August 31, 2022

The Essence of Freedom


The Essence of Freedom

“Independence Day will have a different meaning this year. Us Ukrainians love our freedom. We can say what we believe. My friends in Russia say they have a democracy. What kind of democracy is it if you cannot call a war a war?” 

                                   – A Russian living in Ukraine, Tatyana Antonova

On August 24, Ukraine celebrated Independence Day, marking Ukraine's exit from the Soviet Union in 1991. Like most independence days, it is a time to feel gratitude for the nation's freedom and to be unabashedly patriotic. These feelings still hold true for Ukraine, but this year, when they are neck-deep in a war with the very country that they celebrate their freedom from, Independence Day can take on a new meaning

Independence Day is more than a holiday this year, as now independence has become a threatened reality. For some Ukrainians, who witnessed Ukraine separate itself from the Soviet Union and are now seeing the ongoing war, August 24 now represents the very essence of freedom itself; a rallying cry to continue the fight for their land. Others recognize that now is the time for Ukraine to truly earn its independence from Russia.

No matter which view is taken, Ukraine has surely proven itself as a country that truly cares about its freedom and writing its own destiny on the world stage.

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Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
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.
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.
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.
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Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

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Fish: A History of One Migration

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The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

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