Category: Moscow
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Actor Andrei Myagkov Dies at Age 82
Andrei Myagkov, an actor most famous for his role of Zhenya Lukashin in the 1975 New Year’s hit, “Irony of Fate,” directed by Eldar Rozanov, died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 82 at his home in Moscow. Myagkov was born in Leningrad in 1938 and graduated from the Moscow Art Theater…
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Authenticity Dispute Over Hermitage Fabergé Exhibit
The “Fabergé: Jeweler to the Imperial Court” exhibit at the Hermitage Museum finds itself at the center of a scandal about fakes. It began with an accusation by one Russian art dealer about another Russian art dealer. On Jan. 10 André Ruzhnikov, a London-based art and antiques specialist, wrote an open letter to the head…
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‘Optimists-2’ and Russian Film Classics Online
Film lovers, particularly those who love films from the early golden age of Soviet films, are in luck. Two collections are now available online, and one modern series with a retro theme is about to air. Kino Klassika Kino Klassika was founded in 2015 as a U.K. charity to preserve and make available Soviet classical…
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In Photos: Love Is in the Air on Russian Valentine’s Day
Independent journalism isn’t dead. You can help keep it alive. The Moscow Times’ team of journalists has been first with the big stories on the coronavirus crisis in Russia since day one. Our exclusives and on-the-ground reporting are being read and shared by many high-profile journalists. We wouldn’t be able to produce this crucial journalism…
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When Andy Warhol Came to Moscow
In 2020 and 2021, Moscow held its first truly comprehensive exhibition of works by Andy Warhol, the king of American pop-art. Paradoxically, the most comprehensive exhibition of the most famous 20th century, tradition-challenging American artist was held in Moscow at the time of the greatest decline in Russian-American relations. The exhibition, entitled “I, Andy Warhol”…
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Vinegret: The Spicy Language of Love for Valentine’s Day
Okay, bear with me on this one. I’m making vinegret for Valentine’s Day. I’ve been so busy, with no time to bake something gooey, chocolate, and heart shaped. I can’t stop to schlep to the fishmongers for oysters. I opened the fridge and was disappointed but not surprised to discover that we were fresh out…
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‘The Treasure of William Brumfield’ Premieres in Moscow
On Sunday the Shchusev State Museum of Architecture in Moscow will host the premiere of a documentary film about one of the world’s foremost specialists in ancient Russian architecture, the American professor at Tulane University, William Craft Brumfield. The film, “The Treasure of William Brumfield,” was written and directed by Irma Komladze, a renowned photographer,…
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Valentine’s Day at the Hyatt Regency
The romantic months of February and March begin with Valentine’s Day this coming Sunday (Feb. 14). Even though Russians traditionally celebrate men on Feb. 23 (Defender of the Homeland Day) and women on March 8 (International Women’s Day), they have happily joined their foreign friends and added this celebration of couples in honor of St.…
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In Photos: Record-Breaking Cold Grips Moscow
Much of Russia has been invaded by a blast of bitter winter weather this week — in the country’s northern regions, temperatures as low as minus 40 Celsius were recorded. Moscow, too, is experiencing some of the decade’s coldest weather, with temperatures plummeting to the low twenties. Here is a closer look at how Muscovites…
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Joseph Brodsky’s ‘Room and a Half’ Now a Museum
After many years in the making, the Joseph Brodsky Museum has finally opened in the apartment he shared with his parents on Liteiny Prospekt in St. Petersburg, 25 years after his death at the age of 56. The museum is divided into a modern section in a former flat that was adjacent to the one…
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North Meets South in Mini Golubtsy
Since antiquity cooks have tucked meat and grains in vegetable leaves: wrapping food in pickled fig leaves was common in both Greece and Rome. The Byzantines used vine leaves as their primary wrapper, and this mania in Asia Minor for stuffing one food into another led to the ubiquitous dolmas, small vine leaf logs stuffed…
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‘Everything Will Be Fine’: Russians Share Selfies in Red to Support Yulia Navalnaya
Thousands of Russians are posting photos of themselves in red clothing to social media in a show of support for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya. During her husband’s court hearing Tuesday, Navalnaya was seen crying while the judge read out the verdict to convert his suspended sentence of 3.5 years…
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Director Kirill Serebrennikov Fired From Gogol Center
The Moscow city department of culture announced on Wednesday that they would not be renewing Kirill Serebrennikov’s contract as the director of the Gogol Center theater. The previous day, on the theater’s eighth “birthday,” Serebrennikov had described some of the plans for 2021, which included not only theatrical productions but other artistic projects. His contract…
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You Can’t Beat a (Savory) Babka
With snow set to be a fixture for much of next week, what’s needed now is an absorbing project to keep us inside — preferably one with delicious results. And for that, you can’t beat a babka! A savory babka with mushroom filling in this case: cake meets bread, and breakfast meets dinner in this…
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Real Life Meets Screen Life in Upcoming Russia-Based Thriller
HOLLYWOOD—If the last few months haven’t given you enough excitement in the U.S. and Russia, soon you can see them again on the big screen — only fictionalized with lots of action and a big dose of conspiracy. Unlike most moviemakers sidelined by the pandemic work stoppage, Russian actor-writer-producer Alexander Nevsky has been putting finishing touches…
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From Skepticism to Relief: Why I Got the Russian Vaccine
When I decided to take advantage of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s widening of the list of professions eligible for the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to include journalists, reactions from my Russian friends ranged from shock to concern. “You’re more of a patriot than I am,” said one. Despite Russia’s proven track record of scientific breakthrough…
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Copycat IKEA Meatballs
In 1703, Tsar Peter I captured in the Swedish fortress of Nyen, which guarded access to the River Neva. It was one of the ambitious Russian tsar’s early successes in the Great Northern War (1702 – 1721) in which Russia ultimately smashed Swedish hegemony. On the banks of the Neva, Peter began construction of a…
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Russians Celebrate Epiphany With a Bone-Chilling Bath
Russians celebrate the feast of the Epiphany every year on Jan. 19 by bathing in ice-cold lakes and rivers to celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. The Orthodox Christian tradition is popular with believers and non-believers too, as a freezing ice bath is believed to be good for you. Here’s a look…
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Chaos as Poisoned Opposition Figure Navalny Comes Home
Chief Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny returned to Russia from Germany Sunday and was immediately detained. The 44-year-old opposition leader flew back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. Amid heavy police presence, hundreds of his supporters…
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First Snowstorm of 2021 Blankets Moscow in Real Russian Winter
A “Balkan cyclone” arrived in Moscow early Thursday, bringing the first heavy snowfall of the season and nearly paralyzing the city’s traffic. The flurries are expected to be replaced by temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius, bringing a quintessential Russian winter to the capital after the warm winters of recent years. Here is…
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In Photos: How Russians Celebrate the Winter Holidays
Independent journalism isn’t dead. You can help keep it alive. The Moscow Times’ team of journalists has been first with the big stories on the coronavirus crisis in Russia since day one. Our exclusives and on-the-ground reporting are being read and shared by many high-profile journalists. We wouldn’t be able to produce this crucial journalism…
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A New Kind of Theater Beats the Coronavirus Blues
In 2020 the independent Pop-Up Theater celebrated its five-year anniversary. Its founder and stage director Semyon Alexandrovsky told The Moscow Times that it began when his wife and producer Anastasia Kim was pregnant. He decided to spend more time at home and turned down offers to perform on tour. In his free time, he and…
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Moscow Arts Scene in 2021: A Spectacular Year Ahead
The year 2020 was not a good year for the arts. In Russia, as elsewhere, it was a year of closures, cancellations, postponements, broken contracts, checkerboard seating, air scrubbing equipment, performers and personnel with Covid, self-isolation regimes, and catastrophic loss of both lives and income. Planning was often useless. As Yelena Kovalskaya, director of the…
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Russian Movie Night: History on Screen
From the Vikings through the first year of Soviet power, these seven films or series will keep you entertained as you are immersed in the pre-Russian, Russian and Soviet past. Start with Alexander Sokurov’s “Russian Ark” that takes you through several centuries of Russian history inside the ark of the Hermitage Museum. You can watch…
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‘Journeys Through the Russian Empire’
A Tale of Two Photographers Photography, since its inception, has provided an invaluable window into Russia’s turbulent past. The revolutions of 1917 irrevocably altered the course of Russia’s history with seismic political change, but also rendered an entire way of life not only obsolete but also taboo. Historians were left to pour over sepia-toned photos…
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Photographic ‘Journeys Through the Russian Empire’
A Tale of Two Photographers Photography, since its inception, has provided an invaluable window into Russia’s turbulent past. The revolutions of 1917 irrevocably altered the course of Russia’s history with seismic political change, but also rendered an entire way of life not only obsolete but also taboo. Historians were left to pore over sepia-toned photos…
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Russian Movie Night: 7 Literary Works on Screen
One of the first complaints students and lovers of literature have about Russian novels: “They’re so long!” That might be because they were written over long, long winters, or maybe just because the authors have a lot to say. In any case, that makes them perfect for long, multi-episode series that are great for holiday…
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5 Old Russian Games: Party Like It’s 1897!
Since this year most museums, fairs, and theaters are closed and few families can travel, it’s the perfect chance to go back in time and celebrate the holidays the way Russian families did before electricity, and then before radio, television, the internet and modern gadgets. When you and your family get bored with online movies…
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Russian Classical Music Highlights of 2020
The year 2020 began as usual for the music world in Russia, but came to screeching halt in March. Music lovers had to be content with live-streamed performances, musicians languished and the fate of large orchestras and their future contracts with soloists became uncertain. The Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, led by Valery Gergiev, was…
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Russia’s National Treasure: Cabbage Soup
I’ve just finished celebrating what the Russians call “Catholic Christmas” with the usual cornucopia of rich foods: triple cream cheese, fresh oysters, beef, potatoes swimming in cream, chocolate sauce, ham, and more Christmas cookies than I care to count. With Russian New Year and all its high cholesterol mayonnaise-based salads looming on the horizon, it…
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Russian Covid Art and Online Culture Highlights of 2020
When the pandemic hit Russia in the spring and the city went under an almost complete lockdown, communication and creativity did not stop. Cultural institutions launched in record time a huge variety of online activities that were different but not always worse than in-house events. And they had one great advantage: they had a rapt…
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In Photos: Moscow Gears Up for the New Year
As the New Year quickly approaches, Russians around the country are getting ready for their most festive holiday of the year. Nowhere is this more evident than in Moscow, where the city is already gleaming with endless lights and decorations. Here’s a closer look at how Russia’s capital transforms for the holidays:
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Russian Movie Night: 7 Great Features
It’s a holiday! Finally! In the absence of friends and relatives, what better way to finally relax than to get cozy in front of the TV for some serious binge-watching? Here are seven fictional series or feature films about Russia and their neighbors that got the thumbs up from a highly opinionated, extremely demanding, multi-generational,…
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Russian Dance Highlights of 2020
The pandemic of 2020 may go down in history as one of the most devastating events for world ballet. In March, Russian theaters closed for what everyone thought would be a short quarantine, and most returned to work in the rehearsal studios only during the summer months (the Bolshoi in July and the Mariinsky in…
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Russian Film Highlights of 2020
2020 was a difficult year for the Russian film industry. Many long-anticipated premieres were postponed when in-theater showings were halted. Other filmы skipped the theater and went straight to online platforms. Another problem, which will have a longer effect on the industry, was filming — or not filming — under various Covid-19 restrictions. Most of…
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Russian Film ‘Beanpole’ Awarded Top Prize by U.S. Film Critics
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has named the Russian movie “Beanpole” as the best foreign language film. “Beanpole,” which was directed by Kantemir Balagov, also won second place for best production design. The film is set in the Soviet city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) right after WWII. The narration focuses on the tragic relationship between two young women veterans, Iya…
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Moscow Holiday Feasts
As the year 2020 comes to an end, many expats are staying in Moscow, some for the first time, as the coronavirus makes travel abroad impossible or impractical. Without the usual holiday fairs, parties and activities — and without widespread celebrations on Dec. 25 — it’s easy to put off planning. And now Christmas is…
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Borscht, Smetana and Crab: Michelin Guide Comes to Moscow
The prestigious French gastronomic guide Michelin said Monday that next year it would launch its first selection of Moscow restaurants, which have recently experienced a renaissance. “The Russian culinary scene has seen new trends appear over the past 30 years, embodied by talented chefs who are committed to enhancing the quality of local products,” Michelin…
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Alexander Kurlyandsky, Creator of ‘Nu, Pogodi!’, Dead at 82
Alexander Kurlyandsky, creator of the “Nu, Pogodi!” (“Just You Wait!”) cartoon series and dozen of other popular animated films, died on Dec. 20 at the age of 82. There was no information about cause of death. Kurlyandsky created the cartoon series about the Wolf chasing after the much more clever Hare in 1969. The cartoons…
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‘Of Politics and Pandemics: Songs of a Russian Immigrant’
Maxim D. Shrayer was born in Moscow in the family of a writer and medical scientist, David Shrayer-Petrov, and a translator, Emilia Shrayer. His family applied to emigrate, and after more than eight years as refuseniks, they left for the U.S. in 1987 when Shrayer was 20 years old. In the U.S. Shrayer attended Brown…
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U.S. Film Industry Losses are Russia’s Gains
HOLLYWOOD–Theaters in the U.S. are closed. Studios are on hiatus. The film industry is in freefall. But in Russia, movie fans will be the beneficiaries of Hollywood’s troubles. Theatrical blockbusters like the James Bond franchise, Disney-branded films and “Star Wars” remakes will skip the movie houses and will be available on streaming platforms in Russia…
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Russian Children’s Magazines Are Surviving and Thriving
“Two times a month, Tuesday is my favorite day of the week, because when I come home from school, the newspaper Zolotoi Klyuchik (Golden Key) is waiting for me in the mailbox. The sound the paper makes and the way it feels, the smell… Nothing can replace print newspapers and magazines!” That’s the opinion of…
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In Photos: Russians Embrace a True Siberian Winter
Just two weeks have passed since the official start of the winter season, but most areas of Russia are already covered in snow. In the northern republic of Sakha, temperatures went below minus 50 degrees Celsius last weekend. Living in a country where winters can last for up to seven months, those who live in…
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Russian Actor Valentin Gaft Dies at 85
Popular Soviet and Russian actor Valentin Gaft died on Saturday at the age of 85 after suffering a long illness. His wife, actress Olga Ostroumova, told Russian media that Gaft had suffered a serious stroke in 2019 and had been in a medical center for long-term care and rehabilitation. Valentin Gaft was born in 1935…
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Russian Pryaniki: Ginger All the Way!
Ready or not, here come the holidays! Hanukkah has begun, bringing with it a most welcome celebration of light, faith, and hope (and latkes), and Western Christmas, New Year and Orthodox Christmas are not far behind. This year the celebrations have a more muted quality; it’s hard to go wassailing all over the town with…
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Kaliningrad Named Top Emerging Tourist Destination – Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor has ranked Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as the No. 1 emerging tourism destination in the world for 2020. Sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, the Kaliningrad region’s German heritage and influence make it unique from Russia’s mainland and its Baltic coastline draws surfers, swimmers and sunbathers in the summer. The region’s capital, also named…
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Cecil Beaton Comes ‘Home’ to Russia
‘Cecil Beaton: Celebrating Celebrity,’ the first major show of one the greatest photographers of the 20th century in the Hermitage’s General Staff building brings together about 100 photographs and sketches by, highlighting his role as a herald of celebrity culture and its dedicated advocate. The display is a collaboration with Cecil Beaton’s Studio Archive and…
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Museum of Self-Isolation Opens To Empty Halls
“75 Days, 80 Stories, Jan. 15.”That is the number of days Muscovites were in quarantine in the spring, the number of personal stories the Museum of Moscow and Triumf Gallery have collected, and the date that the on-site part of this exhibition will open (hopefully). The on-site show has four sections of works by artists…
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The Arctic Open Film Festival Goes Online
Held amid the Arkhangelsk region’s harsh Nordic landscapes, the annual Arctic Open is one of Russia’s least glamorous film festivals. It is also one of the few cinema events in the world dedicated to the unique culture of the Arctic peoples and intended to foster closer cooperation within the region’s artistic community. The open air…
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‘Cabaret Terezin’: Making Merry at Hell’s Gates
They did their best to keep spirits up by doing what they did before it happened, by writing music, singing, and dancing. By parodying their circumstances in lighthearted tunes, they could perhaps forget for a moment the death all around them. They were the prisoners in Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, who organized…
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Explore the Wonders of “Red Sands” With Caroline Eden
Caroline Eden has made a name for herself by exploring roads less traveled, such as the Black Sea littoral, the subject of her eponymous previous book. In “Red Sands: Reportage and Recipes Through Central Asia, from Hinterland to Heartland,” she trains her considerable skills as a keen observer and evocative writer on the Central Asian…
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Moscow Non/Fiction Book Fair Goes Online with Belarusian Nobel Prize Winner Aleksievich
The traditional format of the international book fair Non/Fiction was postponed until next spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But to keep the reading public happy, the organizers are moving their meetings with famous authors online this and next weekend. On Dec. 5,6, 12 and 13 anyone can tune in to hear discussions with such…
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Russian Schoolgirl’s Art Picked for J.K. Rowling’s ‘The Ickabog’
A young Russian artist has won the illustration contest for J.K. Rowling’s first post-Harry Potter children’s book, “The Ickabog.” Artwork by Yevdokiya “Dunya” Obolenskaya, 11, is among 34 original illustrations chosen out of 42,000 submissions from around the world for Rowling’s latest book published earlier in November. “Mama had received a text message close to…
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Frenchman Leaves Inheritance to St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Cats
The State Hermitage Museum’s art collection might be one of the most impressive in the world — but for some sightseers, it’s the museum’s resident cats who make the visit truly memorable. Memorable enough, even, to include them in one’s will. The cats made such an impression on French citizen Christoff Botar that he chose…
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Skyscrapers Dance to Protect Yekaterinburg’s Architectural Heritage
The Kinoproba international festival-workshop for film-school students opened its doors in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on Tuesday. The annual fest, which has hosted works from the world’s best film schools since 2004, was kicked off by an eye-catchiing short animated film called “Dance A Trois.” The film shows constructivist landmark buildings in Yekaterinburg coming to life and…
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Russia Sends 3 Films to the Golden Globe Awards
HOLLYWOOD—Russian-made films led the pack with three entries in the 78th annual Golden Globes competition. Qualifying motion pictures include director Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Dear Comrades,” Klim Shipenko’s “Text” and Yegor Abramenko’s “Sputnik.” Russia is also represented as a co-producer in two other films: Ivan Tverdovsky’s “Conference” (Russia, Estonia, United Kingdom and Italy); and director Vadim Perelman’s…
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Moscow Inaugurates Male Version of Feminist Festival
The team behind Moscow’s annual feminist festival has launched a male equivalent to field discussions on modern-day masculinity, reverse sexism and other issues men face today. Gender.Team, a group of activists, psychologists, political scientists and journalists, established the Moscow FemFest in 2017 to promote gender literacy in a society not used to openly talking about…
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World AIDS Day in Moscow Kicks Off a Month of Events
As one virus sweeps the globe, the Voznesensky Center in Moscow has joined with several arts and non-governmental organizations to launch a nearly month-long series events to mark a battle against another virus, HIV. The project, called “Of the Same Blood,” will start on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, and run until Dec. 22. More…
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Irina Antonova, Head of Pushkin Museum for 52 Years, Dead at Age 98
Irina Antonova, longtime head of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and renowned expert in Renaissance art, has died at the age of 98, the museum’s press service said in a statement on Tuesday. She died from complications caused by the coronavirus. Antonova was born in Moscow in 1922. As a child, she spent…
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Moscow Skates Through the Pandemic at Outdoor Ice Rinks
Despite the coronavirus restrictions in place, Moscow residents will still be able to enjoy some of their favorite winter outdoor activities like ice skating this year. Despite a lack of steady snow, the capital’s outdoor ice rinks opened to the public over the weekend — with some changes in place to help prevent the spread…