October 22, 2021 Valhalla on Lake Baikal By Alexandra Curtis For the first time in history, a Viking-style longship sails the waters of the Angara river near Lake Baikal. History Regions Transportation Russia File
October 21, 2021 Message in a Bottle, Moscow Canal Blockage, and Mother of 22 By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, the most amazing cakes you have ever seen, Russia's Suez Canal moment, and how do 100 kids sound? Children Food & Drink Rural Life Transportation Odder News
October 15, 2021 The Sweetest Stowaway By Alexandra Curtis In which a lucky kitten gets to see a good portion of Russia from the cabin of a very kind truck driver. Animals Transportation Travel Russia File
October 12, 2021 The Little Bike That Could By Alexandra Curtis Just when you thought that Russia had everything, an inventor from Krasnodar gains recognition for creating the world's smallest (functional) bicycle. Sports Transportation Russia File
October 02, 2021 Faster Than a Speeding Sapsan By Amanda Shirnina The journey between Moscow and St. Petersburg is about to get a lot faster. Moscow St. Petersburg Transportation Travel Urban Life Russia File
September 10, 2021 Robots Hit the Road By Griffin Edwards Three Russian cities are set to host the country's first unmanned taxis. What could go wrong? Science Transportation Urban Life Russia File
September 07, 2021 Duct-Taped and Speeding By Haley Bader A young Russian blogger and his accomplice published a video of vehicular hooliganism on September 1. Humor Internet Pop Culture Transportation Russia File
August 11, 2021 A Real Hot Rod By Alexandra Curtis Who needs headlights when you have flamethrowers instead? This Russian mechanic decided to find out. Internet Transportation Russia File
August 05, 2021 Facepay, Tots in College, and Twisties By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, futuristic cities, unexpected parliamentary candidates, and the twisties. Children Politics Pop Culture Sports Transportation Odder News
July 06, 2021 Get Your "Mad Max" on in Russia's "Silk Way" Rally By Haley Bader A trip for rugged vehicles of many types and stripes, Russia’s “Silk Way” Rally began on July 1 in Omsk. Geography Regions Sports Transportation Travel Russia File
July 01, 2021 Flying High By Artem Zagorodnov Russian air travel has changed radically over the past two decades. While there are still grave security concerns, there has been a boom in aircraft and airport construction, with positive impacts for travelers into and within the country. Business Transportation Travel
June 23, 2021 Crossing the Line By Alexandra Curtis With a bucket of paint and a dream, this Russian pensioner did what city officials wouldn't, but she may have had to cross a line to do it. Cities & Towns Transportation Urban Life Russia File
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
Fearful Majesty This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
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.
Moscow and Muscovites Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.
Woe From Wit (bilingual) One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Murder at the Dacha Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
22 Russian Crosswords Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
September 01, 2019 Bite Marks By Paul E. Richardson Is Russia somehow different from other nations, or is it just like any other? History Int'l Relations
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions By Eugenia Sokolskaya What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science
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
September 01, 2019 Returning from Afar By Benson Bobrick An excerpt from Benson Bobrick’s new book, a memoir of his life and work as a writer. Memoir Travel
October 14, 2016 Five Wild Facts about St. Basil's Cathedral By Alice E.M. Underwood On October 14, 1991, St. Basil’s Cathedral was reopened after six decades. Here are five fun facts in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Cathedral’s rebirth. Culture History Religion
January 10, 2014 Why Don't Russians Smile? By The Editors It is a common trope that Russians never smile. Which of course is interpreted to mean they are unfriendly, gloomy, sullen – positively Dostoyevskian. This, of course, is a complete misreading of body language and cultural norms. Culture Humor Language
