March 07, 2022

Russian Life Takes a Pause


Russian Life Takes a Pause

To our valued readers:

As the world reels from the horrific, criminal events being perpetrated in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the Russian state, and the Russian military, all of us who nurture a love for Russian people, their culture and history, have been heartbroken. It is not easy to remain a Russophile when suddenly, all across the globe, the adjective “Russian” has become toxic.

Russian Life is an independent, privately-owned magazine. We have been clear from the first hour of the Kremlin’s insane war that we find it to be a vile, reprehensible action in violation of international law. We are appalled by what Putin and his regime are doing in Russia’s name. We also feel certain that if the truth was able to pierce the Kremlin’s propaganda veil, if Russians knew the crimes being committed in their name, they would try to put a stop to this.

I have been discussing all of this with our editors, contributors, board, and advisors. Russian Life magazine would normally be eager to step into the breach, to focus on printing important stories about Russia, about Ukraine, about human resilience and hope. But, regrettably, we cannot, for three reasons.

First, we cannot put our contributors in peril. A heinous new law in Russia puts writers and contributors at considerable risk for writing the truth, for calling this war what it is, for doing honest, independent journalism. We cannot ask them to assume that risk.

Second, we cannot pay contributors. Much of the magazine is written, photographed, and illustrated by Russians. With the complete shutdown of all means of finance and international money transfer, we cannot get any money to them. And we cannot ask people to work for free.

Third, it would be disrespectful to continue work as usual. As Ukraine fights for its life, pummeled by Russian rockets; as millions of Ukrainians flee their homes; as the Russian state erases all basic human rights – it would be tone deaf and insensitive to carry on as we have done before, and unrealistic to attempt, with our slow publishing cycle, to write meaningfully about this fast-developing war. We need time to reassess our approach.

And so we are temporarily suspending publication of the print edition of Russian Life. Your subscription will freeze in place and the number of issues you have remaining will be unchanged when we resume the print publication.

In the interim, we will explore ways to grapple with each of the issues noted above, and we will consider the role we can play in furthering the dialog between Russia and the world. We remain ardent Russophiles, and are not for the “cancelling” of Tchaikovsky and Pushkin, of Chekhov, pelmeni, and vodka. We also have profound respect for Ukraine, for its brave defense of its freedom, and for its rich and vital culture, that the current Russian regime seems intent on destroying.

Meanwhile, we will continue to publish freely available articles and information at Russian Life’s online publication (russianlife.com). There, we will focus on the stories that need telling now, tapping into voices not heard elsewhere. The flexible, speedy online publishing cycle will allow us to respond to unfolding events in a more realistic time frame. You can show solidarity with this free publishing effort by choosing to renew your print subscription, or by purchasing an online subscription.

Thank you for your continued support of Russian Life. While recent events may have tarnished the first half of our magazine’s name, it is worth noting that the second half gives cause for hope and rebirth.

We will find a way through this and come back stronger. In the meantime, let us all hope and pray for peace and sanity to prevail.

Paul Richardson
Publisher

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Some of our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

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
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.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

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...

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.

 
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. 

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.

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.

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