September 08, 2021 Moscow Neighborhoods Due for a Face Lift “They are different projects, but they have the same goal: to create a high-quality urban environment and new opportunities for recreation and sports close to home.” – Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin, announcing plans to improve Moscow’s public spaces. Cities & Towns Moscow Urban Life Quote
September 01, 2021 A Can-ny Campaign Strategy “Lids are very relevant seasonal paraphernalia for many. Everyone accepted the gifts, even adherents of other political views.” – Local news from gorbatka.ru, on United Russia’s election campaign strategy. Food & Drink Gifts Government Politics Quote
August 25, 2021 Throw in the Mayor with the Banya Water “Today, the city bath house needs support because, due to last year's lengthy six-month shutdown associated with the coronavirus, the banya cannot pull itself out of debt." – Mikhail Valov, Mayor of Sayanogorsk, inviting citizens to save his city’s municipal bathhouse from the economic ravages of the Coronavirus on August 23. Cities & Towns Culture Government Health Quote
August 18, 2021 Teach a Man to Phish “Don't believe it, don't click it, don't pay!” – Sergey Volodkhin, director of the Russian company “Antiphishing,” explaining how online scammers bait their hooks, Gifts Internet Social Issues Quote
August 11, 2021 Hell's Builders “There is not a single builder in Paradise.” – Stanislav Lisichenko, Russian restaurateur, providing an anecdote for Russia’s “Builder’s Day," August 8. Architecture Culture Holidays Quote
August 04, 2021 Tourism in the Time of Covid “These people do not go to relax in other resorts, they settle in neighboring hotels: the more restrictions are imposed on legal business, the more it plays into the hands of those who work in the dark.” – Natalia Stambulnikova, Chairman of the Association of Small Hotels of Crimea, warning of the ominous nature of coronavirus restrictions that impede tourism. Cities & Towns Government Health Travel Quote
July 28, 2021 More Borscht for All “We expect there to be and there already is a decrease in prices for products included in this ‘borscht set,’ and in our opinion, the trend will continue.” – Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, has happy news. Economy Food & Drink Quote
July 21, 2021 No Lazy Elections “Video surveillance – it is not idle curiosity, for lying on the couch to watch some kind of movie. There are theaters and television for that, but this [observance of elections] is major work. If you want [to observe elections], if you are interested, an active citizen, then you’re going to need to work a bit for it.” – Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia’s Central Election Committee, on election monitoring. Film & TV Government Politics Quote
July 14, 2021 The Right Dosage “Sex after administration of the vaccine does not cause any side effects in people of any age. As a matter of fact, sexual activity provides a lot of satisfaction and pleasure. People’s fears go away, as sex 'turns off' the head and relieves stress.” – Sexologist sexologist Andrei Lygachin, refuting the idea that individuals should avoid sex after being vaccinated against COVID-19. Government Health Science Quote
July 07, 2021 Dirty Money “We are strengthening the protection of banknotes from the effects of harmful microorganisms.” – On July 5, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Central Bank Mikhail Alekseev explained plans for the modernization of Russia’s bank notes Culture Economy Government Quote
June 30, 2021 The Rainbow Menace “The demand for primitive toys suggests that not all of society, but a certain stratum, are inclined to simple decisions. Our society is approaching a situation where we will collapse into the abyss of simple solutions to complex issues.” – Russian psychologist, politician, and head of the Department of Personality Psychology at Moscow State University Alexander Asmolov warns of the risks of Simple-Dimples, Squishies, and Pop-its Children Health Social Issues Quote
June 23, 2021 Putin's Pretty Pensive “Everything in the world displeases me, but, above all, my displeasure in everything displeases me.” – “Darth Putin” on Twitter parodies Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments after his meeting with Joe Biden on Wednesday, June 16 Government Humor Int'l Relations Internet Quote
June 07, 2024 Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 7 St. Mark's Episcopal Church | Berkeley, California San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers. Music
June 09, 2024 Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 9 Star of the Sea Church | San Francisco, California San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers. Music
June 08, 2024 Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 8 First Congregational Church | Palo Alto, California San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers. Music
June 15, 2024 Roma Rhapsody Capital One Hall | Tysons, Virginia The Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra's Spring Concert, Roma Rhapsody, will be at 7:30 pm on Saturday June 15, 2024. Music
November 11, 2023 to September 15, 2024 Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West Wende Museum | Culver City, CA This exhibit highlights the resilience and creative power of people deprived of their freedom or their own place to live. Art Exhibit
Murder at the Dacha Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started...
Turgenev Bilingual A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Red Star Tales: A Century of Russian and Soviet Science Fiction For over 100 years, most of the science fiction produced by the world’s largest country has been beyond the reach of Western readers. This new collection changes that, bringing a large body of influential works into the English orbit.
The Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Russian Rules From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history.
Kashtanka – A Bilingual Reader A bilingual presentation of one of the great classics of Russian literature.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual) A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
May 09, 2020 Russian/Soviet War Movies You Can Stream Some of the best Russian and Soviet films about World War II that you can stream online. Film & TV Reference War Culture Through Film CVSG Russia File
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War Russia File
March 14, 2020 Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers Russian literature has an answer for everything. In the times of coronovirus, this is your guide. Art Literature CVSG Russia File
October 14, 2016 Five Wild Facts about St. Basil's Cathedral On October 14, 1991, St. Basil’s Cathedral was reopened after six decades. Here are five fun facts in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Cathedral’s rebirth. Culture History Religion Russia File
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science Russia File
May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature Russia File
