Commanding Heights

I have a confession to make: this issue’s lead story almost made me sick.

The problem is, I’m not a fan of high places, and some of Vadim Makhorov’s thrill-seeking photos made me feel a bit vertiginous and queasy. They are that good, that unusual, that high…

When editing a magazine like ours, one must often ignore one’s own preferences (and weaknesses) and remember that the interests (and strengths) of our readership are rather broad.

Take for instance the long story in this issue about Victor Starffin (page 36) – a Russian émigré who went on to become one of the most famous baseball players in Japan. Surely we have plenty of readers who are not baseball fans. Yet we are not running this story because it is about baseball (though the timing is intentionally coincident with the opening of baseball season). Instead, we picked this story because it is just a great story – about how the Russian Civil War, a natural disaster, and a boy’s pursuit of his passion led to an amazing life.

Similarly, we will have plenty of readers with no interest in rock and roll or in throwback (i.e. predating DVDs and even VHS) movie theaters. But both our story on Victor Tsoy (page 34) and on Moscow’s Kinopanorama (page 52) are actually stories about something much broader than either of their central subjects. It turns out they are both about cultural phenomena that have long outlived what might be considered their normal, expected lifespans. Especially in 2012, when Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame is far more attention than most things ever get.

I doubt, meanwhile, that many readers will want to skip over Nikolai Gernet’s photo feature (page 44). Once again Nikolai has traveled to unusual places in the Russian North and brought back truly amazing images and stories. Expect to hear more from him in our pages in the months and years ahead.

Beyond the features, we venture into everything from magic tablecloths to police brutality to iconography to Richard Nixon.

While there is no “typical” issue of Russian Life, I would say this one is pretty typical in the way it covers a rather broad range of subjects (and geographies and timespans), some of which are connected in unexpected and unusual ways.

This magazine exists because you, our readers, and we, your editors, share a belief in the value of good stories well told. So, if you hear of a good story you think needs telling, write us! Or, if a story in this or any issue has impacted you, again, write us! We like to know how we are doing in fulfilling our mission, in keeping our readers interested, in expanding the appreciation and understanding that you and we share for all things Russian.

Oh, and if any story makes you a bit dizzy, just turn the page.