TRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art Presidium

Kremlin and Saint Basil's

(Kremlin.ru – February 3, 2014) Vladimir Putin chaired an expanded meeting of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art Presidium on developing theatre. Before the start of the meeting, the President visited the Pskov Academic Drama Theatre, which recently underwent restoration and construction work. Speech at a meeting of the Council for Culture and Art Presidium PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR […]

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The curious case of the Red Square suitcase

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – By Anna Arutunyan – December 4, 2013) The Louis Vuitton pavilion controversy highlighted lack of transparency in managing areas surrounding the Kremlin As workers dismantled a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase that went up suddenly on Red Square last week, just who authorized the project and who issued orders for it to be taken down remained […]

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Protests and Scandals Strike Moscow Theaters

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – December 2, 2013) If Russian theater is a mirror of Russian society ­ – and most any Russian theater artist will tell you that is true ­ – then Russia is in turmoil. Two of Moscow’s most famous theaters have been rocking and rolling to scandalous events all week long. The Taganka […]

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Import of Goodwill: Ex-expat fighting for Moscow’s buildings

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – November 19, 2013) This year, as part of the Moskovskiye Novosti’s New Intelligentsia Awards, The Moscow News is giving out a special prize honoring expats who perform community service/work for public benefit in Russia. Our prize is called Import of Goodwill, and Clementine Cecil is one of the 2013 nominees. A former […]

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Dueling Russian Poets Keep Putin in Power

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Oleg Kashin – November 3, 2013) Oleg Kashin is a Russian journalist living in Geneva. In Russia, a poet is more than a poet. The strong feelings revealed in a recent national argument over two bards — Yevgeny Yevtushenko, long emigrated to the U.S., and Joseph Brodsky, who died in 1996 — might even help explain […]

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Russian Authors Face Long Odds for Nobel

Alexander Solzhenitsyn file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – October 9, 2013) Russian literature is a serious business. The books are heavy, the beards are long and the descriptions of women’s upper lip hair are detailed. Russian authors from the 18th century onwards are read in classrooms from Tokyo to Buenos Aires and have been lauded the world over. Writers of […]

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Russia shrugged: Searching for national identity

File Photo of Crowd of Russians with One Waving Russian Flag

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – September 18, 2013) As the Russian government continues to search for a national identity unifying Russians, a recent study shows a society atomized along ethnic and economic lines. With so little holding a people together, the findings, sociologists say, challenge a long-held assumption that Russia is an inherently collectivist society. “We are […]

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EVENT & CALL FOR PAPERS: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

From: Dominique Arel <darel@uottawa.ca> Subject: ASN 2014 Convention Call for Papers Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 Call for Papers 19th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) International Affairs Building, Columbia University, NY Sponsored by the Harriman Institute 24-26 April 2014 www.nationalities.org ***Proposal deadline: 24 October 2013*** [Please note that the deadline is earlier than […]

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Reminder: Call for Nominations Klebnikov Fellowship Program [by September 15]

Columbia University Campus with Main Building

Subject: Reminder: Call for Nominations Klebnikov Fellowship Program From: The Paul Klebnikov Fellowship at the Harriman Institute <lch2111@columbia.edu> Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:06:20 +0000 Columbia/Harriman Institute Dear Friends and Colleagues, We write to ask for your help in identifying extraordinary candidates for the Harriman Institute’s Paul Klebnikov Russian Civil Society Fellowship for the 2013/14 academic year (much gratitude to […]

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Why young Russians are leaving the country

Kremlin and St. Basil's

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – August 16, 2013) Russians have become more relaxed about emigration ­ yet contrasting opinions still exist. While some people are willing to abandon their native country in search of a better life, others find it difficult to think of leaving their families and friends behind. Almost 50 percent of […]

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TRANSCRIPT [Putin]: Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice conference

File Photo of Ukrainians with Ukrainian Flag in Public Square Near Tower with Golden Dome

(Kremlin.ru – July 27, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the conference called Orthodox-Slavic Values: The Foundation of Ukraine’s Civilisational Choice. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, I just said goodbye before to President of Ukraine Mr Yanukovych. You also sent him your best wishes. Unfortunately, he has a strict schedule with a lot of events to attend: […]

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Russia’s Soft-Power Agency Is Allocated More Funds.

Russian Foreign Ministry Building Tower file photo

(RIA Novosti- MOSCOW, July 24, 2013) Russia has allocated significant spending power to Rossotrudnichestvo, Moscow’s vehicle for promoting its influence abroad, as part of an apparent drive to improve the country’s image, according to a decree published on the government’s website Wednesday. Federal money has been redirected from the Foreign Ministry, formerly responsible for the financial support of Russians living […]

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U.S. Returns Rare Documents to Russia

Romanov Family Photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 18, 2013) The United States has returned to Moscow eight historical documents, taken out of Russian archives during the turbulent 1990s and recently recovered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The documents, including handwritten orders by Tsarina Catherine the Great and Russia’s last Tsar Nicholas II, and a personal letter by composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, […]

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How Russian culture became essential for the world

Bolshoi Theater file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitry Sukhodolsky, special to RBTH – June 13, 2013) From the Russian avant-garde to psychedelic art, from Swan Lake to son et lumiere, from great Russian literature to television and constructivist architecture, the world would have been missing out on an essential part of culture ­ and, in fact, be a totally different […]

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The New Moscow: Old Style Civilization

Aerial View of Moscow From Beyond Stadium, file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Chloe Schmitt – June 3, 2013) New Moscow Population:  250,000 residents in the added territory Main industries: In the past, the city of Troitsk was well known for its textile industry. But today there are no major industries in new Moscow. One of the major businesses today is real estate, with the construction of many […]

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Ibsen at the Mayakovka: Don’t Drink the Water

Mayakovsky Theater at Night, file photo; adapted from image from Creative Commons/wikimedia/Shuvaev

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – May 27, 2013) Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” has been updated for a modern audience by playwright Sasha Denisova – and you can see the results at the Mayakovsky Theater (affectionately known as the Mayakovka), as directed by Nikita Kobelev. In the politically charged atmosphere of the day, Ibsen is […]

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Unmasked, Still Golden: Awards for Theater Elite

Mayakovsky Theater at Night, file photo; adapted from image from Creative Commons/wikimedia/Shuvaev

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – April 18, 2013) The 19th annual Golden Mask Festival award ceremony began with a drum roll and a walking bass line from the Oleg Lundstrem Jazz Orchestra and ended with standing ovations for six veteran theater artists who were honored with lifetime achievement awards. As 47 awards were announced over the course […]

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Song and Dance Patch Up Georgian-Russian Relations

Tblisi, Georgia, File Photo with Building with Tower on Hillside and City Buildings in Valley in Distance

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – April 12, 2013) As Russia’s relationship with Georgia warms up after the new Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili assumed power in Tbilisi, Moscow will host its long awaited Georgian guest, the famous Rustavi ensemble. Rustavi, a folk dance and chorus group, will perform in Russia on Thursday after a 10-year absence. “We […]

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Soft Power: What can Russia learn from the U.S. experience?

Russian Folk Singers file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Pavel Koshkin, RBTH – April 3, 2013) While Russia struggles to improve its image abroad, the U.S. model of “soft power” sets a good example to follow. How many cultural and educational centers does Russia have in the United States? This was the very question that preoccupied my thoughts when I first visited […]

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Russia may grant non-visa entry to ‘non-dangerous’ foreigners

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Aleksandras Budrys – March 19, 2013) Russia’s Culture Ministry has presented to the government a bill on 10-day visa-free entry for “non-dangerous” foreigners to participate in cultural, sporting and business events, Minister Vladimir Medinsky said on Tuesday. “We have developed a number of draft laws in this regard,” Medinsky told Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at […]

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Reinventing the Babushka Concept

Two Babushkas file photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Natalia Yamnitskaya, special to RBTH – March 7, 2013) A “babushka” used to spend her time babysitting grandchildren and gardening, but today’s retirees are taking advantage of a wide range of opportunities. Olga Kuznetsova, who graces the floor of a dance studio in an elegant dress and heels, can hardly be described as […]

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Reflecting on 2012: A year in Moscow as the U.S. Ambassador

Ambassador Michael McFaul file photo

(Ambassador Michael McFaul – Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – February 8, 2013 – Michael Mcfaul is the U.S. Ambassador in Russia) A year ago, I arrived in Moscow to represent my country as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. This is a good moment to reflect on the state of U.S.-Russian relations and my role in developing […]

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Idealists Eye Blossoming Art Hub in Moscow

File Photo of Artists in Vladivostok Studio with Paintings on Easels, with American Artist Demonstrating Technique to Russians

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – Dec. 11, 2012) As innovative as Skolkovo might be, it may not be unique for much longer. Professional artistic visionaries are summoning all their creative energies to design their own innovation hubs, which could become a reality in just a few years. Moscow has experience with creating artistic districts, such as the […]

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Is the Kremlin Writing off Middle-Aged Russians?

Kremlin and Moscow Environs Aerial View

(Paul Goble – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 201 – November 2, 2012) The Kremlin has created a new “agitation and propaganda” (agitprop) administration, which will focus on the elderly, whom the regime hopes to influence or at least keep in its corner now, and the young whom it can only hope to affect […]

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