Roofing and spelunking underground passages are so 2011. So says 22-year-old Vadim Makhorov, whose photos from atop vertiginous towers, about crumbling Soviet-era factories, and inside tunnels of working metro systems have wowed internet users and made his blog one of the most popular in Siberia.

In which we explode yet another myth. The Washington-Moscow Hotline does not employ glowing red telephones and is actually very rarely used. Yet it is still a fascinating institution, one apparently designed to sidestep common human shortcomings.

Vladimir Mukusev, once a media star, has been persona non grata on Russian television for a decade. We hand him a mike.

Reclusive, frank, astoundingly industrious and uncompromising, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was the most influential writer of his age, and he did more to topple the Soviet Union than any other individual in the 20th century. We spoke with his wife just a few months before his death.

Many consider Vladislav Tretyak to be the best hockey player of the 20th century. We chat with Tretyak about his second act – in an arena where things can get tougher than on the ice: politics.

In an interview with the son of Anastas Mikoyan, one of the key players in the 20th Party Congress, we take a trip behind the curtain of Soviet Oz.

With his reelection a sure bet, President Vladimir Putin is poised to begin his second Kremlin term. We turned to a noted satirist and opposition activist to find out what he projects for Putin 2.0.

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have translated Bulgakov's most "difficult" work: The Master and Margarita, as well as many of Russia's msot famous works of fiction. Editor Mikhail Ivanov sat down with them in Paris to talk about Bulgakov, the translator's art, and Russian literature.

In our second of three articles on Tchaikovsky, we talk with the woman Russia has entrusted with protecting his archive, home and image ...

In this companion to our cover story, we talk with Russian architecture expert William Brumfield about the significance and manner of Savior's rebuilding.

At 99, Boris Yefimov has seen it all. From Leon Trotsky to Boris Berezovsky. In this interview, he tells amazing stories of our century.

Where we interview Sergei Rogov, a top Russian expert and government advisor, on the past, present and future of US-Russian relations.