In a galaxy far, far away, the Millennium Falcon circled over a vicious battle with art and a dangerous passageway. That far-off galaxy being Russia, of course.

Artist Sasha Sokolova has undertaken a personal, artistic and cultural project to document the daily life of Russia’s remaining war veterans.

A popular song about paintings helps language learners pick up some artistic vocabulary.

In which we review a novel about Bulgakov and his love, Margarita (Mikhail and Margarita, by Julie Himes); Soviet Salvage, by Catherine Walworth; and The House of Government, by Yuri Slezkine.

In which we tour four museums in four cities and towns in Russia and Ukraine, to see what they tell us about soceity more broadly.

Things worth knowing on the travel front.

All the news that is fit to print, including notes on art, the environment, clocks and monuments.

Quotes, quips and asides spoken by those in the know (and not).

On the preemptive shutdown of a ballet directed by Krill Serebennikov, who, subsequent to this issue going to press, was arrested on trumped up charges of financial fraud.

A look at a lesser-known folk craft style with prerevolutionary roots and a whimsical, musical bent.

In a Washington DC suburb, a retired diplomat and self-professed Russophile has collected a treasure-trove of pre-revolutionary Russian delights.

On St. Petersburg’s Revolution Highway there is a museum devoted to collecting and preserving the elusive and controversial art forms of graffiti and street art.