March 01, 2022 Reading about Putin and Poetry In which we review two books: one full of poetry, another full of Putin. Literature Politics Reviews
March 01, 2021 Lady Macbeth and a Tarantas A review of a new collection of Leskov's stories, and a new translation of Sollogub. Literature Reviews
September 01, 2020 Fear and Fandango We review Good Citizens Need Not Fear, by Maria Reva, and Fandango and Other Stories, by Alexander Grin. Literature Reviews
March 18, 2020 Dissecting Chekhov Translation is an art, not a science. And translating Chekhov is a particularly challenging art. Literature Reviews Russia File
November 24, 2019 Too Much Catherine, Not Enough Greatness Two reviewers evaluate Catherine the Great through a gender and a storytelling lens. Film & TV History Reviews Russia File
August 03, 2019 "The Last Czars" is a Disgrace to Russian History “The Last Czars” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: disingenuous, deceitful hagiography masquerading as history. Film & TV History Reviews Russia File
April 12, 2019 To the Kokosmos For Cosmonautics Day 2019, Anna Radchenko directs a surreal meditation on space. Watch the complete film on Russian Life. Culture Reviews Space Russia File
March 05, 2019 A Grim Tale of Redemption Redemption is grim, shocking, and rooted in the author's own tragic history. Yet, true to its name, it is a powerful story of redemption. History Reviews War Russia File
March 01, 2019 Stalin's Scribe I can’t imagine a cleverer or more perverse way of presenting “the first political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-1975) than as if from the conscience-addled Sholokhov’s perspective. Biographies History Literature Reviews
September 04, 2012 Aristocrats, Churches and Noir Reviews of five interesting new books for Russophiles: Former People, Nevsky, St. Petersburg Noir, Wooden Churches and Russian Film Posters. History Literature Reviews Russia File
January 10, 2012 Interview with Author William Ryan William Ryan’s second book featuring MVD Detective Alexei Korolev, The Darkening Field, was released on January 3, 2012. Russian Life Publisher Paul E. Richardson interviewed Ryan about the genesis for his character and the challenges of situating a novel in Soviet Russia. History Literature Reviews Russia File
November 18, 2011 Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and a Few Spies Reviews of some recent books on Tolstoy, Spying and the end of the USSR. And a new translation of an often overlooked work by Dostoyevsky. As published in the November/December 2011 issue of Russian Life. Int'l Relations Literature Reviews Russia File
November 11, 2023 to September 15, 2024 Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West Wende Museum | Culver City, CA This exhibit highlights the resilience and creative power of people deprived of their freedom or their own place to live. Art Exhibit
February 28, 2022 to December 31, 2024 Free Russian Language Guided Tours Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY Russian-speaking guides conduct tours of the museum's highlights every Monday at 11 am. Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
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.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
May 31, 2020 Inside Brighton Beach's Babushka Beauty Pageant 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
September 07, 2021 Using Laughter to Cope 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 Russia File
April 06, 2020 A Russian Gift A look at how the Jesuits, Pope Francis, and Georgetown University all share an interesting connection to Russia. History Int'l Relations Religion Russia File
January 10, 2014 Why Don't Russians Smile? It is a common trope that Russians never smile. Which of course is interpreted to mean they are unfriendly, gloomy, sullen – positively Dostoyevskian. This, of course, is a complete misreading of body language and cultural norms. Culture Humor Language Russia File
April 23, 2014 Peace, Land, Bread Peace! Land! Bread! This was the battle cry of the 1917 October Revolution (old calendar) that changed the history of Russia and indeed the entire world. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tsars concentrated on centralization of their power and control. The most common way of doing this was to take power away from the nobility, appeasing them by giving them dominion over their land and workers. This soon developed into the oppressive, slave-style condition known as serfdom. History Russia File
December 19, 2016 10 Things (And 5 Jokes) You Didn't Know About Brezhnev Soviet leader Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would have been 110 on December 19. There are plenty of fun facts and surprising jokes behind the eyebrows. History Humor Politics Russia File
