The Greening of Russian Life

Our company was founded in 1990 on the principle that paying attention to international issues matters. While U.S.-Russian relations and the history and society of the world’s largest country are important, there is no larger international issue than the health of this planet. We believe that all magazines – not just those focused on environmental issues – should be published with as small an environmental impact (“footprint”) as possible.

Last year, we began printing Russian Life on 10% Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) content paper, despite a significant cost premium. 

In July of this year, we moved Russian Life to a new magazine printer. A huge factor in our decision-making was that printer’s (Ovid Bell Press, in Fulton, MO —founded 1924) commitment to green publishing. As a result, the inside pages of this magazine are now printed on 100% coated PCR paper (produced in Denmark, at a plant fueled by biomass). This is not the glossy paper you may be used to, but we have found it has excellent photo reproduction quality, and, because it is a matte stock, can be far easier to read. The cover is printed on 10% PCR stock. The upshot is that we will, each year, save 532 trees, 318 million BTUs of energy, and halve our contribution to greenhouse gases and solid waste production (you can see a full environmental statement on our website).

We are a small company, but one sincerely concerned about humans’ impact on the environment. So our changes will not stop here. We are committed to making our company 100% carbon-neutral in all our operations (again, see our website). We of course welcome feedback from readers, clients, and persons and companies which have assistance and advice to offer us in this transition. 

While we realize that our small company’s changes will not reverse global warming or staunch humanity’s relentless depletion of natural resources, our example does show that even a small company with limited resources can make changes necessary to operate in an environmentally responsible manner.

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As you may have noticed, we are rolling out a new periodical publication, Chtenia, which we hope you will add to your subscription to Russian Life.

There is so much we would like to publish – mainly fiction and longer works of non-fiction – that simply does not fit in the limited space allowed by Russian Life. So we decided to make a new space for it and begin publishing it quarterly, in an easy-to-tote-to-the-coffee-shop paperback book format. 

I encourage you to sign up early for a subscription to this new publication, as we will be printing to demand and cannot be certain about back issue availability, once issues have mailed. Particularly since the collections will be so unique!

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Russian Life will be visiting several festivals and events through the fall. Check our events listings (page 18) for notations of where we will be, and be sure to stop by and visit our booth if you attend. We always enjoy talking with readers and learning about what we are doing right... and wrong.

Enjoy the issue.