February 24, 2014

No More Olympics… What Now?


No More Olympics… What Now?

The Sochi Olympic Games are now officially over. Suffering withdrawals? Here are five ideas for how to fill up all your viewing time.

  1. The Americans. The timing could not be more appropriate. Season two of this Cold War spy thriller series on FX debuts on February 26. Yes, it often feels very improbable, all this sleeper spy in Reagan's America stuff. But it's well-crafted and filled with lots of great suspense. Watch it live on FX, a bit later on Hulu, or pay per view with Amazon.
  2. The Paralympics. If you haven't had enough of all the Chevy commercials and long helicopter shots of the Caucasus, tune back in to NBC (if you are in the US) to watch these amazing athletes go at it in Sochi. NBC is only broadcasting about 50 hours of the Paralympics, which could help you step away from the couch. But you will apparently be able to stream all events live at TeamUSA.org.
  3. Classic Russian Movies. Got two hours to kill, want to veg out but also work on your Russian and/or stoke that nostalgia fire? Head over the Mosfilm where you can stream all sorts of classic films to your computer or TV (if you can connect). Need a recommendation? If you haven't seen Diamond Arm, you must watch it. Now. Or how about a documentary on the Olympics? Or a melodrama about hockey players based on a story by Trifonov.
  4. Watch a Decent Western Film. Pop on over to Netflix to keep your Russophilia alive. Go underwater with a great Cold War submarine flick, like The Hunt for Red October or Phantom; check back in on the Bolsheviks with Reds or The Battleship Potemkin; go all romantic with Doctor Zhivago; enjoy a cheap thrill with Night Watch or Day Watch; be enthralled by one of the greatest Russia-based documentaries of recent years: Happy People
  5. Finally, if you really get desperate, there is always another Russian Dash Cam Video. Just ignore the driver's music choices and be thankful you are safely on your couch...

Got ideas of your own? Use the comments below to share ideas and help other Russophiles through this difficult time.

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Some of our Books

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

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