January 01, 2016 A Bear's Feast Where we look back at a 1912 feast, scrutinizing the menu to learn how the upper crust of Russian society ate.
January 01, 2016 Dating Games How are busy, young Russians coping in the era of Tinder and online dating? Our reporter finds it to be largely a world of scammers and sketchy apps. Social Issues
January 01, 2016 Ignoble Reactions A consideration of envy and how many are reacting to Svetlana Alexievich's winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.
January 01, 2016 Novgorod's Subjugation A small war was raging in Rus in January and February 1456. History
December 28, 2015 How to Celebrate the New Year Are you sure you know how to appease the Fire Monkey and get your New Year off to a good start? We have tips! Learn how to decorate your house, what food to serve, and what to wear to ensure good luck in 2016. Culture Holidays Humor Russia File
December 17, 2015 5 Reasons Silver is Precious As a metal, Silver means second place; as a period of poetic production in Russia, the Silver Age is unparalleled. The years 1890-1925 (give or take) stand out for the explosion of poetic voices, forms, and innovations. With help from the recently published Russian Silver Age Poetry, we explore what sets that period apart. Art Culture History Language Literature Russia File
December 10, 2015 A Survey of Russian Humor (and it rhymes!) There's plenty of talk about how Russia is dark and dismal, its writers pathologically depressed, and the general mood among the populace about as cheery as a Siberian winter. These stereotypes give short shrift to Russian humor... Culture History Humor Language Literature Russia File
December 09, 2015 The Course of Revolution Is Not Smooth With the temporary triumph of Russian workers in the 1905 revolution, every opposition party expects a piece of the pie. But not if it's the anarchist party! Just ten years after his own politically-motivated arrest and exile, Vladimir Lenin wrote a scathing critique of the anarchists' attempt to join the revolution and work toward a better society. History Politics Russia File
December 02, 2015 Poetry, The Russian Riddle, and International Politics What can we learn about Russia, now and throughout history, from its poetry? This month we try to find out, with help from The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry, to be released later this month, as reviewed in the Nov/Dec issue of Russian Life. History Int'l Relations Literature Russia File
November 20, 2015 Ten Years of Napoleon In 1805 Napoleon was crushing the Russian army. In 1815 victorious Russian troops were stationed in the French capital under the just-signed treaty of Paris. And in between there was a peace treaty and yet another war. How did they have time for all of that? History Russia File
November 01, 2015 Thrown Out, Thrown Back On the one hand, social media of late was overtaken by reaction to a bigoted act against the special needs sister of a famous model; on the other hand, controversy arose about Russians being a bit too nostalgic about the 1990s. Social Issues