March 22, 2021 Protein, Protein, Protein! By Haley Bader Heads up, parents! You might not celebrate Russian Orthodox Lent, but who wouldn’t appreciate a tidbit from a nutritionist? Children Family Food & Drink Health Holidays Religion Russia File
March 11, 2021 Intrigue at the Monastery By Haley Bader Sredneuralsk Monastery becomes an action-packed place as police enter in search of a murder suspect. Religion Social Issues Russia File
March 01, 2021 The Valley of the Dead By Philipp Lausberg A severe, remote valley in Ossetia inters the remains of one of Russia’s most revered film stars... and the mingled bones of countless ancients. History Regions Religion
February 07, 2021 Don't Cross the Domovoy By Haley Bader The creaks of a home can startle the most grounded adult. What kind of mischief might this mean, what kind of creatures lurk unseen? Culture History Religion
January 12, 2021 A Quiet Christmas for Putin By Griffin Edwards Instead of reveling in the bright lights of a Moscow Christmas celebration, Putin decided to take in the holiday at a small church in a small town. Culture Customs Holidays Religion Russia File
January 01, 2021 Searching for St. Nicholas By David Edwards A town on the Turkish coast preserves the memory of one of Russia’s most venerated saints. Culture History Religion
December 15, 2020 Tsargrad the Litmus Tester By Margaret Godwin-Jones The “Orthodox oligarch” is starting a political organization to promote politicians who share his views. Politics Religion Social Issues Russia File
December 09, 2020 Don't Try This at Home By The Editors “If questions arise as to whether demons should be driven out of this or that person, first of all, you need to turn to the priests. Any [personal] initiative in this is completely unacceptable.” – Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Relations, in response to a video showing parents attempting an exorcism on their son Customs Religion Quote
September 01, 2020 God in Nature By Oleg Ponomarev and Anastasia Platonova The veneration and preservation of nature are at the root of Mari culture. We get a unique inside look at their most sacred annual ritual of worship. Culture Regions Religion Rural Life
August 27, 2020 Camouflage Candles, Cats in Quarantine, and Belarus By Griffin Edwards This week Russians get diet advice, the president of Belarus gets kicked out of a neighboring country, and even cats aren't excused from social distancing. Animals Economy Food & Drink Health Int'l Relations Military Politics Religion Odder News
July 30, 2020 Robberies, Vodka, and Cat-astrophic Crimes By Griffin Edwards This week, we're warned once again to be careful on the internet; priests use their powers for good; and criminals have never been so dang cute. Animals Cities & Towns Food & Drink Government Health Internet Religion Social Issues Travel Odder News
July 13, 2020 My Kingdom for a Church By Griffin Edwards Russia and Turkey are split over the use of an iconic Istanbul— er, Constantinople— monument. Architecture History Int'l Relations Religion Russia File
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.
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.
Resilience ~ The Russian Version (Переживем) 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.
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.
22 Russian Crosswords Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
Jews in Service to the Tsar Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
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.
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.
The Spine of Russia This coffee table book is the photographic journal of an epic 6000-kilometer road trip. The book includes over 200 compelling images of Russians and Russian places met along the way, plus a dozen texts (in both English and Russian) on everything from business to education, from roads to fools.
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Red Star Tales: A Century of Russian and Soviet Science Fiction For over 100 years, most of the science fiction produced by the world’s largest country has been beyond the reach of Western readers. This new collection changes that, bringing a large body of influential works into the English orbit.
February 20, 2014 Russian Genealogy By Ginny Audet A comprehensive listing of resources, online and off, for researching your Russian roots, courtesy of Ginny Audet. History Reference
May 31, 2020 Inside Brighton Beach's Babushka Beauty Pageant By The Editors A lovely short film on Brighton Beach's Your Highness Babushka Beauty Contest. Culture Pop Culture Russians Abroad Women Video of the Week Russia File
May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry By Anatoly Liberman On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature
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
November 01, 2020 Tsarina: In the Winter Palace By Ellen Alpsten Catherine I finds herself at a turning point upon the death of her husband, Peter the Great. History Literature
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
