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Baba Yagas, Kremlin and Cooks
November 01, 2013

Baba Yagas, Kremlin and Cooks

A review of two books on Baba Yaga, one on the Kremlin, and one on Soviet cuisine and memoir. Also brief reviews of two movies and three other books on everything from Lee Harvey Oswald to emigres in Paris.

Russian Mysteries
July 01, 2013

Russian Mysteries

Where we review "Murder at the Dacha," by Alexei Bayer, "The Twelfth Department," by William Ryan and "The House of Special Purpose," by John Boyne. Also reviewed in short are a few works of both fiction and nonfiction.

Black Russians and Dark Years
May 01, 2013

Black Russians and Dark Years

A review of "Twilight of the Romanovs," by Blom and Buckley, "Lina and Serge," by Simon Morrison, "The Black Russian," by Vladimir Alexandrov, and "Moscow 1937," by Karl Schlogel.

Decline and Stalin
March 01, 2013

Decline and Stalin

Book reviews of "The Last Man in Russia," by Oliver Bullough; "Stalin's Barber," by Paul Levitt; "St. Petersburg City Pack," by Oxygen Books; "Happy Moscow," by Andrei Platonov (Robert Chandler, trans.); and "The Lying Year," by Andrei Gelasimov (Marian Schwartz, trans.).

Spies and Cats
November 01, 2012

Spies and Cats

A review of two new works of fiction, Matthew Dunn's Sentinel and Ilya Boyashov's The Way of Muri. Both offer entertaining reading, for entirely different reasons.

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets
November 01, 2012

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets

Where we interview Nina Shevchuk-Murray, translator of this new book by Oksana Zabuzhko, which is an expansive piece of historical fiction that encompasses much of Ukrainian history, particularly during WWII.

Films, Noir, Churches and Aristocrats
September 01, 2012

Films, Noir, Churches and Aristocrats

Reviews of "Former People" by Douglas Smith, "Nevsky" by Ben McCool and Mario Guevara, "St. Petersburg Noir," edited by Julia Goumen and Natalia Smirnova, "Wooden Churches," by Richard Davies and Matilda Moreton, and "Russian Film Posters," by Vivays Publishing.

Chernobyl, Chechnya and a bit of Scifi
July 01, 2012

Chernobyl, Chechnya and a bit of Scifi

A review of "Visit Sunny Chernobyl," by Andrew Blackwell, "Sniper" by Nicolai Lilin, "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and Natasha Borzilova's new CD, "Out of My Hands."

A Wealth of Literature
May 01, 2012

A Wealth of Literature

Our review shelves were overloaded this month, necessitating more and shorter reviews. There is both great fiction (Scar, by the Dyachenkos; The Twelve Chairs, by Ilf & Petrov; The Time of Women, by Elena Chizhova; 50 Writers) and non-fiction including two Putin-focused histories and a remarkable look inside Soviet era labor camps.

Romanoviana
March 01, 2012

Romanoviana

Reviews of fiction with Romanov themes: The Fallen Queen, The Last Romanov, The Winter Palace. Shorter reviews of Notes on the Cuff, The Russian Origins of the Civil War, Russia: A 1000-year Chronicle of the Wild East

Gulags, Ments, Chekhov and Pushkin
January 01, 2012

Gulags, Ments, Chekhov and Pushkin

Reviews of Fyodor Mochulsky's "Gulag Boss," William Ryan's "The Darkening Field," and Andrei Gelasimov's "Thirst," with shorter notices on "Memories of Chekhov" (Peter Sekirin) and "Pushkin Threefold" (Walter Arndt, trans.)

 

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EVENTS FOR RUSSOPHILES

HANUKKAH - FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
December 10, 2023 to December 10, 2023

HANUKKAH - FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Plummer Park - Fiesta Hall | West Hollywood, CA

Kol Sephardic Choir (ROSE) & Pasión Flamenca De Los Angeles cordially invite you to a wonderful musical event, "HANUKKAH-Festival of Lights"

Spirituality in Eastern Christianity
September 22, 2023 to January 21, 2024

Spirituality in Eastern Christianity

Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA

An exhibition of photographs by Alain de Lotbinière. The 26 images were taken during the course of several trips to Northern Macedonia, Serbia, and Russia, as well as during visits to sites in Turkey and Egypt. 

Komar and Melamid in America
September 13, 2023 to February 04, 2024

Komar and Melamid in America

Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ

The joint work of the well-known Moscow-born American artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, who worked together from 1972 to 2003.

Russian-Language Gallery Tour
February 22, 2022 to February 22, 2032

Russian-Language Gallery Tour

Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn, NY

Russian-language tour exploring our collection in depth, second Sunday of each month at 1 pm. Free, reservations required

A Few of Our Books

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Russia Rules

Russia Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Popular Articles

Using Laughter to Cope
September 07, 2021

Using Laughter to Cope

These eight outstanding Soviet comedies show ​​some of what has made Russians laugh over the past century. Most are still watched today. (First in our new series on learning about Russia through its films.)

Why Don't Russians Smile?
January 10, 2014

Why Don't Russians Smile?

It is a common trope that Russians never smile. Which of course is interpreted to mean they are unfriendly, gloomy, sullen – positively Dostoyevskian. This, of course, is a complete misreading of body language and cultural norms.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

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