June 15, 2007 The Kremlin's Third Path Things had quieted down a bit in the Russian 2008 presidential race. And then, at the end of this week, there was this:"We have two active individuals who work as first deputy prime ministers with various responsibilities and who are rather liberal in their views," said Kremlin aide Igor Shuvalov at a June 14 political conference in Washington, DC. "People are talking about these two candidates, potential candidates, but my president could yet offer one more surprise and, perhaps lat
June 15, 2007 Leo Tolstoy Learn about the varied life of this Russian writer, born to nobility and author of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". History Literature
June 04, 2007 Kamchatka Disaster A massive landslide destroys the Valley of the Geysers on June 4, 2007. Environment History Science
June 01, 2007 Going Green We are not a large publishing company. We don't influence how the USPS sets postal rates (apparently, that is left up to Time-Warner; witness the July periodical rate increase), and while we like to think we have some effect on how people perceive Russia, that is something you really cannot measure.But we know we have an impact on the environment. Every publisher does. And so it is our goal to continue doing the good we do (providing information an insights into the world's largest c
May 16, 2007 Zero in Russia In the May/June 2007 issue of Russian Life, Mikhail Ivanov's column on the use of "zero," "null," etc. in Russian slang got us wondering: just when and how was the concept and notation of zero introduced into Russian. We could find nothing in our printed references or anywhere online. So we polled some experts. Below we reprint two excellent replies we received. History Science
May 09, 2007 Supersonic Flight Meet the TU-144, Russia's achievement, albeit short lived, in supersonic flight. On Dec. 31, 1968, Russia's TU-144 supersonic airliner made its first flight, several months ahead of the Anglo-French Concorde. History Science
April 17, 2007 40 and Counting: Four Decades of Russian Life A look at the magazine's beginnings in 1956 (as USSR) and of its partner publication, Amerika Illustrated. Departments
February 21, 2007 The Beginning [WIGOR, part 1] Several million years ago (ask a geologist for an exact figure), the landmass that would one day become Russia was gifted huge oil, gas and mineral deposits. In fact, they were such rich and deep deposits that even 70 years of communist ineptitude could not entirely wipe them out. Some boring, but telling facts:OIL: By one estimate, 20% of the world's known oil reserves are in Russia. Russia currently supplies the US with 4% of its oil.
February 21, 2007 What exactly is going in on Russia? [WIGOR?] Is a new Evil Empire brewing? Are we on the verge of a New Cold War?Who is pulling the levers of power in Russia?What is the Kremlin engineering for a post-Putin Russia?There are plenty of questions circulating in the media about Russia these days. But often too little of what is published takes a long-term, balanced and critical view. Time for a reality check.Russia is not perched on the aby
February 14, 2007 Drinking in Russia Russian customs and traditions regarding the consumption of water, tea and vodka. Culture Food & Drink
February 13, 2007 Doctor Zhivago and Khrushchev Find out what this son of peasants turned Premier of the Soviet Union had to do with an upper class writer and his epic novel. History Literature
November 03, 2006 The Russians are Not Coming In re the theme of our post, Tiger by the Tail, Russia's rightist parties may be playing into present Powers That Be designs, seeking a showdown with local and federal authorities and giving them a pre-electoral rallying cry. This from RFE/RL report (citing Nezavisimaya Gazeta) of November 3, about a planned nationwide "Russia March" for November 4 ("People's Unity Day," the holiday which replaced November 7, th
