Current Moscow Time: 17:27:5520 May 2013
The world’s biggest country, in a magazine. Since 1956.
Russian Life: Jul/Aug 2005
18: False Dmitry I
A look at the tsar with an unlikely past and a short but eventful reign during the Time of Troubles, crowned 400 years ago.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
20: The Defense of Sevastopol
Russian soldiers held off the French at Malakhov Kurgan for 349 days, before it fell, 150 years ago this month. The end of this battle brought an end to the Crimean War.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
22: War with Japan
The last thing Russians wanted after finishing the war with Hitler was another war. But three months later, in August 1945, they got one anyway, when Stalin joined the war against Japan, taking the Kuriles and Sakhalin as spoils.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
28: When P.R. Sounds Like Samovar
Many English words and phrases have wedged their way into the Russian vernacular, and not all with benign effect. Witness the effect of P.R...
:: Illustrations/Images by Victor Bogorad
Survival Russian
30: Unusual Imports
Oil, aluminum, precious metals and other natural resources are commonly-known U.S. imports from Russia. We went in search of lesser-known consumer imports and found some surprising items.
Features
40: Saving the Desman
For 30 million years, the desman and its ancestors have lived in remote Russian lakes. But in the last few decades, its numbers have dwindled by half.
:: Illustrations/Images by Igor Shpilenok
Features
44: The Unhappiest Country
Some say that Moldova, part of the former Soviet Union, is the unhappiest place on Earth. Or is it?
Features
52: Back in the USSR
Eastern Moldova - also known as the Transdniester Republic - remains wedded to its Soviet past.
Features
55: Riding the TransSib
Photographer Mike Buscher spent two months riding the Trans-Siberian railway and brings us this photo essay.
Photo Feature
61: Train Fare
A short look at the history of fare aboard the Trans-Siberian railway, with a recipe for pelmeny you can prepare between stops...
Cuisine
64: What is in a Name?
You might have thought that all of the names glorifying Communist "heroes" were eliminated in the wake of the Soviet collapse. If so, you'd be wrong.
Post Script