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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.

On Valentine's Day 65 years ago, the USSR and China signed their Treaty of Friendship. But their budding romance was not to last: just six years later the relationship went south, and nothing has been as rosy since.

The assassination of Sergei Kirov on December 1, 1934, set off one of the bloodiest periods in Russian history. Was it a conspiracy involving the highest ranks of leadership? Or was it all planned and carried out by one "lone gunman"? We may never know.

Think you know Yuri Vizbor? Think again! Sure, you may have heard his songs, but did you know he was also a teacher? An alpinist? A journalist? A radio operator?

Once, a group of factory workers decided to work without pay for the war effort. Somehow their voluntary sacrifice became the entire Soviet Union's mandatory labor - all "for the greater good."

Start with an Armenian base, drop in some Tbilisi, some Moscow, some Kiev, stir in amazing cinematography and strong political convictions, season with a Siberian labor camp – and voila! You're getting close to the legendary filmmaker Sergei Parajanov.

When the music you sing is banned, when the entire genre is identified with the enemy, how do you find the courage to keep singing? Just ask Boris Grebenshikov!

Being patriotic in the Soviet Union was a duty, a challenge, and a potential pitfall, all rolled into one. The story of one Soviet singer, Joseph Kobzon, shows how one cultural idol walked that dangerous line.