Literature

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The Popular Assembly
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."

On Translating Krylov
January 01, 2019

On Translating Krylov

Our translator of Krylov's difficult fables shares how she approaches translation of this most colloquial of poets.

The Wolf in the Kennel
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."

Man With a Box
January 01, 2019

Man With a Box

Pavel Bazhov, Russia's greatest modern fabulist, had a complicated and eventful life.

We Once Had a Poet Named Tyutchev
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. 

Taking Stock
November 01, 2018

Taking Stock

A look back at year end stock-taking, at changes that have been promised in years past, and promises that have been un-kept.

Anna and an Atlas
November 01, 2018

Anna and an Atlas

In which we review The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessions from Russian Literature, by Viv Groskop, and Restless Empire, by Ian Barnes.

 

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Russian-Language Gallery Tour
February 22, 2022 to February 22, 2032

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A Few of Our Books

A Taste of Chekhov

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.
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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Marooned in Moscow

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.
Murder at the Dacha

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.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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.
The Samovar Murders

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.
The Best of Russian Life

The Best of Russian Life

We culled through 15 years of Russian Life to select readers’ and editors’ favorite stories and biographies for inclusion in a special two-volume collection. Totalling over 1100 pages, these two volumes encompass some of the best writing we have published over the last two decades, and include the most timeless stories and biographies – those that can be read again and again.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.

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