"I have enough safety margin for a lot more. Nothing is impossible, even at such a venerable age. Take care of yourself, dear friends, and never be afraid of anything."

– Maria Koltakova, the "Steel Granny," imparting wisdom, insight, and encouragement.

An excerpt from the new book, The Gambler Wife, a glimpse into the life and motivations of Dostoyevsky's very successful wife.

In which we learn about the strong-willed and brilliant Anna Dostoyevskaya, the wife of Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna breathed her last in December of 1761, in her St. Petersburg palace. By any standard, Peter the Great’s second daughter had lived an unusual life.

An indignant social media user called out an artist for her choice of subject in the heart of Kazan, but there’s another side to the story – a backside, if you will.

In this week's Odder News, don't drink and drive your tractor, ticket-taking grandmothers are surprisingly entertaining, and the Russians win the new space race by a hair.

Listening to the intensely chromatic compositions of Sofia Gubaidulina can be challenging. You wouldn’t put her music on to relax or to be energized. As with any avant-garde work, taking it in can feel like work.

The bravery with which the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment defended the Soviet Union from Nazi invasion earned them a legendary nickname.

News of Britney Spears’s recent appearance in court has crossed the globe, and a well-meaning group of supporters in Russia have taken offense at her plight.

It was not the first time, and is likely not the last: a woman chose the wrong spot for her spectacular repast...

Will they ever learn?

In this week's Odder News, a new Russian Barbie, Russians need to work on their dental hygiene, and squirrels attack in Vyborg.