September 14, 2020 The Hunt for Movie Russian "Kakov nipudt pakaru!" The classic 1990 movie Hunt for Red October had a $30 million budget. Apparently none of that went towards Russian language coaches. Film & TV Humor Language Media Pop Culture Russia File
September 11, 2020 Musician's Poetic Response to Sentencing A well-known musician posted a poem in response to the sentencing of his friend, the actor Mikhail Yefremov. Internet Literature Pop Culture Russia File
September 01, 2020 Chicks Rule the Screen A new series has taken Russia by storm this summer. Set in a provincial Caucasian town, Chiki (Chicks) is about four girlfriends trying to escape their lives as sex workers and launch a fitness club – the first in the area. Pop Culture Women
September 01, 2020 Moscow's Last Trolleybus Line Public transportation in Moscow is getting an electric facelift, but one trolleybus line will remain, in homage to this mode of transportation. Moscow Pop Culture Transportation Urban Life Russia File
August 31, 2020 Russia's Instamamas Forbes recently released a list of the highest-earning Instagram bloggers in Russia, several of whom use their account to share details of motherhood. Internet News Pop Culture Russia File
August 24, 2020 Little Big's Big Lawsuit The musical group is facing a 12 million ruble lawsuit for plagiarism. Law Music Pop Culture Russia File
August 06, 2020 Fish Fights, Freight Trains, and Feminist Propaganda This week, mammoths are ripe for the picking; fishy business practices turn violent; and a TV show is labelled a bad influence on Russian families. Animals Cities & Towns Family Film & TV Food & Drink Int'l Relations Politics Pop Culture Social Issues Women Odder News
August 05, 2020 Rumors and Mistakes “I have nothing to share.” – Comedian Maksim Galkin in response to journalists asking him about rumors of divorce between him and his wife, the musical icon Alla Pugacheva. Health News Pop Culture Quote
July 20, 2020 Case Closed on Dyatlov Pass? Was it aliens? Secret nuclear testing? Bigfoot? The Russian Prosecutor-General's office claims to have solved one of Soviet Russia's most perplexing mysteries. History Pop Culture Rural Life Russia File
June 14, 2020 Kate NV is Coming for US Russian pop experimentalist Kate NV had her video voted the #1 best music video of May by Pitchfork. Internet Music Pop Culture Video of the Week Russia File
June 11, 2020 New Trams, Old Memes, and New Monuments for Old Villages This week's Odder News features monuments for dead villages, ancient memes, and a mirror for Putin. Cities & Towns Environment Health Internet Pop Culture Social Issues St. Petersburg Transportation Odder News
May 31, 2020 Inside Brighton Beach's Babushka Beauty Pageant A lovely short film on Brighton Beach's Your Highness Babushka Beauty Contest. Culture Pop Culture Russians Abroad Women Video of the Week Russia File
February 28, 2022 to December 31, 2024 Free Russian Language Guided Tours Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY Russian-speaking guides conduct tours of the museum's highlights every Monday at 11 am. Art Exhibit
November 11, 2023 to September 15, 2024 Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West Wende Museum | Culver City, CA This exhibit highlights the resilience and creative power of people deprived of their freedom or their own place to live. Art Exhibit
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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
A Taste of Russia The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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.
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.
Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history.
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 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.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
A Taste of Chekhov This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Steppe / Степь This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
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.
October 30, 2021 Happy 200th, Dostoyevsky! On this, the occasion of the great writer's 200th birthday, we offer some links to stories we have published about him over the years, as well as some cool videos. Happy reading and viewing! History Literature Russia File
October 31, 2016 Why Stalin's Corpse Was Exhumed on Halloween The body of Joseph Stalin was removed from the mausoleum on Red Square on October 31, 1961. It may not be as spooky as Halloween, but the former leader still haunts Russia today. History Politics Social Issues Russia File
December 19, 2016 10 Things (And 5 Jokes) You Didn't Know About Brezhnev Soviet leader Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would have been 110 on December 19. There are plenty of fun facts and surprising jokes behind the eyebrows. History Humor Politics Russia File
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
November 18, 2016 Famous Americans with Russian Roots America is a land built by immigrants. We researched famous Americans with Russian roots and offer this compilation. History Reference Russians Abroad Russia File
April 23, 2014 Peace, Land, Bread Peace! Land! Bread! This was the battle cry of the 1917 October Revolution (old calendar) that changed the history of Russia and indeed the entire world. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tsars concentrated on centralization of their power and control. The most common way of doing this was to take power away from the nobility, appeasing them by giving them dominion over their land and workers. This soon developed into the oppressive, slave-style condition known as serfdom. History Russia File