October 15, 2020 Putin's Birthday, Teachers, and Dirt This week, Putin gets a cool new birthday present; an official broadcasts his workout regimen; and strange sediment puzzles scientists. Education Environment Health Military Social Issues Odder News
October 12, 2020 Smile, or Else Who says Russians are cold and inscrutable? Kamchatka's new "Ministry of Happiness" seeks to spread joy and wellbeing. Government Regions Social Issues Russia File
September 29, 2020 Sore Loser Turns Supervillain A recently defeated incumbent politician has turned off the water supply in part of his district. Out of spite. Cities & Towns Government Law Regions Social Issues Russia File
September 24, 2020 Cave Bears, Corruption, and Life on Venus This week, education is worth fighting for; corrupt officials go for all-or-nothing; and Lenin's mausoleum makeover is cancelled. Animals Cities & Towns Economy Education Government History Law Moscow Regions Science Social Issues Urban Life Odder News
September 17, 2020 Odder News for Radical Dudes This week, we're abandoning all pretense of mature adulthood. We've got cool shotguns, exploding caves, and a teacher who just couldn't wait. Gosh, mom, get out of my room! Cities & Towns Education Government Internet Law Military Pop Culture Regions Social Issues Urban Life Odder News
September 10, 2020 Meet the New Minister, Meat in a Sausage, Mete Out a Fine This week: education! Tests for hopeful investors, savings for college, and learning what exactly is in sausage. Cities & Towns Culture Economy Education Food & Drink Moscow Social Issues Odder News
September 04, 2020 Good Deed Punished A pensioner was fined for highlighting voter fraud in Russia's recent round of constitutional amendments. Cities & Towns Government Law Social Issues Russia File
September 03, 2020 Chocolate, Chichikov, and Chivalry This week, Lukashenko turns action hero; chocolate is serious business; and a classic Russian author is proven to be right all along. Business Government Literature Military Politics Social Issues Women Odder News
September 01, 2020 United Across 9000 Kilometers What unites Khabarovsk and Minsk? Politics Social Issues
September 01, 2020 September/October 2020 The Mari People * Life in Isolation * Russia's Discovery of Antarctica * Raspberry Picking * Semyonovsky Revolt * Battle on the Ugra * Sergei Bondarchuk * Table Russian * Bird Language * Apple Fritters * Chicks the TV Series * Kamchatka and Belarus Culture Geography Regions Social Issues Travel War
September 01, 2020 Snapshot Some statistics to illustrate recent trends in Russian society. Social Issues
August 21, 2020 I'm Not Dead Yet A hospital in Kursk is under investigation after a woman awoke post-surgery in the morgue. Cities & Towns Health Social Issues Women Russia File
February 28, 2022 to December 31, 2024 Free Russian Language Guided Tours Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York, NY Russian-speaking guides conduct tours of the museum's highlights every Monday at 11 am. Art Exhibit
November 11, 2023 to September 15, 2024 Visions of Transcendence: Creating Space in East and West Wende Museum | Culver City, CA This exhibit highlights the resilience and creative power of people deprived of their freedom or their own place to live. Art Exhibit
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.
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.
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.
East of the Sun: The Epic Conquest and Tragic History of Siberia The very word Siberia evokes a history and reputation as awesome as it is enthralling. In this acclaimed book on Russia’s conquest of its eastern realms, Benson Bobrick offers a story that is both rich and subtle, broad and deep.
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.
Kashtanka – A Bilingual Reader A bilingual presentation of one of the great classics of Russian literature.
Resilience ~ The Russian Version (Переживем) 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.
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 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...
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 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.
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.
March 20, 2020 Vodka vs. Coronavirus Russia’s Ministry of Health discussed ways vodka can affect the coronavirus (spoiler alert: not much). Food & Drink Health CVSG Russia File
May 31, 2020 Inside Brighton Beach's Babushka Beauty Pageant A lovely short film on Brighton Beach's Your Highness Babushka Beauty Contest. Culture Pop Culture Russians Abroad Women Video of the Week Russia File
August 22, 2020 Sad Smiles and Kremlin Corruption Recounting a 2008 meeting with activist Alexei Navalny, before he rose to prominence. Government Politics Russia File
October 14, 2016 Five Wild Facts about St. Basil's Cathedral 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 Russia File
March 17, 2019 When Russian Cuisine Turns Georgian Why is Georgian food so popular in Russia? Turns out there's more to it than deliciousness. Culture Food & Drink History Russia File
June 22, 2020 Why Invading Russia was Hitler's Downfall June 22, 2020, marks the 79th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi invasion of Russia that changed the course of WWII and, perhaps, history itself. History Social Issues War Russia File