A Short History of
Russian Life magazine
In October 1956, a new English language magazine, The USSR , appeared on newsstands in major US cities. Given the level of anti-communist sentiment at the time, it would hardly have seemed an auspicious name under which to launch such a magazine title.
Meanwhile, at newsstands in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and other Soviet cities, Amerika magazine made its debut.
The simultaneous appearance of these magazines was the result of an intergovernmental agreement, one among several cross-cultural agreements designed to sow trust amidst the rancor of international politics. Still, there was never any question in anyone's mind that each magazine was intended as a propaganda tool for the government issuing it.
A few years later, The USSR changed its name to Soviet Life . While never a blatant "red propaganda" tool, Soviet Life did hew to the government line. Yet it sought to present an informed view of Russian culture, history, scientific achievements and the various peoples inhabiting the biggest country on earth.
Under the terms of the inter-governmental agreement, the subscription levels of both magazines were restricted for many years to around 30,000.
In the late 1980s, with political and economic reform in the Soviet Union , there was a surge of interest in Soviet Life -- readership rose to over 50,000.
In December of 1991 the Soviet Union signed itself out of existence and, subsequently, the Russian governent could not find the money to finance production of Soviet Life. The last issue of Soviet Life was published in December of 1991.
Just over one year later, in the spring of 1993, through an agreement between Novosti (the government press Agency) and Rich Frontier Publishing, Soviet Life was reborn as Russian Life . The magazine was re-initiated as a bimonthly (whereas previously Soviet Life had been a monthly magazine) and continued in that fashion, albeit with a sporadic publishing timetable, due to funding difficulties.
Then, in July 1995, a few months after the Russian government again decided to opt out of the magazine, Russian Life was purchased by its current publisher, Russian Information Services.
Russian Life is now a 64-page color bimonthly magazine, full of fascinating stories of Russian culture, history and life in the world's largest country. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2006.
We welcome your comments and ideas on the magazine and, of course, on this web site:
- Paul Richardson, Publisher
For more information, read the article which appeared in our October 1996 issue, on the 40th anniversary of the magazine, or the article (PDF linked here; size: 1 megabyte) which appeared in the September/October 2006
