Issue Links

Hope against Hope
Hope against Hope
by Nadezhda Mandelstam
Modern Library (1999)
The first volume in Nadezhda Mandelstam’s memoirs, it begins with the line, “After slapping Alexei Tolstoi in the face, M. immediately returned to Moscow.”
Mandelstam in Russian
Mandelstam in Russian
Full texts of Mandelstam's poems in Russian
The poet's voice
The poet's voice
Several of Mandelstam's poems are in Russian here, and there are some good links, including to Mandelstam reading his own poetry.
Kalinka: Somewhere My Love
Kalinka: Somewhere My Love
A wonderful balalaika and accordion duo from Texas has released this album. You may have to search for it on ebay to find it.
Encounters with Lise
Encounters with Lise
A collection of memorable, tightly-crafted stories by one of the greatest, and least-known Russian authors of the 20th century.
Vaganova: A Dance Journey from Petersburg to Leningrad
Vaganova: A Dance Journey from Petersburg to Leningrad
A portrait of one of the woman who almost single-handedly shaped the Russian school of ballet.
Partner in Crime: The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896-1948
Partner in Crime: The Life and Times of Andrei Zhdanov, 1896-1948
The first full-length biography of the man once believed to be Stalin's successor.
The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia
The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia
A monumental account of the Evenk people, based on 20 years of field research. Wonderfully written.
Vasya
Vasya
"Madness protects you if insanity is the world around you." An incredible documentary of an artist surviving under Soviet oppression.
Sonata for Viola
Sonata for Viola
A documentary biography of Dmitry Shostakovich, by Semyon Aranovich and Alexander Sokurov (of Russian Ark fame).
Irony of Fate
Irony of Fate
The classic Russian film that is a must to watch on New Year's eve.
Seventeen Moments of Spring
Seventeen Moments of Spring
The classic Russian spy thriller, stretched out over 6 DVDs or videos.
The Meeting Place Cannot be Changed
The Meeting Place Cannot be Changed
A crime-fighting saga, starring the bard Vladimir Vysotsky. "Just look at that mug of yours, Sharapov!"
Mimino
Mimino
The innocent goes into "big aviation." A wonderful nostalgic look at the 1970s.
Diamond Arm
Diamond Arm
You really cannot understand Russia until you have seen this most classic of Soviet-era comedies.
White Sun of the Desert
White Sun of the Desert
Perhaps the most beloved of all Russian films. A revolutionary Western that speaks to all peoples and times.
An Ordinary Miracle
An Ordinary Miracle
A modern fairy tale with humor, song, and, of course, great quotes. "You should have warned me."
Anatomy of Chernobyl's meltdown
Anatomy of Chernobyl's meltdown
An excellent, concise description of how and why Chernobyl exploded, and the impact it had on the surrounding landscape.
Setomaa Tourism Site
Setomaa Tourism Site
A good place to start to plan a vacation to Setomaa.
Setomaa Resort Cottage
Setomaa Resort Cottage
Setomaa Tourism Farm is located is a nice quiet place for a refreshing vacation.

 

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EVENTS FOR RUSSOPHILES

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 9
June 09, 2024

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 9

Star of the Sea Church | San Francisco, California

San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers.

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 7
June 07, 2024

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 7

St. Mark's Episcopal Church | Berkeley, California

San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers.

Roma Rhapsody
June 15, 2024

Roma Rhapsody

Capital One Hall | Tysons, Virginia

The Washington Balalaika Society Orchestra's Spring Concert, Roma Rhapsody, will be at 7:30 pm on Saturday June 15, 2024.

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 8
June 08, 2024

Songs of Faith, Love and Delight! June 8

First Congregational Church | Palo Alto, California

San Francisco's Slavyanka Chorus invites you to a concert featuring a colorful tapestry of folk songs and sacred hymns by renowned women composers.

A Few of Our Books

Fish: A History of One Migration

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.
Survival Russian

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.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
The Little Humpbacked Horse

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
A Taste of Chekhov

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.
Steppe / Степь

Steppe / Степь

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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

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.
Bears in the Caviar

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.

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