May 18, 2011

Coming Russian Events


For a Russophile, it can be frustrating to find out about an interesting event related to Russia after it has just happened. On the flip side, it can also be rather difficult to find out about new events far enough in advance before they happen, especially events in your area, so that one can attend.

For several years now, we have been collecting data on Russia-related events at museums, festivals, art galleries, etc. to try to maintain a clearinghouse of what is going on throughout the US on the Russian front. At first, we tried to track down and enter all the information on these events ourselves.

We soon gave up on that Sisyphean task and shifted the onus onto the event presenters, offering them a facility to easily add and update their events on our website. That has seemed to work much better. (Feel free to forward this link to anyone you hear of that is putting on a Russia-related event.) We now like to think we catch most (70-80%) of what is going on and we publish event information from our constantly updated database in our magazine if it is far enough in the future to work with editorial deadlines.

Very often, however, we hear about events so close to their occurrence that they will never make it into print. Yet we still encourage organizers to add their events to our database, hoping that readers and Russophiles will check in to the web-based database from time to time, to see what might be going on in their area (the database is searchable by state, event type, etc.).

But clearly that is not enough, so we'll be looking into ways that people can sign up to be automatically notified, or how we can send out automatic weekly updates of events happening throughout the US every week or so, be it via email, Twitter or Facebook. Any readers with constructive suggestions in this regard, please sound off! Meanwhile, here are three examples of upcoming events that we just heard about, and which are happening in major metropolitan areas in the very near future:

  • Causa Artium is putting on a series of literary events in the NY Metro area showcasing young Russian authors, several of them already famous. The first event is May 20. Here is the listing, which also links to Causa Artium's website.
  • Vladislav Lavrik, who has been hailed as Russia's finest trumpeter, will be giving a solo concert in Minneapolis (a few days after playing the National Anthem with dozens of other top world trumpeters at a Twins game) on May 26. The event info is here.
  • The Angel Orensanz Center in NY is putting on an interesting photo exhibit through the end of May devoted to Ilya Repin.

Enjoy!

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Marooned in Moscow

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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Samovar Murders

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 Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.

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