Culture & Customs

Our series in the Cuisine section about the interaction of the culinary and visual arts continues with columnist Darra Goldstein's consideration of Pavel Filonov's "Angels by the Stove." And the recipe? Black bread!

An excerpt from George Kennan's famous diary of his travels across Siberia, Tent Life in Siberia, in which he finds out he is not so fluent in Russian as he thought he was.

In recent years, a resurgent interest in religious pilgrimages has swept through Russia. Stella Rock joined 20,000 Russians on a 150-kilometer journey through Kirov region and brought back this story.

Konstantin Makovsky's Boyarina Bearing a Tray serves as an introduction to an ancient Russian custom of hospitality.

This edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

Russians are wearing less and will have to do with fewer mushrooms this year. President Medvedev is Russia's Internet President (while PM Putin apparently does not even have a cellphone)...

How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started... 

Once the Romanovs’ summer home, Pushkin is a sleepy suburb of St. Petersburg with a storied history. And, thanks to the presence of royal palaces, it is also one of Russia’s most touristed towns.

Ok, I might be biased, given that at Russian Life we're focused 24/7 on things Russian. But lately it seems like Russians are popping up everywhere, even in the most unlikely of places. 

A new movie opens July 30 starring Melanie Laurent and Alexei Guskov and it sounds like a fun summer diversion for Russophiles. We're waiting for our review copy to deliver a judgement, but here is a synopsis...

Arkady Plastov's painting "The Tractor Drivers' Supper" exemplifies the Socialist Realist style, and is full of important cultural references, which lead inevitably to this issue's recipe, for Cabbage with Noodles and Poppy Seeds.