(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News, October 8, 2013) Ivan the Terrible lived a long time ago and the passage of time does distort historical figures so that the truth is sometimes hard to separate from fiction. Still, it is probably safe to say that Ivan the Terrible was not a fan of pluralism and […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 27, 2013) Russia might have an international reputation as a cauldron of stewing corruption, but people in Moscow appear to be more honest than their counterparts in Zurich and Lisbon. That was the finding of an experiment conducted by Reader’s Digest magazine that saw its reporters drop 192 wallets in 16 cities around the […]
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(RIA Novosti – Maria Young – WASHINGTON, September 23, 2013) If you want to catch a rare glimpse of “the mysterious Russian soul,” you need only to watch a collection of short Russian films being shown at a prominent film festival in Washington this month, said a Russian filmmaker whose work was voted an audience favorite over the weekend. The […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vasily Shumov, special to RBTH – September 20, 2013) In modern Russia, we can see that almost every public rally features a music performance that can be identified as a protest song. Russian protest songs have come a long way in the past 60 years following World War IIstarting with songs created by […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexey Mikheev, special to RBTH – September 19, 2013) Matryoshka, kolhkoz, sputnik, perestroikaall of these original and untranslatable words have been borrowed in other languages from Russian at one time in history or another. This happened recently with another Russian wordkryshain English. The word krysha itself is not new and simply means “roof.” […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ian Bateson – September 18, 2013) Bolshoi Theater artistic director Sergei Filin appeared at the theater Tuesday to help kick off its 238th season, nine months after being splashed in the face with acid in an attack that shocked the world. Standing up at the event and looking around wearing protective sunglasses, Filin said he […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vladimir Kozlov, special to RBTH – September 14, 2013) While the Russian capital has a way to go to improve the quality of life for athletes, running is increasing in popularity thanks to the efforts of local race organizers and the city government, which has cleaned up major parks. [DJ: In the early […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 9, 2013) Russia has become a relatively happier country, but it still ranks below its autocratic neighbor Belarus, according to a UN-sponsored study released by Columbia University on Monday. Russia climbed eight positions in the second annual World Happiness Report, ranking 68th of 156 countries just behind Belarus (66) and the island nation […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – D. Garrison Golubock – September 9, 2013) Leo Tolstoy, the world-famous author and doyen of Russia’s golden age of literature, is not a gentleman about whom one expects to hear breaking news. However, in a surprise announcement last Thursday, Russia’s two most prominent Tolstoy museums announced that they would be merging and appointing a new […]
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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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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 30, 2013) A recent opinion poll has shown that only 15 percent of Russians think that Moscow is an attractive city to live in, while another 25 percent prefer small-town life. Some 60 percent of respondents said they could not see any “good qualities” in the average Muscovite, considered arrogant (19 percent), greedy (9 […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Evgenia Pismennaya and Irina Reznik – August 27, 2013) Vladimir Putin was lonely and homesick after moving to Moscow to work in the Kremlin in 1996 and planned to return to St. Petersburg within a year, according to a friend, documentary filmmaker Igor Shadkhan. “But then things began to happen very fast and suddenly Putin became […]
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(RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief, The Moscow News – August 27, 2013) Earlier this month, Russian-American journalist Diana Bruk shocked the delicate sensibilities of the American reading public by writing a no-holds-barred account of why she loves (and hates!) dating Russian men. [http://www.salon.com/2013/08/12/i_love_and_hate_dating_russian_men/] In her essay, published by Salon.com, Bruk talked about how her feminist sensibilities came up […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – August 26, 2013) A third of Russians think raising children gets in the way of having a successful career. People younger than 24 years of age are putting career before family, a poll by major recruiting web portal Superjob showed. Experts are not surprised and believe the trend is […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 21, 2013) Most Russians tend to expect that Russia will develop according to the Western, not Asian pattern, sociologists from Levada Center have told Interfax. According to a poll conducted in July in 130 towns and cities in 45 territories of Russia, over a quarter (27%) of the interviewed assume that in 50 years science, technology […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Novak, special to RBTH – August 20, 2013) Moscow, Saint Petersburg and The Golden Ring are the only option presented to you by your travel agency you must be thinking there has to be more to Russia than this? Well, you would be right! Russia Beyond The Headlines is launching the ultimate […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 21, 2013) Modern Russian residents have largely changed compared to Soviet people, independent pollster Levada Center has said, citing a recent poll. Asked whether the residents of today’s Russia are different from people who lived in the Soviet Union, 74 percent of respondents said they are completely or in many respects different. Fourteen percent said […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 20, 2013) A serious change has occurred in the Russian mentality and political system since the breakdown of the Soviet Union, Levada Center sociologists told Interfax. Seventy-four percent of 1,600 respondents polled in 130 towns and cities in 45 regions in July said fellow citizens had changed a lot or entirely in the past two decades […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 20, 2013) Groups of workers squatting on their haunches surrounded by piles of sand and broken tarmac is a common picture for downtown Moscow these days. But Muscovites can keep calm: this is not another 2 billion ruble effort by acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to replace asphalt with tiles on pavements […]
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(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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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anna Lisovets, special to RBTH – August 14, 2013) Russian markets have plenty to offer to their customers – fresh produce, variety and encounters with different cultures. RBTH presents this essential guide to help you navigate the best marketplaces in Moscow. The markets of Moscow have recently become a familiar topic for discussion […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Georgy Manaev, special to RBTH – August 14, 2013) Hitchhiking in the world’s largest country can be a thrilling experience. Gathering bits of advice from Russia’s most experienced travelers, RBTH delves into the history and local habits of this adventurous mode of travel. In recent years, most of the urban population of the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Darya Novak, Ilaria Parogni, RBTH – August 2, 2013) In Russia, the real adventure begins where the touristy trail ends. Off-the-beaten-track sites, unexpected destinations not specified in any guide book and hidden treasures known only to the locals – we at RBTH find new ones every day. Here you can find a list […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, August 2, 2013) Bolshoi Theater Artistic Director Sergei Filin, who is being treated in a German clinic, has said he does not rule out that he might return to the theater in September. “If vision in my left eye continues recovering at the same pace and if it stabilizes, it is quite possible that I could return […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Justin Lifflander – Aug. 2, 2013) Now that U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is a genuine expat, armed with papers giving him refugee status for one year and free to roam Russia’s capital while he figures out his next move, here is a list of 10 do’s and don’ts that he should keep in mind. […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 1, 2013) As if Fyodor Dostoyevsky wasn’t depressing enough, Russian court marshals have added a touch of Kafka to his legacy, investigating the Russian literary giant for contempt of court and only clearing him because he is no longer alive. The amusing story began with an “idiot” both the title of an 1869 […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – July 31, 2013) It’s time to put the tired theater season to bed. Let it hibernate for a month or so then make a perennial attempt to come back fresher and better in September. The 2012-2013 season was lopsided. There was a lot of mediocre, admirably ambitious, but, frankly, forgettable, work. Decent […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – July 29, 2013) For Oklahoma native Jennifer Eremeeva, what started as a childhood fascination turned her into a guide of Russian life. Eremeeva’s settlement in Moscow began in 1993 in a rather exotic location, an apartment she shared with her future husband in the neighborhood of Butovo, beyond today’s Moscow Ring Road. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 29, 2013) One in two Russians gives three (out of five) to the existing economic situation in the city, town or village where the respondent lives, the majority do not feel confidence in tomorrow and their social activity is decreasing, Levada Center sociologists told Interfax. According to the results of the poll held on July 18-22 […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 25, 2013) The percentage of Russians who say it is acceptable to tell white lies has almost doubled since the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a poll on Russian morals released Thursday by the Levada Center. Just 33 percent of those surveyed in 1992 said that they considered lying for a good […]
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Date: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 Subject: Facilitating Learning Russian From: Ron Pope <ron42.pope@gmail.com> The current (July 29) issue of Time magazine has an article entitled “The Power of the Bilingual Brain” that presents a powerful case for encouraging every child with a connection to Russia — the children of emigres and adopted Russians – -to learn what could have been […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 19, 2013) A hundred and twenty years after his birth and 83 years after his suicide, literary rebel-cum-Communist Vladimir Mayakovsky remains one of modern Russia’s most popular poets, according to a new poll. Mayakovsky is the second most popular Russian poet of the 20th century, according to a poll by the Levada Center published […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – RFE/RL’s Russian Service – July 16, 2013) Amid an apparent split in the ranks, the feminist punk performance-art group Pussy Riot has released a new music video lashing out at the oil industry; Igor Sechin, the head of Russia’s largest oil company Rosneft; and others. Copies of the video were released to RFE/RL on July 16 […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Andrey Arkhangelsky, film critic, special to RBTH – July 10, 2013) There is a new trend in Russian cinema: biopics about famous people from the past. Films about Gagarin, Vysotsky and Kharlamov are not only educational, but ideological too. There is a new trend in Russian cinema: biopics about famous people from the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 11, 2013) The “long list” for the Russian equivalent of the prestigious literary award was announced at a press conference on Wednesday. Twenty-four hopefuls have entered the running, whittled down from 87. The final shortlist of six candidates is to be announced on October 3. The award is considered one of the most prestigious […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – July 9, 2013) The battle over the preservation of Moscow’s architectural heritage has become visibly political in recent weeks, as prominent opposition parties criticized acting mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s policies. Several candidates have promised to address the issue in the run-up to this September’s mayoral race. The primary catalyst in the debate has […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 6, 2013) Mutual and happy love contributes to career growth, in the view of 62% of Russians interviewed by the www.superjob.ru web portal in the run-up to Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness. At the same time, 10% of those polled believe these feelings only obstruct career growth and 16% do not see any relation between […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Kristen Blyth – July 1, 2013) Got a headache? Put a cabbage leaf on your head. Toothache? Garlic is your answer. Drinking a shot of vodka will help cure a cold. If you happen to be suffering from an open wound, slap some badger fat on it and your cut will be healed in no […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) Russia took the 33rd place out of 54 in the rating of the happiest countries. The top ten includes Latin American countries, Finland, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and others. The global survey was held by the Gallup International/WIN, the association of independent pollsters, in over 50 counties, including Russia and the post-Soviet space, where the association […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 26, 2013) Count Leo Tolstoy was a prolific author, rich and generous enough to bequeath his works to be published and distributed free of charge. His epics “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” still top most of the lists of greatest novels of all time, and his controversial views on Christianity earned him excommunication […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alena Tveritina, RBTH – June 20, 2013) All Tolstoy in One Click [http://www.readingtolstoy.ru/] the Russian project, similar to the international humanitarian Project Guttenberg, begins digitizing the 90-volume collection of works by the great Russian writer. The project was announced by the Leo Tolstoy State Museum and ABBYY. The multi-volume collection of works by […]
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(RIA Novosti – Maria Young – WASHINGTON, June 19, 2013) Nearly a dozen long-lost, rarely seen Soviet films and scores of screenplays that were never produced about the persecution of Jews during World War II have been revived to offer decades-old evidence of a side of the Holocaust few people recognize today. From the dusty archives of Moscow and […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Simone Peek – June 14, 2013) International news and changing regulations around orphaned children have been in a whirlwind since January’s Dima Yakovlev law: the ban on the adoption of Russian children by Americans. Amidst the political turmoil are, of course, the orphans themselves. Charity organization “Krilya” (Wings) decided to give children living in orphanages […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Viktoria Ushakova, special to RBTH – June 16, 2013) RBTH looks at parenting skills of five great Russian writers. Some writers are so consumed by their art that their families are eclipsed, while other writers manage an enviable closeness with their loved ones. On the occasion of Father’s Day, RBTH recalls what kind […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 12, 2013) Amid growing competition in the world in all fields, from art to the defense industry, Russian researchers and scientists should not expect stress-free work, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of presenting state awards at the Kremlin on Wednesday. “I will venture to follow up on what today’s laureates have said here […]
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(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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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 12, 2013) It is difficult for Russians to name the country’s achievements and events in the country’s life in the past decades that they take pride in, an opinion poll showed. Most often, respondents asked by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) to mention events over the past 10-15 years that […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Cherkasov, special to RBTH – June 11, 2013) Conceived by the founding fathers of the new Russia and in the mold of U.S. Independence Day, “Russia Day” has become just a new summer holiday mainly because no one has ever managed to figure out who Russia gained independence from. For almost […]
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