Connections

It seems like just yesterday we were heralding Russian Life’s fiftieth anniversary. And now this fall it turns 55. We at RIS have been stewarding the magazine for the most recent 16 of these 55 years, and I am happy to say there is no end in sight to the fascinating stories we want to tell in these pages.

When we took over the magazine in 1995, we had to drive two hours to check issue proofs printed from film. Now our production process is 100 percent digital (look ma, no film!), and we don’t see a printed copy of the magazine until about the same time as our readers. And Russian Life also comes out in alternate digital formats, including on the Kindle.

While technological advancements – conversing with writers, editors and photographers all over the world through email and Skype – are part of what make this magazine possible, I do feel a bit cheated. Back in 1995, authors would drop into our Moscow offices for a cup of tea; delivery of an article was something of an event. And photographers would hunch over a light table with us, picking out slides to be used with a story. Today, stories arrive as attachments and photographers drop us links to online photo albums. Yes, it is immeasurably more efficient. But it does not seem fair that I rarely get to meet an author or editor face-to-face.