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On the roller coaster biography of one of Russia's most famous composers.

Unraveling the mysteries of an intricately baroque church just outside Moscow takes us back to the time of Peter the Great.

On the forging of a unanimous electorate.

Some thoughts on where we are going.

Sixty-five years ago the Berlin Blockade ended. Here's how it all unfurled.

A look at Ukrainian that Russians should and should not know.

A look at the narrowing choices of Russia media.

Peace! Land! Bread! This was the battle cry of the 1917 October Revolution (old calendar) that changed the history of Russia and indeed the entire world. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tsars concentrated on centralization of their power and control. The most common way of doing this was to take power away from the nobility, appeasing them by giving them dominion over their land and workers. This soon developed into the oppressive, slave-style condition known as serfdom.

Today is Vladimir Nabokov's birthday, so we asked Russian Life contributor and Nabokov expert Diana Bruk where to start when reading the master. She offers with five annotated recommendations.

Once, a group of factory workers decided to work without pay for the war effort. Somehow their voluntary sacrifice became the entire Soviet Union's mandatory labor - all "for the greater good."

You have to hand it to History. She has a very well developed sense of irony. Exactly 160 years ago today the Crimean War began... While it is useful for the current crisis over Crimea and Ukraine to understand history, solving the crisis is more likely through analogy. 

Our definition of a Russophile is not someone who blindly embraces all things Russian as superior, but someone who is innately fascinated by Russia because it is different, because it is interesting, because it is important.