A poem from the new volume Alcestis of the Underworld, by a regular translator of works published by Russian Life Books.

A time-travelling tour of Russia from aristocats to nosy bureaucrats

Russia thaws. People have thoughts. Not always good ones.

Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness.

Life can be rocky, whether it’s because you can’t see a corgi movie, or because you’re a dead fictional character.

Redemption is grim, shocking, and rooted in the author's own tragic history. Yet, true to its name, it is a powerful story of redemption.

A mysterious tragedy that killed nine students in the Urals in 1959 is suddenly making headlines in Russia.

One hundred and twenty years ago, the first electric tram went into operation in Moscow.

I can’t imagine a cleverer or more perverse way of presenting “the first political biography” of Mikhail Sholokhov (1905-1975) than as if from the conscience-addled Sholokhov’s perspective.

A fortress town built half a millennium ago by Ivan the Terrible (to conquer Kazan) is enjoying a new life as a cultural tourism destination.

What was the spring of 1969 like in the Soviet Union? A cloud of gloom had descended on the country, enveloping both those who could not see it (or at least thought it had nothing to do with them) and those only too aware of it.

One hundred and sixty years ago, the inventor Alexander Popov was born. In 1895, he created the first radio receiver. Or did he?