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In response to the US Congress' passage of the Magnitsky Act, Russian legislators are planning a bit of list making of their own.

The head of the CIA and the Russian Defense Minister both fell from grace within weeks of one another, and both because of infidelity scandals. Sounds like a good pretext for a column...

In 1703 Peter the Great founded the first Russian newspaper. This is what it looked like and what it covered.

If even gently pressed, I will readily admit to belonging to the Just Do It school of translation. I have never been big on translation theory, not least from fear of suffering the fate of the centipede who, on being asked how he managed to walk with so many legs, promptly fell over.

The movie is almost too silly to discuss, as if Saturday Night Live decided to do a parody, but nobody but the costume-director and scene-making crew were ready. A puppet resembling Keira Knightley plays Anna; although thin, even scrawny, the animators make her look almost human.

Two stories out of Russia this weekend reinforced the stereotype that Russian entities (a) don't respect copyrights, yet (b) do value propaganda.

In this, the second of two posts on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, the author recounts his discovery of the greatest novel of all time: "I had never lived a book as I lived Anna Karenina."

Lev Tolstoy's Anna Karenina has been called the greatest novel of all time. But can one really appreciate it as much in English translation versus the Russian original?

If even gently pressed, I will readily admit to belonging to the Just Do It school of translation. I have never been big on translation theory, not least from fear of suffering the fate of the centipede who, on being asked how he managed to walk with so many legs, promptly fell over.

While the U.S. was being battered by Superstorm Sandy and the Election of Nattering Negativity this week, a steady stream of odd stories out of Russia caught my eye. Worried they might otherwise get overlooked, I decided to corral them here.

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.