Last week, the annual Side by Side (Bok o Bok in Russian) LGBT International Film Festival was held in Moscow. Amid screenings of films, gatherings within the community and providing a safe space for the LGBT community, the presence of anti-LGBT protestors and bomb threats tainted an otherwise peaceful event in the capital. “The first festival…
Last week, the annual Side by Side (Bok o Bok in Russian) LGBT International Film Festival was held in Moscow. Amid screenings of films, gatherings within the community and providing a safe space for the LGBT community, the presence of anti-LGBT protestors and bomb threats tainted an otherwise peaceful event in the capital. “The first festival…
Despite an unrelenting downpour and cool temperatures, St. Petersburg marked its 316th birthday last weekend with plenty of pomp and splendor, as befitting the Venice of the North. Celebrations kicked off on Saturday with an ice cream festival and retro transport parade consisting of more than 200 buses, trams and trucks from private collections, museums…
Pick up a book of Russian fairy tales, and you’ll notice something very distinctive in the costume of the female characters. Spend Christmas in Russia, and you’ll see the same distinctive circlet on the head of every incarnation of Snegurochka – the Snow Maiden. We refer, of course, to that most iconic Russian headdress: the…
This year, the annual bike parade advocating for better conditions for bike riders in Moscow was not allowed by the authorities. Instead, the city government organized a festival that was more of a party than a demonstration for bike rights. We took a ride with Valery Larionov, a bike activist, to see how safe and…
Alexander Solzhenitsyn was born in the southern Russian city of Kislovodsk in 1918. He studied both mathematics and philosophy, literature and history before serving in the Great Patriotic War (the Soviet part of World War II) as an officer, later decorated for personal heroism. But despite his record, his criticism of Josef Stalin’s conduct of…
Eleonory Gilburd’s “To See Paris and Die: The Soviet Lives of Western Culture,” one of the six books nominated for this year’s Pushkin House Book Prize, takes a radically new look at the Thaw, a period of relative cultural freedom that dates roughly from the death of Josef Stalin in 1953 until the Soviet invasion…
Dagestan, a mountainous republic in Russia’s North Caucasus, has long been known for its tradition of tightrope walking. Now the preserve of a few devoted practitioners, it is said that the practice was originally born out of the need for mountain peoples to commute between different auls, or villages. As legend goes, locals simply strung…
Born on May 24,1905, Mikhail Sholokhov was a Russian writer and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature for his massive work on the Cossacks of southern Russia, “And Quiet Flows the Don.” After joining the Red Army at the early age of 15, Sholokhov returned from Moscow in 1925 to his home: a…
Dreams, death, the subconscious, the gap between what’s alive and what isn’t. These are some of the themes explored in subCONSCIOUS, an exhibition of art by five Moscow artists working with paint, photography, poetry, video and illustration. In different media, Ilmira Bolotyan, Polina Gisich, Liza Neklessa, Saida Sattarova and Jane (Zhenya) Sharvina all ask questions…
Late spring and early summer are all about change and transition. Glass windows are swapped out for screens, kids flee school for summer holidays, and wool sweaters and coats take their annual trip to the dry cleaner. In Russia, for many the summer months mean the slower, simpler life of the dacha, where there are…
Nikolai Gumilyov. Vsevolod Meyerhold. Boris Pilnyak. Osip Mandelstam. Alexander Vvedensky. Pavel Florensky. Gustav Shpet. Nikolai Klyuev. Mikhail Koltsov. Daniil Kharms. All famous Russian artists who fell victim to repressions in the Soviet gulag between the 1920s and the 1940s. As part of a new exhibition by the Russian street artist Zoom, portraits of the 10…
Andrei Sakharov was a nuclear physicist and an outspoken activist for disarmament, peace and human rights in the Soviet Union. He was persecuted for his views on civil liberties and reform, but it was these efforts that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. Today, the Sakharov Prize is awarded by the European Parliament…
A series that has brought fans on a journey of tears, shock, horror, joy and suspense over the span of its eight seasons, HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones” came to an end with this week’s much-anticipated season finale. In Moscow, fan frenzy over the Song of Ice and Fire was in full force at…
On Sunday, May 19, Russia’s Patriotic Education Center in Moscow organized a historical re-enactment of the final part of the Battle of Borodino, which was fought in 1812 during the French invasion of Russia. With at least 70,000 casualties, Borodino marked the deadliest day of the Napoleonic Wars. This historic battle has appeared in many…
You know it’s spring when Moscow closes its busiest streets and lets outdoor activities take over. Last weekend saw a rare trio: a half marathon, a cross-country race and an epic bike festival that gathered cyclists in the tens of thousands. Here’s a look at central Moscow during the festival:
According to the United Nations, more than 3.4 million people have fled Venezuela to live abroad in the wake of the country’s political and economic crisis. Some of them are living in Russia —which openly supports the government of Nicolas Maduro. We decided to ask the Venezuelan community in Moscow what they think about what’s happening in their…
“Chernobyl” is not an easy show to watch. Nor should it be. The 1986 explosion at Chernobyl in present-day Ukraine was the worst nuclear accident to date, which killed hundreds of thousands and still affects millions more. But HBO’s five-part miniseries is hard to watch for reasons beyond those harrowing facts and graphic images of…
Writer and comedian Viv Groskop has faced many rooms full of strangers expecting to be amused in her career as a stand-up. But what really scared her in the run-up to the publication of her latest book were the Russians. “I was terrified they would be offended,” Groskop said. She needn’t have worried. Part memoir,…
In Moscow, residents are enjoying the start of a breezy summer with increasingly warm temperatures and picnics in the park. Nearly 2,900 kilometers northwest, residents of Norilsk — an industrial city above the Arctic Circle — are not quite as lucky. However, they’re not letting the lack of warm temperatures stop them from some serious summer…
Moscow is celebrating this year’s Night in the Museum with a record 356 events at 200 venues — and keeping the doors open until 6 a.m. The theme is “Live in the Museum” with events designed to let you study, listen, experience, see, create and stroll in some of the city’s best, biggest, smallest and…
On May 18, International Museum Day, most museums, art galleries, and churches in St. Petersburg will be open to the public from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and can be visited with a single ticket. Tickets — at the very reasonable price of 400 rubles — can be purchased all street theater kiosks. Events are…
It’s Eurovision Song Contest time again, and Russia’s Sergei Lazarev has made it to Saturday’s final with a horror-themed ballad. The annual celebration of kitsch — which is more famous for its over-the-top staging and shameless political voting than the quality of the music — takes place in Israel this year, and the guest…
The private Museum of Russian Impressionism was founded less than five years ago, but it has already become an important part of the Moscow art and museum scene. Its significance is not only thanks to its architecturally stunning venue — a reconstructed sugar silo at what was once a confectionary factory — and its central…
From May 15 through June 15, Russia holds the United Days of Protection of Small Rivers and Ponds. This movement involves more than 100 environmental organizations throughout Russia, and aims to celebrate the smaller of Russia’s waters. While the country gets set cleaning, assessing, developing and restoring these small rivers and ponds, here’s a look…
On this day in 1891, Mikhail Bulgakov was born in Kiev – then part of the Russian empire, now the capital of Ukraine. Today a household name in Russian literature, Bulgakov’s best and most known work was published after his death in 1940. One of seven children, Bulgakov’s father was a prominent professor and a…
If all you know about Romani music came from listening to a couple of singers at a Mediterranean resort jiggling lots of fake gold and stamping their feet — who were, by the way, a Spanish-French-German couple from Des Moines — then you don’t know anything about Romani music. And if you think all Romani…
Legendary Russian rock singer Zemfira released her debut album in May 1999. The young musician quickly attained cult status and became one of the most popular artists in the country and a symbol of the era. Twenty years later, many still adore the musician.
Already secure at the top of the Russian Premier League table, FC Zenit St. Petersburg were officially crowned 2018-2019 champions on Sunday night after a convincing 3-1 home win against PFC CSKA Moscow at the packed Gazrom Arena. Zenit’s win was met with wild celebrations within the stadium and beyond after a 4-year title draught.…
Sergei Dorenko died on May 9 in Moscow. According to multiple media reports, he was riding his motorcycle not far from the city center when he had a heart attack, drove into the oncoming traffic lane and then slid to a stop. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and he apparently died on the…
When in Moscow, see what is unique to Moscow. That is the credo that sends tourists and expats to the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, and even Bunker 42. It should also send everyone to the Romen Theater, the only dramatic and musical repertory theater in the world created by, run by, and dedicated to the…
May 9 represents one of the biggest celebrations in Russia, but also the commemoration of the end of one of the darkest chapters in the history of the country. Although victorious in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War (their part of World War II), the Soviet Union lost over 27 million people. Leningrad paid…
Born on May 7, 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky became the first Russian composer to break through into the international market with a lasting impact on music all over the world. Today he remains the most popular Russian composer of all time. Tchaikovsky was born in a small town in Vyatka Governorate (now Udmurtia) to a…
More than 500 working fountains are located across Moscow. Once used as sources of drinking water, they can be found anywhere from the city’s most photographed sightseeing spots to its quiet courtyards. Moscow city authorities traditionally open these fountains right before the start of warm weather in May. As a result, Muscovites see the launch…
In “The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia,” Mark Galeotti draws on years of research to tell the grimly absorbing tale of Russia’s criminal underworld. Galeotti is a specialist in Russian history, security and crime who is a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations (Prague); a regular contributor to international news outlets, and advisor to…
On May 2, 1729, the woman who would become Catherine the Great was born as Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst in Stettin, Prussia (now known as Szczecin, Poland) to a German family. After a largely uneventful childhood, at the age of 16 she married Karl Ulrich. Karl Ulrich was the only son of Charles Frederick, Duke…
On this day in in 1918, the Soviet government marked May 1 as Day of International Solidarity with Workers. Its origins date back to Australia in 1856, when workers demonstrated for an 8-hour work day. This demand was picked up by anarchist organizations in the U.S. on May 1 in 1886. Demonstrations and marches in…
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 up a metal stanchion and bashed the glass-enclosed painting, “Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan November 16, 1581.” The assailant broke through the…
On April 30, 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued a decree on “Tolerance Development.” It would be the first in a series meant to reform relations between Russia’s church and state. This Edict of Toleration — a declaration made by a ruler or government that protects practitioners of a religion from persecution — gave the religions…
When Stefan Ingvarsson arrived in Moscow in 2015 as the new Cultural Counsellor the Embassy of Sweden, he already had spent a lot of time in the Soviet Union and Russia, starting with high school exchanges in the 1980s. He also had a great deal of experience organizing cultural events and festivals, coming to Russia…
On Saturday night Orthodox churches and cathedrals around the world ushered in Easter with solemn ceremonies. Easter celebrations culminated in a grand midnight procession with crosses and icons, and worshipers chanting “Christ is risen indeed!” Easter is Christianity’s most important holiday which symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Orthodox world marks Easter this year a week later than the Catholic and…
Vladimir Kozlov was born in Mogilev, in what was once the Belorussian S.S.R. and is now Belarus. After his childhood and adolescence in industrial Mogilev experiencing all the chaos, upheaval, crime and freedom of the perestroika years, he moved to Minsk and then Moscow. He has written more than a dozen works of fiction, including…
Veteran columnist Michele Berdy kicked off The Moscow Times’ new monthly Theater series on Wednesday with a talk about her experiences of living in Russia since 1978. The lecture is part of a new series aimed at bringing the local expat community fun, fascinating and occasionally controversial talks and debates with Moscow’s most interesting people. Stay…
In Moscow on Thursday, the short list for the 2019 Pushkin House Book Prize was announced by Alexander Drozdov, executive director of the Yeltsin Presidential Center and a member of this year’s jury. The Prize has been awarded annually since 2013 to the best book of non-fiction about Russia or the Russian-speaking world written for…
On Sunday, April 21, a small memorial plaque was installed in Moscow on the wall of an apartment house on Ultisa Myasnitskaya, where in 1938 the artist Aleksander Drevin was arrested and taken away to be eventually shot by the N.K.V.D. – the Soviet secret police. Drevin was the most prominent artist killed in Stalin’s…
On this day in 1899, the writer Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg. His father was a liberal politician; his mother a well-educated and cultured member of a prominent business family. He was the oldest of five children. He received his early education at home with governesses and tutors and then at a liberal…
Vintage tram cars paraded down Moscow’s streets on Saturday to mark the 120-year anniversary of the tram service’s opening. The event, which takes place each spring, reached record attendance with more than 250,000 spectators, the local mos.ru news website reported. Here’s a look at the parade’s display of historic, Soviet-era models and the innovative trams…
Writing about cookbooks should not be a minefield, but in trying to nail down exactly what constitutes a “Russian” cookbook, I often feel the need of a sturdy flak jacket. When you focus on a region whose physical and political borders have ebbed and flowed as often as Russia’s has, culinary history can well become controversial if not positively incendiary.…
In stuffy room with painted black walls, a group of students clap vigorously as if applauding a performance. Then they seem to be a shower, rubbing their faces and necks, before throwing their arms forward with loud shouts of “Ha!” From the front of the room, an older man observes them intently. For an outsider…
When you’re serious about your city’s statues, it isn’t just your home that needs spring cleaning. Muscovites headed outside to give the capital’s famous monuments a solid scrubbing and clean off the winter dirt. Here’s a look at Moscow’s statues getting spruced up for the new season:
With his work, Russian photographer Konstantin Vikhrov (@begushiy_po_ebenyam) attempts what he calls an “aesthetic-semantic” game, contrasting neon colors against dark shadows. The results are gloomy cyberpunk scenes reminiscent of film classic Blade Runner, capturing the bright but bleak sides of the capital. Here are a few of our favorites:
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…
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 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, 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…
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…
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 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.…
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…
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…