Under New Management

A few weeks ago our company, Russian Information Services, agreed to take over as publisher of Russian Life. We took on this challenge because we felt we had the experience, staffing and wherewithal to rebuild this very important magazine.

We begin this rebuilding by incorporating our three-year‐old publication, Russian Travel Monthly (RTM) into Russian Life. This concise, frank, monthly newsletter has enjoyed a loyal following and has focused on the most important news, features and information related to travel and doing business in the New Russia.

But this is just a first step. The process of rebuilding Russian Life will take several months. Still, this first step does have three immediate ramifications.

First, as indicated on the cover, Russian Life is now a monthly magazine. The move to a monthly allows for more current reportage from Russia. It also means that Russian Life subscribers will get twice as many issues as they paid for! For their part, RTM subscribers will get twice as much volume per issue.

While we plan many exciting changes for Russian Life in the months ahead, we realize that we must walk before we can run. Therefore, during a brief transition period, Russian Life will be shorter and without color printing. It will take a few months to retool the publication, to return it to full color. But we felt it most important to first establish a regular publishing schedule, something Russian Life has been without for two years. During this time of rebuilding, we humbly ask for your support and indulgence. And, of course, your input. We want to hear from you as we make changes. We want to build a magazine you will look forward to reading, cover to cover.

Second, Russian Life will reflect an increased emphasis on travel in and to Russia. A large percentage (83% in a recent polling) of Russian Life readers, and certainly most all Russian Travel Monthly readers, are interested in travel to Russia. Not just armchair travel, but real travel. So, while Russian Life will continue to offer beautiful photo journalism, coverage of the arts, history, culture, politics and society, the magazine will add several popular departments from our Russian Travel Monthly, including Practical Traveler, Survival Russian and Travel Journal.

Third, while the primary mission of Russian Life remains unchanged: to tell the story of Russia to Americans, we hope to find new and refreshing ways to present that story. You will find that our staff is a healthy mix of Russians and non-Russians. We feel this mix is important. For, while nobody knows Russia like Russians, it often takes a foreign eye to help illuminate the full texture of a place, to help make it resonate with a foreign reader.

For over five years now, our privately-owned Vermont company has sought to publish and distribute superior-quality publications on Russia. We are proud to add Russian Life to our growing list of publications and are excited about the challenges it will place before us.

We invite you to join with us in the rebuilding of Russian Life and look forward to providing you with interesting and thought-provoking reading in the months ahead.