Leo Tolstoy’s life and works are copiously documented in editions of his writings in dozens of languages, new translations, biographies, critical studies, diaries and memoirs written by Tolstoy himself, his family, and his friends. If you already have several shelves bending under all these Tolstoys and about-Tolstoys, do you need another biography? If it’s Andrei…
Cod is not inherently a sexy fish. Cod’s got nothing on salmon, and it can’t really compete with tuna or snapper. At its freshest, cod can be an excellent base for some iconic dishes, including fish and chips, fish chowder, and, of course, Brandade de Morue (France’s incomparable whipped cod and potato spread). But on…
Buy a book or two dozen The Moscow International Book Fair (Sept. 24-27) is one of Moscow’s biggest book fairs — in fact, it’s two book fairs: one on Red Square in the summer and another, bigger one at the Expo Center in the fall. A few hundred publishing houses, periodicals, bookstores, museums, and organizations…
Sotheby’s has been selling Russian art to foreign collectors and a great variety of foreign and Russian art to Russian collectors for several decades. This is the first time the famed auction house has arranged an exhibition and sale of works in Russia. The director of Sotheby’s Russia, Irina Stepanova, says this is one of…
Theater director Stepan Pekteyev has been fascinated with telescopes and microscopes since he was a child. He used to watch people walking by and peer into windows through his spyglass, curious to see what was usually off-limits. This summer he joined with distinguished historical consultant Lev Lurye to satisfy his curiosity and share it with…
Last week Kirill Serebrennikov’s “Petrov’s Flu,” the director’s first film since his release from house arrest, premiered with a bang at Moscow’s elegant Art Theater. The film had already been shown to Western festival audiences. At the Cannes festival “Petrov’s Flu” cameraman Vladislav Opelyants won the well-deserved CST Award for Technical Artistry. Serebrennikov did…
The Abrau-Durso vineyard on Russia’s Black Sea has started its 2021 grape harvest. The winery was founded in 1870 and supplied the Russian Imperial Court in the 19th century. This year’s vintage could be marred by a dispute that erupted in June when Russia turned the tables on France by passing a law that says…
The very mention of “eggplant caviar” will make even the most recalcitrant Russian smile. This is not an indication that they love eggplant, but rather a devotion to classic Soviet cinema. The phrase reminds them of a fabulously funny moment in the hit 1970s time-travel film, “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession,” based on a play of the same…
Opera legends Opera stars including Placido Domingo, Cecilia Bartoli and Rolando Villazon will sing in honor of Russian soprano Anna Netrebko’s 50th birthday on Saturday in the State Kremlin Palace. Leading Russian music producers Filipp Kirkorov and Igor Krutoy will also perform. Ticket prices start at 5,000 rubles ($69) and are as high as 65,000…
Soviet and Russian animator Yuri Norstein was born on this day in 1941. Norstein has been behind some of the most iconic cartoons from the Soviet era, and The Washington Post has said “he is considered by many to be not just the best animator of his era, but the best of all time.” Norstein…
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the Campbell soup people decided to plunge into the beguiling waters of the burgeoning consumer goods industry in Russia. In the expansive manner of global behemoths, Campbell sent out a team of intrepid field agents to the Wild East to learn how they might persuade one…
Fireworks for the big day Russia’s capital turns 874 on Saturday. There’ll be firework displays in 26 locations around Moscow at 9 p.m. to celebrate, including Gorky Park, Sokolniki and various spots along the Moscow River. While there are fewer events than usual because of Covid, and everyone must follow guidelines and register for all…
Russia is gearing up for elections to the State Duma and regional and local legislatures on Sept. 19. Because voters in remote parts of the country are unable to make it to a polling center on election day, the government launched early voting on Aug. 29 to bring the ballot directly to them. One such…
Russia’s Hermitage Museum, the largest art collection in the world, has announced it will sell several masterpieces, including a work of Leonardo da Vinci, in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFT). The St. Petersburg-based museum in partnership with the Binance NFT marketplace will run the auction until Sept. 7, the Hermitage said in a statement. …
On Sept. 7, 1812, some 300,000 French and Russian soldiers clashed in one of the biggest battles of the Napoleonic Wars: the Battle of Borodino. The battle on the fields of western Russia would prove to be a key moment in the war — for although French-led forces won the battle, they failed to secure…
Tomato season is in full throttle, and I am in heaven. I’ve had tomatoes in every shape, color, and size for just about every meal last week. I’m happily pairing tomatoes with everything from corn to pasta, buckwheat, sausages, eggs, and, of course, cheese. Cheese and tomatoes are a match made in heaven, no matter…
Chekhov’s Dachshunds On Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., the Anton Chekhov estate of Melikhovo is holding its 15th annual dachshund festival. Why? Because Anton Chekhov was one of the first owners of dachshunds in Russia. He got a pair of them from his friend and editor, Nikolai Leikin. They were named by Chekhov’s sister,…
Chekhov’s Dachshunds On Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., the Anton Chekhov estate of Melikhovo is holding its 15th annual dachshund festival. Why? Because Anton Chekhov was one of the first owners of dachshunds in Russia. He got a pair of them from his friend and editor, Nikolai Leikin. They were named by Chekhov’s sister,…
On Jan. 27, 1959, nine very experienced, young hikers set off into the Ural Mountains a few hundred miles north of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) on a two-week trek. None of them returned. Several weeks later their tent was found, half buried in snow and slit open from the inside, with the group’s possessions still neatly…
Each year on Sept. 1, Russian schools open their doors for students and teachers in what is known as Den’ Znanyy, or the Day of Knowledge. This year, 17 million Russian students are going to school, hundreds of thousands for the first time. This time of year is also a somber one as Russia marks…
Embroidered silver plumes of gala dresses and sumptuous kokoshniki lavishly embroidered with pearls… fine brocade dresses of the Tsar’s ladies in waiting and couture dresses of contemporary Russian designers… ecclesiastical garments and exquisite royal outfits from the famous 1903 Winter Palace costume ball — the evolution of Russian fashion comes alive as more than a…
At this year’s Series Mania Forum, an event dedicated to the development of the genre of television series, the pitching sessions award went to “Red Rainbow,” a project presented and to be produced by Ukrainian and Russian film and television producer Alexander Rodnyansky and AR Content/NonStop Productions. “Red Rainbow” is based on the true story…
Every year when summer meets autumn, Red Square is transformed into a stage for the Spasskaya Tower International Music Festival. Thousands of spectators can see 22 military bands and groups from across the globe marching, twirling, dancing and high-stepping with the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral as the backdrop. Here’s a look at scenes from…
Alexei Navalny is a complex and contradictory figure. A Russian opposition leader banned from the ballot for almost a decade; a muckraking exposer of corruption in a country without a free press; a protest leader whose popular appeal remains limited. A new book seeks to demystify Russia’s most famous modern dissident, delving into the life…
Context. Diana Vishneva, a festival of international contemporary choreography, kicks off on Sunday, bringing together ground-breaking choreography from Spain, Estonia and Russia and showcasing an extraordinary premiere inspired by Farah Pahlavi, the widowed empress of Iran. Making room for new Russian dance Vishneva, the festival’s artistic director, would like to firmly establish Russian choreography in…
Russian children return to school on Sept. 1 enacting the charming annual rituals of “The Day of Knowledge.” Dressed in their finest school uniforms, with starched hair bows large enough to levitate a kindergartener several feet in a strong wind, students come to school with their parents, bringing impressive floral tributes for their teachers to…
Spasskaya Tower International Music Festival Every year when summer meets autumn, Red Square is transformed into a stage and thousands of people come to watch marching, twirling, dancing, high-stepping military bands and groups from all over the world. This year it appears that the coronavirus has kept many of the popular performers in their home…
Film directors Ilya Zheltyakov and Anastasia Polukhina have the perfect antidote to the stresses of modern life: a week with the Veps, one of the oldest ethnic groups living in Russia today. The Veps are a small indigenous group in northern Russia. They are a Finnic people who have lived in what is now Russia for millennia…
As Russian tourists flock to local resorts and historical sites, they are immersing themselves in Russia’s rich and turbulent history — quite literally. Across the country, Russian history parks and museums are fusing together expert knowledge and modern technology to plunge visitors into the 1380 battle of Kulikovo Field, a tsar’s feast or the Bolshevik…
Summer’s lease may have all too short an end date, but I for one will be delighted to see the back of it. Autumn’s crisp, cool weather is what I crave right now, and I would welcome a light snowfall with open arms. I always rejoice to see bushels of red, pink, yellow and green…
Masterpieces from Italy If you haven’t seen the exhibition of masterpieces from Siena at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, this is a wonderfully quiet weekend to stop in. Siena in the 13th to the 15th centuries was one of the great centers of art in Europe on the cusp of the Renaissance. The show…
A new monumental sculpture has gone up in Moscow, and Muscovites do not like it. The sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer, called Big Clay #4, was installed over the weekend on Bolotnaya Naberezhnaya, the promenade on the narrow island in the middle of the Moscow River across from the Kremlin. Many of the city’s…
The Here Gallery on Taganka has opened a show in memory of one of the most eccentric Moscow performance artists, Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe (1969-2013). The show is called “The Magic Rainbow Flower” after a children’s book by Valentin Katayev about a multicolored magical flower that grants wishes. The show, a memorial to this unique Russian performance…
Viktor Tsoi, the founder and frontman of legendary Soviet rock band Kino, died in a car crash 31 years ago on Aug. 15, 1990. Today, his legacy lives on across the post-Soviet world. To honor his memory on the anniversary of his death, fans gathered on Old Arbat in central Moscow:
Three enthusiasts and an old garage is all it took to make a plastic-processing machine and then launch 99recycle, a brand that is now renowned across St. Petersburg for its handbags, fashion accessories and items of home decor made from processed plastic and textiles. The story of how it happened told by the brand’s co-founder…
Food-related news in Russia caused a chuckle this week thanks to the story of Ksenia Ovchinnikova, a devout Orthodox Christian who is suing McDonald’s in Omsk because, she alleges, their advertisements for mouthwatering hamburgers caused her to break the rigid Lenten Fast. Ovchinnikova is asking for compensation for moral damages and the afront to her…
Food fest If you happen to be in the city center, or if you happen to like the idea of high-class street food, head over to Tverskaya Ploshchad — by the statue of Yuri Dolgoruky on Tverskaya Ulitsa — and bring your appetite. As part of the Summer in the City festival, more than 50…
In 2021, the Russian Agency for Strategic Initiatives launched a program to turn old industrial zones and abandoned buildings into “creative clusters” — venues for a wide variety of cultural activities. There are plans to create 30 clusters in 10 regions by the end of the year. The program began after Vladimir Putin said how…
The Pushkin House in London has just announced their shortlist for the 2021 Pushkin House Book Prize. Each year a panel of judges choose the best non-fiction about or from the Russian-speaking world published in English. Founded in 2013, the annual prize carries a monetary award of £10,000 and is made possible by contributions from…
If you typically tend to skip introductory notes at exhibitions, you may want to make an exception for New Nature, a new project on display at the Manege Exhibition Hall in St. Petersburg. The works by the Recycle Group — artists Andrei Blokhin and Georgy Kuznetsov — in New Nature focus on Homo Virtualis, a…
And just like that, it’s August, a month when almost anything can happen, and in Russia usually does. Each year the country braces itself for “The August Curse,” the month’s propensity towards natural disasters from hurricanes to floods, and even peat bog fires, combined with a tragic number of air and rail crashes and the…
Russia isn’t competing in the 2020 Olympic Games — at least formally, that is. Due to doping violations the team is competing as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). Athletes compete under a neutral flag and the phrase “neutral athlete” must be on their uniforms. They are forbidden from including national symbols, including the national emblem,…
This summer the AZ Museum, a private museum dedicated to the works of Anatoly Zverev and non-conformist Soviet artists, has been celebrating the art of portraiture. The three-story townhouse museum has on display 70 works by “unofficial” Soviet and contemporary artists, that is, artists who did not work according to the conventions of socialist realism…
Nargiz With most theaters on tour or closed for the month, a lot of Moscow’s entertainment has migrated outdoors. On Saturday night the Green Theater at VDNKh Park is welcoming Nargiz, a singer from Uzbekistan with a spectacular voice and modern folkloric style. Born to a musical family in Tashkent, Nargiz won many singing awards…
The month of August means one thing in Russia: Vacation. Despite a third wave of the coronavirus fueled by the contagious Delta varian, Russians have been making their annual trips to bathe and relax in the sunshine. Here’s a look at some of the many ways Russians spend their summer holidays:
At the trendy Khlebozavod and Flacon design factories — former industrial spaces turned into shops, galleries and cafes — it seems like everyone’s hair is rainbow-colored. Young men and women have hair that ranges in color tone from pale to neon: mint, lilac, blue, purple, various shades of pink. Some have all their hair dyed,…
There are certain summer traditions that every Muscovite knows all too well: having a cookout in the park, getting ice cream, going for a cruise on the Moscow River….and the day when paratroopers descend upon the city. Every year on Aug. 2, Russia celebrates Paratroopers’ Day, which marks the anniversary of the Soviet military’s first…
Yasen Zasursky, the legendary rector of the Moscow University Department of Journalism, died today at the age of 91. Zasursky, whose unusual first name — which means clear or bright — was given by his mother in honor of his father’s eyes, was a child prodigy. He completed school at the age of 14 and was…
Timing is one of the bigger challenges of entertaining during the summer months in the country. If visitors are coming from the city, their ETA is usually deeply uncertain, dependent as it is on the dreaded “propki” or traffic jams, which snarl every major arterial road leading out of the city. I know lots of…
The Changing of the Kremlin Guards This Saturday at noon you can once again see the Changing of the Presidential Guards in the Kremlin after another coronavirus surge necessitated a temporary halt. Although it is not strictly a performance, the guards twirl and swing and shoot their rifles and march in perfect harmony and symmetry.…
The film of the rising star of Russian cinema Kira Kovalenko “Unclenching the Firsts” won the Grand Prix in the section “En Certain Regard” of the 74th Cannes Film festival. Kovalenko’s success did not come as a surprise to the film industry and audiences at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was produced by Alexander…
Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics have so far won seven gold, eight silver and four bronze medals, putting them in fourth place overall. They’re competing under a neutral Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) flag due to a ban stemming from state-sponsored doping violations. Take a look at our gallery of Russian winners:
A popular Moscow coffee shop and an up-and-coming Russian photographer have teamed up to support the country’s LGBTQ+ community. Artyom Temirov, the founder of the Chernyi Co-operative, and his employees, wanted to support some of their customers and friends by donating the profits from sales of specially roasted coffee from the Brazilian grower Fernando Heringer…
Vegetarianism is on the rise in Russia, of that there can be no doubt. Once unthinkable, today young, urban Russians are eschewing meat like never before for reasons that range from ethics to health concerns. Meatless meals are no longer confined to the forty days that precede Easter, but are becoming integral parts of restaurant…
MAKS Air show For a lot of folks, one of the great traditional events of the summer in Moscow is the MAKS (International Aviation and Space Show) held at the Zhukovsky Airport, located 40 kilometers (about 25 miles) of bumper-to-bumper traffic southeast of Moscow. It opened on Tuesday, but the weekday hours are mostly for…
“Major Grom: Plague Doctor,” the newest smash-hit from streaming giant Netflix has been topping the charts worldwide this week in more than 50 countries from Belgium to Brazil. It’s the first time a Russian-language film has hit the Netflix jackpot, perhaps marking a new era in Russian culture’s relationship with the Western world. Or perhaps…
Ivan Khafizov lives in Lobnya, in an apartment on the 5th floor. He doesn’t have a wooden house, and his parents never lived in one. But he loves wooden houses and their nalichniki — carved wooden window surrounds — so much that he has dedicated his life to studying and protecting them. Khafizov’s interest in…
This year Russia sent six films to the Cannes Film Festival, four in competitions and two in non-competitive categories. And the filmmakers brought home three awards: the Grand Prix for the film “Hytti Nro. 6” by Juho Kuosmanen co-produced with Russia — shared with the film “Ghahreman” (Hero) by the Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi; the…
Russian film critic Anton Dolin got a surprise over the weekend when he discovered that while he was at the Cannes Film Festival, he was also writing an extremely complementary review of a 2019 war film “Rzhev” for the newspaper Vecherni Kuryer. The article, entitled “A War Film’s Success is in its Truth: Russian Directors…
This is not shaping up to be the best summer for grilling. Grilling is an activity that needs an end of the day respite from intense heat, ideally borne in on a gentle breeze from the mountains or sea, and there has been precious little of that lately. And yet, reader, we persist. We endure…