our old gals in the village cast a wary eye on all food from the store, because who knows what they’ve got in there? Food & Drink Rural Life
June 28, 2021 Let There Be Light By Alexandra Curtis A policeman had a bright idea for how to use his money to help his native village. Cities & Towns Gifts Regions Rural Life Russia File
June 06, 2021 My First Ivan Kupala By Alexandra Curtis Ivan Kupala is a traditional Slavic celebration of the summer solstice, with many pagan and deeply symbolic rituals. How are these ancient customs celebrated and recreated today in modern Russia? Customs Holidays Rural Life Russia File
June 03, 2021 UFOs, Cars, and Steven Seagal's Samurai Sword By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, Russians are geeked about UFOs, past and present collide, and Steven Seagal becomes a real-life special agent. Int'l Relations Rural Life Space Transportation Odder News
May 28, 2021 Congrats to Mikhail Kubar! By Griffin Edwards A Yakut school's graduating class consisted of only one student, which means he receives all of our congratulations. Children Education Rural Life Social Issues Russia File
May 01, 2021 The Post Office By Darya Grebenshchikova The only things in the village more important than the post office are the store that carries bread and the walk-in clinic. But when you come right down to it, the post office really is the bigger deal. Cities & Towns Humor Rural Life
May 01, 2021 A Taste of Early Summer By Marina Pustilnik Nothing says Russia and summer better than tvorog with greens! Food & Drink Rural Life
April 07, 2021 Milk Foam Pancakes is Only the Beginning By Anna Kharzeeva Traditional Yakut meals get a second chance thanks to local museum. Tuyara, museum employee and part of the program to bring back these recipes, shares her story. Food & Drink Regions Rural Life Food Stories
March 03, 2021 Road Repair By Haley Bader “Our city is famous now, maybe they’ll make some roads.” – A resident of Pokrov, the village near the penal colony where Navalny has been transferred to serve the two years and eight months of his sentence. Cities & Towns Politics Rural Life Quote
February 17, 2021 Dyatlov Pass Conspiracy Theories Laid to Rest... Or Not? By Amanda Shirnina New models attempt to put an end to all Dyatlov Pass conspiracies for all eternity... but do they have a chance of succeeding? History Pop Culture Rural Life Russia File
February 16, 2021 Snow Leopards Dream of Electric-Fenced Sheep By Alexandra Curtis This creative conservation project benefits both the endangered snow leopards in the Altai region and local farmers and their livestock. Animals Environment Regions Rural Life Russia File
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
June 28, 2021 to August 08, 2021 Atomic Alert!: Confronting "The Bomb" in the New Atomic Age The Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA The exhibition explores the U.S. government’s Cold War era efforts, in the 1950s, to educate Americans about what to do before an atomic attack, how to react to a sudden blinding flash, and what action to take in the aftermath of a catastrophic blast. Exhibit, Other
The Best of Russian Life We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
At the Circus This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
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.
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.
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...
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
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
September 01, 2013 Why Russians Don't Run By Paul E. Richardson 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
July 01, 2021 Two Days By Paul E. Richardson On spy films, summits, and finding a way to live together. Espionage History Int'l Relations
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions By Eugenia Sokolskaya What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus By Margaret Godwin-Jones Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
