(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – August 1, 2014) It has been an astonishing run. But doesn’t every run come to an end? The number of major playwrights that Russia put up over the last 15 to 18 years may make all other eras in the history of Russian drama pale by comparison. If this hasn’t been a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – July 21, 2014) “I don’t know what to do about it, John. It is a nightmare and it is hell. And something in me has been broken irreparably.” Thus responded Maksym Kurochkin, a Ukrainian Russian-language playwright, to my question about what he is experiencing these days. As his comments starkly suggest, recent […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headliines – rbth.ru – Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – July 2, 2014) A law making it illegal to use swearwords in television, movies, literature, media reporting, concerts, and theatrical productions entered into force on July 1. Violators will face stiff fines. Prominent figures have expressed their dismay over the ban, arguing that it will limit cultural expression. Russia’s […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – June 1, 2014) There are more than 5,000 music and art schools in modern Russia. Here children can learn to play different instruments and master the basics of painting or sculpture practically free of charge, in addition to their regular education. Teaching staff note that such a system remains […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – May 26, 2014) I forced myself to read the entire article. It was not easy to do. But it had to be done. The Culture newspaper, which made headlines in April by attacking 29 contemporary Russian writers and directors as propagators of “sleaze, obscenities and perversion,” is at it again. This time […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitriy Romendik, RBTH – May 19, 2014) After a series of high-profile scandals at the Bolshoi Theater led to a change in leadership, fans of opera and ballet have been left wondering which direction the theater will now take. The Bolshoi has now announced the details of its repertoire for the 2014-2015 season, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – May 19, 2014) Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky received an honorary fellowship on Thursday a few days late and not quite as planned. The institution doing the honors was Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, but a planned ceremony in Italy on May 12 was junked at the last minute. Instead, the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Timothy Misir – May 8, 2014) A young woman attempting to pull out a tablecloth from a dining table, littering the floor with broken tableware in the process, a naked and blindfolded lady guided by a remote-controlled tank mounted on her head wandering the gallery and the students of Strelka Institute performing an interpretive dance […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – April 28, 2014) Last week, the State Duma gave its final approval to a bill introducing criminal penalties for “spreading lies” about the Soviet Union’s role in World War II. The legislation, under which offenders face up to five years in prison, has prompted renewed allegations that the Kremlin is imposing a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – April 11, 2014) The Russian Culture Ministry raised eyebrows this week by replacing several respected figures in two departments involving the fine arts and theater. Many admit it was high time for these experts to be rotated out of their positions. But most also suggest that the actions were taken abruptly, without […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – February 3, 2014) For Russian literature, it’s time again for a political choice: for or against Putin? RBTH presents an overview of the problem and interviews experts. Russian literature and government power have always had something of a love-hate relationship. There have been periods when writers were exiled or put before the firing […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – January 28, 2014) The 1990s are often thought of in the West as a decade with relatively few problems. One-hit wonder bands sang sincerely while hip, neoliberal politicians managed booming economies. The 90s in Russia, however, was a more turbulent time and art from the period shows it. The second half of […]
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MOSCOW, January 10 (RIA Novosti) A Moscow artist was released on parole Friday after spending more than two years in jail for a bribery conviction that followed his move to a Russian village in a bid to bring culture to the provinces. Ilya Farber, whose case has become a cause celebre for many opposition activists, said on leaving his […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yan Shenkman, RBTH – January 4, 2014) The legendary opera singer admired by Stalin, yet always resented being told what he could sing and what he could not. Ivan Kozlovsky (1900-1993) was a legendary opera tenor and a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater. He sang more than 50 operatic roles, and was particularly […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Vladimir Kozlov, special to RBTH – December 16, 2013) In the past year, the Bolshoi Theater has gone through a series of controversies and management changes. What is behind all of the chaos? Just a few years ago, Bolshoi was under public scrutiny because of its major renovation scheme, which went behind schedule […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – November 7, 2013) Miss Universe pageant’s arrival in Moscow, the first time the contest has been hosted here in its 62-year history, brought out all the glitter and sequins that the 87 contestants could pack in their suitcases. Matching the contest’s galactic theme, the local organizers said that they plan to “impress […]
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(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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(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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(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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(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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(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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(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Editor and Correspondent at themoscownews.com – May 27, 2013) It was the best of times, it was the worst of… you get it. There is an awful lot of Pinot Grigio being consumed in Moscow this summer, the parks are filled with the same crowds that took to the streets in protest last year, and, […]
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(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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(Interfax – Sochi, May 22, 2013) Dmitriy Peskov, press secretary to the Russian president, has described reports that the Kremlin was taking film-making under its control as fiction but stressed that films produced with state money should have matching content. “A number of mass media outlets, including the (business) newspaper Vedomosti, have said that all of Surkov’s (Vladislav Surkov, once […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 30, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to consider by June 15 the expediency of restoring a contemporary Western art museum in Moscow. “To consider the expediency of restoring a new (contemporary) Western art museum in Moscow,” say Putin’s instructions given after the Direct Line with Russians. The government’s report on the subject […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Raymond Stults – March 26, 2013) Despite the turmoil following the attack in mid-January on Bolshoi ballet artistic director Sergei Filin, the theater has continued without hesitation to follow the age-old precept “the show must go on.” And this week it promises to do so with still greater intensity when it opens a four-week-long festival, […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – March 13, 2013) When Royal Shakespeare Company alum Jonathan Bex realized he was spending a lot of time in Moscow but had little hope of acting in any of the city’s many theaters, he came up with a creative solution. He decided to start a theater company that would offer exclusively English-language […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – www.rbth.ru – Inna Soboleva, Combined report, RBTH – March 8, 2013) Before International Women’s Day, Russia’s leading media revealed a list of the country’s 100 most influential women. The speaker of the Federation Council (upper house of Russia’s parliament), Valentina Matviyenko, topped the list of the 100 Most Influential Women in Russia for the second […]
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(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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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eradzh Nidoev – February 11, 2013) Unless you have traveled forward in time from the beginning of the 20th century, writing rhymes might not seem like the hippest thing to do. Such an old-fashioned skill probably won’t even get you a date. But this preconception is changing thanks to a group of young poets who […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – January 28, 2013) In a grim Soviet reality, he lived the lifestyle of a playboy. While not being a dissident, he sang satirical songs. While not writing a single song that would praise the authorities, he wrote ballads about World War II and was a symbol of patriotism for many Russians. Vladimir […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – January 14, 2013) No New Year’s celebration in Russia is complete without its most important guest: the television set. Although this year’s holiday shows and music concerts left much to be desired in terms of quality, Russians still got plenty of entertainment courtesy of the nation’s most flamboyant singers, dancers and politicians. […]
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(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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