Category: Architecture
-
Celebrate Theater in Peremilovo
This year is the Year of Theater in Russia, and to celebrate, the Theater Gallery on Malaya Ordynka is running an exhibition of works by the delightfully zany artist Vladimir Lyubarov entitled “The Year of Theater in the Village of Peremilovo.” In 1991, Lyubarov left his hometown of Moscow in favor of a simple life…
-
On This Day: Vladimir Lenin Arrives at the Finland Station
After 17 years of exile in Europe, Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin staged a triumphant return to his home country on April 16, 1917, with aims to seize power from the Russian government and install a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” His return journey would change the course of world history in ways that are still being…
-
On This Day: On April 15, 1949 Singer Alla Pugacheva Was Born
On this day in 1949, Alla Borisovna Pugacheva was born and went on to become the Soviet Union’s and Russia’s most famous, celebrated, and prolific singer. Alla Borisovna — no surname required — started training her powerful voice at the age of five. By the time she was studying in a music institute, she was…
-
On This Day: April 13, 1990
On this day, on April 13, 1943, the German army under Adolf Hitler announced the discovery of mass graves near the village of Katyn not far from Smolensk. The Nazis accused the Soviet Union of the mass murder of Polish officers. For almost five decades, the Soviet Union denied all responsibility, insisting that the murders…
-
‘Stalingrad’ by Vasily Grossman
In June a new translation of a new version of Vasily Grossman’s “Stalingrad” is being released. Edited by Robert Chandler and Yury Bit-Yunan and translated from the Russian by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, it promises to, if not revolutionize readers’ understanding of Vasily Grossman, then at least expand and augment it. We couldn’t wait to…
-
Explore “Life After Life” in St. Petersburg
Melancholy, peace, nostalgia… these and other emotions are described by visitors as they make their way through darkened halls filled with art, accompanied by the lonely sound of a piano and the faint scent of sandalwood incense. “Life After Life,” the new exhibition at the Manege, explores death, one of the most universal themes in…
-
On This Day: Yury Gagarin Orbits Earth on Vostok 1
On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space. On board the “Vostok 1,” Gagarin successfully orbited earth in his space capsule. During the journey, which lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes, Gagarin said little. The only known statement recorded from him: “Flight is proceeding normally.…
-
Where Chinese Diners Eat in Moscow
Despite the decades-old Moscow-Beijing Friendship, authentic Chinese food has been really hard to find in the Russian capital. But as thousands of Chinese students and tourists flock to Moscow each year, they have been hankering for a taste of home — and now they found it. Assuming that your Mandarin isn’t up to reading the…
-
On This Day: ‘Spartacus’ by Yury Grigorovich at The Bolshoi
Premiering at the Bolshoi on April 9, 1968, “Spartacus” has gone on to become on of the theater’s most iconic productions. The ballet tells the story of Spartacus, leader of the slave uprising against the Romans, and was originally composed by Aram Khachaturian in 1954. Khachaturian was awarded a Lenin Prize for his composition in…
-
All Too Human
Humans are embodied like all other animals, but according to Plato we are distinguished from the beasts through our possession of a sacred attribute: reason. This attribute is manifest in our ability to contemplate the nature of reality and reflect on how we ought to act. Thinkers from Plato to Steven Pinker have placed great…
-
Can Museums Be Friends When Their Countries Are Not?
In March, “Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and the School of London” opened at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Organized in cooperation with the Tate (London), the exhibition includes 80 artworks. The Moscow Times talked to Marina Loshak, director of the Pushkin Museum, about the exhibition and cooperation with Tate. When did you start…
-
Run Out Winter’s Kinks
The passion to run has hit Russians hard. RunRepeat, a group that tracks marathon participation and times all around the world, reports that more Russians are running and more of them are running faster. In six years from 2009 to 2014, the number of Russian marathoners increased 300 percent. From 2008 to 2018, the average…
-
Director Georgy Daneliya Has Died
The film director Georgy Daneliya died in a Moscow hospital on Thursday. The cause of death was a heart attack, but he had been hospitalized since February with an acute respiratory ailment. He was 88 years old. Daneliya was one of the Soviet Union’s most popular screenwriters and directors, whose gently satirical films managed to…
-
Chikhirtma
Seriously, though, how do the Georgians do it? The simplest dish on their stoves becomes a culinary tour de force. Take, for example, chikhirtma, Georgia’s spicy, tangy, velvety version of Greek avgolemono or egg and lemon soup. Like most Georgian recipes, the seemingly simple list of ingredients belies the complexity of the finished product. The secret…
-
On This Day: Andrei Tarkovsky
On this day in 1932, Andrei Tarkovsky was born in a village northeast of Moscow. His father was the poet and translator Arseny Tarkovsky, and his mother was a literary editor. He spent much of his childhood in the village before moving to Moscow after the war. At university Tarkovsky studied Arabic and then tried…
-
On This Day: Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol was born in the Ukrainian town of Sorochintsy in 1809. His father, Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky, was himself a poet and a playwright, writing in both Ukrainian and Russian. Both languages were spoken in their home, and this would go on to have a significant influence on Gogol’s writing. In 1828 Gogol moved to St.…
-
Down By The River: Moscow’s Iconic Northern River Terminal
The terminal stands dusted in snow in this photo from 1959. Because ships could depart for the White, Baltic, Black and Caspian seas, and the Sea of Azov, from here, the terminal is sometimes referred to as the Five Seas’ port. S.Preobrazhensky / mos.ru
-
Rock Opera to the Rescue
How do you save a church? Call in a heavenly choir. That’s what St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Moscow decided to do. To raise funds for desperately needed repairs to their historic 135-year-old church, the church invited the Stas Namin Theater to perform their production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on April 2. And Stas Namin…
-
On This Day: Maxim Gorky
On March 28 in 1868, the writer Maxim Gorky was born as Alexei Peshkov in Nizhny Novgorod. Later he took the penname of “Gorky” as he told the “bitter truth” of life in Russia. During the Soviet period he was celebrated as an anti-tsarist, working-class supporter of the Soviet regime, and his books, short stories…
-
Russian Ballet Moves Like Jagger in Stones-Inspired Show
A ballet set to music by The Rolling Stones and choreographed by Mick Jagger’s ballerina girlfriend has premiered in Russia. The eight-minute “Porte Rouge” (Red Door) show, inspired by the veteran British singer’s zany dance style, delighted a packed crowd at St. Petersburg’s famous Mariinsky Theatre on Tuesday night. Jagger’s partner Melanie Hamrick, a U.S.…
-
Artist Transforms Soviet Illustrations Into Nostalgia-Provoking Collages
Using images from U.S.S.R.-era books, postcards and newspapers, Dutch artist Tamara Stoffers delves into the Soviet past to create surreal collages, playing with the old and ordinary to make it experimental and new. Her distinctive style inspires nostalgia for a time and place to which not all have been — including the young artist herself.…
-
Lining Up for the Repin Retrospective
The Tretyakov Gallery continues its series of retrospectives of prominent turn-of-the-century painters with an enormous exhibition of works by Ilya Repin. Devoted to the 175th anniversary of the artist’s birth, the retrospective at the Tretyakov Gallery is only the first of three shows. After Moscow it will travel to the State Russian Museum in St.…
-
Catch the Russian Muse
March is not a good month in Moscow. The skiing and skating seasons are over, but the running and biking seasons are but a dream of the distant future. You’ve explored every mall and binge-watched every television series produced within the last decade. You’ve mastered several complex, day-long French recipes and gotten loopy trying to…
-
Nowruz Spring Equinox Holiday Celebrated With Color Across Russia
As nature says goodbye to winter and marks the start of spring, many in Russia welcome the change in seasons by wearing their finest traditional clothes and cooking their best food. Nowruz, an ancient Persian new year festival, sometimes spelled Navruz or Navroz, is widely celebrated across Central Asia and Russia’s Muslim-majority republics of Tatarstan,…
-
A New Look at the Last Tsar
Last year, the 100th anniversary of the execution of the last members of the Romanov dynasty passed in Russia without much official attention. The exception was in Yekaterinburg, where the family was killed and where thousands of pilgrims gathered to mark the day of their murder. But in Moscow the State Historical Museum has been…
-
Director Marlen Khutsiev Has Died
Marlen Khutsiev, one of the Soviet Union and Russia’s most innovative and beloved film directors, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 93. Khutsiev was born in Tiflis (now Tbilisi, Georgia) in 1925. His father (ne Khutishvili) was a communist with a pre-Revolutionary socialist pedigree, who, after serving in high positions within the Soviet…
-
Travel the World With Your Taste Buds at Depo
An old tram depot in the center of Moscow has become the city’s latest foodie haven. Depo Food Mall, which opened last month near Belorussky Station, houses more than 200 stalls, shops and restaurants serving food from all over the world. It continues Moscow’s food revolution that started when the Soviet-era Daniilovsky Market got a…
-
Celebrating the Luck of the Irish in Moscow
Each year, Moscow plays host to numerous film festivals showcasing some of the best cinema from around the world. And with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner (March 17), there’s no better way to celebrate Irish culture than by checking out Moscow’s own Irish Film Festival. The festival will showcase a selection of the…
-
Pancakes Flip and Fires Roar over Maslenitsa 2019
Over the past week, Russia celebrated the pre-Lent festival known as Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week. Besides an abundance of blini (pancakes) served, it all came to an end with traditional bonfires across the country. Here’s a look at the fun and fire that took place over the weekend.
-
Broomball: Moscow’s Wackiest, Toughest Sport
On a brisk, sunny Saturday in early March, a group of women dressed in full hockey gear and carrying industrial size brooms descend upon the frozen tennis courts of the German embassy. The tennis courts—which have been flooded to make a thick layer of ice—have become dusted overnight with a light layer of snow, which…
-
All the Pancakes and Parties of Maslenitsa in Moscow
Russia’s believers reflect while its vegetarians rejoice as we get ready for special Lenten menus in meat-loving Moscow in the six weeks of Lent that precede Orthodox Easter. The week that announces the transition to Lent is Maslenitsa — seven days full of pancake (or in Russian, blini) eating and merriment. Running from March 4…
-
March Music in Moscow
There is no need for an excuse to listen to chamber music, but with spring still around the corner, March can call for a cozy indoor evening to lift your mood. And by now you might be ready for a change from the mulled wine and electric radiator that kept you going for the past…
-
How Many Blini Can You Eat?
Moscow is gearing up to celebrate Maslenitsa — the week before Lent begins — in grand style with food, concerts and burning effigies. In recent years, Russia’s Mardi Gras or “pancake week” has seen a glamorous and all-frills revival in the large cities as municipal and regional administrations organize a week of public celebration. From…
-
The Battle for Moscow
On a cold but sunny afternoon rare for Moscow in mid-winter, a dozen activists stand shivering but resolute on Ulitsa Bolshaya Nikitskaya. They hold up large banners: “Stop tearing down our city!” and “Vandals are at work here!” prepared by the volunteer architecture preservation group Arkhnadzor. Passersby continually stop to read the banners and ask…
-
Enter Solzhenitsyn’s World
When you step into a courtyard just off Tverskaya Ulitsa, you will probably look puzzledly at your phone, thinking that Google Maps has led you astray. But despite its unassuming character, this quiet residential enclave is home to the Apartment-Museum of the Soviet era’s most iconic dissident writer: Alexander Solzhenitsyn. At the very end of…
-
A Soviet Oscar Winner Restored
There wasn’t a Russian film up for the Oscar this year, but a newly restored 1969 Oscar winner is an apt reminder of Soviet cinema’s impact on the sweeping Hollywood epic. “War and Peace,” director Sergei Bondarchuk’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic, expanded the scope, scale and aesthetic ambition of what could play on the…
-
‘Yiddish Glory’ Rewrites History
The myth still remains that during World War II Jews were more likely to bemoan their fate than to actively resist the Nazis. This is easily disproved by the 300,000-500,000 Jews that are estimated to have fought in the Red Army. But due to anti-Semitic policies in the Soviet Union, many of these stories were…
-
The Definitive Beef Stroganov
One thing I never worry about is how to entertain out of town guests in Moscow. After twenty-some years, the template has been honed and refined into a delicate balance of classic rubbernecking (the Kremlin, Red Square, the Tretyakov Gallery, Novodeyvichy Convent and Cemetery) and just enough off-the-beaten-track experiences (Danilovsky Market, Garage, Izmailovo) to make…
-
The Definitive Beef Stroganoff
One thing I never worry about is how to entertain out of town guests in Moscow. After twenty-some years, the template has been honed and refined into a delicate balance of classic rubbernecking (the Kremlin, Red Square, the Tretyakov Gallery, Novodeyvichy Convent and Cemetery) and just enough off-the-beaten-track experiences (Danilovsky Market, Garage, Izmailovo) to make…
-
See Death and Life in Dzerzhinsk
In a famous essay written shortly after the Second World War, Martin Heidegger draws a distinction between ancient and modern technology. Ancient technology is “gentle” insofar as it exemplifies a certain harmony with the environment. Modern technology is “violent” to the extent that it exhibits little regard for life-sustaining ecosystems. And in his “Industrial Zone”…
-
Get Out of Town! Go to Tula
The biggest change in Russia these days? Cool provincial cities. Wikicommons If you need a break from Moscow, hop on a high-speed train and find yourself in the newly cool-ified provincial city of Tula in just two hours. Founded in late 14th century, Tula first belonged to the principality of Ryazan. But Tula’s famous kremlin…
-
Celebrate Russia On Stage
Every spring Russia celebrates the best of theater with a three-month festival called the Golden Mask. This year theater-lovers are looking forward to a particularly vibrant festival, since it is celebrating its 25th year while the country celebrates its Year of Theater. The best productions of drama and comedy, opera, ballet, contemporary dance, operetta and…
-
A Look Back at 155 Years of the Moscow Zoo, in Pictures
From baby chimps and hippos to anti-aircraft guns during World War II, the Moscow zoo has had a rich history since it was founded on Feb. 13, 1864. Celebrating its birthday on Wednesday, we look back at archival photographs of how the grounds and residents of the zoo have changed throughout the years. Having started off…
-
The Magical Light of Arkhip Kuindzhi
Come and be dazzled “Birch Grove” 1879 Arkhip Kuindzhi Courtesy of Tretyakov Gallery On January 27, Arkhip Kuindzhi’s exhibition at the Tretyakov Gallery—a retrospective in honor of the artist’s 175th birthday—became a news sensation after a 31-year-old man stole the painting “Ai-Petri. Crimea” during the museum’s working hours. The heist, which made worldwide headlines, also…
-
Moscow’s Chinese Pearls
Ten places to immerse yourself in Chinese culture The Perlov Tea House / Moskva News Agency February 5 marks the beginning of the Year of the Pig – the last Zodiac sign in the Chinese lunar calendar’s twelve-year cycle. China may be more than five thousand kilometers away from Russia’s capital, but you can still…
-
New Year, Old New Year and Chinese New Year
If you braved the cold to browse Moscow’s Christmas markets, chances are that aside from the requisite matryoshkas and Grandfather Frosts adorning almost every stall, you noticed the presence of one particular animal: the pig. Pigs, you probably thought, are not particularly Christmasy. So why were they so prominent? Simple: 2019 is the Chinese Year…
-
‘DAU’: A Preview
“DAU” / Kinopoisk.ru At the end of January, parts of what is surely Russia’s most spectacular film project premiered in Paris. The project — something between a film series and an extended social and psychological experiment — is called “DAU” and directed by Ilya Khrzhanovsky, a filmmaker with only one major work before this project. …
-
Restoring Repin
The Tretyakov Gallery describes work to repair the damaged painting “Ivan the Terrible and His Son, November 16, 1581” by Ilya Repin Tretyakov Gallery In May 2018, disaster struck in the Tretyakov Gallery. On a Friday evening just before closing time, a man ran into the almost empty hall of works by Ilya Repin, picked…
-
Not Your Babushka’s Museum
If you’ve heard of the All-Russian Decorative Art Museum, it was probably from someone raving about embroidered Russian shawls or colorful enameled samovars from the 19th century. Indeed, the museum has an impressive collection of historical Russian decorative art. Last year, however, the museum opened the Center of Fashion and Design, whose exhibitions have been…
-
Enter the Curious World of Viktor Pivovarov
This is the last week to see Viktor Pivovarov’s exhibition “Moscow Album” at The Multimedia Art Museum. Pivovarov, alongside pioneering artists such as Ilya Kabakov and Erik Bulatov, was one of the leaders of the Moscow conceptualist movement in the 1970s and 1980s. A conceptualist is made Pivovarov, who turned 82 this month, was born…
-
A Daring Theft in a Moscow Museum
When the news broke Sunday night of the theft of a painting at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, it first seemed like a low-tech version of the “The Thomas Crown Affair.” At 6 p.m. on Sunday, in the very popular show of works by 19th-century landscape painter Arkhip Kuindzhi — that is, one of the busiest times…
-
David Burliuk Comes Back to Moscow
Last weeked to discover the most famous Russian art you’ve never seen “Woman With a Mirror” (1915-16) by David Burliuk Courtesy of Museum of Russian Impressionism Even if you don’t know the avant-garde poet and artist David Burliuk, you’d probably recognize his image instantly: a stocky man in a frock coat and top hat, with…
-
New Film Fest Opens at Cosmos Theater
Iskusstvo Kino magazine (“The Art of Film”) and the Moskino chain of cinema theaters have teamed up to arrange a new festival, which started on January 24 and will go on till the end of the month. Its purpose is to show independent films to people who might not see them otherwise. Anton Dolin, chief…
-
Ode to a Preposition
При: very capacious preposition When Russians are learning English, they complain about articles, verb tenses, modal verbs and prepositions. Having listened to a lot of Russian ranting about my native tongue over the years, I can attest that they eventually accept that the difficulties of the first three categories are just part of the structure…
-
Students Celebrate Tatiana’s Day
On Jan. 25, it’s good to be a Tatiana Kirill Zykov / Moskva News Agency Are you a student? Is your name Tatiana? If the answer to either (or both) of these questions is yes, then today is quite literally your day. In Russia, Jan. 25 is Tatiana’s Day—otherwise known as student’s day—and Moscow has…
-
Cool Moscow Bars
The best spots for a great night out in Moscow. Antiquarny Boutique & Bar Moscow is filled with cool bars for a tipple or two and a chat. Here are some of our favorites. Voda Hidden in one of the maze-like courtyards on Ulitsa Petrovka, Voda is a magnet for Moscow’s so-called “creative class.” The…
-
‘Women of the Gulag’ Shortlisted for Oscar Nomination
Why isn’t the Russian film industry happy? It’s complicated. Getting history on film: interviewing one of the camp survivors. Courtesy of “Women of the Gulag” It’s Oscar time again. On Jan. 22, among the nominations for 2019 awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy will announce the five short documentary films up…
-
Pushkin House Book Prize: Let the Reading Begin
Pushkin House has launched the 7th round of its annual Book Prize, a competition which seeks to bring the finest writing about the Russian-speaking world to the attention of readers and promote an informed and nuanced debate about events, institutions and people in the past and present. The prize recognizes excellence in works of non-fiction…
-
Moscow’s Izmailovsky Kremlin and Markets, in Photos
Traditionally, a kremlin is a fortified structure that protects what’s inside its walls. But the Izmailovsky Kremlin in northeast Moscow offers no such service. Instead, it serves as a wonderland escape with weekend markets, where locals, artists and tourists can explore old Soviet goods, vintage posters, souvenirs and food. Here’s a look at Moscow’s “other”…
-
Maslenitsa festival: a week of pancakes and joy
Maslenitsa is a traditional Russian holiday marking the end of winter that dates back to pagan times Performers entertain people while they celebrate Maslenitsa, or Pancake week at Manezhnaya Square, near Red Square in Moscow © AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Maslenitsa is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday. It’s celebrated the seventh week before Russian…