Category: Architecture
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In Photos: The Ukrainian Cultural Sites Destroyed During Russia’s Invasion
Ukraine’s cultural heritage has been systematically targeted throughout Russia’s 10-month invasion. At least 227 Ukrainian cultural sites have been verified to be damaged by UNESCO. The list includes 101 religious sites, 79 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 17 museums and 19 monuments. Here’s a look at some of Ukraine’s cultural sites that have been…
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Mark My Words: How to Remember and Forget
Без памяти: madly Memory is a funny thing. What gets lodged in there forever and what gets ejected — or distorted — seems largely outside the control of the owner of the memory. And then what has been forgotten can sometimes reappear instantly and in full when you hear a sound or catch a scent…
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Documentaries on Russian Opposition, Climate Change Shortlisted for Oscars
Two documentaries about prominent Russian opposition figures and a film on life in the Russian Arctic are among the titles shortlisted for the 95th Oscars released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday. Daniel Roher’s “Navalny,” which explores the events following the Kremlin critic’s nerve-agent poisoning in August 2020, was shortlisted…
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Russia Places Ex-Kremlin Adviser, Gallerist Marat Gelman on Wanted List
Russia has placed prominent art gallerist and former Kremlin adviser-turned-critic Marat Gelman on its wanted list. An Interior Ministry card listing Gelman — who moved to Montenegro in 2014 amid a growing crackdown on artistic freedoms — as a wanted person mentions his Israeli citizenship, the RBC news website reported. It does not specify the crime…
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How the Goose Defeated the Swan: A Christmas Tale
There isn’t a single depiction of a holiday by a Russian artist without swans, ducks, and geese on the table. They are baked under a golden crust and decorated with feathers, lying in a bed of applies and little pies. Or the swan is held aloft on a platter, floating above the heads of guests,…
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The Hopeless Quest for Language Purity
Общеупотребимые слова: commonly used words Every year or so some state organization at some level in Russia demands or proposes or drafts a law that would keep foreign words out of the Russian language so that the Russian language will remain, well, purely Russian. The fact that this happens regularly suggests that the process is…
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Yav Art Group: To Protest, It Helps to Know the Law
A bridge separating two brother is set on fire in a short video, one of the latest works by the art group Yav. The art event was held on National Unity Day, which is celebrated in Russia on Nov. 4. Fans of the art group immediately understood this artistic performance as a direct reference to…
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A Glimpse Behind the Bookshelves in Russia’s Small-Town Libraries
In Russia’s rural villages, there are very few cultural institutions. Oftentimes, there is only a single library and a single House of Culture (community center for arts and culture). Because libraries are free to visit, they are crucial in low-income regions where people can’t afford to spend money on culture and education. In addition to…
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The Russian Salad That Never Goes Out of Fashion
Like many Russians in and outside of Russia, we can’t imagine New Year’s without Salad Olivier. It was made in our parents’ homes a half-century ago, and we’ve been making it ourselves for as long as we can remember. We’re sure that our children and grandchildren will also serve this immortal salad, too. Some people…
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Words of the Year 2022
Слово года 2022: Word of the year, 2022 Every year a group of Russian word-watchers track all the words and expressions that seem to capture the spirit — or obsessions — of the year coming to an end. The group, headed by linguist and professor of Russian language and literature Mikhail Epstein, is made up…
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The History and Mystery of Beef Stroganoff
Everyone knows the dish called “Beef Stroganoff.” But its history is less well known, although no one disputes that the dish belongs to the Stroganov family. But it didn’t appear out of nowhere, did it? Nothing ever does, not in the kitchen or in history. Why is this dish so popular? First, it’s relatively easy…
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Pop-Up Museum Marks ‘End of an Era’ As Anti-LGBT Law Awaits Putin’s Signature
ST. PETERSBURG — A museum about LGBT history opened to visitors in Russia’s second-largest city this week — but it looked set to be accessible for only a few days before it is banned under draconian “gay propaganda” laws expected to come into force imminently. “The museum is a political act,” said Russian LGBT activist…
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Angry? Welcome to the Zoo!
Бешенство: rabies, fury The Russian language has lots of ways to describe getting angry, losing your temper, and flying off the handle. Сердиться/рассердиться (to get angry) is just so bland. It can’t capture the rage you feel when, say, you spend two hours filling in an online application, hit “save” and watch your work disappear…
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The Art of Pâté
The Russian word “pashtet” (паштет) may not be Russian originally, but now it is firmly part of the language. But few people today know the origin of this term. The word “pâté” is related to the word “pasta.” This isn’t just a fun fact of linguistics. Pâté was indeed related to dough. A few centuries ago,…
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Get Ready for Seasons Greetings
Щедрая душа: a generous soul It’s that time of the year again: holidays, parties, merrymaking followed by more holidays, parties and merrymaking. If all goes well and we are lucky, we spend time with hospitable, good-natured, well-meaning folks. Naturally, this got me thinking about how to express this in Russian. The fun part is that…
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Children’s Play Author Claims Run Canceled Over ‘Male Princess’
The director of a children’s play has claimed that its run at a Siberian theater was canceled just days after it began due to audience allegations that its content amounted to “gay propaganda,” local media reported on Sunday. The incident in the city of Novosibirsk came as lawmakers in Russia’s State Duma are debating…
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In Russia Thursday is Fish Day
Thursday was a special day in the Soviet Union— Fish Day. All the cafeterias in the country only sold fish dishes that day. Until Friday dawned, meat and poultry were off the menus and Soviet citizens dined on fried pollock or minced cod patties. Fish Day was invented by Anastas Mikoyan in 1932. The order…
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Russian Pandemonium Pop Quiz
Ералаш: mish-mash, chaos; Soviet-era children’s television show It’s Friday in a rather gloomy November, which is the perfect time for a pop quiz. Clear your desk of all papers, switch off your cell phones, get out your pencils and start testing your knowledge of Russian. Паноптикум is (pick two): a) a special wide-angle lens used…
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Aleksandr Gorshkov, Half of First Ice Dance Olympic Gold Medal Pair, Dies
Russian skater Aleksandr Gorshkov, the first Olympic ice dancing champion and president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, has died at the age of 76, the federation said Thursday. “Aleksandr Georgyevich gave his whole life to figure skating, his contribution to the development of Russian and world skating is invaluable,” federation director general Alexander Kogan told…
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Russia Bans ‘Provocative’ Soviet Famine Documentary
Russia has banned the screening of a documentary on the Soviet famine that drove civilians into cannibalism and killed an estimated 5 million people, saying the film’s “provocative and shocking” content could cause public outrage. “Famine” tells the story of the 1921-23 Povolzhye famine in Russia’s Volga-Ural region that sparked an outpouring of international aid,…
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Can Protest Art Exist in Russia?
Three young women wearing the capes of superheroes, their bodies painted in the colors of the state flags of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, make love on a white canvas that symbolizes the canvas of history. This video performance “NO” and another work were shown in August at the Climate Cultures Festival in Berlin. The performance…
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Russian Ushnoye: Soup or Stew?
Ushnoye is yet another mysterious Russian dish that culinary experts are still arguing about. We decided to be detectives and investigate it through the centuries of Russian cookery. The famous Russian lexicographer Vladimir Dahl defined it this way: “Ushnoye is a meat or actually any kind of broth, stew, or a hot dish made of…
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The New Russian Revolutionary Language
This text includes extremely crude language. Прилипалы: hangers-on This year, 2022, must be the most bizarre year in the Russian language…
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Russian Audiences Held ‘Hostage’ By Mock Ukrainian Soldiers in Pro-War Play
Theatergoers south of Moscow were held “hostage” and shot at by actors playing Ukrainian soldiers during an immersive play that glorifies Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, local media reported Tuesday. Opening scenes from the production titled “Polite People” showed actors dressed in Ukrainian military uniforms violently capturing audience members and shooting them with what appeared to…
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The Curious Russian History of Lobsters and Crab Sticks
Lobsters, crabs, crawfish… what could be further from Russian cuisine? Actually, that’s not right, if only because all kinds of European seafood have been part of Russian culinary tradition for more than 250 years. In 1766 Catherine gathered together the most prominent scientists of the time and gave them a difficult task. She demanded that…
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Who Doesn’t Love Cabbage Rolls?
A joke in Russian goes like this: some people eat meat, some people eat cabbage, but on average people eat cabbage rolls. Today everyone in Russia knows what cabbage rolls are. But 200 years ago this was a culinary novelty for Russians. The traditional territory of cabbage rolls is Eastern Europe and Scandinavia — although…
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Adam Curtis’ ‘TraumaZone’ Delivers Harrowing But Essential View of Russia’s Post-Soviet Decade
Nobody can accuse Adam Curtis of lacking ambition in his new BBC series “Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone.” In a harrowing seven-hour viewing experience made up entirely of archival footage, the British filmmaker attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the Soviet Union’s final years and Russia’s brief experiment with democracy. While not as broad in scope as…
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Adam Curtis Delivers Harrowing But Essential View of Post-Soviet Russia in New Series
Nobody can accuse Adam Curtis of lacking ambition in his new BBC series “Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone.” In a harrowing seven-hour viewing experience made up entirely of archival footage, the British filmmaker attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the Soviet Union’s final years and Russia’s brief experiment with democracy. While not as broad in scope as…
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In Photos: Partial Solar Eclipse Shines Over Russia
The last partial solar eclipse of 2022 was visible in the skies over much of Europe on Tuesday, including Russia. The moon’s shadow reached its peak in the southern Urals city of Chelyabinsk, where residents could see 79% coverage at around 4 p.m. Russians across the country stepped outside to catch a glimpse of the…
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Chocolate Potatoes for Dessert
One of the rites of culinary passage for foreigners in Russia is the first time they are introduced to a “chocolate potato,” one of the iconic dishes of Soviet cuisine. It was served in restaurants and student cafeterias, and often made at home. Made of crushed dry cookies or breadcrumbs mixed with butter, condensed milk…
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To Err is Human in Every Language
Вышла ошибочка: whoops I’m not sure there’s an art to making mistakes, but there is an art to deciding which verb or phrase you want to use in Russian to describe your particular screw-up. Was it a misunderstanding? A lapse of judgment? Did you get something wrong? Was it an honest mistake or did you…
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In Photos: Life Goes on in Moscow Amid Mobilization, Martial Law
The exhibition was dedicated to “soldiers and officers of the Red Army who liberated Ukraine in 1943-1944, and modern heroes participating in the special military operation,” the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. Sergei Kiselev / Moskva News Agency
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The Paradox of Pelmeni
Pelmeni are a paradoxical dish. Although Siberian pelmeni most likely came from China originally — from famous New Year’s dumplings called jiaozi — their name — pelmeni — is from the group of Finno-Ugric languages. They are considered a “national Russian dish,” although up to the mid-19th century or even later pelmeni were a truly…
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Why is There a Dog in Your Email?
@: собака (dog) Today I have a very exciting topic: Russian punctuation and typographical marks. No, really! Don’t you want to know why @ is a собака (dog) in Russian and what you call those claw-like Russian quotation marks? Haven’t you asked yourself if дефис the same thing as тире? And surely you have pondered…
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In Latvia, Putin’s War on Russian Media Plays Out on the Big Screen
Viewers in Latvia’s capital of Riga came out last week to see a screening of “F@ck This Job,” a documentary about independent Russian broadcaster TV Rain (Dozhd) and its struggle to survive Vladimir Putin’s war on the independent media. It was directed and narrated by Vera Krichevskaya, a co-founder of TV Rain with Sindeeva, who…
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In Georgia’s Capital, a Young Russian Rock Group Hopes to Thrive in Exile
“Prisoners of conscience in the hands of bandits and thieves / Order will be disturbed in reality, not in dreams / The force of pressure will push the spring of freedom,” ring out the lyrics to “Right Now,” a new song by Russian rockers Mirolyubivnoye Morye (“Peaceful Sea”). “Peace to all, not war / In…
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In Georgia’s Capital, a Young Russian Rock Group Hopes to Thrive in Exile
“Prisoners of conscience in the hands of bandits and thieves / Order will be disturbed in reality, not in dreams / The force of pressure will push the spring of freedom,” ring out the lyrics to “Right Now,” a new song by Russian rockers Mirolyubivnoye Morye (“Peaceful Sea”). “Peace to all, not war / In…
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Kurnik: A Wedding Dish for One Hen of a Bride
Today if you said a woman looked like chicken, she’d be deeply offended. But in the olden days in central Russia, a chicken was good omen at a wedding. Comparing a bride to a hen was considered a kind thing to say and a blessing for the upcoming marriage. Chickens were a traditional part of…
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Гойда! They Shouted. Say What?
Гойда: let’s go (maim and kill) Last Friday there was a big event on Red Square in Moscow to celebrate (sic) the new Russian regions (sic), i.e., Ukrainian land annexed (on paper) by Russia. One of the headliners was Ivan Okhlobystin, an actor-cum-Orthodox-priest-cum-political-rabblerouser, who got the crowd worked up shouting what he described as старорусское…
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10 Bolshoi Dancers Suspended for Tashkent Performance
Ten top dancers at the Bolshoi Theater have been suspended for a month after performing at a gala in Uzbekistan, Russian media reported this week. The dancers, including stars such as Vladislav Lantratov and Yevgenia Obraztsova, were flown to Tashkent by the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan. Dancers regularly perform…
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Russians in Venice: Not Invited, Not Shunned
The Venice Film Festival has always favored Russian cinema. The films of directors Andrei Konchalovsky and Alexander Sokurov were given awards here, and it’s where Andrei Tarkovsky began his international career. So the absence of Russian filmmakers at the festival this year was noticeable. But their absence probably was not due to a boycott of…
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Top Hermitage Curator Quits Museum and Russia
On Sunday Dmitry Ozerkov, a top curator at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, announced in an Instagram post that he had resigned from the museum and left Russia. “I left because I don’t intend to have anything in common with today’s Russia.” Ozerkov worked at the Hermitage for 22 years, first as curator of…
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Where’s the Cheese in Russian Cheese Pancakes?
Where’s the Cheese in Russian Cheese Pancakes? – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account Signout…
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Newspeak for the Russian New Economic Policy
Набор слов: word salad In my continuing quest to read Russian media sources and understand what on earth they mean, I’ve made some progress with military matters but am still having trouble with the Russian economy. Actually, everyone is having trouble with the Russian economy, which is why they have developed their own sub-set of…
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2022 Pushkin House Book Prize Awarded to Mary E. Sarotte
2022 Pushkin House Book Prize Awarded to Mary E. Sarotte – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU…
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2022 Pushkin House Book Prize Awarded to Mary Sarotte
2022 Pushkin House Book Prize Awarded to Mary Sarotte – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My…
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Singer, Dancer and Choreographer Boris Moiseyev, Dead at 68
The Word’s Worth Newspeak for the Russian New Economic Policy Набор слов: word salad In my continuing quest to read Russian media sources and understand what on earth they mean, I’ve made some progress…
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Cold War Spies at the Venice Film Festival
Cold War Spies at the Venice Film Festival – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account…
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Russia Shuns Oscars as Ukraine Standoff Hits Arts
Russia Shuns Oscars as Ukraine Standoff Hits Arts – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account…
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Maria Stepanova’s ‘In Memory of Memory’
Maria Stepanova’s ‘In Memory of Memory’ – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account Signout Support…
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How Russian Solyanka Was Born From Polish Bigos
How Russian Solyanka Was Born From Polish Bigos – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account…
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Newspeak in the New Russia
Новояз: Newspeak In 1949 George Orwell published his last novel, “1984,” and it was translated into Russian and published in 1957 — but not in the Soviet Union. More than 30 years would pass before it was published officially in Moscow. Both the самиздат (self-published work) and bound book version were instant hits — after…
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Pop Diva Alla Pugacheva Comes Out Against the War
Pop Diva Alla Pugacheva Comes Out Against the War – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My…
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Elizabeth Wilson Chronicles the Miraculous Life of Maria Yudina
Elizabeth Wilson Chronicles the Miraculous Life of Maria Yudina – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My…
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Apple Aspic: Down With Stereotypes!
Apple Aspic: Down With Stereotypes! – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account Signout Support The…
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Poland Seeks Return of ‘Stolen’ Art From Russia’s Pushkin Museum
Poland Seeks Return of ‘Stolen’ Art From Russia’s Pushkin Museum – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU…
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Explainer: Is King Charles III a Romanov?
Explainer: Is King Charles III a Romanov? – The Moscow Times Support The Moscow Times! Contribute today My account Signout × Sections Home Ukraine War News Opinion Business Arts and Life Podcasts Galleries Newsletters Multimedia projects Mothers & Daughters Generation P News Ukraine War Business Opinion Arts and Life Podcasts Newsletters RU My account Signout…
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‘Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate’
Mary E. Sarotte’s book “Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate” is the history of negotiations on arms control, security issues and NATO conducted by the leaders of the U.S., the Soviet Union and Russia, and the broader Western community from the beginning of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika up through the…
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Forshmak: A Russian-Jewish-German Dish
Today if you asked Russians, most of them would tell you that forshmak is part of Jewish cuisine. But 150 years ago it was absolutely considered a Russian dish. In the 19th century forshmak was as familiar to the Russian people as sausages are today. Somehow this dish managed to assimilate the traditions of German,…
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Good King… Who?
Макбет: Macbeth If you can believe it, I had been been working on a continuation of my serious, scholarly study of traditional Russian pet names — such an important, under-researched topic — when I got sidetracked by the extraordinary news that “По словам премьер-министра Лиз Трасс, 73-летний принц Уэльский Чарльз возьмет имя Карл III” (In…