January 20, 2022 Good Deeds, Gas, and Gasless Cars By Charlie Robinson In this week's Odder News: Kanye comes to town, free gas for eternity, and a young language prodigy. Children Music Pop Culture Transportation Odder News
January 15, 2022 (NOT) Morgenshtern By Alexandra Curtis A burgeoning new (joke) media company is founded by none other than Russia's top rapper, Morgenshtern. Internet Media Music Russia File
December 12, 2021 Russia Wrapped: A Year of Music in Review By Alexandra Curtis 2021 is drawing to a close, which means that we have fascinating data on popular streaming trends in Russian-language music. Internet Media Music Pop Culture Russia File
November 20, 2021 Birchpunk, an Internet Gift By Amanda Shirnina Despite how weird it looks, birchpunk is a fun and talented hip hop group asking important moral questions. Art Music Rural Life Science Russia File
October 23, 2021 Defending a Mural to the Death By Amanda Shirnina If you don't know short-lived Soviet rock musician Igor Talkov, you should. His St. Petersburg mural is under threat. Art Music St. Petersburg Russia File
September 30, 2021 Mysterious Mice, Marketing Cats, and Fake Scorpions By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, blind dueting, cats at work, and the mice who love COVID. Animals Music Pop Culture Travel Odder News
September 03, 2021 Grace, Poise, and Firepower By Griffin Edwards Belarus opens Russia's eight annual tank biathlon with tutus and Swan Lake. Culture Military Music War Russia File
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
August 24, 2021 Even Communists Like Rock By Alexandra Curtis A very uncharacteristic tweet about a famous Soviet rockstar has many Russians scratching their heads. Apparently, even communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov can't resist a catchy tune. Government Internet Music Russia File
August 21, 2021 Recovering from Covid? Bring on the Russian Ballad By Haley Bader A little levity can be good for the Covid blues, and expert Khadizhat Omarova of Russia’s Rospotrebnadzor has given a variety of advice to accelerate recovery. Why not give your lungs a good stretch and practice your folk song, too? Culture Health Music Russia File
June 29, 2021 Britney's Plight Takes Flight, And Putin's "Troops" Speak Out By Haley Bader News of Britney Spears’s recent appearance in court has crossed the globe, and a well-meaning group of supporters in Russia have taken offense at her plight. Humor Internet Music Pop Culture Women Russia File
June 17, 2021 Apparitions, Animals, and Cannabis By Amanda Shirnina In this week's Odder News, moose loose, ghost spotted, and hemp growing under the government's nose. Agriculture Animals Music Pop Culture St. Petersburg Odder News
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
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Moscow Eccentric Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
A Taste of Russia The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
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.
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 Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
September 14, 2019 Eight Russian Desserts To Make Your Mouth Water By Tiffany Zhu Forget vodka – dessert is the best part of Russian meals. Culture Food & Drink
July 01, 2013 The Russian Bees Will Save Us By Paul E. Richardson American bees are dying from mysterious causes, putting our agriculture at risk for lack of pollinators. Russian bees might be part of a solution. Agriculture Environment Science
April 06, 2020 A Russian Gift By Mark C. Medish A look at how the Jesuits, Pope Francis, and Georgetown University all share an interesting connection to Russia. History Int'l Relations Religion
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
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
January 01, 2022 Erasing Memory By The Editors The government wants to close down Memorial, while at the same time not be seen as the sort of repressive state that brought about the need for a Memorial. Lose-lose balancing act. Government NGOs Politics
