September 16, 2023

One Country, Two Wars


One Country, Two Wars
Looking out over the White Sea at Kandalaksha. Paul Richardson

 The world watches in horror as the Kremlin continues to find newer, more heinous ways to carry out its illegal, unjustified, unprovoked War on Ukraine. As we predicted the day Russia invaded, the war is wreaking untold suffering and death upon both Ukrainians and Russians. These are crimes for which the Kremlin bears full responsibility, and one day there will be a reckoning.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is conducting a second war, one that gets far less coverage (primarily due to the lack of foreign journalists in Russia), but which history will also judge as heinous and unconscionable. And that is the war upon its own people – imprisoning dissenters, criminalizing entire groups of citizens for being born different, forcing young men to choose between fighting in a war or fleeing their home, trampling the hard-won rights of free speech, assembly, voting, travel, and so much more that Russians gained after the passing of the Soviet Leviathan.

It is this second war that has increasingly become our focus here at Russian Life. Because (a) so many news outlets and local journalists are already doing incredible work covering the first war, the one taking place in Ukraine, and (b) the lack of a free press inside Russia and the departure of all but a brave few foreign journalists means that there is little independent, honest, direct reporting going on from inside Russia today.

We are developing partnerships with independent Russian media and journalists (both inside and outside of the country), searching out the best work being produced, and then translating it so that these stories can spread beyond the Russian-speaking world. The world needs to know that we can love Russians while loathing the regime, that there are many honest, thoughtful, brave souls inside Russia. People who are – at the risk of their safety, their families, their very lives – resisting the Kremlin, evading security forces, and keeping their eyes on the future, believing that one day Russia will be free, peaceful, and prosperous.

We stand with them.

If you would like to join us in this fight, just click the button below to show your support.

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Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

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.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
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.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

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.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 

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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.

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