Ballet great Rudolf Nureyev leapt out of Soviet jurisdiction and into the wider world of Western ballet on June 16, 1961. His leap was as much a political move as a dance move.

After you finish strolling St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect, you'll want to visit these five must-stroll streets in the Northern Palmyra, to get a feel for the rest of the city. 

St. Petersburg (or Leningrad) has always occupied a special place in the world of Russian music. Famous for its rich classical traditions, especially at the Mariinsky Theater, in the second part of the twentieth century St. Petersburg became the epicenter of underground and experimental music.

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.

As a metal, Silver means second place; as a period of poetic production in Russia, the Silver Age is unparalleled. The years 1890-1925 (give or take) stand out for the explosion of poetic voices, forms, and innovations. With help from the recently published Russian Silver Age Poetry, we explore what sets that period apart.

It is nice to come across a documentary about Russia that is not all Sturm and Drang, Stalin and Purges, mafia and Putin. The story of Peter Carl Fabergé and the jewelry empire he built is a truly remarkable story, and it is the focus of this new documentary from Arts Alliance.

A renowned Ukrainian artist uses street art to pay tribute to those who fell in his country’s recent uprising.

For six years, a street artist nicknamed Sharik has been leaving his mark on Crimean streets.

Ilya Repin was one of Russia's most famous, prolific and talented artists. So why was he dismissed by some in the Soviet era?

These strange, paddle-shaped boards, painted with lively folk motifs, had both practical and symbolic significance in village life.

A witness to the turning point that was Patriarch Tikhon’s funeral, artist Pavel Korin devoted the rest of his life to putting it on canvas.

From 1923 to 1941 Russian émigré Georgy Sapozhnikov was the most famous political cartoonist in Asia, applying his talent and perceptiveness to issues domestic and international.