Editorial

Category Results

First, the Bad News ...
September 01, 2001

First, the Bad News ...

Always, whether the journalism is good or bad, there are legions of unrecognized “heroes” slogging it out in the trenches, never to be recognized in the headlines or bylines.

Vermont's Russianicity
July 01, 2001

Vermont's Russianicity

The news spread like a virus. I was infected by a nonchalant email from another local Russophile, Myranda. “Thought you might be interested,” the email said, “since it is in Montpelier.”

Working Through History
May 01, 2001

Working Through History

There is an interesting history behind the picture (taken by Valery Bliznyuk, who we profile on page 18) on the cover of this issue.

Farewell to a Friend
March 01, 2001

Farewell to a Friend

On the passing of a friend and colleague, Helen Boldyreff Semler, a valued member of this magazine’s Advisory Board.

Three Dirty Words
January 01, 2001

Three Dirty Words

In Russia, liberty, democracy and capitalism have all gotten a bad reputation. This is largely thanks to the greedy, short-sighted actions of the first wave of Russia’s reformers.

It's a Small World
November 01, 2000

It's a Small World

When we study this or that great Russian writer or composer, we tend to look at them as a singular phenomenon. But none was an island.

The Russian Invasion
September 01, 2000

The Russian Invasion

It has been said that a successful invasion is the one that goes unnoticed until it is too late to resist. The Russian Invasion of America is in full swing.

Peter and the Cathedral
July 01, 2000

Peter and the Cathedral

Interestingly, both Tchaikovsky and Savior’s have been surrounded by controversy since well before both rose to prominence in Moscow 117 or so years ago.

Boring Old Russia
May 01, 2000

Boring Old Russia

After a decade marked by coup attempts, parliament sieges, wildly optimistic economic programs, cabinet reshufflings and Caucasian wars, boring is good.

The First Decade
March 01, 2000

The First Decade

On March 10, 1990, in a dingy, ninth-story apartment in Moscow’s seedy northern outskirts, two grizzled American expatriates hatched a business plan.

Happy New Year?
January 01, 2000

Happy New Year?

It would be fascinating—if it were not so scary—to watch how fast Russians have fallen in line to support their new prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

Of Thieves and a Gentleman
October 01, 1999

Of Thieves and a Gentleman

A lot of water has passed under the bridges over the Moskva river since our last issue of the magazine. 

 

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EVENTS FOR RUSSOPHILES

A Few of Our Books

A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
Murder and the Muse

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.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
22 Russian Crosswords

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.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

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. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
Marooned in Moscow

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.

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