February 07, 2018

Resilience: The Book!


Resilience: The Book!

Today, we officially put to print the book for our Children of 1917 project: Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution.

Amazingly, it was just 325 days ago, on March 19, 2017, that Kickstarter funding for the project closed successfully, with 283 generous backers pledging $31,475.

Through the spring of 2017, we dug deep into research, looking for centenarians that fit our criteria, getting all our paperwork, visas and other things in order. Then buying air and train tickets and planning itineraries. And then doing more research about the places and people we would be visiting.

By summer, the travel and meeting with centenarians had begun. It started in St. Petersburg and then moved down toward Moscow and then east, east, east, until we hopped back west and visited heroes in Poland, Belarus and Finland (all part of Russia in 1917).

In the end, we had gathered gigabytes of photos, video, and voice recordings, visiting nearly two dozen cities and towns and making countless new friends.

Then, come fall, the writing and editing, translating and layout, design and proofing was underway.

Oh, and did I mention we also created a film? RESILIENCE, the film, was released officially on the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, on November 7, 2017. We are still waiting for an official screening date in Moscow, but the film will premiere in the US at the Green Mountain Film Festival in Montpelier, Vermont, at the end of March.

The book is 254 pages long, has over 150 photos, and includes profiles of 22 centenarians born in 1917. It will be a softcover book, printed in full color on fine, coated stock. It should be back from the printer in a few weeks.

Frankly, this may be the most important book out little publishing house has ever assembled. Because it carries memories and life stories of individuals that otherwise would never have been known outside their families, much less their cities, towns, or country. Their stories are the saga of Russia over the past century, and yet their stories are also moving tales about the human condition. We so look forward to sharing them with you and hope you will be as moved by them as we were.

Honestly, it is difficult for me to believe all of this happened in just 325 days. It certainly could not have come off were it not for the persistence, hard work, and talent of my two co-collaborators, Mikhail Mordasov and Nadya Grebennikova. They are not only consummate professionals, but dear friends, and it is a privilege to create, argue, collaborate and travel with them.

So, if you already ordered the book, it will be coming soon. If you have not, what are you waiting for? Quantities are severely limited, and you won’t want to miss out.

Preorder your copy here.

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

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.
At the Circus

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955