January 18, 2023

So Long to Kate


So Long to Kate
Riding less-than-triumphantly: a contemporary portrait of a young Catherine. The Russian Life files.

In recent weeks Odesa, Ukraine has removed its public statues of Catherine the Great, the Russian empress instrumental in founding the city.

The move comes amid the continued "de-Russification" of Ukraine. Local authorities are distancing themselves from Russian influence amid a bloody and continuing conflict

The statues had been repeatedly vandalized since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Recently, an electronic poll conducted by the city found support for removing the monuments. Over the New Year holidays, city officials did just that.

Catherine II, known to history as "the Great," ruled Russia as empress from 1762 to 1796. Her campaigns into what is now Ukraine extended Russian influence in the Black Sea area and led to the founding of Odesa, Sevastopol, and Kherson.

Through this colonization of the area, Catherine also created the idea of "New Russia," "Novorossiya," a phrase often used in Kremlin propaganda to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

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Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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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.

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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.

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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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