September 01, 2009 Andrei Platonov Andrei Platonov was born to be a Bolshevik. And also one of the 20th century's greatest writers. He soon broke with the Party and had a tortured relationship with his art. He died in poverty.
July 01, 2009 Alexander Godunov The god-like ballet dancer Alexander Godunov defected on August 23, 1979. It was a dramatic event, riveting the world for 3 days. And Godunov did not fare so well in the US after his defection.
July 01, 2009 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact In the spring of 1939, world war appeared inevitable. Hitler was on the march in Europe and the Soviet Union was looking to avoid war for as long as possible. By August, Stalin had decide to cast his lot with Hitler...
July 01, 2009 Socialist Realism Socialist Realism, a new art form devised by Stalin and Maxim Gorky, was pronounced to the world as the henceforth official path of Soviet art in August 1934. We look back...
May 01, 2009 The Deportation of Peoples This is the 55th anniversary of the peak period of Soviet deportation of national groups.
May 01, 2009 Poltava Russia's victory over Sweden at the Battle of Poltava was geopolitically very significant, while the feast that took place amid the carnage was obscene...
May 01, 2009 Sergius of Radonezh What do we really know about Sergius of Radonezh, Russia's patron saint? What is he venerated for, and why?
March 01, 2009 Deconstructing Dashkova If we look closely at Dashkova, one of the most famous women in Russian history, we find that things are not as clear as we imagined. In fact, we get the impression that much of Dashkova's life was filled with heartbreak and sorrow.
March 01, 2009 Arrival of Russian Democracy In the spring of 1989, election fever swept through Russia - a country well experienced in elections, just not free and open ones...
March 01, 2009 Terrible's Father It was the fate of Grand Prince Vasily III to be squeezed into history between two more famous men - one great, one terrible, and both named Ivan.
January 01, 2009 Lev Landau: Impure Science 101 years ago in January, Nobel Prize winning physicist Lev Landau was born. His life was one of great achievement and controversy.
