February 23, 2022 Boring Weather Disappoints Meteorologist "During the first half of the week, the weather will be warm with temperatures eight to nine degrees above normal. Daytime temperatures are expected to be plus two to five degrees, nighttime temperatures from minus one to plus two degrees. Wind on Monday will be up to 17 m/s, precipitation is light, but also sleet and rain. This is such uniform and boring weather." – A disappointed meteorologist describing Moscow's upcoming weather Cities & Towns Environment Media Moscow Quote
February 16, 2022 A Priest's Life Hack for Marital Strife “If you had a fight with your wife, then you should ask for forgiveness like this: 'Darling, please forgive me for asking you to marry me….' There is a real chance that suddenly your wife will smile and forgive you. True, wives are unpredictable in their grievances—you can die from violence.” – A Russian priest's "life hack" for marital struggles. Family Men Religion Women Quote
February 09, 2022 A Not-So Sobering Message “About the dangers of alcohol, volumes have been written on the benefits of more than one brochure! From lack of education, we walk for five days and crawl for two! And, on Saturday morning, Russia from space looks like.” – An unintelligible sign alerting Muscovites to the effects of alcohol. Cities & Towns Customs Food & Drink Moscow Social Issues Quote
February 02, 2022 Copperfield? I Hardly Know Her! “Usually, to put money on a card, you need an ATM; with magicians, everything is much simpler: just rub a coin and it becomes invisible.” – Eugene, at Nevyansk prison, as he shows off a magic trick. Journalism Law Men Urban Life Quote
January 26, 2022 An Unofficial Open to the Winter Olympics? “I consider the Tomsk Winter Olympic Games open!” – Viewers joke as a man chases after his escaped plastic bathtub in the city of Tomsk. Cities & Towns Internet Sports Urban Life Quote
January 19, 2022 The Russian Granny Made of Steel "I have enough safety margin for a lot more. Nothing is impossible, even at such a venerable age. Take care of yourself, dear friends, and never be afraid of anything." – Maria Koltakova, the "Steel Granny," imparting wisdom, insight, and encouragement. Biographies Cities & Towns History Memoir Military War Women Quote
January 12, 2022 The Grinch Who Regretted "Dear residents! My deepest apologies. I confess I went too far with the alcohol. I am ready to financially compensate for the damage for the toys." – A note from an anonymous Christmas tree thief from Krasnoyarsk, published January 10. Holidays Humor Quote
January 05, 2022 Dead Morose: Never Too Late for the New Year "Thank God no one is writing any filth. Everything somehow really worked out very soulfully. This kind of thing is a sincere message from one to the other." – A representative of the Omsk ritual company “Heritage,” explaining the response to a New Year’s letter-writing campaign for the deceased, headed by a very punny Dead Morose. Family Holidays Quote
December 29, 2021 Courting Father Christmas "Since I am also a lawyer, I can act as an attorney for Father Christmas, and remind the plaintiff that Father Christmas fulfills wishes and gives gifts only to good girls and boys. Let him analyze his behavior and, perhaps, find something that has prevented Father Christmas from presenting him with gifts for the New Year holidays. This will be the main line of defense." – On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to defend Father Christmas after a St. Petersburg lawyer sued the gift-bringer. Holidays Humor Law Quote
December 22, 2021 A Sweet Treat "Ancient instincts work – I licked the thing." – Hermitage artist-restorer Galina Fedorova discovers a candy stuck to the ball gown of Grand Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, sister of Tsar Nicholas II. Art Culture History Quote
December 15, 2021 Barking Up the Right Tree "Yes, we growl and bite. Yes, we have sharp teeth and strong grip. But we are the prerequisite for progress. We are the antidote against tyranny." – Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Dmitriy Muratov, celebrating the work of journalists on December 10. Journalism Media News Quote
December 08, 2021 The Breadwinner "Any region [of the Russian Federation], a Russian citizen, a Russian person – these are our people. We have never split. Can we help with something in agriculture – please. We will give the last grain, super-elite [grain], so all is well." – From the website of Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, on December 2. Int'l Relations Politics Quote
September 13, 2023 to February 04, 2024 Komar and Melamid in America Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ The joint work of the well-known Moscow-born American artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, who worked together from 1972 to 2003. Art Exhibit
February 28, 2022 to February 23, 2032 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
February 22, 2022 to February 22, 2032 Russian-Language Gallery Tour Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn, NY Russian-language tour exploring our collection in depth, second Sunday of each month at 1 pm. Free, reservations required Art Exhibit
September 22, 2023 to January 21, 2024 Spirituality in Eastern Christianity Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA An exhibition of photographs by Alain de Lotbinière. The 26 images were taken during the course of several trips to Northern Macedonia, Serbia, and Russia, as well as during visits to sites in Turkey and Egypt. Art Exhibit
The Latchkey Murders Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
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.
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.
Marooned in Moscow This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Russia Rules From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
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.
Murder and the Muse KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Red Star Tales: A Century of Russian and Soviet Science Fiction For over 100 years, most of the science fiction produced by the world’s largest country has been beyond the reach of Western readers. This new collection changes that, bringing a large body of influential works into the English orbit.
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
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War Russia File
February 24, 2023 Russia's Year of Horror After a year of horrific war, why does a magazine like Russian Life continue? Why not simply wash our hands of it and walk away? Culture History Journalism War Russia File
October 30, 2021 Happy 200th, Dostoyevsky! On this, the occasion of the great writer's 200th birthday, we offer some links to stories we have published about him over the years, as well as some cool videos. Happy reading and viewing! History Literature Russia File
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science Russia File
April 06, 2020 A Russian Gift A look at how the Jesuits, Pope Francis, and Georgetown University all share an interesting connection to Russia. History Int'l Relations Religion Russia File
