March 14, 2001 The Calendar Issue A brief look at the often time confusing issue of the 'old' and 'new' calendars used by Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church. This article contains links to indepth and more technical material on the subject. History Religion Russia File
January 23, 2001 Russian Pascha Easter is the most important celebration of the Russian Orthodox Church. Find out what constitutes a traditional Pascha meal and read the Patriarch's message. Culture Holidays Religion Russia File
January 15, 2001 Russian Icons A discussion of this unique spiritual art form with many colorful examples. Art Religion Russia File
December 12, 2000 The Real Santa Find out how a Bishop from Turkey became the patron saint of Moscow and Santa Claus to the world. History Religion Russia File
December 10, 2000 Readings for Feast Day of St. Nicholas Scriptures and prayers for the Orthodox Feast Day of St. Nicholas of Myra. Holidays Literature Religion Russia File
August 18, 2000 Shaman and Native Mysticism The term Shaman is both a noun and a verb. It is from the Tungus language and is seen as saman or haman. The actions of the Shaman are, what western explorers referred to as, Shamanism. It is the oldest known demonstration of human spirituality. Regions Religion Russia File
August 06, 2000 Dagestan - Islamic Center and War Zone Part II - Islamic rebels History Religion Russia File
January 24, 2000 Kievan Rus' and the Church The origin of the Rurik Dynasty and introduction of the Orthodox Church. History Religion Russia File
January 01, 1990 Butina, Babies, and Baby-making This week, depressing news about divisions and birth rates can only really be counteracted with a smile over the Orthodox church’s new take on sex. Culture Humor Int'l Relations News Politics Religion Social Issues The Weekly Russia File Russia File
January 01, 1990 Christmastide Tradition St. Nicholas, Babouschka, Christmas Eve festivities . . .Ded Moroz leading to Christmas on January 7th. Culture Holidays Religion Russian Life Magazine Russia File
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 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
December 10, 2023 to December 10, 2023 HANUKKAH - FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS Plummer Park - Fiesta Hall | West Hollywood, CA Kol Sephardic Choir (ROSE) & Pasión Flamenca De Los Angeles cordially invite you to a wonderful musical event, "HANUKKAH-Festival of Lights" Music
September 13, 2023 to February 04, 2024 Komar and Melamid in America Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University | New Brunswick, NJ The joint work of the well-known Moscow-born American artists Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid, who worked together from 1972 to 2003. Art Exhibit
September 22, 2023 to January 21, 2024 Spirituality in Eastern Christianity Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA An exhibition of photographs by Alain de Lotbinière. The 26 images were taken during the course of several trips to Northern Macedonia, Serbia, and Russia, as well as during visits to sites in Turkey and Egypt. Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
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.
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...
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science Russia File
February 20, 2014 Russian Genealogy A comprehensive listing of resources, online and off, for researching your Russian roots, courtesy of Ginny Audet. History Reference Russia File
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 03, 2018 12 Myths/Truths About Russians and Vodka Think you know your vodka? Take this True/False quiz (just 12 items) about Russians and their vodka and see if you are right about that... Food & Drink Russia File
February 24, 2023 Russia's Year of Horror After a year of horrific war, why does a magazine like Russian Life continue? Why not simply wash our hands of it and walk away? Culture History Journalism War Russia File
September 07, 2021 Using Laughter to Cope These eight outstanding Soviet comedies show some of what has made Russians laugh over the past century. Most are still watched today. (First in our new series on learning about Russia through its films.) Culture Through Film Russia File
