February 20, 2020 #TBT Mir Space Station Launched By The Editors Thirty-four years ago this week, the Mir Space Station was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. History Space TBT
February 14, 2020 Piter's People - Mikhail Ivanov By Elena Bobrova Mikhail is the director of a book store that has been operating in St. Petersburg since 1926. History St. Petersburg Urban Life Piter's People
February 13, 2020 Odder News for the Young'uns By The Editors In this week's G-rated Odder News: Kid-friendly World War II history, kid-friendly educational TV, and kid-friendly swearing lessons. Children Education Film & TV Food & Drink History Odder News
February 07, 2020 War-Separated Sisters Reunited after 78 Years By Katrina Keegan Two sisters lost contact as teenagers in 1942, during their evacuation from the Battle of Stalingrad. They never lost hope they would find each other. Family History Russia File
February 06, 2020 #TBT Yalta Conference By The Editors Tuesday was 75th anniversary of the start of the Yalta Conference, the first step in rebuilding the post-War world. History Int'l Relations Military War TBT
February 01, 2020 The Actor-Agents of the KGB By Katrina Keegan A former KGB agent recently claimed that many Soviet celebrities, including multiple famous actors, were agents of the “special services." Espionage Film & TV History Russia File
January 29, 2020 The Motherland Calls... Reenactors By Griffin Edwards Military reenactors mark the 76th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad with plenty of pyrotechnics. History Military St. Petersburg War The Weekly Russia File Russia File
January 25, 2020 Prime Amazons Uncovered in Russia By Griffin Edwards Russia has everything, including Amazonians. History Science Women The Weekly Russia File Russia File
January 23, 2020 #TBT: Two Vladimirs, One Country By The Editors They could not have been more different, but both these Vladimirs had a huge impact on Russian history. History Music Politics TBT
January 18, 2020 Long Live Valeriy I! By Katrina Keegan Ivan the Terrible, notorious not only for being terrible, but also for killing his eldest son, may have finally found his heir. History News Russia File
January 16, 2020 #TBT: Sofia the Mathematician By The Editors 170 years ago this week, January 15, 1850, the mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya was born. Biographies History Science Women TBT
January 09, 2020 #TBT: Retribution for a Rebel By The Editors 245 years ago this week, on January 10, 1775, the rebel Yemelyan Pugachev was executed in Moscow. Biographies History TBT
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.
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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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...
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.
October 14, 2016 Five Wild Facts about St. Basil's Cathedral By Alice E.M. Underwood On October 14, 1991, St. Basil’s Cathedral was reopened after six decades. Here are five fun facts in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Cathedral’s rebirth. Culture History Religion
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
May 09, 2020 Russian/Soviet War Movies You Can Stream By Yuliya Ballou Some of the best Russian and Soviet films about World War II that you can stream online. Film & TV Reference War CVSG
November 18, 2016 Famous Americans with Russian Roots By Letitia Rydjeski America is a land built by immigrants. We researched famous Americans with Russian roots and offer this compilation. History Reference Russians Abroad
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
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
