March 01, 2009 Deconstructing Dashkova If we look closely at Dashkova, one of the most famous women in Russian history, we find that things are not as clear as we imagined. In fact, we get the impression that much of Dashkova's life was filled with heartbreak and sorrow.
March 01, 2009 Arrival of Russian Democracy In the spring of 1989, election fever swept through Russia - a country well experienced in elections, just not free and open ones...
March 01, 2009 Terrible's Father It was the fate of Grand Prince Vasily III to be squeezed into history between two more famous men - one great, one terrible, and both named Ivan.
March 01, 2009 Going Green in St. Petersburg Sustainable, organic and green cuisine comes to St. Petersburg. Our recipe: Lentil Soup.
March 01, 2009 Art Repatriated Russia is quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) searching out and bringing home lost treasures. This is the story of one of those quests - to return to Russia a rather amazing and singular collection.
March 01, 2009 Dead Souls for Two Metronomes From Gogol's work have arisen some truly great works of music. We look at the composers he influenced and the music they have offered.
March 01, 2009 Understanding Gogol Recognized soon after his first publication as a writer of great promise, Gogol went on to prove the critics right, and to create a body of work that has no equal in the Russian pantheon. This April (or March, depending on your calendar) is his bicentenary.
March 01, 2009 The Hunger Artist Gogol's writing is intensely sensual - full of rich tastes, smells, sights and sounds. We consider how his fixation on food and digestion influenced his storytelling, how, as Nabokov put it, "the belly is the belle of his stories."
March 01, 2009 Baltic Outpost Kaliningrad is unlike anywhere else in Russia. Half German, half Russian, it perches on the Baltic coast, uncertain where the winds of history might blow it.
March 01, 2009 Murder in Broad Daylight The murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova in the context of the endangered climate for journalism in Russia.