New Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, a historian distant from the cultural world, is perhaps best known for writing a series of pro-Kremlin books called "Myths about Russia" — a role that is prompting calls...

Nearly 200 of Moscow's museums, parks, theaters and cultural centers are staying open after hours Saturday as part of the city's sixth annual Night at the Museum project. Most participating venues will be open from 6 p.m. until midnight, some much later, and will offer free admission...

... the right hand and left foot are preparing to do. Here is the picture more or less as told to me by Yelena Tupyseva, art director at the popular Aktovy Zal space in Moscow, and one of the organizers of some of the day's theatrical events. The Moscow Culture Committee originally decreed that a full day of cultural events would be held on May 1 as part of May Day celebrations. When the committee learned, however, that there were numerous trade union processions scheduled for that day, they moved the...

Beat Film Festival, which presents a range of documentaries on music and contemporary culture from all around the world, opened late Wednesday at the Gorizont movie house. Beat Film Festival, which presents a range of documentaries on music and contemporary culture from all around the world, opened late Wednesday at the...

City authorities have held the first auction in their plan to distribute rental rights to buildings recognized for their historical and cultural significance — at the price of 1 ruble per square meter. City authorities have held the first auction in their plan to distribute rental rights to buildings recognized for their historical and cultural significance — at the price...

Rem Koolhaas, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect, presented his plans to convert an abandoned Moscow restaurant into a new art space for the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, founded by Dasha Zhukova. LONDON — Rem Koolhaas, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect, presented his plans to convert an abandoned Moscow restaurant into a new art space for the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, founded by Dasha...

... museum director faces smuggling charges and has faced such charges in the past. The museum director, who RIA-Novosti identified as Nikolai Zadorozhny of the Russian Icon Museum, told the news agency that he had been authorized to purchase the icon by the culture department of the Vologda region, where the painting had been stolen almost two decades ago. Zadorozhny claimed he had with him upon arrival to Domodedovo a raft of legal documents, including a sale contract, a certificate of transfer and acceptance...

... name to the movement opposed to a third presidential term for Vladimir Putin. Qunanbayuli, who is relatively unknown in Russia, is a respected figure in Kazakhstan, where his name is carried by universities, cities and streets. He is remembered as a cultural reformer, philosopher and composer. Dozhd television recently showed footage from a documentary titled "The Searching Soul of Abai" that calls him a prominent defender of the Kazakh people against dictatorship and exploitation. A spokeswoman...

... stemming from the site's historical status in cadastral records. "To overcome that obstacle the tenants filed suit," said Yevgeny Sosedov, deputy head of the Moscow region branch of the All-Russia Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments. "Removal of restrictions from the state cadastre … would really free their hands," added Alexei Konevsky, head of land law, real estate and construction practice at the Pepeliaev Group law firm. In addition to Oblstroiuniversal...

... question from The Moscow Times on whether the law will allow kindergartens to be built in heritage sites. It referred additional questions to the Moscow Department of Environmental Management and Protection, which in turn deferred to Mosgornaslediye. The cultural heritage department said it couldn't immediately respond. Stroikomplex said it would proceed with construction projects only when they are legal. "Where we can't build, we won't be building," Stroikomplex spokeswoman Natalya Lapshina...

... Art From Japan," is currently on display at two different Moscow venues. The exhibit includes the works of more than two dozen Japanese artists, among them Takashi Murakami, Kenji Yanobe, Yoko Ono and Yasumasa Morimura, and manages to acknowledge cultural stereotypes while at the same time seeking to actively dismantle them. "Double Vision" splits the works into two thematic parts. In "Reality / Ordinary World," photography, video art and found objects make up the greater part...

... expectations were for us to buy something sophisticated and memorable as a "goodbye and thank you" gift. I, on the other hand, am a hick expat who loves Russia as much for its brash, in-your-face kitschiness and bling as for its wealth of culture and history — so my expectations were somewhat different. Plus, if I'm honest, I don't much care what the Russian parents' expectations might be. You can only please all of the people some of the time, and in this case it seemed to me that...

... team is Tatiana Degai, an ethnic Itelmen woman working on her doctorate in the language's revitalization. Degai and other language leaders in her community continue tirelessly transmitting Itelmen to a new generation. "The Itelmen language and culture is surprisingly tenacious," Bobalijk said. "Researchers have been predicting the imminent demise of Itelmen since the first Russian contact with Kamchatka. Stepan Krasheninnikov, writing in 1755, noted that Itelmen assimilation into...

... are desperately trying to salvage what is left of their industry and its legacy but receive almost no support from the government or abroad. "We have international forces here and billions of dollars pouring in, but none goes to developing our culture," said Latif Ahmadi, a much-loved film director and head of state-run cinema agency Afghan Film, set up in 1968. He spoke on its sprawling grounds, home to a hangar, editing suites and hauntingly empty corridors where dusty glass boxes hold...

... that the art show, whose works included many made by children and teenagers studying art, attracted some 2,000 people. Well-known modern artists who participated included German Vinogradov and Nikolai Polissky, among others. The head of City Hall's culture department, Sergei Kapkov, who was spotted at the walk, said it should not be seen as a political action. "Culture and modern art are broader than politics, so politics have become part of modern art," Kapkov said in comments to Dozhd...

..., and Amnesty International last year complained of police misconduct, strict restrictions on the press and violence against women. Cohen, famous for his outrageous characters, has irked censors in Central Asia before. His 2006 effort, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” in which he plays a wildly anti-Semitic Kazakh television host making a documentary about the United States, was banned in the country. But the country's foreign minister...

... while in the West, stuck in an economic downturn, sales are healthy. Aidan Salakhova of Aidan Gallery says she made about half as much last year compared with sales in 2003, when the launch of the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art put the city on the cultural map and galleries mushroomed — many launched as vanity projects by the girlfriends and wives of Russian oligarchs. Salakhova said her total profit last year after expenses was $60,000 — a paltry sum in the billion-dollar sector. A...

After Monday's announcement that historian Vladimir Medinsky was appointed the culture minister, critics quickly labeled him the new propaganda minister. Medinsky's academic ethics and historical distortions may raise serious questions, but for the Kremlin, he has three important attributes that are much more important: He is a...

Freedom and democracy are on the way up, corrupt governors are headed out and the country's political culture has improved, outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday in summarizing his four years in office. Freedom and democracy are on the way up, corrupt governors are headed out and the country's political culture has improved, outgoing...

... ministry lost its “tourism” responsibility. Alexander Konovalov remained justice minister. Former Deputy Emergency Situation Minister Vladimir Puchkov received promotion to be the minister. Writer and chairman of the previous State Duma’s culture committee Vladimir Medinsky is the new culture minister. The new education minister is Dmitry Livanov. He most recently was director of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, and served as deputy education minister before. Position Name Former...