Culture & Customs

“Coffee is good. I don’t know where we got coffee from – it’s like a sin, like drinking champagne in the morning... Coffee is good, remember that. You can love it or not love it, but you cannot blame it and say that it is harmful. ”

– Dr. Alexander Myasnikov, dispelling misconceptions on the dangers of coffee

When you can't go to the museum, the museum comes to you!

Was it aliens? Secret nuclear testing? Bigfoot? The Russian Prosecutor-General's office claims to have solved one of Soviet Russia's most perplexing mysteries.

This week, drivers' licenses get a much-overdue update, utility bills make headlines, and we learn that pirates abound in Russia. 

“This dish is eaten in almost every home. I don’t understand Russian people’s tastes at all.”

- Chinese blogger on herring under a fur coat, one of six items he listed as unusual Russian dishes

Russian flight attendants were surveyed to determine the characteristics of an ideal passenger.

Russia and Turkey are split over the use of an iconic Istanbul— er, Constantinople— monument.

A well-known Russian doctor used ice cream as a clue for a tricky diagnosis.

Ultra-conservative Russian Orthodox priest Father Sergei has had quite the summer.

This week, Russia's government grapples with the ins-and-outs of distance learning, the Ministry of Economic Development is nonplussed by the effects of coronavirus, and we know what side of the bread a shipbuilder's head's butter is on.

The Kremlin said that the president's dirty laundry is not for sale on the internet.

A famous Chinese artist was so inspired by his visit to the Hermitage, that he created a whole exhibit.