March 01, 2006 Of Bees and Cabbage Pie Time to bring in the cabbage, and put it in a tasty pie! This column offers a great recipe for a kapustnik (cabbage pie), plus offers a look back at the origin of Russian bees - gatherings for communal labor.
March 01, 2006 Chernobyl: 20 Years On On April 26, 1986, the Number 4 reactor core at Chernobyl exploded, spewing radiation across Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and much of Europe. It is still the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. What lessons has Russia learned, and what is the current state of the Russian nuclear power industry?
March 01, 2006 Kapustnik: More Than Cabbage Pie It is what Russians call a cabbage pie, while at the same time it is the rather appropriate name given to eclectic, humorous entertainment events, including everything from community “bring in the cabbage” bees to fundraisers for theater actors.
March 01, 2006 The Land of Wars Straddling the border between Russia and Estonia, nestled along the shores of Lake Peipus, where Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonians in 1242, lies the ancient region known as Setomaa. Here the dwindling Seto people, renowned for their lyrical singing and hybrid pagan-Orthodox beliefs, struggle to survive the 21st century.
March 01, 2006 More is Less High-priced four- and five-star hotels are the norm in Moscow and St. Petersburg. So what is a budget-minded, independent traveler to do? Rent an apartment, of course. In our annual Travel Russia section, we talk to agencies about their offerings, review the options and provide everything you need to make your first reservation.
March 01, 2006 Gas Wars In December of last year, Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly, said it would no longer supply Ukraine with gas at the subsidized price of $50 per thousand cubic meters.
March 01, 2006 Agitprop Trumps Counterespionage The British spy scandal reveals as much about modern Russian counterintelligence as it does about the state of foreign spying in Russia.
March 01, 2006 Alexander II sets the course What led Alexander II to become the great Tsar Liberator? What held his predecessors back? The answer in both cases may be simple fear.
