A Short History of the Crimea Partisans The partisan movement in Crimea developed in a complex context, given the USSR’s general lack of war-readiness and the defeats in the fall of 1941 on the Crimean section of the front.
November 01, 1996 A Woman of Substance Two hundred years ago this month, the death of Empress Catherine II brought many things in Russia to an end. Russia said goodbye to its last female ruler, and to the last ruler in its history to be given the title "veliky" (great). The period known as the Golden Age of the Nobility also drew to a close. Nikolai Pavlenko tells the story of the controversial and strong-willed German princess who siezed ppower in a vast foreign country and earned the ardent respect of her subject and outsiders alike.
July 01, 2005 The Defense of Sevastopol Russian soldiers held off the French at Malakhov Kurgan for 349 days, before it fell, 150 years ago this month. The end of this battle brought an end to the Crimean War.
September 01, 1997 Potemkin's Palace From Prince Potemkin to Prince Charles, Petersburg's Tauride Palace has seen its share of VIPs over the years. This month, 205 years after the death of the palace's famous namesake, we take a look at the history of the Tauride from its founding to the present day.
July 01, 2012 Catherine Ascends; Peter Falls We read history through the eyes of the victors, and in June 1762, the victor was a German-born princess newly ascended to the throne with her husband, Peter III. To history she became known as Catherine the Great.
May 01, 1998 The Prince and the Empress A biography of Catherine the Great's favorite and the noted diplomat, Grigory Potemkin.
July 01, 2014 Simferopol's Banksy For six years, a street artist nicknamed Sharik has been leaving his mark on Crimean streets.
January 01, 2015 Crimean Sojourn Mikhail Mordasov has been traveling all over Crimea since the annexation last spring. He shares this moving photo feature.
March 07, 2014 7 Ways Not to Protest the Occupation of Crimea Russia’s occupation cum annexation of Crimea is a tragedy no matter how you slice the salami tactics. One just wants to protest, boycott, DO something. But what? Well, like President Obama and the EU, we’re coming up a bit short on the list of feasible and effective sanctions. But here are a few things we recommend NOT doing.
March 28, 2014 The Solution to Crimea Lies Through Finland You have to hand it to History. She has a very well developed sense of irony. Exactly 160 years ago today the Crimean War began... While it is useful for the current crisis over Crimea and Ukraine to understand history, solving the crisis is more likely through analogy.
April 01, 2016 Crimea Crisis Solved? In a surprising move that has shocked international pundits, Secretary of State John Kerry today announced he has arranged the de-annexation of Crimea by Russia.
June 28, 2017 Catherine Seizes Power On June 28, 1762, Catherine (born Sofia Frederika Augusta), the German wife of a weakened tsar, seized Russian throne. She soon earned the appellation "the Great."
November 24, 2019 Too Much Catherine, Not Enough Greatness: Two Reviews of "Catherine the Great" Two reviewers evaluate Catherine the Great through a gender and a storytelling lens.
March 05, 2018 Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history. Nonfiction
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. Fiction
September 01, 2010 301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started... Culture History Reference Nonfiction
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. Fiction
December 24, 2022 A Taste of Chekhov This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life. Fiction
June 20, 2017 Woe From Wit (bilingual) One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture. Humor Literature Bilingual Books Fiction
December 01, 2008 93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context. Language Reference Language Learning Nonfiction
January 09, 2017 Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution. History War Nonfiction
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. Bilingual Books Fiction Language Learning
November 01, 2010 Frogs Who Begged... This edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina. Culture Literature Bilingual Books Fiction
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. Nonfiction
August 17, 2018 Resilience ~ The Russian Version (Переживем) Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history. Nonfiction
