RUSSIALINK: “Pavel Durov Revealed – Almost – in New Documentary” – Moscow Times
Durov … found[ed] … social networking platform VKontakte, the Russian equivalent of Facebook, and later Telegram, the encrypted messaging app […]
» Read moreCategory: Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
RUSSIALINK: “Filmmaker Vitaly Mansky on Artdocfest and Russia on Film” – Moscow Times
Film director Vitaly Mansky … was in the news throughout the festival in Moscow and St. Petersburg as he was closed down by the authorities and attacked by pro-Kremlin activists […]
» Read moreMore than Half of Russians Consider Extra-Marital Sex and Divorce Morally Acceptable, Levada Center Poll Finds
… Americans are still more inclined to accept divorce than Russians are. Only 36 percent of Russians consider it morally acceptable […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “The Monster Under the Bed” – Moscow Times
JRL RUSSIALINK: “Katherine Zubovich’s Magnificent ‘Moscow Monumental’; The story of Moscow’s skyscrapers and the lives they changed” – Moscow Times
“In its 874-year history, Moscow has grown from an obscure twelfth-century military outpost into a world-class capital city of over 20 million inhabitants. Along the way, the city has been reinvented over and over to suit the needs of its rulers. Ivan the Great made Moscow “The Third Rome” after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, raising stone cathedrals inside […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Procrastinating the Russian Way” – Moscow Times
Judging by their language, Russians are connoisseurs of procrastination. In Russian not only are there many verbs and expressions for procrastination, there are three main ways to procrastinate […]
» Read moreTom Beyer: “[SEELANGS] The John Glad interviews”
Subject: [SEELANGS] The John Glad interviews Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2021 From: Tom Beyer <beyer@MIDDLEBURY.EDU> In the early 1980’s John Glad who was then working at the Kennan Institute in Washington D.C. recorded a series of videotaped interviews with leading Russian writers. The original video recordings were deposited with the University of Maryland. Professor Glad himself retained his own copies […]
» Read moreMoscow Drops Plans for Foreign Language Requirement for Secondary School Graduation
(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Jan. 4, 2021) To graduate from secondary schools, Russians will still have to pass tests in Russian; but they will not be required to do so in foreign languages like English, German, French, Spanish and Chinese, the education ministry has announced (publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202012240006?index=1&rangeSize=1). That change effectively ends the effort of former education minister, […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “2020: The People Russia Lost” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Dec. 31, 2020) In 2020 the number of deaths in Russia of prominent and beloved public figures was devastatingly high, many from the coronavirus, but some from other causes as well. The performing arts were particularly hard hit by Covid-19, since by the nature of the professions, people at work cannot be masked or socially […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian Film ‘Beanpole’ Awarded Top Prize by U.S. Film Critics; The film won first place for best foreign language film.” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daniil Galaydov – Dec. 22, 2020) The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has named the Russian movie “Beanpole” as the best foreign language film. “Beanpole,” which was directed by Kantemir Balagov, also won second place for best production design. The film is set in the Soviet city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) right after […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: Ambassador Sullivan’s Interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta
(U.S. Embassy Moscow – Oct. 23, 2020) Mr. Konstantin Remchukov, Editor-in-Chief, Nezavisimaya Gazeta NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: So, Mr. Ambassador, as you mentioned, the time for the last months was unusual, so many frustration for people, so many bad news. And culture has always been a good retreat for people to boost up their energy, morale, spirits, and everything. So I’m very […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Film About Gorbachev and Reagan in Pre-Production; From the team that made ‘The Death of Stalin'” – Moscow Times
The historic 1986 Reykjavik summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan will be the backdrop for a new satirical film […]
» Read moreWhat Do Siberian Millennial and the Perestroika Generation Professionals Have in Common?
Subject: What Do Siberian Millennial and the Perestroika Generation Professionals Have in Common? Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2020 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> What Do Siberian Millennial and the Perestroika Generation Professionals Have in Common? By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has been a community development activist in Siberia since 1992] With photos: medium.com/@ECHOSiberia/what-do-siberian-millennial-and-perestroika-generation-professionals-have-in-common-ff4a74fc7658 After a six hour drive, the designer cocktail […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Share of Russians who never use home PCs drops from 53% to 25% over decade – poll” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax) – Over half of Russians (58%) use their home PCs at least several times a week, as against 43% in 2010, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said in a statement seen by Interfax on Thursday. The survey indicates that number of Russians who have several PCs, including laptops, at home, has grown over eight […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “‘The Master and Margarita’ Named Most Popular Russian Prison Read” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 30, 2020) “The Master and Margarita,” Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic Soviet tale of when the Devil went down to Moscow, has been ranked the most popular book among Russian prisoners, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” ranked second, followed by “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas in […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Beat Film Fest Kicks Off Aug. 1; Muscovites’ favorite festival of documentary films is online and offline this year” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daniil Galaydov – July 28, 2020) Beat Film Festival, founded in 2010, is likely to become the headliner of this summer’s cultural events in Moscow. It launches on Aug. 1, when the city’s movie theaters are allowed to open after their long downtime during the coronavirus quarantine. This year the films will be shown online […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Court finds stage director Serebrennikov, other Studio Seven case defendants but Apfelbaum guilty of fraud” – Interfax
The Moscow Meshchansky District Court has found stage director Kirill Serebrennikov and other defendants in the Studio Seven case [except] Sofia Apfelbaum guilty of fraud […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “A History of Chess in Russia” – Chess24
“In the 80 years since Alexander Alekhine became World Chess Champion in 1927 until Vishy Anand took the title from Vladimir Kramnik in 2007, Russian or Soviet players held the title for all but five years – Max Euwe (1935-37) and Bobby Fischer (1972-75) were the only players to disturb the dominance. … FM Andrey Terekhov looks at those years, […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Pushkin House Announces 2020 Book Prize Short List; Six titles that are all required reading for Russia watchers” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michele A. Berdy – April 29, 2020) Michele A. Berdy is the Arts Editor and author of “The Russian Word’s Worth,” a collection of her columns. On Tuesday Pushkin House in London announced its short list of nominations for the 2020 Pushkin House Russian Book Prize. The prize has been awarded annually since 2013 to […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “[Chekhov on the Occasion of Cholera Epidemics of 1892]” – Vladimir Golstein/ facebook
(Vladimir Golstein – Facebook – April 14, 2020 – facebook.com/vladimir.golstein/posts/10216416791108118) “Just came across a fascinating set of letters from Chekhov on the occasion of cholera epidemics of 1892. One more proof of what an amazing individual he was. Here is his letter to his friend and publisher, a conservative journalist, Suvorin, written from Chekhov’s Melikhovo estate. …” MELIHOVO, August 1. […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “‘Scary to Predict’: Bolshoi Theater Warns of Closure if Coronavirus Lockdown Persists” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 9, 2020) Moscow’s legendary Bolshoi Theater has warned that it is at risk of closing down if the city’s coronavirus lockdown doesn’t end by September, its director Vladimir Urin said in an interview published Thursday. The Bolshoi canceled all performances, concerts and tours until April 30 due to the pandemic that has infected more […]
» Read moreVIDEO RUSSIALINK: “Take a Hermitage Tour; Walk and walk and walk some more through the Hermitage Museum (Video)” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 18, 2020) If you have time on your hands and a deep love of Western art and Russian architectural extravagence, take a look at this. Five hours, one continuous shot, 45 halls and 588 works of art in the Hermitage Museum, all filmed on an iPhone without recharging. themoscowtimes.com/2020/03/18/take-a-hermitage-tour-a69670 [Additional information russianlife.com/stories/the-russia-file/5-hour-phone-film/: Apple recently […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Spend an Evening at the Bolshoi; The ‘golden collection’ of ballet and opera will be broadcast online free” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 27, 2020) The Bolshoi Theater, like every other theater in Moscow, has had to close its doors until mid-April (if not longer). But to keep up the spirits of all ballet and opera lovers, they are putting up six of their best performances on YouTube for free, starting with “Swan Lake” this Friday. All […]
» Read moreJosh Wilson: “RE: 2020-#40-Johnson’s Russia List (re: Fred Weir: ‘No more Kafka: Russian bureaucrats now offer service with a smile.’)”
Subject: RE: 2020-#40-Johnson’s Russia List (re Fred Weir “No more Kafka: Russian bureaucrats now offer service with a smile.”) Date: Sun, 8 Mar 2020 From: Josh Wilson <jwilson@sras.org> RE: 1. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, No more Kafka: Russian bureaucrats now offer service with a smile. When an infamously unpleasant bureaucracy is replaced with a friendly, modern version, few are […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Luring Russians to Avant-Garde Art; An interview with Tretyakov Gallery director Zelfira Tregulova” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Kamila Kocialkowska – February 8, 2020) Zelfira Tregulova, the director of the Tretyakov gallery, vividly recalls the first time she saw Kazimir Malevich’s iconic 1915 painting “Black Square.” “It was in 1974, I remember the shock.” As an art history student at Moscow State University, she first encountered the painting in the Tretyakov Gallery, albeit […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Who Is Olga Lyubimova, Russia’s New Culture Minister? Cultural figures are of two minds about the appointment” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Andrei Muchnik – January 22, 2020) On Tuesday evening, Russia’s new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the members of his cabinet. Vladimir Medinsky, who served as the culture minister for the past eight years, was let go and Olga Lyubimova appointed in his place. She had served as deputy minister and was the head of […]
» Read moreReporter’s Notebook: They Do Things Differently in Russia
(Voice of America – voanews.com – Jamie Dettmer – Nov. 29, 2019) Everyone overlooks them as they scurry about in their luminescent orange uniforms at all hours of the day and night, armed only with small brushes and the the type of long-handled lobby dustpans a concierge might use in New York or London to tidy up an entrance. Moscow’s […]
» Read moreBooks And Belfries: Volunteers Prop Up Russia’s Decaying Churches, Dying Villages
(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Karina Zabolotnaya, Robert Coalson – RATO-NAVOLOK, Russia, Nov. 17, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-volunteers-prop-up-decaying-churches-dying-villages/30276655.html) A cold November wind blows wisps of snow across the road as a fully loaded Lada sedan jostles along the 160-kilometer journey from the northern city of Arkhangelsk to a remote […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian Women Are Getting Married 8 Years Later On Average, Official Data Says” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 24, 2019) The average woman in Russia gets married eight years later than she did earlier this decade, according to official data. Marriage rates in Russia hit their lowest point since 2000 last year, according to Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) data, and researchers don’t expect rates to begin rising again until the mid-2020s. Most […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin] Visit to Alexander Solzhenitsyn Museum of Russia Abroad” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – July 24, 2019) [Text with photos: en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/61092] Vladimir Putin visited the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Museum of Russia Abroad. Visiting the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Museum of Russia Abroad. With President of the Solzhenitsyn Aid Fund Natalia Solzhenitsyna, Director of the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Museum of Russia Abroad Viktor Moskvin, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, right, and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Central Federal […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Congratulations to Natalya Solzhenitsyna on her birthday; Vladimir Putin congratulated Natalya Solzhenitsyna on her 80th birthday.” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – July 22, 2019) [More in Russian: kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/61092] The message reads, in part: “You have devoted your life, energy, and creative gift to promoting charity and enlightenment; you stood at the origins of important educational and humanitarian projects, such as the Museum of Russia Abroad, which has become the centre for preserving a huge stratum of Russian history and […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Storied Russian Miniatures Dwindling in Face of Icon Revival” – New York Times/ Neil MacFarquhar
“Once upon a time, the small, picturesque Russian village of Palekh gained fame far and wide for producing religious icons. Then one day, a revolution came and its adherents … banned such art. Hundreds of artists eventually learned to adorn lacquer boxes instead, painting scenes from Russian fairy tales or romanticized versions of country life. … With the collapse of […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ Review: Wishing and Waiting; Eleven stories by a Russian cardiologist that show how doctors and patients alike soothe themselves with lies, shortcuts and elisions.” – Wall Street Journal/ Laura Kolbe
“… In these 11 stories … Dr. Osipov, a Russian cardiologist, fiction writer and playwright, regards the field of medicine as though it were a hapless production of a surrealist play. … [T]he borders between hope, delusion and dishonesty are hazy and heavily trafficked. … Dr. Osipov is a master of dramatic irony, wringing bittersweet humor from what the reader […]
» Read moreLanding At Pushkin: Putin Decree Assigns Russian Airports The Names Of Cultural Figures
(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – May 31, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/landing-at-pushkin-putin-decree-assigns-russian-airports-the-names-of-cultural-figures/29974519.html) It’s already pretty hard to travel to Russia without hearing the name of the beloved 19th-century poet Aleksandr Pushkin. Now it may be impossible, if you fly into Moscow. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree attaching the […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Self-Help Lessons From the Russian Classics; In “Self Improvement Tolstoy-Style,” an English Russophile explores life and literature. [Viv Groskop]” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 18, 2019) Writer and comedian Viv Groskop has faced many rooms full of strangers expecting to be amused in her career as a stand-up. But what really scared her in the run-up to the publication of her latest book were the Russians. “I was terrified they would be offended,” Groskop said. She needn’t have […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Herzog Says Gorbachev Documentary Has a ‘Subversive Message'” – AP
“Werner Herzog says there’s a ‘subversive message’ to his new documentary ‘Meeting Gorbachev’: Talk to your geopolitical enemies. Herzog interviewed former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev three times in a six-month span to make the new film. He highlights … the reunification of Herzog’s native Germany as well as the groundbreaking 1986 arms control summit with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. […]
» Read moreYermolai Solzhenitsyn: “Re: Some information on SolzhenitsynCenter.org”
Subject: Some information on solzhenitsyncenter.org Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2019 From: Yermolai Solzhenitsyn <yermolai_solzhenitsyn@mckinsey.com> To: davidjohnson@starpower.net Dear David, We saw recently a piece on JRL Russia Insider, russia-insider.com, March 18, 2019 Great Russian Documentary on Life of Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Video) [https://russia-insider.com/en/great-russian-documentary-life-alexander-solzhenitsyn-video/ri26536], where the authors were wondering whether there were English language copies of all the three films in question. We […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Drops Further in World Happiness Index – UN” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 20, 2019) It’s not all smiles for Russia as it slips down the global happiness rankings for a third consecutive year, according to an annual UN report published on Wednesday. The World Happiness Report ranks 156 countries by variables that support well-being, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, social freedom, generosity […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “State Duma not going to reinstate daylight saving time” – Interfax
MOSCOW. March 20 (Interfax) – A bill by a State Duma member from the United Russian party suggesting reinstating daylight saving time is unlikely to be adopted, said Andrei Isayev, deputy head of the United Russia faction, which is the largest one in the State Duma. “Neither the faction, nor its coordination council considered the bill. As a rule, the […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russia, gender equality still a long way off” – AP/ Francesa Ebel, Irina Titova, Harriet Morris, Nataliya Vasilyeva
“While International Women’s Day is marked Friday across many countries with calls for gender equality, in Russia it is still a holiday largely focused on celebrating traditional gender roles. Women in Russia may hold prominent positions in the government – including the influential chief of the Central Bank and speaker of the upper chamber of parliament – but traditional gender […]
» Read moreInventorying the Past: Russia Refreshes Its Historical Memory
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Nikolay Epplee – Feb. 1, 2019) Nikolay Epplee is an independent researcher working on international memorial culture and on memory of Soviet state terror. He published extensively on memory issues in Vedomosti, InLiberty, Colta, and other Russian media. [wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/inventorying-the-past-russia-refreshes-its-historical-memory] The New Year’s holidays are one of the few times in the year that different generations […]
» Read moreSharon Tennison: “Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group”
Subject: Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2019 From: Sharon Tennison <sharon@ccisf.org> Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group: youtube.com/watch?v=Np0XktwyekQ&feature=youtu.be I want to share with you my favorite young news journalist in Moscow, Dmitri (Dima) Babich. He is one of our “CCI Experts.” I’ve known Dima a long, long time. He […]
» Read moreSarah Lindemann-Komarova: “Russia’s Happy Ending”
[originally posted 12.6.18] Subject: Russia’s Happy Ending Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2018 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> Russia’s Happy Ending By Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Founder, Siberian Civic Initiatives Support Center 1995 – 2014. Helped to establish this as the hub for the first civil society development support network in the former Soviet Union.] Link for article with pictures and video medium.com/@ECHOSiberia/russias-happy-ending-c77b332a6eec How […]
» Read moreOnce Upon A Handout: Russian Fairy Tales Accused Of Teaching Kids To Freeload
(Article ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Tony Wesolowsky – Jan. 17, 2019 – also appeared at rferl.org/a/once-upon-a-handout-russian-fairy-tales-accused-of-teaching-kids-to-freeload/29716156.html) Children in Russia may be spooked by the witches and other dark characters in some of the country’s fairy tales, but a senior Central Bank official sees something even more sinister. Russian fairy tales are teaching kids to expect […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Washington theaters shine a spotlight on Vladimir Putin” – Washington Post/ Nelson Pressley
“The Russian president was satirized … in the delirious ‘Putin on Ice (that isn’t the real title …)’ at Baltimore’s Single Carrot Theater. Putin is unnamed but unmistakable in Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph’s ‘Describe the Night,’ an Obie Award winner last year as best American play …. [C]ementing Putin as a stealth theatrical headliner is ‘Kleptocracy,’ a new drama […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin at] Meeting on establishing cultural and educational centres in Russian regions” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – January 8, 2019) Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the creation of cultural, educational and museum centres in Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo and Sevastopol. The President set the goal to create theatre, concert, museum and educational centres in the Russian regions in his Address to the Federal Assembly in 2018, with details codified in the Presidential Executive Order On […]
» Read moreMore In The Tank: Russian Film Extends Trend Of Patriotic World War II Epics
(Article ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Matthew Luxmoore – Jan. 8, 2019 – article also appeared at rferl.org/a/more-in-the-tank-russian-film-extends-trend-of-patriotic-world-war-ii-epics/29697503.html) Yet another patriotic war movie has taken Russia by storm. T-34, a high-octane tribute to the Soviet tank that played a key role on the Eastern Front of World War II, is the latest in a series […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Disbands the Concept of ‘Dacha'” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jan. 3, 2019) The New Year has ushered in a slew of new laws in Russia, including one that disappears the very concept of country cottages, known as dachas, where many Russians spend their summers. More than 60 million Russians are estimated to own dachas nationwide. What kind of dacha they own, though, was previously […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Average bribe in Russia for 2018 is $9,000” – bne Intellinews
“[The a]verage bribe in Russia is estimated by the Public Prosecution Service at RUB609,000 ($9,000), while the total amount of uncovered bribes in January-September 2018 stood at RUB1.8bn ($26.7mn), as reported by Vedomosti …. uncovered bribes increased by 3% year-on-year, with suspected bribetakers exceeding 1,000. Out of that more than 400 were law enforcement and military officials. …. [D]amage caused […]
» Read moreGrassroots Modernization
The rise of diversity and individualism in Russian society is undisputed. However, these new trends are observed, first and foremost, in the private sphere, in consumption, and in everyday practices, while the political realm remains “frozen.” (PONARS Eurasia – Maria Lipman, Maria Volkenstein – December 17, 2018) Maria Volkenstein is the President, CEO, and Founder of the VALIDATA Market Research […]
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