March/April 2016

Where you stand depends on where you sit.

On the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Boris Nemtsov.

What do Leonardo DiCaprio and Ramzan Kadyrov have in common? Why Vladimir Putin, of course.

A look back at the historic Great Moscow Synod, the ousting of Nikon and the split in the Russian Orthodox Church.

A look back at the release of the first Soviet "people's car," the Zhiguli.

A look back at 1861, the year where everything began... to fall apart.

A look at the language of corruption, which would seem a rather useful thing to have in your back pocket.

Test your knowledge of idioms of both domestic and foreign origin.

In the spring of 1703, Peter the Great oversaw the building of Russia’s first Baltic fleet flagship. In 1995, Vladimir Martus decided to build a replica.

Fifteen years after the new Shtandart launched, boat builders on Solovetsky created a replica of an even older ship: the first Russian naval ship built on Russian soil, in 1693.

It was one of the greatest building projects of the Soviet era, inspiring thousands to pick up and move to Siberia. Author Edwin Trommelen traveled the route and got to know Bamovtsy.

Half a century ago, the Soviet dissent movement began when two young writers were put on trial for publishing their works abroad and “slandering the state.” We consider how this relates to modern events.

They left Russia in droves after the Revolution, now some Old Believers whose ancestors put down roots in South America are returning to live in the Russian Far East.

A visit to the newly hip Danilovsky Market in Moscow nets a very chic recipe for Gourmet Pelmeni.

Reviews of Putin Country, by Anne Garrels, Russian Silver Age Poetry, Sibelan Forrester and Martha Kelley, eds., and Near and Distant Neighbors, by Johnathan Haslam.