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To paraphrase the Russian satirists Ilf & Petrov, the world can be divided into two groups of people: those who read Russian Life and those who do not.

This month, we welcome American tennis star Venus Williams to the more esteemed of these two groups. Ranked number five in the world, Williams was recently in Moscow to participate in her second Kremlin Cup tennis tourney, where she was seeded #1.  Unfortunately, Williams has never won a Kremlin Cup; this year she lost in the semifinals to Mary Pierce. 

In any event, when our correspondent passed a copy of Russian Life to Williams, seeking an interview, she was positively effusive about the magazine and insisted on subscribing.

Some people just have impeccable taste. 

(Williams said she is fascinated by Russian culture and history.) 

Speaking of taste, our cover story this month (page 18) looks at how Russia’s current financial crisis is causing a resurgence in demand for domestically made foods. It may well be one of the few silver linings on the dark cloud that hangs over the Russian economy.

Other stories filling out our menu this month include a look at the little-known history of Russians in American film, a portrait of Bulat Okudzhava, a trip to the Russian North, a historical piece on Yekaterina Dashkova and a slightly off-beat pictoral review of 1998, and a profile of Venus’ Russian competition, Anya Kurnikova. Plus, of course, our usual departments and columns.

So, to Venus and all our other valued new readers this month, welcome to the table. We hope you enjoy the meal!

And to all our readers, may we at Russian Life take the opportunity to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!