August 07, 2022

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys


Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys
Is Russia the ringmaster? Unsplash, Mark Williams

The Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Olga Lyubimova, has chosen to "invite everyone" to take part in the festival of circus art in St. Petersburg on November 3-6, including performers from the United States and Ukraine. 

This comes as a surprise, amid heightened tensions after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

After Russian artists were banned from the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo, the organizers of the festival in St. Petersburg chose to name the event "Without Borders." Lyubimova commented that "there are no borders behind scenes, there are no borders in the arena... we understand that these are our partners."  In addition to artists from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, the festival says it will feature performers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Vietnam, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Mongolia, among others.

The general director of the Russian State Circus, Sergei Belyakov, spoke about the international artists who expressed their interest in participating in the festival. Performers from 21 countries have already begun signing contracts as the date of the festival approaches.

For clarification, the minister noted that St. Petersburg may not ultimately be the location of the festival, though it seems that it will remain in Russia: "Perhaps the regions will fight" for which may host the circus, she said.

You Might Also Like

With Mouths Sewn Shut
  • July 15, 2022

With Mouths Sewn Shut

Art is a powerful realm for protest. The Ukraine War has inspired a new wave of brave works.
Artistic Apoliticality
  • July 25, 2022

Artistic Apoliticality

Russian event promoters have begun requiring artists to promise that they won't include political statements in their performances.
A Failure to Perform
  • July 07, 2022

A Failure to Perform

The International Platonov Arts Festival in Voronezh, has been canceled due to current political conditions.
An Anthem of Dissent
  • May 24, 2022

An Anthem of Dissent

A Russian man in Tyumen was arrested for playing the Ukrainian national anthem in public.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Moscow Eccentric

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.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

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.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

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.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

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.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

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.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, 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