June 16, 2016 Rudolf Nureyev's Great Leap to Freedom By Alice E.M. Underwood Ballet great Rudolf Nureyev leapt out of Soviet jurisdiction and into the wider world of Western ballet on June 16, 1961. His leap was as much a political move as a dance move. Art Culture History Politics
June 12, 2016 The Corpse of Lenin and the Rebirth of St. Petersburg By Alice E.M. Underwood St. Petersburg is now 25: citizens voted to rename Leningrad as St. Petersburg on June 12, 1991. Lenin’s legacy was at the center of the change, and remains a hot topic 25 years later. History Politics
April 26, 2016 Chernobyl: The State Secret By Marina Latysheva 30 years ago today, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant had a meltdown: "Flames, sparks, and chunks of burning material went flying... These were red-hot pieces of nuclear fuel and graphite..." History Politics Science
April 22, 2016 New Foreign Agent Bill Hits Close to Home By Alice E.M. Underwood Russia’s law on foreign agents may be getting increasingly draconian. In its latest iteration, any charity could be deemed a political tool of international forces. News Politics Social Issues
April 14, 2016 Russia's Favorite Rebel and His Bloody Capture Turn 345 By Dmitry Volodikhin On April 14, 1671, Cossacks captured rebel leader Stenka Razin and ended his rebellion against the tsar. Here’s some background on Razin’s uprising, and what it meant for the fate of Russia. Culture History Politics
April 07, 2016 A kick in the face of public taste By Alice E.M. Underwood This week in Russia saw a whole lot of beatdowns: on international corruption, candy stores, and even Buddha. News Politics Social Issues The Weekly Russia File
April 06, 2016 What the Panama Papers Mean for Russia: The Basics By Alice E.M. Underwood The Panama Papers shocked the world this week with tales of corruption among the cream of the world's political crop. Here's what the allegations mean for Russian politics, economics, and society. Economy News Politics Social Issues
April 02, 2016 Katya Everdeenova? No. YA Fiction Set in Russia? Yes. By Alice E.M. Underwood We're seeing a growth spurt in literature for kids and teens set in Russia. That means magic, time travel, and Stalinism all rolled up in one. Culture History Literature Politics
March 31, 2016 Chess, Traffic and Briefcases By Alice E.M. Underwood In The Weekly Russia File for March 31: some terrible chess puns, and how to stop traffic. Humor News Politics Social Issues The Weekly Russia File
March 15, 2016 Leningrad Region By Alexander Solo Alexander Solo is documenting "monotowns" in Russia. He shows us a couple in Leningrad Region, where he lives. Economy Photography Politics Regions Everyday Russia
March 02, 2016 Gorbachev Turns 85 By Maria Kolesnikova A look back at the heady Gorbachev era, a time of rationing and glasnost, perestroika and cooperatives, when everything seemed possible. History Politics
March 01, 2016 Bridge of Contention By The Editors On the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Boris Nemtsov. Politics
November 04, 2021 to January 07, 2022 Yuri Gorbachev at The Byrne Gallery The Byrne Gallery | Middleburg, VA An 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
November 20, 2021 to November 21, 2021 The Art of Painting Icons: St George Slaying the Dragon, with Marina Forbes St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral | Washington, DC A two-day studio hands-on painting workshop for students who would like to start and finish their icon of St. George Slaying the Dragon in one workshop with Marina Forbes. Other
November 20, 2021 Winter Dreams F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater | Rockville, Maryland The Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra will highlight the theme of Winter in this year's Fall concert. Music
The Latchkey Murders Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
301 Things Everyone Should Know About Russia How do you begin to get a handle on the world's largest country? This colorful, illustrated guide will get you started...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian By Tiffany Zhu Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History
March 15, 2017 Who Invented the Ancient Slavic Gods, and Why? By Kasya Denisevich How it was that in the eighteenth century Russian mythology was trumped-up in the Western manner? Who wanted it? And where did we get Lel, Yarilo and Zimtserla? We explain everything you'd want to know about Russian fakelore. Culture History Literature Religion
May 09, 2020 Russian/Soviet War Movies You Can Stream By Yuliya Ballou Some of the best Russian and Soviet films about World War II that you can stream online. Film & TV Reference War CVSG
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
November 01, 2020 Tsarina: In the Winter Palace By Ellen Alpsten Catherine I finds herself at a turning point upon the death of her husband, Peter the Great. History Literature
