The turbulent life of this Russian author {1868-1936}, his experience with oppression and involvement in the Russian revolution make him one of his country's most loved and important writers. Gorky was born March 28, 1868.

One version of Russian blackbread, a mainstay of the traditional diet.

Find out what the traditional Russian mealtime fare is.

Thirty years ago, Valentin Baranovsky began to take pictures of both everyday life and major events in his home town. This became a unique one-man artistic project to document three decades of St.Petersburg life. The photographs, to be presented in book form and through exhibitions, date from 1970 to 2000.

On New Year's Eve, 1999, while many braced for a possible Y2K disaster, Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of the Russian Federation leaving a little known prime minister in charge.

From a land not known for high fashion and which many Westerners think is filled with gray clad babushkas, the Pavlovsky Posad shawls come as quite a surprise.

Tea was brought to Russia in the 1600s from China. Since then, the brew and its implements have become an enduring tradition of Russian society. The tea ceremony itself bonds families and communities

The origin of the Rurik Dynasty and introduction of the Orthodox Church.

The circumstances and mystery surrounding the murder of  revolutionary and Soviet leader, Sergei Kirov. On January 15, 1935, Grigori Zinoviev and 18 members of the "Moscow Centre" were tried in Leningrad for their part in the Dec. 1, 1934, assassination of Sergei Kirov.

How does the average Russian diet size up nutritionally?

Why are we so fascinated with the lavish and expensive creations of the House of Faberge?

This article was written in early January, 2000, about Russia's new acting president and a man not well know outside Russia.