February 08, 2021

Mimosas (The Flower, Not the Drink) in Sochi


Mimosas (The Flower, Not the Drink) in Sochi
Not as tasty as the drink, but much prettier.  Bertrand Borie, unsplash.com 

Mimosas in Sochi are not only this author's favorite drink and vacation destination combo but also a very real phenomenon occurring right now at Russia's southern border. Mimosas (the bright yellow flowering plant) typically bloom in the region during March and traditionally are given as gifts on International Women's Day.

However, this year a warmer than average winter has encouraged these flowers to come out nearly a month and a half ahead of schedule! Yellow mimosa branches and other spring plants can be seen decorating the city in a heart-warming display of early spring. 

Some residents worry that the early arrival of spring means that the supply of flowers will be gone before March 8th (International Women's Day) arrives, leaving many ladies with a vase of some other variety of flowers instead. But botanist Makshin Postyshev says not to worry, explaining that this early blooming time will actually result in brighter and more mature mimosa plants arriving in women's bouquets come early March. 

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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
Marooned in Moscow

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.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

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Murder and the Muse

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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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The Samovar Murders

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Chekhov Bilingual

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Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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