Current Moscow Time: 07:13:1725 May 2013
The world’s biggest country, in a magazine. Since 1956.
Russian Life: Nov/Dec 2011
Cover: Konstantin Potapov
7: Time for Change
At last there is clarity. The fog has lifted and we now know who will be the next Russian president.
Note Book
16: Silver Screenings
A round up of recent film and TV movie-related news in Russia, from Oscar candidates to a new Sherlock Holmes to Putin's role in filmmaking.
Film & Television
19: End of the USSR
A ground-eye view of the end of the USSR, which took place 20 years ago this month.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
22: Peruvian Volcano Unseats Russian Tsar
When a volcano erupted in Peru in 1600, it had huge effects not only in South America, but across the globe. And especially in Russia, where crop failures led to hunger and discontent, eventually leading to the Time of Troubles.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
24: Underwater Hero
In 1927 the writer Alexander Belyayev wrote a story about a young man who was able to live under water... in 1961 it became a hit film: Amphibian Man.
:: Translation by Nora Favorov
Russian Calendar
26: Catch the Wind
Russian talking names can lead to many unexpected places. In this instance to euphemistic phrases for, well, you know...
:: Illustrations/Images by Victor Bogorad
Survival Russian
27: Chelovek-Amfibiya
This issue's Uchites insert focuses on Amphibian Man, which is covered in the Calendar section of this issue.
Uchites
28: Crossing Kolyma
It’s not your average traveler who chooses to traverse remote Kolyma through the depth of a Siberian winter. But then Mikael Strandberg is no average traveler.
:: Illustrations/Images by Mikael Strandberg
Regions
36: Elephantine Ambitions
For 30 years, an art gallery in the shadow of Denver’s Union Station has been a showcase for modern Russian art – works that are definitely turning heads and exciting emotion.
Art
38: Russian Finland
Most Finns define their nationhood and heritage in terms of Russia, of which Finland was a part from 1809 to 1917. We explore the complex interplay of Russo-Finnish relations, past and present,especially those along the border.
:: Illustrations/Images by Susanne Kries
Russians Abroad
44: Russian Hoop Dreams
Top WNBA players are streaming to Russia to play pro basketball. And while they are unquestionably having an effect on Russian basketball, Russia is having its effect on them.
Sports
52: The Heart of the Trans-Siberian
It was the last, most difficult part of the Trans-Siberian to build – a 90 km stretch of railway bending around Lake Baikal’s southern coast. To this day it preserves the ethos of its age and is the symbolic heart of the 9,289 kilometer rail line.
:: Translation by Paul E. Richardson
Travel
58: Dazzling the Palate
Hidden in a small alleyway off Moscow's historic Pokrovka Street, tiny Chaynaya Vysota tea room offers 250 varieties of tea... and gourmet ice cream.
:: Illustrations/Images by Maria Antonova
Cuisine
61: For the Love of Ice Cream
How ice cream came to become a Soviet passion.
Cuisine
62: Tolstoy, Spies and Empire
Reviews of a new biography of Tolstoy, a book about a French-run spy, and a firsthand account of the end of the Soviet empire. Oh, and a new translation of a less-read work by Dostoyevsky.
Under Review
64: Putin is Dead! Long Live Putin!
A round up of political jokes and jabs being bandied about in the wake of Putin's announcement that he will be running for the presidency again.
Humor