March 04, 2020 The Epic, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Best of Russian History Russian history is interesting. Not always beautiful, not always glorious, but almost always... interesting. Biographies History Pop Culture
March 02, 2020 Petrov Goes Back to School Guard duty sends an old villager back to school, and down a broad and dusty lane full of memories. Education History Language
March 01, 2020 Northern Wood A group of intrepid preservationists toil quietly in Russia’s northern realms to preserve old wooden churches and izbas that are just a snowstorm away from perishing. Architecture History Regions
March 01, 2020 Memory Fades Here’s the thing about history: you can’t see everything that is going on when you are living it, and then, when you try to dredge up what really happened, all you’ve got is your frail memories. History
March 01, 2020 Putting Robots to Work on the Past Ever wanted to take a stroll in nineteenth century Moscow? See how one Russian uses machine learning to make grainy old videos ever more realistic. History Photography
March 01, 2020 Victory Train: Coming Soon to a Hero-City Near You Russia's "Echelon of Victory" train-borne museum prepares to educate this spring. History Military Transportation War Russia File
March 01, 2020 The Case Against Foreign Lit 300 years of book burnings, banishments, and censorship in Russian books. Government History Literature
February 20, 2020 #TBT Mir Space Station Launched 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 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 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 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 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 28, 2022 to February 23, 2032 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
February 22, 2022 to February 22, 2032 Russian-Language Gallery Tour Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn, NY Russian-language tour exploring our collection in depth, second Sunday of each month at 1 pm. Free, reservations required Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
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 Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Little Golden Calf Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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.
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
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.
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.
September 01, 2013 Why Russians Don't Run A tale of two long distance road races – Russia’s oldest and its most prestigious – and what they tell us about the state of running and fitness in Russia. Sports
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War
March 14, 2020 Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers Russian literature has an answer for everything. In the times of coronovirus, this is your guide. Art Literature CVSG
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
March 15, 2017 Who Invented the Ancient Slavic Gods, and Why? How it was that in the eighteenth century Russian mythology was trumped-up in the Western manner? Who wanted it? And where did we get Lel, Yarilo and Zimtserla? We explain everything you'd want to know about Russian fakelore. Culture History Literature Religion
