March 27, 2020

Officially Over the Hill


Officially Over the Hill
"They really should put these newspapers online. Oh, right, there is no online yet." The author reading wall papers back in 1990 Moscow.

In the smog-choked twilight of the Soviet Union, David Kelley and I sat on a tiny concrete apartment balcony overlooking Moscow’s roaring Ring Road. We sipped Armenian cognac and chewed on Cuban cigars. And we created a company. That company was officially registered 30 years ago today (fun fact: our first name was actually Russian River Trading Company).

It's a bit strange to think about how back then we had to wait in line to buy most things of value (toilet paper not among them, it was largely non-existent in stores), and that some items were rationed (like sugar, because the anti-alcoholism campaign had led to home stills, which needed sugar). Or how, despite perestroika, the fear of nuclear annihilation hung over us like a Damoclean sword. Seems like we have sort of come full circle...

Then again, back then we did not have instant access to the news, phones were only mobile as far as the cords which connected them to the wall, and social media would likely have been interpreted as a mispronunciation of Pravda's imperative (socialist media). Newspapers and print media still ruled the roost, well, except for television, which was mostly all network TV.

In three decades our company has weathered much: a few coups, five American and three Russian presidents, a couple of recessions, multiple downturns in US-Russian relations, and now one pandemic. Every time we think things can't get worse...

But we have enjoyed far, far more. We have had many great employees and partners, have raised a family and watched those of our employees and partners grow up, and I like to think we have created publications and products that have made a difference in how people outside of Russia have perceived Russians and their country, their history, their culture.

In the end, however, since we are a business, it is the tribe of customers and colleagues we have accumulated over 30 years that continue to make what we do possible. That you all find value and worth in what we do, year after year, project after project, is something for which I am constantly grateful, particularly in the sort of difficult times we are all enduring now.

So thank you to all our customers, contacts, colleagues and co-conspirators.

And now back to work. Or whatever it is we are calling this fragmented, virtual-meeting-infested, disconnected labor these days.

Спасибо!

You Might Also Like

Looking Back
  • January 01, 2002

Looking Back

The US-Russian (nee Soviet) Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty has been cast onto the dustheap of history with scarcely a whimper from the Russian side. As with many things, what seemed unlikely six months ago has all of a sudden become unavoidable.
Our History
  • April 01, 2019

Our History

In March of 1990, a bizarre confluence of events – involving two gung-ho Norwegians, one Vermonter tangling with Young Communists, and a Californian with ink in his blood – led to the founding of a small publishing company in Vermont.
Our First Half Century
  • September 01, 2006

Our First Half Century

Where we look back on the first five decades of this magazine’s publishing history, from USSR, through Soviet Life, to the present day. [Download article as PDF.]
Yes, We're a Sexagenarian
  • September 01, 2016

Yes, We're a Sexagenarian

Sixty years ago, bureaucrats and journalists on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain came to a remarkable agreement that led to the founding of Russian Life...
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

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.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

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.

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. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955