Trump-Putin Phone Calls Can Only Be Disclosed With Russian Consent, Kremlin Says

The Kremlin said on Monday that Washington would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Congress is determined to get access to Trump’s calls with Putin and other world leaders, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee’s chairman said on Sunday, citing concerns that the Republican…

Tiger Day Takes the Streets in Vladivostok

Tigers and tigers and tigers, oh my! The streets of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East roared to life as residents young and old dressed up to celebrate their very own Tiger Day, an annual parade to raise awareness of the plight of the Amur tiger.  The Amur tiger is one of the world’s most endangered…

When the ‘Forest’ Came to the Fringe

Every year thousands of performers and visitors descend upon Scotland in late summer to attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s biggest festival of performance arts, from stand-up comedy to opera. This year among the nearly 4,000 shows were several from Russia including “Forest,” a work of physical theater directed by Dmitry Melkin and performed…

Director Mark Zakharov, Dead at 85

On Saturday morning film and theater director, screenwriter and writer Mark Zakharov died of complications from pneumonia. He was 85 years old. Mark Zakharov was the artistic director of the Lenkom Theater in Moscow since 1973 and defined not only the theater’s repertory but the style and spirit of the late-Soviet era. He gathered a…

Russian Cuisine on Top of Europe’s Tallest Skyscraper

Soaring high above Moscow on the top of Europe’s tallest skyscraper OKO but grounded by its most ancient culinary roots is Ruski, the very successful joint venture of two Moscow restaurant giants, Chaikhonka and GINZA. On the tower’s 85th floor, Chef Alexander Volkov-Medvedev is reinventing Russia’s oldest methods and recipes with the help of the…