January 16, 2002 Newsletter

Author: Linda DeLaine
Website: RL Online
Department:
Page: 0   ( 0) pages

Summary: Fabergé, Creation of the Comintern, Tea Time in Russia, Who Killed Kirov? and more.

RUSSIAN LIFE'S
RUSSIAN CULTURE GUIDE NEWSLETTER

By Linda DeLaine, Editor
January 16, 2002

WHAT'S NEW

Online Texts
Growing collection of complete, English texts including political and literary works. To date, this section includes the complete English translations of Trotsky's "Lessons of October" and "The Suppressed Testament of Lenin."

Fabergé
Discover the exciting world of Carl Fabergé's Imperial Easter Eggs.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Creation of the Comintern
In 1919, after two failed Socialist Internationals, Lenin decided that there was a need for a new organization to bring solidarity among the working class; the Communist International was born.

Ahead of Her Time
Our calendar feature looks at the life and struggles of Marina Tsvetaeva, one of this century's greatest poets.

Tea Time in Russia
Tea was brought to Russia in the 1600s from China. Since then, the brew and its implements have become an enduring tradition of Russian society. The tea ceremony itself bonds families and communities.

Who Killed Kirov?
The circumstances and mystery surrounding the murder of Russian revolutionary and Soviet leader, Sergei Kirov. On January 15, 1935, Grigori Zinoviev and 18 members of the "Moscow Centre" were tried in Leningrad for their part in the Dec. 1, 1934, assassination of Sergei Kirov.

All that Glitters . . . Or Something More?
Why are we so fascinated with the lavish and expensive creations of the House of Faberge?

This Time One Year Ago
Russian Life Magazine, Jan/Feb 2001; 100 Young Russians to Watch This Century (part 1); Nikolai Roerich; Krasnoyarsk, Baikal & Irkutsk; The Decline of Russian; Airplane Dacha . . .

And much more . . .

REGULAR FEATURES

Russian Culture Update
Your Update page includes special on-line features such Time Photo Essays, Russia Journal Lifestyle reports, current ruble rate and more. As always, this page is your source for daily headlines, OP/ED, sports and business news.

Today in Russia's History - January
Key events in Russian history for the month of January.

Russian Trivia Quizzes
Introduction to a series of interactive quizzes about Russia's history, events and people.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Here we go again . . . Russia and the U.S. are friends and George and Vlad are buddies. Despite this new found warmth, the U.S. recently issued repeated criticism about Russia's actions in Chechnya. Moscow fired back pointing out that this was not much different and certainly no worse than current U.S. activities in Afghanistan.

Both nations want arms reduction but disagree on how to go about it. With Washington's withdrawal from the 1972 ABM Treaty, subsequent treaties, such as START I & II, are in effect null. Moscow wants future agreements in writing in the form of a new treaty. Washington thinks that, since the two are now friends, a handshake is more than adequate and appropriate.

The list of rumblings goes on. Is all of this normal between friends and the attention due to the relative novelty of the new U.S. - Russian relationship? Or are we programmed to simply never totally get along?

I have a friend in St. Petersburg with whom I correspond, via email, several times a week. This has been going on for about 4 years and, like most friends, we talk about our kids, exchange pictures from our summer vacation trips and so on.

Recently, my friend got married and emailed several photos from that happy day. As I sat looking at the smiling faces on my monitor from half way around the world, I couldn't help but be reminded that the differences we have in terms of culture, language, life-style and opinion are just that; differences, not problems. Too bad it cannot be so simple on the larger governmental scale.