May 17, 2017 The Other Catherine: 7 Facts About Russia's First Empress By Alice E.M. Underwood Catherine I held the title of Empress 40 years before her more famous, “Great” namesake. As the first woman to rule Russia, she had great qualities of her own. Culture History Politics
March 06, 2017 Better Russia By Robert Blaisdell Bob Blaisdell reviews Other Russias, an album of images and impressions of ordinary, unconnected Russian citizens who have unexpectedly found themselves activists. Art Culture Literature Politics
February 23, 2017 Revolution! By Tamara Eidelman On February 23, 1917 the Revolution came to Petrograd. The Tsar abdicated and a long year of turmoil and political upheaval lie ahead... History Politics
December 19, 2016 10 Things (And 5 Jokes) You Didn't Know About Brezhnev By Alice E.M. Underwood 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
October 31, 2016 Why Stalin's Corpse Was Exhumed on Halloween By Alice E.M. Underwood 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
August 17, 2016 Faded Memories of 1991 By The Editors It's been over two decades since the coup of August 1991, and only half of Russians remember it. But that's not all... History Politics
June 16, 2016 Rudolf Nureyev's Great Leap to Freedom By Alice E.M. Underwood Ballet great Rudolf Nureyev leapt out of Soviet jurisdiction and into the wider world of Western ballet on June 16, 1961. His leap was as much a political move as a dance move. Art Culture History Politics
June 12, 2016 The Corpse of Lenin and the Rebirth of St. Petersburg By Alice E.M. Underwood St. Petersburg is now 25: citizens voted to rename Leningrad as St. Petersburg on June 12, 1991. Lenin’s legacy was at the center of the change, and remains a hot topic 25 years later. History Politics
April 26, 2016 Chernobyl: The State Secret By Marina Latysheva 30 years ago today, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant had a meltdown: "Flames, sparks, and chunks of burning material went flying... These were red-hot pieces of nuclear fuel and graphite..." History Politics Science
April 22, 2016 New Foreign Agent Bill Hits Close to Home By Alice E.M. Underwood Russia’s law on foreign agents may be getting increasingly draconian. In its latest iteration, any charity could be deemed a political tool of international forces. News Politics Social Issues
April 14, 2016 Russia's Favorite Rebel and His Bloody Capture Turn 345 By Dmitry Volodikhin On April 14, 1671, Cossacks captured rebel leader Stenka Razin and ended his rebellion against the tsar. Here’s some background on Razin’s uprising, and what it meant for the fate of Russia. Culture History Politics
April 29, 2021 to April 29, 2021 Communism Through the Lens: Everyday Life Captured by Women Photographers Zimmerli Museum | New Brunswick, NJ The exhibition Communism Through the Lens: Everyday Life Captured by Women Photographers in the Dodge Collection highlights the unique – and often overlooked – photographic innovations by women who shaped the history of photography during the 20th century. Art Exhibit
May 02, 2021 to May 02, 2021 Three Sisters Live Stream Performance Online - Pushkin House | London, Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters probes the lives and dreams of Olga, Masha, and Irina, former Muscovites now living in a provincial town from which they're desperate to escape. In this powerful play, a landmark of modern drama, Chekhov masterfully interweaves character and theme in subtle ways that make the work's climax seem as inevitable as it is deeply moving. Theater
May 01, 2021 to May 31, 2021 20th Annual Russian Arts and Culture Festival Virtual | N/A, N/A The City of West Hollywood administration invites everyone to join a virtual celebration of Russian Arts and Culture this May. An array of musical events, activities for kids, workshops, virtual tours, concerts, contests, interviews with interesting people, and much more will comprise a month-long celebration. The program of our events will be published on the website of the festival and in the Facebook group. Festival
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
August 22, 2016 Magical Kefir By Philip Seifi Kefir is the most popular fermented milk in Russia. But it did not get there overnight. Kefir and Russia have a long history... Food & Drink History
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall By Alice E.M. Underwood 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
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
July 01, 2013 The Russian Bees Will Save Us By Paul E. Richardson American bees are dying from mysterious causes, putting our agriculture at risk for lack of pollinators. Russian bees might be part of a solution. Agriculture Environment Science
January 28, 2020 Meet Russia's favorite sable By Maria Antonova Siberian sable fur was once Russia's biggest luxury export, but now we can't get enough of Instagram star Umora, the sable inspiring Russians to never look at fur coats again. Animals Internet Interview
April 23, 2014 Peace, Land, Bread By Eugenia Sokolskaya 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
