February 01, 2020

The Actor-Agents of the KGB


The Actor-Agents of the KGB
Art meets life: Grigoriy Zhzhonov, Soviet spy on and off the screen, with Vladimir Putin – himself a former KGB agent.
  Presidential Press and Information Office | Wikipedia

Can’t get enough Russian spy movies? How about spies in movies?

A former KGB agent responsible for cultural affairs recently claimed that many Soviet celebrities, including multiple famous actors, were agents of the “special services,” as they say in Russian. They were allegedly recruited during labor camp sentences for notorious crimes like “anti-Soviet propaganda.”

As professional actors in government-sponsored movies, alongside their side-gigs as undercover agents, they ended up in quite pro-Soviet careers. While a former KGB general doubts that his ex-colleague could have had this specific information, others agree it is extremely plausible that many Soviet cultural luminaries led double lives: just like an “I Spy” game, hidden in plain, and very public, sight.

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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.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

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.

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.

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