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Summer Reading
July 01, 2009

Summer Reading

Selections include: The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight; Londongrad; Kamchatka; Red Sky, Black Death; Wave of Terror; Ballerina (DVD)

Into the Screening Room
May 01, 2009

Into the Screening Room

Where we review four recent films from or about Russia and a new television series appearing on PBS.

Verses, Vodka and Royalty
March 01, 2009

Verses, Vodka and Royalty

Reviews of Verses and Versions; The King of Vodka; The Last Days of the Romanovs; The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan. Plus brief reviews of some potboiler thrillers, some worthy, some not so much.

Capitals, Oligarchs and Cats
November 01, 2008

Capitals, Oligarchs and Cats

A review of a new book on the Silver Age, another on a Potato Oligarch, and two children's books, including one about a cat...

Angels, Mafia and Pushkin
July 01, 2008

Angels, Mafia and Pushkin

Reviews of: The Angel of Grozny, Investigating the Russian Mafia, Young Pushkin, The Pearl, and History of Music in Russia from Antiquity to 1800

Storks, Pravda, Bolsheviks and Stalin's Children
March 01, 2008

Storks, Pravda, Bolsheviks and Stalin's Children

A quick review of several worthy books, including a reissue of an Akhmatova classic, a massive tome on childhood under the Soviets, a modern fiction masterpiece, and Laura Williams' new memoir.

Rostropovich, Chechnya and Pushkin
January 01, 2008

Rostropovich, Chechnya and Pushkin

A review of recent books on Mstislav Rostropovich, Chechnya and the future of Russia, plus a new translation of Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter.

Soviet Images, Baikal and Chekhov
November 01, 2007

Soviet Images, Baikal and Chekhov

Books on Soviet era photography, Lake Baikal, Private Life under Stalin, Chekhov and Literary St. Petersburg, as well as a DVD on Russian prisons.

Russian Worldview, Rafting, and Sophia Tolstaya
September 01, 2007

Russian Worldview, Rafting, and Sophia Tolstaya

We review a new book on Sophia Tolstoy's photography hobby, an excellent translation of Andrei Sinyavsky's book on Russian folk belief, and a great armchair travel book on rafting down one of the world's wildest rivers.

 

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EVENTS FOR RUSSOPHILES

A Few of Our Books

White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
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 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.
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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
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.
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.

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