November 14, 2008 Chekhov Complete On-line Texts Complete texts, in English, of several Chekhov short stories. Literature Russia File
September 20, 2008 Russian Folklore Editor's choice of books about Russian folklore and folktales. Culture Literature Russia File
August 15, 2008 Caucasian Stalemate Last Thursday, after several days of skirmishes and confrontation in the breakaway region of Ossetia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral cessation of hostilities. Hours later, however, Saakashvili ordered his armed forces to undertake a full-scale assault on Ossetia... History Int'l Relations Literature Politics Russia File
August 04, 2008 Solzhenitsyn This morning, Vermont Public Radio called to interview me about Solzhenitsyn's legacy and his life in Vermont. I had just interviewed his wife, Natalya Dmitrievna, while in Moscow in May. We had planned to run that interview in our Nov/Dec issue, to coincide with what would have been the author's 90th birthday. But now we will push it up and run it in our Sep/Oct issue, which goes to press this week. History Literature Russia File
June 13, 2008 Voloshin Poems Translator Constantine Rusanov has crafted these wonderful English versions of 11 of Maximilian Voloshin's poems. They are reprinted here with permission. The copyright to the English versions remains with Mr. Rusanov. To see the English translations alongside the original Russian, download <a href="http://www.russianlife.net/pdf/voloshin.pdf">this PDF file</a>. Art Literature Russia File
May 01, 2008 Cold War, Terrorism and Culture Review of The New Cold War, The Magical Chorus, Angel of Vengeance and The Silencing. Plus a look at two fine new language learning books. Literature
February 07, 2008 The Case Against Brodsky The secret transcript (in Russian) of Joseph Brodsky's show trial in a St. Petersburg court, at which he was sentenced to 5 years (later reduced to 18 months) of hard labor in the North. Short portions of the transcript are often cited, but this full transcript offers a vivid look at the Kafkaesque Soviet system of justice. Literature Russia File
June 15, 2007 Leo Tolstoy Learn about the varied life of this Russian writer, born to nobility and author of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". History Literature Russia File
February 13, 2007 Doctor Zhivago and Khrushchev Find out what this son of peasants turned Premier of the Soviet Union had to do with an upper class writer and his epic novel. History Literature Russia File
June 07, 2005 Book Picks - Health Editor's choice of books concerning Russia's health. Health Literature Russia File
February 02, 2005 Book Picks - Literature The quantity of great Russian literature titles and translations is virtually endless. Here are a few favorites from the editor. Literature Russia File
January 01, 2005 Wicked Cold This 60-year-old piece of fiction by Ilf and Petrov is a our seasonally-appropriate Literary Insert. Literature
February 28, 2022 to December 31, 2024 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
November 11, 2023 to September 15, 2024 Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West Wende Museum | Culver City, CA This exhibit highlights the resilience and creative power of people deprived of their freedom or their own place to live. Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Steppe / Степь This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
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.
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 Russia File
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History Russia File
March 07, 2022 Russian Life Takes a Pause As the world reels from the horrific, criminal events being perpetrated in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the Russian state, and the Russian military, all of us who nurture a love for Russian people, their culture and history, have been heartbroken. It is not easy to remain a Russophile when suddenly, all across the globe, the adjective “Russian” has become toxic. News Russia File
February 03, 2018 12 Myths/Truths About Russians and Vodka Think you know your vodka? Take this True/False quiz (just 12 items) about Russians and their vodka and see if you are right about that... Food & Drink Russia File
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink Russia File
May 31, 2020 Inside Brighton Beach's Babushka Beauty Pageant A lovely short film on Brighton Beach's Your Highness Babushka Beauty Contest. Culture Pop Culture Russians Abroad Women Video of the Week Russia File