February 06, 2014 A Baker's Dozen of Translation and Language Resources By Paul E. Richardson Whether you are a budding translator of Russian-English texts, are reading Russian literature in the original, or just want to improve your Russian, there are countless resources waiting for you on the internet. Here's our list of the best... Language Reference
January 10, 2014 Why Don't Russians Smile? By The Editors 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. Culture Humor Language
November 01, 2013 Verbs Take a Holiday By Mikhail Ivanov A look at a four verbs that have had their meanings warped in recent years. Useful stuff to know so that you don't inadvertently order a hit when at the restaurant... Language
October 10, 2013 Spelling Reform: Who Gets the Credit? By Eugenia Sokolskaya Soviet sources praise the Bolsheviks for simplifying Russian spelling in 1918. Who was the real author of the spelling reform, and what was the Bolsheviks' actual role in making it work? History Language Literature
September 30, 2013 Happy Translation Day By Paul E. Richardson In honor of International Translation Day (September 30), we demonstrate rather graphically the value of having a good, human translator. Humor Language
November 01, 2012 Friend or Foe? By Mikhail Ivanov A consideration of the language of enemies and whether Russia is, as Mitt Romney has averred, the US's chief geopolitical foe. Language
November 01, 2012 Baikonur By Susanna Nazarova and Evgeny Dengub This issue's Uchites insert launches off from our feature article on Baikonur. Language
September 01, 2012 Survival Greek By Mikhail Ivanov A recent trip to Greece got columnist Mikhail Ivanov thinking about that country's language and its incursions into Russia's mother tongue. Language
May 01, 2012 Just Between Us By Mikhail Ivanov A consideration of less than politesse descriptions of the other sex - what men say about women and what women say about men, when they are each speaking to those of their own gender... Language
September 01, 2011 Sergei Dovlatov By Susanna Nazarova This issue's Uchites language learning section focuses on writer Sergei Dovlatov, who would have been 70 this month. Language
May 01, 2011 Uchites 12 By Susanna Nazarova and Evgeny Dengub The 12th installment of our Uchites insert uses the 60th anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of Russia as its theme. Language
March 01, 2011 Uchites 11: Biking and Travel By Susanna Nazarova and Evgeny Dengub The 11th installment of Uchites takes off from the article in this issue on Cycling Across Russia, to examine things such as verbs of motion. Language
October 15, 2021 to April 03, 2022 Icons for Our Time: Orthodox Art from Around the World Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Fifteen contemporary icons from fifteen countries explore iconography today. Presented in celebration of the museum's 15th Anniversary. Art Exhibit
November 01, 2021 to November 30, 2021 Yuri Gorbachev's 18th Annual Exhibition at the Byrne Gallery in Middleburg, Virginia The Byrne Gallery | Middleburg, VA Susan Byrne and Bill Byrne are celebrating their Gallery's 26th anniversary this year in Middleburg with a celebration and exhibition of the vivid oil and enamel paintings of internationally-acclaimed artist Yuri Gorbachev. Art Exhibit
Fish: A History of One Migration This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started...
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 Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Resilience ~ The Russian Version (Переживем) 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.
The Spine of Russia This coffee table book is the photographic journal of an epic 6000-kilometer road trip. The book includes over 200 compelling images of Russians and Russian places met along the way, plus a dozen texts (in both English and Russian) on everything from business to education, from roads to fools.
22 Russian Crosswords Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
Murder and the Muse KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
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.
East of the Sun: The Epic Conquest and Tragic History of Siberia The very word Siberia evokes a history and reputation as awesome as it is enthralling. In this acclaimed book on Russia’s conquest of its eastern realms, Benson Bobrick offers a story that is both rich and subtle, broad and deep.
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.
Fearful Majesty This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus By Margaret Godwin-Jones Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
September 01, 2021 Profiles in Courage By Paul E. Richardson It takes something special in a human being to create a thing from scratch, to see a slab of stone and carve it into a sculpture, to see an empty storefront and turn it into a store, to sketch out a multistory building on paper and then shepherd it into existence in the real world. History Journalism
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian By Tiffany Zhu Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History
August 22, 2020 Sad Smiles and Kremlin Corruption By Paul E. Richardson Recounting a 2008 meeting with activist Alexei Navalny, before he rose to prominence. Government Politics
July 01, 2021 The Girl from the Hermitage By Molly Gartland Molly Gartland’s The Girl from the Hermitage follows the turns of fate over nearly a century of a single family in St. Petersburg, whose lives are forever altered by a portrait assignment. Art History Literature St. Petersburg
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water By Tiffany Zhu Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink
