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.

Eastern Crimea was a center for partisan activity during the Great Patriotic War. In honor of the May Day holiday, we trek through this wild realm along the Black Sea.

How the situation in Russia looks from a village in the very remote and very Far East.

Musicians have not been spared from the criminalization of protest and expression. We also share Ilya Yashin's final words.

We may hate war, but we understand what is going on. But what about the animals? Who will help them?

We explain ten recent memes that best capture the current sociopolitical mood across a large subset of Russian society.

Estranged sisters share a feeling of loss and separation.

A region's housing woes could be solved at the cost of a few days of Russia's War on Ukraine.

The packet of 11 letters and 12 postcards reached me from Kharkov, through a combination of fate, serendipity and sheer luck. They were written by my father, Alexander Suchovy, from the front during World War II, and were addressed to his first wife, Varvara, and their son Vasily.