November 09, 2009 Freedom Fries I will forever associate the fall of the Berlin Wall with french fries. In 1989, my wife and I were living and working in Moscow. Our friend Bob was apartment-sitting in the American embassy complex; and on November 9 he invited us over for dinner... History Int'l Relations Russia File
November 01, 2009 The Fall of the Berlin Wall Editor Tamara Eidelman reminisces about how little the Berlin Wall was part of Soviet life.
November 01, 2009 Marital Squabbles Where we examine the linguistic conventions of sparring with one's spouse.
November 01, 2009 Alexander Vasiliyevich Kolchak Thirty years ago, the name "Admiral Kolchak" was only mentioned in negative terms; today it is exactly the opposite. Neither interpretation gets it right.
November 01, 2009 Lighthouse Master Where we visit a craggy outpost in the White Sea, meet a colorful lighthouse keeper and get a taste of real solitude and self-reliance.
November 01, 2009 12 Angry Peasants In November 1864, Alexander II introduced jury trials to Russia. It had countless unintended effects and led to a 70-year hiatus in the practice, only recently resurrected.
November 01, 2009 Bolshoi Troubles The massive reconstruction of Moscow's iconic Bolshoi Theater has been underway for four years and looks to stretch for another two. Some question if anything original will be left of the landmark when it finally reopens in 2011.
November 01, 2009 Tsarina Elizabeth "Elizabeth couldn't take her eyes off herself," wrote historian Vasily Klyuchevsky. Indeed, Peter the Great's narcissistic granddaughter (born 300 years ago this month) was infamous for being a tyrannical fashionista.
November 01, 2009 Dam Disaster Russians have learned to fear August, and this year it delivered the Sayano-Shuchenskaya dam disaster, which could be a harbinger of things to come.