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Lilianna Lungina was a leading literary translator in the Soviet Union. Her autobiography was a huge bestseller in Russia and is finally appearing in English. We present a short excerpt.

Lenin statues have been taking a beating lately, especially in Ukraine.

A review of Elena Gorokhova's memoir, Russian Tatoo, The Devil's Alliance, by Roger Moorhouse, and The Kreutzer Sonata Variations, translated by Michael Katz. Also, a look at the amazing photo album book, Soviet Ghosts, by Rebecca Litchfield.

Twenty-five years ago this month, the Berlin Wall was felled by a bureaucrat's misstatement. But then again the Wall was never on the side of history.

Kenozersky National Park is a portal back in time, where the ways of life, traditions, and beliefs are those of many decades before.

On December 1, 1934, the USSR was shocked by the murder of Sergei Kirov, leader of Leningrad. But there was far worse yet to come.

You won't find much about the Russo-Finnish War (1939-40) in Russian history books.

A look back at the proclamation of Collectivization, in November 1929, leading essentially to the reinstatement of serfdom in Russia.

As summer turned into fall, a series of highly public spats broke out in Russia, with celebrities and cultural figures demonstrating deeply polarized attitudes about the crisis in Ukraine, the Kremlin, and history.

While Russia encourages "federalization" in Ukraine, it is jailing persons who dare call for decentralization at home, even if they are only using humor to make a point.

The Wall and Iron Felix may be gone, but one important thing never happened, which explains plenty about modern Russian politics.

Russia may have become staunchly anti-Western, but it would be very hard to say the same thing about the language.