Culture & Customs

"I knew Hafez Assad, I knew Saddam Hussein, I knew Muammar Gaddafi. We had very good and close relationships with them. We met with them. I'll tell you, the greatest thinkers!”

– President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko name drops on November 10.

St. Petersburg is a magical place, in part thanks to its feline denizens.

In this week's Odder News, Spider-Man is on the loose, Russia loves fast food, and protect your dogs.

"Sometimes there is a desire to remain silent about something, to not have a falling out, but this is the wrong strategy. Conversations, conversations, and more conversations. Find out from the get-go who cannot put up with what, for whom some moments are unacceptable, what responsibilities and rights you will have, and so on.”

– Russian Psychologist Kristina Yakubova, giving advice for couples in their first year of marriage that might do any (ahem) conflicted pair some good.

An exhibit showing off the machine gun of our favorite mustached president (alongside other artifacts from August 2020 unrest) is currently gracing Minsk's Independence Palace.

Dostoyevsky spent ten years of his life exiled to Russia's Eastern hinterlands. Beyond the Urals, there are several places that shaped Dostoyevsky and influenced many of his greatest works of literature.

In this week's Odder News, new planking record, Krasnoyarsk Squid Game, and 100% preschool attendance.

The latest news and developments from Russia that may not have made it into the New York Times.

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna breathed her last in December of 1761, in her St. Petersburg palace. By any standard, Peter the Great’s second daughter had lived an unusual life.

When you begin to learn Russian, you may be a bit puzzled by two “nows”: теперь and сейчас. Let's clear this up, right NOW.

It’s that time of the year again, when afternoons are short, the colors are subdued, and the appetite for rich spicy foods is at its highest. What a perfect occasion to cook a hearty Central Asia pilaf with mutton, lots of cumin, and (if you can find them) barberries (also known as berberis or “northern lemon”).

Oleg Rezanov claims to have overcome aging and pain by embracing the cold. Let’s look into this a bit more closely.