February 01, 2020

The Actor-Agents of the KGB


The Actor-Agents of the KGB
Art meets life: Grigoriy Zhzhonov, Soviet spy on and off the screen, with Vladimir Putin – himself a former KGB agent.
  Presidential Press and Information Office | Wikipedia

Can’t get enough Russian spy movies? How about spies in movies?

A former KGB agent responsible for cultural affairs recently claimed that many Soviet celebrities, including multiple famous actors, were agents of the “special services,” as they say in Russian. They were allegedly recruited during labor camp sentences for notorious crimes like “anti-Soviet propaganda.”

As professional actors in government-sponsored movies, alongside their side-gigs as undercover agents, they ended up in quite pro-Soviet careers. While a former KGB general doubts that his ex-colleague could have had this specific information, others agree it is extremely plausible that many Soviet cultural luminaries led double lives: just like an “I Spy” game, hidden in plain, and very public, sight.

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Life Stories
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Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
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93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
The Little Humpbacked Horse
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The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

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