January 12, 2021 A Quiet Christmas for Putin Instead of reveling in the bright lights of a Moscow Christmas celebration, Putin decided to take in the holiday at a small church in a small town. Culture Customs Holidays Religion Russia File
January 01, 2021 Searching for St. Nicholas A town on the Turkish coast preserves the memory of one of Russia’s most venerated saints. Culture History Religion
December 15, 2020 Tsargrad the Litmus Tester The “Orthodox oligarch” is starting a political organization to promote politicians who share his views. Politics Religion Social Issues Russia File
December 09, 2020 Don't Try This at Home “If questions arise as to whether demons should be driven out of this or that person, first of all, you need to turn to the priests. Any [personal] initiative in this is completely unacceptable.” – Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Relations, in response to a video showing parents attempting an exorcism on their son Customs Religion Quote
September 01, 2020 God in Nature The veneration and preservation of nature are at the root of Mari culture. We get a unique inside look at their most sacred annual ritual of worship. Culture Regions Religion Rural Life
August 27, 2020 Camouflage Candles, Cats in Quarantine, and Belarus This week Russians get diet advice, the president of Belarus gets kicked out of a neighboring country, and even cats aren't excused from social distancing. Animals Economy Food & Drink Health Int'l Relations Military Politics Religion Odder News
July 30, 2020 Robberies, Vodka, and Cat-astrophic Crimes This week, we're warned once again to be careful on the internet; priests use their powers for good; and criminals have never been so dang cute. Animals Cities & Towns Food & Drink Government Health Internet Religion Social Issues Travel Odder News
July 13, 2020 My Kingdom for a Church Russia and Turkey are split over the use of an iconic Istanbul— er, Constantinople— monument. Architecture History Int'l Relations Religion Russia File
July 09, 2020 Priest Gone Wild Ultra-conservative Russian Orthodox priest Father Sergei has had quite the summer. Cities & Towns Culture Politics Religion Russia File
July 02, 2020 Kefir-Beer, a Dog Retiree, and a Grave Competition This week: stamps honor highways, grave-diggers let loose, and Russia's cutest cop takes his leave. Animals Cities & Towns Customs Economy Religion Science Odder News
July 01, 2020 "Painting Jesus Isn't Dangerous" Moscow is seeing religious symbolism crop up in unexpected places. It’s not the first time, but there is something different about what is going on now. Art Cities & Towns Religion Urban Life
June 16, 2020 The Inheritance of the Tsars: Russia's Claim to Rome Russia-watchers sometimes encounter the idea that Moscow is the "Third Rome." But where does this idea come from, and what does it mean? Architecture History Religion 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
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
The Moscow Eccentric Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
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.
Resilience: Life Stories of Centenarians Born in the Year of Revolution 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.
Driving Down Russia's Spine The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia.
Fish: A History of One Migration This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
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.
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.
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 Samovar Murders The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Survival Russian Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
A Taste of Chekhov This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
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 14, 2020 Coronavirus Coping: Russian Lit has the Answers Russian literature has an answer for everything. In the times of coronovirus, this is your guide. Art Literature CVSG Russia File
May 07, 2015 The Most Useful Russian Inventions What do radio, television, the periodic table, and helicopters have in common? Russians were involved in developing all of them – and more! Reference Science 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
October 30, 2021 Happy 200th, Dostoyevsky! On this, the occasion of the great writer's 200th birthday, we offer some links to stories we have published about him over the years, as well as some cool videos. Happy reading and viewing! History Literature Russia File
