October 01, 2011

Contest Anyone?


Contest Anyone?

It's our anniversary, so we're celebrating with a contest!

Fifty-five years is a long time for a magazine to be bumping around this uncertain world. And while we've only been stewarding Russian Life for the past 16 years, we do take unmeasured pride in the fullness of our heritage, even those wayward years when the magazine (then known as Soviet Life) was overcome with propagandistic fervor (oh, wayward youth!)...

In any event, to celebrate our 55th anniversary, we're holding a contest. Appropriately, there will be 55 prizes, including a Kindle (pictured, right) as the Grand Prize. That means some pretty good odds of winning for everyone.

How do you enter? Simple, between October 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011:

It's that easy. What is more, if you do more than one of these things, each one gets you a new entry. So, for example, if you come on as a new subscriber and buy a gift for someone else, you will get two entries and your friend will get one!

The prizes are an amazing array of gifts that are of interest and value to Russophiles, readers and travelers. We are still compiling the final list, and will drop it in here as soon as it is complete (with photos and links!). But here's an initial taste:

  • New generation Amazon Kindle with built-in wi-fi
  • Fine Russian linens, courtesy of Russia House Collection
  • Newly published works of Russia-related non-fiction and fiction
  • Tshirts and totebags (with Russian imprints, of course!)
  • Vermont maple syrup from Morse Farm, just 5 minutes up the road from us (personally, we consider this to be the top prize!)
  • Little Pim's Wake up Smiling language learning DVD for children
  • Oxford Russian-English Picture Dictionary
  • DVDs of Russian films (with subtitles)
  • Music CDs
  • The last laminated Russia Wall Map in the known world
  • ...and much, much more!

Enter early and often! And help us spread the word through Facebook and the Twitterverse!

{The full, official rules are posted here...}

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Some of Our Books

Driving Down Russia's Spine

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. 
At the Circus

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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Latchkey Murders

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...
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
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.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

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.  
Survival Russian

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.

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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Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955