June 24, 2015

What a Difference a Decade Makes


What a Difference a Decade Makes

Just a little under a decade ago, in 2006, the US and Russia were staunch allies in the global war on terror, George Bush had looked into Vladimir Putin’s soul and found it good, and 73 percent of Americans viewed Russia as friendly or an ally. This was a marked change from early 2000, when US public opinion was virtually tied over whether Russia was friend or foe (after the more or less friendly 1990s).

But over the last eight years, with the US and Russia clashing over the ABM Treaty, Edward Snowden, human rights, Crimea, and Ukraine, US opinions about Russia have fundamentally changed. This past February, 68 percent of Americans viewed Russia as unfriendly or an enemy.

Not surprisingly, the situation is much the same in Russia, only more so. A recent Levada Center poll found that 81 percent of Russians have a negative view of America, the highest negative – by far – since Levada began conducting this poll in 1990.

Notably, on both sides of the divide, these are citizens’ views of the other country as a political actor, not their views of the people in the other country. I have yet to see any poll that asks what Americans think about Russians, or visa-versa, yet if the past is any guide, both Russians and Americans are rather good about being able to distinguish between the other’s government and its people.

Certainly we have always sought to make that distinction a hallmark of this magazine and we feel it is something that our readers, by definition, just get.

Yet the stark reality of the New Cold War remains, so I have thought long and hard about ways that Russian Life might better contribute to building bridges between the peoples of our two countries, irrespective of the fluctuations of politics or current events.

Since what we do best at Russian Life is tell stories, stories with captivating images, we propose to do that on a scale we have never before attempted.

We will send two photojournalists – one American, one Russian – on a month-long road trip down “The Spine of Russia,” to gather the story of modern Russia, to talk to Russians about what they think about America and Americans. It will be like a four-week, time-lapse snapshot, and we (and by we, I include myself, as I will be one of those two journalists) will gather the stories and images into a beautiful book.

But here’s the kicker: we are only going to do this if the market (you) wants it, if you share our feeling that there is a need for this sort of dialog through journalism, as a way to bridge the East-West divide.

This is a crowdfunding project. If it gets funded before July 31, the Russian-American road trip will happen this fall. If it does not, the trip is off.

We feel that these difficult times demand a new approach. Let us know if you agree.

Visit spineofrussia.org for more information and to partner with us in this exciting project.

[Published in the July/August 2015 issue of Russian Life.]

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Some of Our Books

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
White Magic

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.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
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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. 
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.  
A Taste of Russia

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.
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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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