In Photos: Russia Celebrates Western Easter Sunday

While most Russians, as followers of the Orthodox Christain traditions, will mark Easter on May 2, the country’s Protestant and Catholic parishes took part in the Western-style celebrations on Sunday. Marking the holiday amid the pandemic, Russia’s Christian believers had to forgo some Easter rituals such as foot washing and the ceremonial kissing of the…

‘Memories of Moscow’ Brings the Late Soviet Era to Life

In 1983 Dr. Harald Lipman came to Moscow as the resident physician for the British Embassy. Yuri Andropov was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R. and relations between the Soviet Union and the Western countries were particularly tense. After completing his first residency, Lipman returned in 1987 for another ‘tour of duty,’…

My Favorite Things: Chicken Schnitzel and Slaw

Years before I ever tasted it, I was pre-conditioned to adore schnitzel. Maria in “The Sound of Music” listed it along with “cream-colored ponies” and “crisp apfelstrudel” as one of her “Favorite Things” during the famous thunderstorm scene with the pajama-clad Von Trapp children. This inspired the first order of business on my first trip…

Sculptures Sing Opera at St. Petersburg’s Manege

An exhibition called “Stillness. Russian Classical Sculpture From Shubin To Matveev” opened at the Manege in St. Petersburg, throwing a virtual bridge across centuries, artists and art forms. The spacious halls of the Manege have been transformed into theater spaces, complete with a foyer, dressing rooms, an orchestra pit, audience seats and stages where different…

‘Marusya’ Folk Singers Win Over Russian Audiences

Yasho Thierry from Côte d’Ivoire has been performing with the Russian folk music group “Marusya” for the past ten years. Based in the southern city of Krasnodar, the group was born from a chat about musical culture between an African student at the city’s university and the leader of a Russian folk ensemble, Pavel Chelakhov.…

Easter Brunch at the Hyatt Regency on April 4

This Sunday, April 4, is Easter for the mostly western part of Christendom, and if you are looking for a beautiful and delicious way to celebrate the day, look no farther than the Oriental Bar at the top of the Hyatt Regency in Petrovsky Park. The family brunch, served from noon to 5 p.m., will…

Moscow’s Landmarks Descend Into Darkness for Earth Hour

Major historical landmarks worldwide switched off the lights on Saturday in solidarity with Earth Hour, the environmental awareness movement spearheaded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) since 2007. Moscow’s monuments and iconic buildings were among the famous sights that descended into darkness between 8:30 and 9:30 on Saturday evening, adding an air of mystery to…

Sink or Swim With Matzoh Ball Soup

What is more comforting than a bowl of matzoh ball soup? Is there another elixir that can vanquish the blues, kill a cold, warm up the body, or nourish the soul quite like it? Does your spirit not rejoice when a large soup plate is set in front of you: a rich golden chicken broth…

Russian Book Fair Scraps Navalny Aide’s Novel Presentation

The Non/Fiction international book fair has scrapped a scheduled presentation of a novel authored by jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, the book’s publisher said Monday. Yarmysh is currently under house arrest alongside nine other Navalny allies and local opposition deputies for calling on supporters to join nationwide protests in his support earlier…

Start Lent with Miso Mushroom Farro Pilaf

There is no greater culinary contrast in Russia than the transition from Maslenitsa — the weeklong Shrovetide festival — to the somber beginning of Lent, the long fast which precedes Easter. From buttery pancakes with thick cottage cheese filling, fistfights, and a round-the-clock carnival atmosphere, the mood becomes far more contemplative and the diet positively…

Mandelshtam Street Opens at the Moscow Literature Museum

This week the Dal State Literature Museum held the opening of a new project and exhibition. The museum is opening a new section on the history of 20th century literature, which they launched with an exhibition called Osip and Nadezhda Mandelshtam Street. The exhibition was made in collaboration with the Mandelshtam Center at the Higher…

Siberian Concert Pianist’s Anti-Repression Speech Sparks Uproar

A Siberian pianist sparked an uproar Tuesday with a speech against “state repression” at a concert honoring Italian-born French concert pianist Vera Lotar-Shevchenko, who spent eight years in a Soviet gulag prison camp in Siberia. Timofey Kazantsev was nearly hauled offstage at the Novosibirsk Philharmonic after urging attendees to sign a petition demanding the release…

Russian Artist Mixes Renaissance Beauty With Moscow’s Gritty Reality

Moscow-based artist Yevgeniy Naumuv aims to breathe new life into the city’s gloomy urban landscape by turning them into Renaissance-inspired artworks.  A resident of the Vykhino neighborhood located in Moscow’s outskirts, Naumov defines his art style as “Vykhino Renaissance,” saying it reveals the romantic side of life in gray residential apartment blocks.  The young artist…

Millennials on Exhibit at the Russian Museum

New materials meet new technology, street art and personal dreams at the new exhibition at the State Russian Museum devoted — for the first time in its history — exclusively to the works of Gen Y artists. Called “Millennials in Contemporary Russian Art” and hosted by the museum’s Marble Palace, the exhibition is an attempt to create…

Russia’s Only Female Cosmonaut Inspires New Barbie

Russia’s only active female cosmonaut has inspired the latest astronaut Barbie doll from Mattel’s campaign to inspire women, the country’s space agency announced Tuesday. Anna Kikina, 36, is set to become the fourth Russian woman to go into space with a fall 2022 mission to the International Space Station a decade after her admission to…

Kazakh DJ Imanbek Makes History With First Post-Soviet Grammy

Kazakh DJ Imanbek Zeikenov has snagged a Grammy for Best Remixed Recording for “Roses,” a chart-topping remake of rapper SAINt JHN’s melodic hit that went viral on TikTok and racked up over 1 billion plays on Spotify. The 20-year-old self-taught producer and ex-rail transport worker from northern Kazakhstan became the first artist from a post-Soviet…

Here Comes the Sun: Lemon Oladi for Maslenitsa

It has been an unprecedentedly long, unrelentingly cold, and oppressively dark winter. And while spring may still be a ways away, this week I caught subtle hints of its eventual arrival: an unexpected shaft of amber afternoon light; optimistic early morning birdsong; and a slight softening of the air on my face, as if I’d…

VKHUTEMAS is 100 at the Museum of Moscow

At the end of 2020 just before all museums were closed in Moscow to contain the second wave of the coronavirus, the Museum of Moscow opened “100 Years Old: VKHUTEMAS, School of the Avant-Garde.”  Lauded as one of the most important cultural events in the capital, it  immediately had to close until a few weeks…

From the MT Archive: Portraits of Russian Womanhood

International Women’s Day remains one of Russia’s most beloved holidays, even though its popular meaning has evolved over the years. In the Soviet era, the holiday celebrated the revolutionary struggle for equality, a far cry from today’s flowery celebration of womanhood and femininity. Though the holiday’s critics blame it for re-enforcing harmful gender stereotypes, March…

Kinda Sorta Coulibiac for the International Woman

“How’s March 8 shaping up,” I asked my Russian husband on our morning walk. “Just fine,” he said, “absolutely fine.” “Because,” I said, “we’re still sort of in lockdown, you know, and we aren’t expecting anything over the top — “ “It’s fine!” he hollered, which stopped me from offering to help him shop for…

March 8 at the Hyatt Regency

International Women’s Day may have started out as a way to support women workers, but it has morphed into a day to fete, celebrate, and treat the favorite women in your life. The Hyatt Regency in Petrovsky Park offers to ways to share some love — while enjoying great food, music and ambiance. Heritage Restaurant Brunch…

Moscow Museum News: Awards Received and Offered

Gulag History Museum The Gulag History Museum has been awarded the 2021 Council of Europe Museum Prize. The prize, which has been awarded since 1977, is given yearly to a museum that has made a significant contribution to understanding the European cultural heritage and has promoted respect for human rights and democracy. Speaking on behalf…

Russians Race Across Baikal in Icy Marathon Sprint

Outdoor sports lovers from around the world arrived in Siberia last month for the annual Lake Baikal winter games. Each year, racers brave ice, wind and snow — not to mention bone-chilling temperatures — as they ski, bike and skate across the world’s largest freshwater lake. Here’s a look at some of the frozen feats…

Take a Ski Trip — To Siberia

Siberia is not generally known as a holiday resort.  In tsarist and Soviet times, Siberia was where criminals and political convicts were sent, and it was also a region of rich natural resources. In 1912 the Sheregeshev brothers discovered iron ore in the mountainous region of Gornaya Shoriya to the south of present-day Kemerovo. At…

Medovik: Russia’s Favorite Cake

I suffer intense performance pressure when I contemplate making Medovik, Russia’s beloved multi-layer honey cake. I’m cognizant that this is, hands down, every Russian’s absolutely favorite cake, ever since Alexander I’s wife, Empress Elizabeth, a confirmed honey hater, fell in love with a Medovik made by a new chef in the palace kitchen blissfully unaware…

Huzzah for Hussar-Style Beef!

Defenders of the Fatherland Day is upon us, that most masculine of all holidays. Feb. 23 nominally celebrates the foundation of the Red Army in 1918, during a hastily organized rout of Kaiser Wilhelm’s forces in the waning months of World War I. No sooner was the Red Army founded than it locked horns with…

South African Comedian Goes for Laughs in Moscow

South African comedian Mamello Mokoena, better known by his stage name Mum-z, came to Russia to be with his girlfriend. A year later, he still finds himself in a pandemic-forced affair — with the country. Mum-z came to Moscow for the first time last February, planning to spend several months with his romantic partner.   “When…

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…

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…

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…

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”…

‘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,…

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.…

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…