September 01, 2012 1812 First Person It gave birth to the greatest novel ever written, brought down Napoleon, reshaped Europe, led to the end of serfdom, the invention of terrorism, and, eventually, the end of tsarism. It was tremendous folly, horrific hubris and astounding heroism. And it happened 200 years ago this fall. We turn to people who lived through the War of 1812 for their first person accounts. History Memoir War
July 01, 2012 The Curious Entente Cordial Their lives unfolded in parallel, as their nations were immersed in rebellion and reform. Some 150 years ago, each freed their country’s enslaved masses, and each ended up paying with their life. History
July 01, 2012 The Summer of 1612 A look back at the re-taking of Moscow from the Poles 300 years ago, by a couple of unlikely heroes. History
July 01, 2012 Moscow Calling The arrive of telephones in Moscow in 1882 fundamentally changed the way citizens interacted with one another. History
May 01, 2012 Nixon Visits Moscow In 1972, Richard Nixon became the first sitting president to visit the Soviet Union. Another decade of Brezhnevian decline was to follow... History
May 01, 2012 Izmail Ivanovich Sreznevsky A pathbreaking scientific investigator of Slavic linguistics, Sreznevsky nonetheless helped fan the flames of nationalism and pan-Slavism. History
March 01, 2012 The Outcasts Join Forces Pariahs Germany and Soviet Russia make a pact in 1922 that sets the stage for decades of suffering. History
March 01, 2012 The Mail Troika Every language has words for which it is known the world over. Troika is one such word in Russian, and this equine configuration was critical to the history of Russian letters. And by that we don’t mean literature. History
March 01, 2012 The Long Retreat Soviet Russia was never more threatened than when the Czech Legion nearly turned the tide in the Civil War (1918-1922). We follow the story of one noble family, whose fate was wrapped up in this dramatic historical episode. History
February 29, 2012 Alexander Herzen The Russian writer Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was born in Moscow on March 25, 1812 (April 6, New Style). Thanks to a famous phrase from Lenin’s “In Memory of Herzen” – “The Decembrists awakened Herzen. Herzen began the task of revolutionary agitation.” – everyone who grew up in the Soviet Union knew Herzen’s name, whether or not they had ever read a line of his work. History Literature Russia File
January 10, 2012 Interview with Author William Ryan William Ryan’s second book featuring MVD Detective Alexei Korolev, The Darkening Field, was released on January 3, 2012. Russian Life Publisher Paul E. Richardson interviewed Ryan about the genesis for his character and the challenges of situating a novel in Soviet Russia. History Literature Reviews Russia File
January 08, 2012 1972 ABM Treaty English text of the 1972 Antilballistic Missile Treaty between the U.S. and Soviet Union. History Science Russia File
