Chulpan Khamatova, actor There are some actors who symbolize Russia’s new generation, the new times. Rising star Chulpan Khamatova (her Tatar first name translates at “morning star”) has been one of those actors since the mid-1990s. 100 Young Russians
Zhanna Semenova, neurosurgeon Pediatric neurosurgeon Zhanna Semenova was born in the tiny mountain republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, home to the towering Mount Elbrus (5,642 meters)—a mountain which could well be a symbol of the heights which Semenova has scaled in her career. 100 Young Russians
Aidan Salakhova, artist Aidan Salakhova has a boiling mixture of southern blood in her veins: Uzbek, Azerbaidzhani and Armenian. Yet she identifies herself as a Muscovite and a patriot of contemporary Russian art. 100 Young Russians
Yuri Rodionov, soldier Forty-year-old Colonel Yuri Rodionov’s military career has literally taken him to the four corners of Russian earth. 100 Young Russians
Olga Pleshakova, businessperson Olga Pleshakova admits to being very ambitious about building the Transaero brand. “I think there is Aeroflot, and then there is us ... 100 Young Russians
Karinna Moskalenko, lawyer There couldn’t be a better choice for the title “Russia’s Best Defender of Human Rights” than lawyer Karinna Moskalenko. At the end of 2001, Moskalenko, 43, received the award “For Human Rights” from the Russian Federation’s Secretary for Human Rights. 100 Young Russians
Alexandra Kosteniuk, chessmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk, 17, is not likely most people’s stereotype of a female chess champion. The pretty young Russian sports a provocative smile and a devilish spark in her eye—a far cry from the bookish, hard-nosed competitor some might be led to expect. 100 Young Russians
Andrei Korolyov, artist When young Andrei Korolyov drew his 400th portrait, he made it to the Russian Book of Records. Soon after, a jury of adult artists and art scholars issued Korolyov an official diploma testifying that his portraits “are characterized by an individual style and bear a resemblance to the original.” 100 Young Russians
Andrei Korkunov, chocolatier From early in his “happy Soviet childhood,” Andrei Korkunov, 39, dreamed of becoming a factory director. That dream has come true in ways a young Soviet could not have imagined. 100 Young Russians
Maria Kiselyova, sports commentator Maria Kiselyova dedicated sixteen years to her sport and won two gold medals. But at the end of 2000 she decided to quit sports and take a chance as a sports commentator with NTV channel. 100 Young Russians
Alsou Safina, singer She may be just eighteen, but she has been ruling Russia's pop charts for two years. Alsou Ralifovna Safina (known to her fans as simply Alsou, pronounced “all-soo”), daughter of Lukoil's first vice-president Ralif Safin, has taken the music industry by storm. 100 Young Russians
Nikolai Shuvalov, bell maker The son of a dairy worker and a truck driver, Nikolai Shuvalov, 42, is modest to a fault. A self-trained artisan in the art of bell making, Shuvalov founded the Italmas workshop in Tutaev, on the banks of the Volga in Yaroslavl region. 100 Young Russians
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
May 26, 2022 to July 24, 2022 Pysanka: Symbol of Renewal Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Maine-based contemporary artist Lesia Sochor's exhibition inspired by the beautiful tradition of intricately decorated Ukrainian Easter egg painting. Art Exhibit
May 05, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Images of Atheism: The Soviet Assault on Religion Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Exploring the role of visual propaganda in the Communist Party’s seven-decade war against religion (ca. 1920– 1990). Art Exhibit
February 03, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Tea Is For Tradition Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA The objects associated with Russian tea are tactile reminders of this important tradition and evoke warmth, home, and family. Art Exhibit
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
The Best of Russian Life We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Murder at the Dacha Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
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.
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
August 22, 2016 Magical Kefir Kefir is the most popular fermented milk in Russia. But it did not get there overnight. Kefir and Russia have a long history... Food & Drink History
November 01, 2020 Tsarina: In the Winter Palace Catherine I finds herself at a turning point upon the death of her husband, Peter the Great. History Literature
October 14, 2016 Five Wild Facts about St. Basil's Cathedral 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
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
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science