Culture & Customs

Vasily Kandinsky was a renowned abstract artist whose shapes and colors revolutionized twentieth-century modernist art. Here are 11 of his paintings in honor of his 150th.

On the importance of cabbage in Russian culture (and of course a recipe).

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.

On October 14, 1991, St. Basil’s Cathedral was reopened after six decades. Here are five fun facts in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Cathedral’s rebirth.

In honor of fall, and Russians' favorite autumnal pastime – mushroom picking – we offer these two short stories by Lev Tolstoy – in both English and Russian!

On September 29-30, 1941, Nazi troops shot over 33,000 Jews at the edge of the Babi Yar ravine near Kiev. Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poem memorializing the tragedy ensures it will never be forgotten. 

Dmitry Shostakovich created classical music that spoke to modern times. Read up on his life story and listen along to some of finest works along the way. 

Why are calendars so great? Give me a few minutes, and I will blow your mind.

Matt Traver decided to walk across Siberia and create a documentary film in the process. His first leg didn’t go very smoothly.

Russian Wedding Pie (Kurnik) makes great party fare, but it also has an interesting history connected to fall holidays.

Two superbly captured athletic moments for two Russian athletes at the Rio games.

Kefir is the most popular fermented milk in Russia. But it did not get there overnight. Kefir and Russia have a long history...