An excerpt from First Love, which Turgenev called his most autobiographical novel, tells the story of a sixteen-year-old boy’s infatuation with an older girl.

Ever wonder what we don’t publish? Well, here it is. The scraps on our cutting room floor, and last week’s fourth-best story – all collected in one wonderfully semi-interesting place.

If you’re here for Halloween spooks, we can’t help you: all we’ve got this week are feel-good stories!

Laura Williams, a long-time contributor to Russian Life (author of the wonderful book, Notes from a Russian Village), passed away suddenly on October 28, 2018.

A dog is a basic necessity in the village, and the bigger the dog, the better. Chado is decidedly not big.

Russian law enforcement had a busy week, from taking on the ~high~ seas to putting rich jerks in their place.

Falling objects, family feuds, and friendly felines dominated our attention this week.

What’s more surprising, fake feminists or fish with bad teeth?

To selfie or not to selfie? That is the question, or at least one of the questions, addressed this week.

The weather in Russia this week was chilly with a hint of thaw, at least regarding science and political relations.

Climate change is destroying Russia and people still want to duel, but at least someone’s getting free pizza.

Today is the 190th anniversary of the great writer's birth. We thought we would share a few readings to get you in a Tolstoyan spirit.