Dauntingly Massive

“I’m a big fan of editing and keeping only the interesting bits in.” 

- Sarah Vowell

It is common in this space for me to preview for you what is in this issue, pointing out an interesting thread that ties several of the stories together. For instance, I could point out that the subjects of all the main features in this issue fall below the 56th parallel, and that they span eight of Russia’s 11 time zones (and one in Ukraine). Yet above the 56th parallel there is still about two-thirds of all Russian territory.

Russia is a big place. A dauntingly massive place. 

And every two months, as we compile our 64-page snapshot, I inevitably fret about how much of Russia we have to edit out – how much more I would like to see in the issue, but which we just cannot fit. 

Even if the magazine had more pages or came out more often, we would ever be faced with this problem. The bottom line is that good editing means making the hard choices to leave some stuff out. And sometimes it is really good stuff.

But the flip side is that we know that, in another two months, there will be another issue. We have published over 80 issues in the last 12 years and we’re just getting started. This is no flash in the pan. We love what we do. We aren’t going anywhere, and Russia isn’t going away.

But back to the bits that get left out.

We would love to have put in more of Voloshin’s poems, more pictures of BAM’s construction, more on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in America. Or to have had room to print all of Repin’s painting,  Kursk Church Processional, “excerpted” in miniature at left. But you have to edit.

Yet, as long-time readers know, our magazine does not end on page 64. If you visit our website, you will find that we have a constantly updated database of links and information related to stories published in the magazine, links to purchase books reviewed and “additional reading,” as well as searchable archives, directories and an events calendar. Thanks to the web, we can now share with you some of the things that we cannot fit into each issue. 

Two examples from the magazine you hold in your hands:

1. The Survival Russian column on zero in Russian got us thinking about how Russians wrote and said numbers before Peter I. We asked around and got some interesting answers, which we have posted online.

2. I conducted an interview with Rashit Yahin from Severobaikalsk. Born in a labor camp, he worked for four decades on the construction and promotion of the BAM. We planned to run the interview as a sidebar to Lynn Remly’s story. But we did not have the heart to cut down Rashit’s responses. The full text is online.

To find these and other related items of interest, just go to the online table of contents for this issue and follow the link that says “Web links for this issue.”

Enjoy the issue (and the website)!