May 18, 2011

Coming Russian Events

For a Russophile, it can be frustrating to find out about an interesting event related to Russia after it has just happened. On the flip side, it can also be rather difficult to find out about new events far enough in advance before they happen, especially events in your area, so that one can attend.

For several years now, we have been collecting data on Russia-related events at museums, festivals, art galleries, etc. to try to maintain a clearinghouse of what is going on throughout the US on the Russian front. At first, we tried to track down and enter all the information on these events ourselves.

We soon gave up on that Sisyphean task and shifted the onus onto the event presenters, offering them a facility to easily add and update their events on our website. That has seemed to work much better. (Feel free to forward this link to anyone you hear of that is putting on a Russia-related event.) We now like to think we catch most (70-80%) of what is going on and we publish event information from our constantly updated database in our magazine if it is far enough in the future to work with editorial deadlines.

Very often, however, we hear about events so close to their occurrence that they will never make it into print. Yet we still encourage organizers to add their events to our database, hoping that readers and Russophiles will check in to the web-based database from time to time, to see what might be going on in their area (the database is searchable by state, event type, etc.).

But clearly that is not enough, so we'll be looking into ways that people can sign up to be automatically notified, or how we can send out automatic weekly updates of events happening throughout the US every week or so, be it via email, Twitter or Facebook. Any readers with constructive suggestions in this regard, please sound off! Meanwhile, here are three examples of upcoming events that we just heard about, and which are happening in major metropolitan areas in the very near future:

Causa Artium is putting on a series of literary events in the NY Metro area showcasing young Russian authors, several of them already famous. The first event is May 20. Here is the listing, which also links to Causa Artium's website.
Vladislav Lavrik, who has been hailed as Russia's finest trumpeter, will be giving a solo concert in Minneapolis (a few days after playing the National Anthem with dozens of other top world trumpeters at a Twins game) on May 26. The event info is here.
The Angel Orensanz Center in NY is putting on an interesting photo exhibit through the end of May devoted to Ilya Repin.

Enjoy!

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Some of Our Books

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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.

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.

Fish: A History of One Migration

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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.

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Resilience ~ The Russian Version (Переживем)

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.

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.

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.

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

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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.