June 15, 2022 A Loss for Justice "The Committee against Torture has been protecting the rights of citizens who have suffered from torture and inhuman treatment by government officials all their lives. Despite the obvious benefits of this mission, the authorities have been trying for many years to give it an alien and harmful outline... Apparently, the authorities are giving a signal that torture is becoming (or has already become) part of state policy and is not a problem. Here I would like to remind you about the Constitution, where torture is prohibited (for the time being)." – Sergey Babinets, chairman of the Committee against Torture Government News NGOs Social Issues Quote
June 13, 2022 A Victory for Higher Education American University Kyiv is partnering with Arizona State University to provide Ukrainians higher education amid times of war. Education Int'l Relations Military News War Russia File
June 11, 2022 An Attack on Sea Life Over 600 dolphins died and washed up on the coast of the Black Sea bordering Russia and Ukraine. Animals Environment Military News War Russia File
June 06, 2022 A Most Important Import Saudi Arabia has agreed to increase oil production as demand for Russian oil takes a hit. Economy Int'l Relations News Transportation Russia File
May 31, 2022 Russia Forever? A Russian rock musician was filmed helping Russian soldiers replace a Ukrainian road sign with one reading "Russia Forever." Cities & Towns Media Music News War Russia File
May 26, 2022 A Collaborative Effort The US Department of Defense is coordinating with nearly 50 countries to provide military aid to Ukraine. Government Int'l Relations Military News War Russia File
May 25, 2022 Bully Diplomat “My country is being bombarded, tens of thousands of people are dying in the bloody war of conquest that Russia has unleashed. If I make demands out loud, I can achieve more for Ukraine than writing diplomatic cables that often go unanswered. This is a matter of life and death, and every day matters." – Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk Government Int'l Relations News Politics War Quote
May 20, 2022 McDonald's Unhappy Departure McDonald's is withdrawing from the Russian market. Economy Food & Drink Moscow News War Russia File
May 17, 2022 Headlines for Truth Editors of a Russian news outlet surprise readers with their anti-war sentiments. Dissent Journalism Media News War Russia File
May 14, 2022 An Apologetic Putin? Did Putin apologize for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's outrageous lies? Government Int'l Relations Journalism News War Russia File
May 11, 2022 The Fighters of Azov “Surrender is not an option.” – Ilya Samoilenko, a 27-year-old officer defending Azov. Cities & Towns Interview Men Military News War Quote
May 05, 2022 Russian Troops Storm Mariupol Russian troops have begun to storm the Mariupol steel plant in Ukraine. Cities & Towns Int'l Relations Military News War 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
Moscow and Muscovites Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Russia The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
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.
Woe From Wit (bilingual) One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
22 Russian Crosswords Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
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 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.
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.
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.
Bears in the Caviar Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature 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
May 09, 2020 Russian/Soviet War Movies You Can Stream Some of the best Russian and Soviet films about World War II that you can stream online. Film & TV Reference War Culture Through Film CVSG Russia File
March 07, 2022 Russian Life Takes a Pause As the world reels from the horrific, criminal events being perpetrated in Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, the Russian state, and the Russian military, all of us who nurture a love for Russian people, their culture and history, have been heartbroken. It is not easy to remain a Russophile when suddenly, all across the globe, the adjective “Russian” has become toxic. News 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
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