May 21, 2026

A Presidential Rideshare


A Presidential Rideshare
After the annual Victory Day parade and celebrations, Putin has made some time to reconnect with an old acquaintance. Press Office of the President of Russia

In a carefully staged display of warmth and humanity, Russian President Vladimir Putin met Vera Gurevich, his former teacher, in Moscow, and personally drove her around the city.

Putin invited his former teacher from St. Petersburg's School No. 193 to attend this year's Victory Day parade in Moscow. Gurevich spent several days touring Moscow on specially organized excursions. On May 11, Putin picked Gurevich up at her hotel for a dinner together at the Kremlin.

The Kremlin press service released footage of Putin at the wheel of an Aurus Komendant, a Russian luxury SUV. He met Gurevich in a relaxed fit (blue jeans and a checkered shirt). Putin then sweetly kissed her on the cheek in greeting, presented her with flowers, and gently assisted the ninety-two-year-old Gurevich into his car.

This is not the first time that Putin has helped out a former teacher. In 2005, he reconnected with a former high school German teacher over tea. As a result, Mina Yuditskaya-Berliner began receiving gifts from the president, including an apartment in Tel Aviv. When Berliner died in 2018, she left the apartment to Putin. However, this kindhearted gesture is not what it seems: the apartment was actually purchased by oligarch Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Despite his prevailing global image as a ruthless, warmongering leader, it is clear that Putin equally wants to cultivate a reputation as an approachable guy and a loyal former student deeply connected to his subjects.

You Might Also Like

A Rough Patch for Putin?
  • April 12, 2026

A Rough Patch for Putin?

The Russian president is seeing some of his lowest approval ratings in decades, and that's according to state media.
Dial-a-Putin
  • December 07, 2025

Dial-a-Putin

Russian citizens are invited to submit questions for 2025's "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" television program.
Putin's Office a Potemkin Village
  • November 16, 2025

Putin's Office a Potemkin Village

Investigative journalists have discovered that Putin's office is actually three near-identical rooms scattered throughout Russia.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

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.

 
At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Driving Down Russia's Spine
June 01, 2016

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955