May 09, 2018

Painting Veterans


Painting Veterans
"Tea-Drinking," by Sasha Sokolova

Artist Sasha Sokolova has undertaken a personal, artistic and cultural project to document the daily life of Russia’s remaining war veterans, including that of her grandfather, who is also her mentor and teacher, through her paintings.

The May/June 2018 issue of Russian Life features 9 examples of her beautiful portraits, with extended captions offering biographical information on the veterans who are shown in the portraits. Here, for example, is one on Ninel V. Karpova.

Ninel Karpova by Sasha Sokolova

NINEL V. KARPOVA

Born on February 26, 1925, in Kharkov. She graduated with a nursing degree in 1942 and was sent to the Volkhov Front. She took part in battles near Leningrad, fought on the Kursk-Belgorod Arc, fought to liberate Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, crossed the Dnieper, the Oder and other rivers, and stormed Berlin. During the war, Karpova herself evacuated from the battlefield more than ten wounded soldiers and provided them with life-saving medical assistance. On Victory Day she was in Prague. 

After the war she worked as physical education teacher in kindergartens. She has long been actively engaged in patriotic education of Moscow youth.

She was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, Second Degree; Order of the Red Star; medals “For Combat Merits,” “For the Taking of Berlin,” “For the Liberation of Prague,” “For the Victory over Germany,” the designation “Excellent Medical Officer,” and many other honors.


If you are in Moscow, Sokolova’s exhibition is be shown at the Pop Up Museum in Moscow during May 8-27.

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

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.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

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