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A poem from the new volume Alcestis of the Underworld, by a regular translator of works published by Russian Life Books.

A poem by Maxim Amelin, translated by Derek Mong and Anne O. Fisher.

Krylov on democracy and how leaders are chosen: "However just the rules and laws, in unjust hands or beaks or paws they can be bent to serve the goal of leaders loath to lose control."

Krylov on how one negotiates with wolves. Hint: one doesn't. "Of wolves I’ve learned a thing or two. With them there’s only one sure truce."

Fyodor Tyutchev (whose 115th birthday is today) was endowed with genius and good luck: a great Russian poet, he was not killed in a duel or in the Caucasus.  Nor did he rot in Siberia, but instead lived until he was 70 and died in his own bed. 

Galina Sergeyevna Usova is a poet and translator of English prose and poetry. For the last few years, she has been standing outside St. Petersburg’s Polytechnic Institute metro station selling her books.

On September 29-30, 1941, Nazi troops shot over 33,000 Jews at the edge of the Babi Yar ravine near Kiev. Yevgeny Yevtushenko's poem memorializing the tragedy ensures it will never be forgotten. 

In honor of Alexander Pushkin's 217th birthday, here's a small sample of his poems to show that his writing isn't just pretty and witty – it can help you through almost any situation.