March 15, 2017 Who Invented the Ancient Slavic Gods, and Why? By Kasya Denisevich How it was that in the eighteenth century Russian mythology was trumped-up in the Western manner? Who wanted it? And where did we get Lel, Yarilo and Zimtserla? We explain everything you'd want to know about Russian fakelore. Culture History Literature Religion
March 06, 2017 Better Russia By Robert Blaisdell Bob Blaisdell reviews Other Russias, an album of images and impressions of ordinary, unconnected Russian citizens who have unexpectedly found themselves activists. Art Culture Literature Politics
March 01, 2017 Dovlatov in America By John Castellucci Some writers adapt easily to living abroad, after being cut off from their homeland. Sergei Dovlatov was not one of those writers. Literature
March 01, 2017 Lenin, Rodeo and Beslan By Paul E. Richardson Reviews of "Lenin on the Train," "Don't Let my Baby Do Rodeo," and "Mother Tongue". Literature
December 02, 2016 Peter Aleshkovsky: 2016 Russian Booker Laureate By Paul E. Richardson We were excited to learn that one of our authors, Peter Aleshkovsky, was awarded the 2016 Russian Booker Prize, arguably Russia's most prestigous literary prize. Literature News Products
October 12, 2016 Fall, Tolstoy, Mushrooms By Lev Tolstoy In honor of fall, and Russians' favorite autumnal pastime – mushroom picking – we offer these two short stories by Lev Tolstoy – in both English and Russian! Culture Humor Literature
September 29, 2016 The Babi Yar Tragedy, Remembered in Poetry By Alice E.M. Underwood On September 29-30, 1941, Nazi troops shot over 33,000 Jews at the edge of the Babi Yar ravine near Kiev. Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poem memorializing the tragedy ensures it will never be forgotten. Culture History Literature War
August 03, 2016 5 Pearls of Wisdom from Fazil Iskander By Alice E.M. Underwood Fazil Iskander, a missile in the world of Soviet literature, passed away on July 31. Here are five of his pearls of wisdom on humor, science, politics, Stalin, and the Russian soul. Culture Literature
June 06, 2016 Quotable Pushkin for Six Everyday Occasions By Alice E.M. Underwood In honor of Alexander Pushkin's 217th birthday, here's a small sample of his poems to show that his writing isn't just pretty and witty – it can help you through almost any situation. Culture Language Literature
May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry By Anatoly Liberman On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature
May 01, 2016 The Man with the Monocle By Olga Kuzmina This May is the 125th birthday of one of the greatest of Russian writers. Unfortunately, he saw little of his fame during his lifetime. Literature
April 20, 2016 Piter's Five Must-Stroll Streets (that are not Nevsky) By Elena Bobrova After you finish strolling St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect, you'll want to visit these five must-stroll streets in the Northern Palmyra, to get a feel for the rest of the city. Art Culture Literature Travel