Author and journalist Alexei Bayer ruminates on chess champion and political activist Garry Kasparov, who appeared recently in New York.

Why the teachings of Marx and Lenin just won't go away, and why Russia's current ruling generation is the most Soviet of all time.

A look at the historically testy relationship between Russians and Ukrainians.

Whistleblower and international fugitive Edward Snowden can take some lessons from past defectors to Russia on how to survive (and even prosper) there.

A reflection on the place of writers in Putin's Russia, through the lens of writer Mikhail Shishkin's refusal to take part in further government literary junkets.

With American adoption of Russian children outlawed and the Duma hyping tragic stories of adoptees who have died in the US, we decided it was time to hear one of the "good" stories from the 60,000 American adoptees.

A look back at the life and contribution of opera singer, actress and dissident Galina Vishnevskaya, who passed away in December.

Over 100 people died in flash floods in the southern city of Krymsk. The disaster was both preventable and criminal. But it still needed to be cleaned up. Russian Life's history editor Tamara Eidelman was there and provides this first hand account of the aftermath of the disaster.

In early June, a noisy, colorful band landed in Manhattan: Thirty Russian authors, two dozen publishers, as many journalists, and half as many organizers.

A visit with Maria Kachanova, a young icon painter striving to create works of art in keeping with this centuries long tradition.

"Instead of mass heroism, we now engage in mass cowardice..."

Exactly why did so many Russians wait on line for hours, sometimes days, to see an ancient relic visiting Christ the Savior Cathedral in November? Maya Kucherskaya has some ideas.