March 01, 2020 The Case Against Foreign Lit By Tamara Eidelman 300 years of book burnings, banishments, and censorship in Russian books. Government History Literature
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
October 15, 2021 to April 03, 2022 Icons for Our Time: Orthodox Art from Around the World Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Fifteen contemporary icons from fifteen countries explore iconography today. Presented in celebration of the museum's 15th Anniversary. Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Moscow Eccentric Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
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.
East of the Sun: The Epic Conquest and Tragic History of Siberia The very word Siberia evokes a history and reputation as awesome as it is enthralling. In this acclaimed book on Russia’s conquest of its eastern realms, Benson Bobrick offers a story that is both rich and subtle, broad and deep.
Fish: A History of One Migration This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus By Margaret Godwin-Jones Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
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
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
January 01, 2022 Undesirable Outcome By Paul E. Richardson The history of Russia since 2008 has been to repeatedly lop off appendages – nose, ears, digits – to spite itself. Obsessed by erroneous threats, it has invaded its neighbors, quashed all democratic activity, rigged votes, interfered in foreign elections, harbored and/or enabled international cybercrime… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Int'l Relations NGOs Politics
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water By Tiffany Zhu Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink
July 01, 2013 The Russian Bees Will Save Us By Paul E. Richardson American bees are dying from mysterious causes, putting our agriculture at risk for lack of pollinators. Russian bees might be part of a solution. Agriculture Environment Science
