Think you know Yuri Vizbor? Think again! Sure, you may have heard his songs, but did you know he was also a teacher? An alpinist? A journalist? A radio operator?

Today is Vladimir Nabokov's birthday, so we asked Russian Life contributor and Nabokov expert Diana Bruk where to start when reading the master. She offers with five annotated recommendations.

In which a scholar of the great Russian-American writer goes in search of Nabokov’s other family estate.

The first-ever English version of Uncle Gilya’s masterpiece, Moscow and Muscovites, translated by Brendan Kiernan and published by Russian Life Books, debuts today. It’s our way of saying “Happy Birthday” to Uncle Gilya (today is his 158th!). English-language readers around the globe win as well – this translation is at least 90 years overdue!

In which we announce - and print the entries - of the two winners of our fiction contest, based on a picture that appeared in our summer issue.

A short poem by Anna Akhmatova believed to be to Mikhail Lozinsky, who supported her through thick and thin.

Soviet sources praise the Bolsheviks for simplifying Russian spelling in 1918. Who was the real author of the spelling reform, and what was the Bolsheviks' actual role in making it work?

This editorial, by author (of The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas) Dmitry Chen, appeared last month on Bloomberg.com, and considers how the current crisis in Syria has its roots 13 centuries ago.

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

Text of an interview Pet Hawk author Dmitry Chen gave to Moscow News, upon the release of the book in Russian, in 2007.

In September 1863, Fyodor Dostoyevsky was desperate for money. The result was one of his finest works, the novel The Gambler. It would change the writer's fate in many ways.