January 01, 2012 Heart of the Matter A look inside the Russian health care system, as we accompany a group of American doctors in Russia during their multi-year exchange and training program. Health
January 01, 2012 Lyubov Orlova She was the Soviet Union’s first star of the Silver Screen – talented, beautiful, and exuding confidence and optimism. Yet behind this public image was another woman entirely.
January 01, 2012 Waiting for Miracles Exactly why did so many Russians wait on line for hours, sometimes days, to see an ancient relic visiting Christ the Savior Cathedral in November? Maya Kucherskaya has some ideas.
January 01, 2012 The Building of Sochi Two readings in Russian on Sochi, with some questions for language learners.
January 01, 2012 Alexander Scriabin A short consideration of the life and work of Alexander Scriabin, born on Jan. 6, 1872, a composer whose life was cut tragically short, but who nonetheless set the stage for much that was to come. Music
January 01, 2012 A Soup for Seminarians A consideration of the hearty Russian mushroom soup, Pokhlyobka, and Vasily Perov's evocative painting, "Receiving the Wanderer."
December 20, 2011 6 Things Russian Babushkas Disapprove Of What comes to mind when you think of a Russian national icon? Vodka, matryoshkas, bears? Fyodor Dostoyevsky? Alla Pugacheva? Cheburashka? Surprisingly few people, including Russians themselves, mention babushkas, the omnipresent grandmothers in head scarves. Yet their influence is huge. Red Square huge. Katyusha rocket huge. So it pays to know how to please them... Culture Humor Russia File
December 12, 2011 At the Demonstration "The crowds gathered from three different directions. Every route to the square was controlled by police and troops. I had never seen such numbers of armed forces before; it was like a movie about civil war." Victor is a 21-year-old student in Moscow. In this guest post, he gives us a participant's account of the December 10 demonstration. Politics Russia File
December 09, 2011 Moscow Spring? Quite often, Russian reality is best illuminated with a joke. A couple of journalists are quizzing a candidate: “Why do you want to get elected?” “Just look what is going on in the corridors of power: officials are awash in debauchery, theft, corruption!” Politics Russia File
December 03, 2011 Chtenia 17 The next issue of Chtenia, #17, is being laid out this weekend, and as always, there's a deep satisfaction in seeing the whole team's work come to fruition. The theme of the issue is Sport, which at the moment strikes me as a great counterpoint to the winter season, when holidays and cold weather compromise one's fitness routine with such gleeful impunity. Literature Russia File
December 01, 2011 Faith & Humor A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life. Religion Fiction
