The Horror

“Can you plant a garden to stop a war?
It depends how you think about time.
It depends what you think a seed does,
if it’s tossed into fertile soil.”
– Olivia Laing

Words do not suffice to express our outrage.

On February 24, 2022, the regime that has Russia in its grip decided to embrace lies instead of life.

A few weeks later, deciding there was no longer a place for a glossy, pictorial magazine celebrating Russian culture, history, travel, and society, we suspended publication of Russian Life. We needed time to think. To observe.

We watched, aghast, as Russia’s Ukraine War brought horrific suffering to Ukraine and all Europe. As all things Russian were painted with a broad and ugly stroke. This war is a stain that will not wash off Russia for decades. 

As the killing continued, as censorship, emigration, and repression increased, we began to realize Russian Life needed to return, but with a new mission.

There are many important voices and stories inside Russia that need to be heard. But almost all foreign media have left, and local media are stifled and censored. This is where we can help. Our magazine has been telling stories from Russia for nearly three decades, and we have connections and capabilities that others do not.

So we are resuming publication of Russian Life, aiming to once again tell stories about Russia that are not being told elsewhere, but now with a new sense of purpose.

Our magazine’s title, once descriptive, has become aspirational.

Here, then, is what will guide Russian Life in this new era:

• All content will be published anonymously, to protect the authors.
• The magazine will be larger, but publish quarterly, not bimonthly.
• Articles will focus on stories and voices that other media outlets miss because they do not have our in-country connections.
• Shorter news items and updates that used to be in the front of the magazine will publish online, at russianlife.com.
• Our editorial focus will be on human rights, democracy, resistance to oppression, and Russia’s struggle to preserve a civil society in the face of a rising totalitarian tide.

We cannot be all things to all people. This is what we can be now, what we feel will be most useful, what offers the best hope of planting the most fruitful seeds. We hope you agree and will continue to accompany and support us on this path, renewing your subscription, and encouraging others to join us.

This new journey will be a challenge. But if we take it together, one step at a time, we might do some good.

And one day Russians, and Russia, may even thank us.