January/February 2017

Everything noteworthy on the travel front.

All the news that fits.

Two quotes that point up the duality of being a Russophile these days.

Readers sound off on Russian Life and offer input on Rasputin and NATO.

Denis Karagodin solved the case of the murder of his great grandfather.

Leading lights (and some not so leading) clash over the scope of government interference in the arts.

In which we relive the events of 1917 through the words, memories and actions of some of the main players: politicians, artists, and entrepreneurs.

A look back at the most popular and/or infamous words and phrases of 2016.

A few readings on maslenitsa to carry us from winter into spring.

At the southeastern-most tip of Russia, where it butts up against China and North Korea, there is a beautiful marine preserve. And there are also poachers.

Our first of several visits to a remote village, through the eyes of Darya Grebenshchikova.

In which we look at the history of Russia through the eyes of three very different monuments in the capital: Pushkin, Dzerzhinsky & Vorovsky.

Every nation builds monuments to those who symbolize the best the country has produced. Yet sometimes there is wide disagreement on what “best” means.

A museum in Voronezh, known to very few local residents, has become a storehouse for forgotten but beloved Russian folk instruments.

A new year, a new dessert!

Reviews of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, The Summer Guest by Alison Anderson. Also short reviews of The Man with the Poison Gun by Serhii Plokhy, Bears in the Streets by Lisa Dickey, and Hard Times by Vasily Sleptsov.

A look at how art, politics and culture mix on the monumental stage that is Moscow.