Some people see spies everywhere. Other people just see dumpsters, birds, snow, dogs, boars, or artists seeking political asylum. (That's at least 4 separate stories).

Photographer Kristina Syrchikova explains what a goose has to do with Samara and the Volga River.

The year's coldest ride, hottest statue, most scandalous yoga teacher, and best way to learn the names of all of Russia's federal subjects. And it's just the first TWERF of the year. 

Artist Anastasia Bogomolova takes us on a tour of Chelyabinsk, famous for its meteorite, tanks, and a very special forest.

A tour of ten distinctive Moscow monuments that goes a long way to summarizing the state of the art in Russia today.

Photographer Daria Kozinova takes us on a tour of the capital of the Urals: Yekaterinburg.

Where we take you back in time to the collapse of the Soviet Union, through press and reportage as it unfolded at the time.

Just in time for the holidays, Russians unearth (unsea?) some fish that look out of this world. Plus, anticipating the New Year, the U.S. view on Russia, and political jokes. 

Photojournalist Maxim Grigoryev shares with us his love for his hometown: Yaroslavl.

Soviet leader Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would have been 110 on December 19. There are plenty of fun facts and surprising jokes behind the eyebrows.

Who was Rasputin? Why has his name become synonymous with the idea that the Russian monarchy was doomed? That is a mystery worth exploring today, on the 100th anniversary of his murder.

With puppies and provinces on the line, Russia-Japan relations are a bit ruff. Plus bobsledding bedlam, diplomatic dirt, and more holiday dogs.