March 01, 2008 Ryazan: Gateway to the Russian Heartland If you want to understand Russia, you have to leave Moscow and St. Petersburg behind and visit the towns and villages of the heartland. And it would be hard to find a better place to start than Ryazan. An added plus: it is just 200 km from Moscow.
March 01, 2008 Optina Pustyn: The Forest Retreat It began as a simple monastic retreat in the forests of Kaluga region. By the mid-19th century, Optina Pustyn had become one of the most important religious sites in all of Russia. Today, the monastery and hermitage are struggling to rebuild after decades of neglect.
March 01, 2008 Remembrance of Breads Past A rediscovery and a remake of the most Russian of Russian breads: Borodinsky.
March 01, 2008 President Medvedev A brief consideration of the new president, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, his past, his interests, and scandals he has weathered.
February 29, 2008 Hillary-ous Hilary Clinton stumbles over the name of the next president of Russia, and a Ukrainian TV host offers a pronunciation lesson. Humor Politics Russia File
February 27, 2008 Dima Talks On February 18, Dmitry Medvedev gave an extended interview with Itogi magazine. Here are some of the highlights, Politics Russia File
February 07, 2008 The Case Against Brodsky The secret transcript (in Russian) of Joseph Brodsky's show trial in a St. Petersburg court, at which he was sentenced to 5 years (later reduced to 18 months) of hard labor in the North. Short portions of the transcript are often cited, but this full transcript offers a vivid look at the Kafkaesque Soviet system of justice. Literature Russia File
February 06, 2008 We're Just Crazy about Dima So what exactly do we know about Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, other than that he is a loyal Putinista going back nearly two decades? Politics Russia File
January 23, 2008 The Yeltsin Legacy As Russia readies for its first, post-Yeltsin presidential election, Yeltsin biographer Leon Aron offers thoughts on the Russian leader's legacy. Politics Russia File
January 16, 2008 Stalin: The Red Tsar Joseph Stalin was born December 21, 1879, in Gori, which is now in the Republic of Georgia. His birth name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Around 1910, he took on the name Stalin which means man of steel. Iosif is a common Eastern European and Russian spelling for Joseph. Stalin's parents were peasants who, hoping for a better life for their son, sent him to the Gori church run school {1888-1894}. History Russia File
