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People often ask me what lies ahead for Russia. This question always surprises me. It suggests that people think historians are part prophet, as if knowing a lot about the past means you can predict the future.

When you begin to learn Russian, you may be a bit puzzled by two “nows”: теперь and сейчас. Let's clear this up, right NOW.

In this issue's language page, we look at the influence that Italian has had on the Russian language.

It’s that time of the year again, when afternoons are short, the colors are subdued, and the appetite for rich spicy foods is at its highest. What a perfect occasion to cook a hearty Central Asia pilaf with mutton, lots of cumin, and (if you can find them) barberries (also known as berberis or “northern lemon”).

Dmitry Muratov, the longtime editor in chief of the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta received the Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the award with Philipina journalist Maria Ressa.

Oleg Rezanov claims to have overcome aging and pain by embracing the cold. Let’s look into this a bit more closely.

In which we say goodbye to a longtime editor and look toward the future by looking back.

For the first time since 2016, and the first time since the momentous constitutional changes of 2020 allowing President Putin to run for two more presidential terms, Russia has elected a new parliament.

On the occasion of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky’s 200th anniversary, we visit his adopted city to consider the imprint he left behind.

When they turn the electricity off in the village, everybody promptly shows up at Granny Shura’s.

Dostoyevsky’s chance visit to a museum led to a chilling, life-changing encounter with an artist long dead, but whose work was very much alive. It would make an appearance in the writer’s next novel. 

The salacious and derogatory myth surrounding the death of Catherine the Great has its roots in her detractors and successors, both at home and abroad.