November 01, 2005 A Southern City By the Sea Had the tide of history turned just a bit differently, Taganrog could have become Russia’s new capital instead of St. Petersburg. Take a visit to this sleepy southern town on the Sea of Azov.
November 01, 2005 Alexandrovo Sloboda A history of Ivan the Terrible's retreat to a little village outside Moscow, where he set up the oprichniki and razed boyar power.
November 01, 2005 Two Book Reviews We review Olga Grushin's "The Dream Life of Sukhanov" and Hugh Barnes' "Gannibal," plus the Russian film "Nochnoy Dozor."
November 01, 2005 The Ultimate Choice Ruminations on Mikhail Khodorkovsky's battle with Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
October 31, 2005 Byzantine Catholic Church in Russia Examination of the history of this Christian tradition, which is in full communion with the Church of Rome. Culture History Religion Russia File
October 21, 2005 What Price a Free Press? Three interesting, related, but separate news items came across the electronic transom today: #1: The Russian Duma's Information Policy Committee yesterday adopted a resolution that states, among other things: "The ideological slant of media has been replaced by a commercial one, while pornography and violence in media have become a national threat." On the whole, members of the committee said, the media is too negative, it is only out to "tease and entertain." The solution? Why, st Russia File
October 18, 2005 Jarkov Mammoth Finding the remains of the prehistoric giant mammoth in the far reaches of northern Siberia is not an unusual occurrence. Bones and tusks reveal themselves when the permafrost thaws. However, the discovery of an intact mammoth is something for scientists to get excited about. Regions Science Russia File
October 17, 2005 Alexander I In the summer of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, and his army marched into Moscow. This resulted in one of the turning points in Tsar Alexander I's reign. Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow on November 12, 1812. History Int'l Relations Russia File