July 21, 2024

Adopting the Enemy's Tactic


Adopting the Enemy's Tactic
Worse than the front lines? The Russian Life files

This month Ukraine began recruiting paroled prisoners to defend the state from Russia's full-blown invasion — taking a page from Russia's playbook.

Russia has been recruiting convicts for the frontlines in its ongoing War on Ukraine for more than a year. Prisoners are given a reduction in sentence and a chance to work outside the prison walls in exchange for answering the call. This method has become a major way to increase manpower as the war grinds on, despite undesirable outcomes. What's more, recently, Russia began drafting even those suspected but not convicted of a crime, promising an end to their criminal investigations if they enlist.

Ukraine has been hesitant to adopt similar strategies until now, but it is beginning to face manpower shortages and is feeling the effects of years of war.

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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Chekhov

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This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

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Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

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.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
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Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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