Every year, people from all over the world convene in a small snowy town in northern Russia for the friendliest and fluffiest of sports events – started by an Orthodox nun in a wheelchair who had an idea... and a dog.

Views of Sochi, five years after the close of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in that southern city.

Authorities in Krasnoyarsk want to put the Siberian city's best face forward for March's Universiade sporting event, while covering up local pollution and snow-deficit issues. Residents are having none of it.

Russian Orthodox Christmas has come and gone, leaving us with all sorts of holiday lunacy. 

We look back and some of our, and your, favorite stories from The Weekly Russia File during 2018.

Shed a tear for our last World Cup TWERF, in which we finally learn about the Romanovs and feel the wrath of nature.

What’s out of this world? Russia’s performance in the World Cup, a Russian cargo ship, and showers in Samara!

As Americans celebrate their Independence Day, Russia may have gained a new national holiday as well: the day they beat Spain in the World Cup.

A short look at one very avid football (soccer) fan, who rode his bike all the way from Egypt to Russia for the World Cup.

This week Russia lost but isn’t out yet; football fans, amazingly, spread cheer across Russia; and a storm reminds us of the world outside.

Russia wins its first two World Cup games and Jeff Monson is running for CIty Council in Krasnogorsk. Does life get better than this?

Things worth knowing on the travel front.