Russian Life: November 1997

8: Russia's Elusive Middle Class Anna Hoare
There is much talk of Russia's newly rich and sadly poor. But little is heard of its nascent middle class. And what better time to investigate this than on the 80th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, which sought to annhilate the country's middle class?
Features

16: You say you want a revolution? Mikhail Ivanov
Soviet style folklore & slang that is still in use in Russia today.
Survival Russian

17: Bolshevik Doodles Semyon Ekshtut and Larisa Malashenko
They are certainly not great works of art, but they are intriguing pieces of history -- cartoons and caricatures drawn by early Soviet leaders while sitting in droning meetings. Publisher here for the first time outside Russia.
Features

22: A Prophet and His Country Roy Medvedev and Edward E. Ericson
Thirty-five years ago this month, a little book was published that changed Russia forever. On the anniversary of the publication of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, we asked two esteemed observers to offer their views on the great writer's legacy.
Features

31: Potatoes in uniform Yelena Utenkova
Try this interesting Russian variation next time you want to make baked potatoes.
Cuisine

33: The Last Patriarch Valentina Kolesnikova
A biography of Patriarch Tikhon (1865-1925).
Russian Calendar

34: Damp Area with Firs and Bushes William C. Brumfield
In the final installment of this tour of towns of the Russian North, William Brumfield takes us to Totma, a former salt-producing center now struggling for an identity.
:: Illustrations/Images by William C. Brumfield
Travel

40: Hidden St. Petersburg
We asked some travel experts where to go off the beaten path in the Northern Capital.
Practical Traveler

44: Beware the Third of October! Mikhail Ivanov
A look back at October 1997, a tumultuous month in Russian politics.
Post Script