30 years ago today, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant had a meltdown: "Flames, sparks, and chunks of burning material went flying... These were red-hot pieces of nuclear fuel and graphite..."

Who is Russia's greatest hero? According to Russians, it's Alexander Nevsky, a military commander and ruler from the thirteenth century. And what did Alexander do that made him worthy of that honor? He took part in Russians' favorite historical activity: repelling German invaders.
 

2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Revisit the history on this tour of St. Petersburg and Moscow's war sites – the ones you may not find in the guidebook.

On April 14, 1671, Cossacks captured rebel leader Stenka Razin and ended his rebellion against the tsar. Here’s some background on Razin’s uprising, and what it meant for the fate of Russia.

We're seeing a growth spurt in literature for kids and teens set in Russia. That means magic, time travel, and Stalinism all rolled up in one.

Writer and commissar Dmitry Furmanov died 90 years ago. If you don’t recognize his name, it may be because he’s better known for his character Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev, a Red Army commander who achieved victory via potatoes. 

We know comparatively little about the relationship between Akhmatova and Modigliani, but sometimes a few pictures can speak volumes. In honor of Anna Akhmatova's birthday (June 11, old style; June 23 new style), we reprint this essay, originally published in Russian Life, Jan/Feb 2011.

A look back at the heady Gorbachev era, a time of rationing and glasnost, perestroika and cooperatives, when everything seemed possible.

A look back at 1861, the year where everything began... to fall apart.

Fifteen years after the new Shtandart launched, boat builders on Solovetsky created a replica of an even older ship: the first Russian naval ship built on Russian soil, in 1693.

In the spring of 1703, Peter the Great oversaw the building of Russia’s first Baltic fleet flagship. In 1995, Vladimir Martus decided to build a replica.

Half a century ago, the Soviet dissent movement began when two young writers were put on trial for publishing their works abroad and “slandering the state.” We consider how this relates to modern events.