September 01, 2021 From Germany with Love By Yuliya Ballou In which our language insert looks at Russian words with German roots. Culture Int'l Relations Language
August 18, 2021 What's in a Name? By Alexandra Curtis Yandex.Maps has completed a surprising study of all the places in Russia, and they even figured out how to get from the Moon to Mars. Cities & Towns Geography Language Russia File
July 04, 2021 Eisenstein's Mythic Masterpiece: Alexander Nevsky By Griffin Edwards The legend of Russia's heroic defender passed into Stalinist myth with some help from one of the 20th century's most famous filmmakers. Art Film & TV History Language War
July 01, 2021 Dumb and Dumber By Michele A. Berdy In Russian, as in English, it isn’t nice to call someone “stupid.” But sometimes you just have to say it. Humor Language
July 01, 2021 "А знаешь, всё ещё будет!" By Yuliya Ballou A poetic song about optimism is this issue's language study section. Film & TV Language
June 20, 2021 A Russophile Picks St. Petersburg By Amanda Shirnina An American expat in Russia talks community, Russophilia, and making a life for yourself as a foreigner. Int'l Relations Interview Language St. Petersburg Travel
May 01, 2021 Presidential Patty Cakes By Michele A. Berdy This spring, a ruckus roiling US-Russian relations was one for the history books: It was the first spat that involved a children’s playground taunt. Int'l Relations Language
May 01, 2021 Save Your Soul! By Yuliya Ballou This issue's Uchites language learning section focuses on the ever-mysterious Russian soul and where and how it shows up in phrases and usages. Language Literature
April 18, 2021 Five Russian Words You May Be Misusing By Alexandra Curtis The good news is that if you don't already speak Russian, you probably already know a few words in the language! The bad news is that you've also probably been using these words wrong. Culture Language
March 28, 2021 Change Your Default Mouth Position By Amanda Shirnina Dr. Kimberly DiMattia, known to her Russian students as Kira, has a range of offerings for anyone who wants to "move the needle" on their pronunciation. Education Interview Language
March 15, 2021 Equus Asinus Asinus By Alexandra Curtis Evidently, sick burns can get you into trouble in Russian legal court— even if they are delivered in a dead language. Government Internet Language Russia File
March 01, 2021 Dealing with Stress By Michele A. Berdy How a little bit of stress in the wrong place and turn writing into urination. Language
November 01, 2021 to November 30, 2021 Yuri Gorbachev's 18th Annual Exhibition at the Byrne Gallery in Middleburg, Virginia The Byrne Gallery | Middleburg, VA Susan Byrne and Bill Byrne are celebrating their Gallery's 26th anniversary this year in Middleburg with a celebration and exhibition of the vivid oil and enamel paintings of internationally-acclaimed artist Yuri Gorbachev. Art Exhibit
October 15, 2021 to April 03, 2022 Icons for Our Time: Orthodox Art from Around the World Museum of Russian Icons | Clinton, MA Fifteen contemporary icons from fifteen countries explore iconography today. Presented in celebration of the museum's 15th Anniversary. Art Exhibit
Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution Call it resilience, grit, or just perseverance – it takes a special sort of person to have survived the last 100 years of Russian and Soviet history.
Red Star Tales: A Century of Russian and Soviet Science Fiction For over 100 years, most of the science fiction produced by the world’s largest country has been beyond the reach of Western readers. This new collection changes that, bringing a large body of influential works into the English orbit.
Driving Down Russia's Spine The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia.
The Little Golden Calf Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Fish: A History of One Migration This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
At the Circus This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Murder and the Muse KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Spine of Russia This coffee table book is the photographic journal of an epic 6000-kilometer road trip. The book includes over 200 compelling images of Russians and Russian places met along the way, plus a dozen texts (in both English and Russian) on everything from business to education, from roads to fools.
Bears in the Caviar Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
White Magic The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Jews in Service to the Tsar Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry By Anatoly Liberman On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature
September 07, 2021 Using Laughter to Cope By Kate Skorodinskaya These eight outstanding Soviet comedies show some of what has made Russians laugh over the past century. Most are still watched today. (First in our new series on learning about Russia through its films.) Culture Through Film
March 14, 2020 Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers By The Editors Russian literature has an answer for everything. In the times of coronovirus, this is your guide. Art Literature CVSG
December 19, 2016 10 Things (And 5 Jokes) You Didn't Know About Brezhnev By Alice E.M. Underwood Soviet leader Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev would have been 110 on December 19. There are plenty of fun facts and surprising jokes behind the eyebrows. History Humor Politics
September 01, 2021 Sofia Gubaidulina By Tamara Eidelman Listening to the intensely chromatic compositions of Sofia Gubaidulina can be challenging. You wouldn’t put her music on to relax or to be energized. As with any avant-garde work, taking it in can feel like work. History Music Women
October 31, 2016 Why Stalin's Corpse Was Exhumed on Halloween By Alice E.M. Underwood The body of Joseph Stalin was removed from the mausoleum on Red Square on October 31, 1961. It may not be as spooky as Halloween, but the former leader still haunts Russia today. History Politics Social Issues
