Russian Life: Dec/Jan 1998

8: Ringing in the New Year Sharon Hudgins
New Year's is Russia's best celebrated national holiday. We look at the traditions, old and new, surrounding this annual event.
Features

12: Why Christmas Toys are Us Valentina Kolesnikova
The yolka is the centerpiece of Russians' Christmas and New Year's celebrations. And the toys that decorate the yolka have an unusual power.
Features

14: Here's to you and us ... Mikhail Ivanov
A whole column full of great Russian toasts.
Survival Russian

17: Suzdal William C. Brumfield
Medieval monasteries and a storied past has made a tourist's mecca of Suzdal, one of Russia's oldest, and best-preserved towns.
:: Illustrations/Images by William C. Brumfield
Travel

27: Russia's Political Tool
December 20, 1997 is the 80th anniversary of the KGB. We look back at the sordid history of this nefarious institution.
Russian Calendar

29: A Legend Returns Anna Hoare
Associate editor Anna Hoare caught up with hockey superstar Sergei Fyodorov to get his views on Russian and American hockey and his future plans.
Interview

30: Uninvited Guests Anna Hoare
Caucasian minorities face scorn, discrimination and crime in Russia's capital, a sorry legacy of socialism and the fraying edges of an empire gone bust.
Features

36: Chechnya Sergei Kaptilkin
Sergei Kaptilkin captured these haunting and human black and white images while posted as a war photographer in the first Chechnya war.
Photo Feature

38: Out of Siberia Semyon Ekshtut
Vasily Surikov's flash of creative genius lasted less than a decade. But his paintings have become cherished icons for old Russian traditions.
Features

43: A salad for all tastes Yelena Utenkova
Vinaigrette is the one Russian salad for which there is no definite recipe...
Cuisine

48: For the Love of Tennis! Mikhail Ivanov
The social dimensions of tennis in Russia today.
Post Script