March 01, 2019 Stalin's Scribe I can’t imagine a cleverer or more perverse way of presenting “the first political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-1975) than as if from the conscience-addled Sholokhov’s perspective. Biographies History Literature Reviews
March 01, 2019 Fire-Breathing Beast A poem by Maxim Amelin, translated by Derek Mong and Anne O. Fisher. Literature Politics
March 01, 2019 Crime and Punishment W.W. Norton has released a new translation, by Michael Katz, of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. We excerpt here the novel’s opening. Literature St. Petersburg
January 26, 2019 From Fairy Magic to Retirement Planning Russia's Central Bank believes people's financial illiteracy and economic troubles stem from bad messaging in Russian folk tales. Could it be true? Culture Economy Literature The Weekly Russia File
January 01, 2019 The Popular Assembly Krylov on democracy and how leaders are chosen: "However just the rules and laws, in unjust hands or beaks or paws they can be bent to serve the goal of leaders loath to lose control." Humor Literature
January 01, 2019 On Translating Krylov Our translator of Krylov's difficult fables shares how she approaches translation of this most colloquial of poets. Literature
January 01, 2019 The Wolf in the Kennel Krylov on how one negotiates with wolves. Hint: one doesn't. "Of wolves I’ve learned a thing or two. With them there’s only one sure truce." Humor Literature
January 01, 2019 Man With a Box Pavel Bazhov, Russia's greatest modern fabulist, had a complicated and eventful life. Literature
January 01, 2019 The Freedom Factory The story of a real-life military factory told through monologues collected from anonymized workers, managers, and engineers. (novel excerpt) Cities & Towns Literature
January 01, 2019 Grampa Krylov Russia’s best known poet was born 250 years ago, and his last name was not Pushkin. Biographies Literature
November 23, 2018 We Once Had a Poet Named Tyutchev Fyodor Tyutchev (whose 115th birthday is today) was endowed with genius and good luck: a great Russian poet, he was not killed in a duel or in the Caucasus. Nor did he rot in Siberia, but instead lived until he was 70 and died in his own bed. Culture Literature
November 09, 2018 Being Turgenev Everyone in Russia knows the great writer Ivan Turgenev, whose 200th birthday is today, and they make his acquaintance in three stages. History Literature
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 Art Exhibit
February 28, 2022 to February 23, 2032 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
February 03, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Tea Is For Tradition Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA The objects associated with Russian tea are tactile reminders of this important tradition and evoke warmth, home, and family. Art Exhibit
May 05, 2022 to October 02, 2022 Images of Atheism: The Soviet Assault on Religion Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Exploring the role of visual propaganda in the Communist Party’s seven-decade war against religion (ca. 1920– 1990). Art Exhibit
April 10, 2022 to October 23, 2022 Martin Roemers: Relics of the Cold War Wende Museum | Culver City, CA On view in the Wende’s West Gallery and garden, this exhibition presents work by Dutch photographer Martin Roemers from 1998 through 2009, when he captured the structural and topographic remnants of the Cold War in both the East and West over an eleven-year period. Art Exhibit
May 26, 2022 to July 24, 2022 Pysanka: Symbol of Renewal Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Maine-based contemporary artist Lesia Sochor's exhibition inspired by the beautiful tradition of intricately decorated Ukrainian Easter egg painting. Art Exhibit
Marooned in Moscow This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
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.
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.
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.
Murder at the Dacha Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
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 Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.
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.
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.
Jews in Service to the Tsar Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
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.
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.
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History
April 06, 2020 A Russian Gift A look at how the Jesuits, Pope Francis, and Georgetown University all share an interesting connection to Russia. History Int'l Relations Religion
February 20, 2014 Russian Genealogy A comprehensive listing of resources, online and off, for researching your Russian roots, courtesy of Ginny Audet. History Reference
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War
March 07, 2022 Russian Life Takes a Pause As the world reels from the horrific, criminal events being perpetrated in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the Russian state, and the Russian military, all of us who nurture a love for Russian people, their culture and history, have been heartbroken. It is not easy to remain a Russophile when suddenly, all across the globe, the adjective “Russian” has become toxic. News
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
