Issue 4354. Last Updated: 03/22/2010

01/17/2003

Paid access archive

Book Recounts Story of an FBI Turncoat

They seemed like a big catch. Valery Martynov and Sergei Motorin were a pair of KGB spies working out of the Soviet Embassy in Washington. Recruited by the FBI in 1983, ""M&M,"" as they were called by the agents, were expected to tell all about Soviet spying in the United States. As it turned out, there wasn't much to tell.

Where Art, Politics and Rubens Meet

Shortly after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Hermitage Museum in what was then Leningrad packed up more than 1.5 million artworks and sent the best of them 2,500 kilometers away to Sverdlovsk, in the Ural Mountains.

Soldiering on in Epic Pursuit of Purity

Director Peter Jackson's scrupulous devotion to the spirit of J. R. R. Tolkien's ""Lord of the Rings"" trilogy manifests itself in a gripping, intense fashion for the second of the film adaptations, ""The Two Towers.""

A Celebration of Acting, Ostrovsky at Maly

The great Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky was born 180 years ago, which is as good a reason to celebrate as any other. And celebrate is just what Moscow theaters will be doing this year -- productions of Ostrovsky will be in evidence everywhere.

Traces of Painter's Polynesia Linger in Tahiti

Paul Gauguin was probably Tahiti's most unlikely cultural ambassador. The French painter had originally hoped for a trip to Indochina, but his plans fell through.

Cook's Corner -- Italian Almond Cake

This recipe for almond cake has a similar flavor to the famous dense and spicy fruit-and-nut cakes of Siena, transporting me back to the scenic towns of Tuscany.

It's All About the Food, Says Celebrity Chef

Frenchman David Desseaux makes a mean sauce, but his real claim to fame is that he is one of post-Soviet Moscow's very first celebrity chefs.

Local Hotel to Host Italian Food Festival

If you believe Italians live on spaghetti, meatballs and pizza, it may be time for an education. And if you are already a fan of fine Italian cuisine, get ready for a week of heaven.

Curling Club Site Of Lessons, Competitions

Popular in Scotland since at least the 17th century, the sport of curling won't win any points for grace -- not least of all because the most basic requirement for play is a very large roc.

Ukrainian Offers Up Extraterrestrial Art

The truth is out there, at least according to U.S. television series ""The X-Files"" -- and Kiev artist Vasily Tsagolov.

'Five Stories' Chronicles the End of an Era

Two years after Moscow began a program of razing its khrushchyovki -- decaying five-story apartment blocks generally despised for their homeliness and poor structural integrity -- a new exhibit at the Manezh Gallery is taking a sentimental look at the structures that were home to an entire generation of Soviet people.

The Return of a Steadfast Radical

Like novelists George Orwell and Arthur Koestler, vagabond writer and radical Victor Serge was a seminal witness to the catastrophes of totalitarianism.

Simplicity Secret to Success at Cafe Chain

To its credit, the management of the ever-expanding O.G.I. chain -- and its newest addition, P. i R. O.G.I. -- appears to realize that good food tastes that much better when it is served without the pretension or inflated prices that have become commonplace in the capital's dining rooms.

Once Again, Circus Grabs for Greatness

Once among the city's trendiest clubs, Circus is back on the scene this winter after having been closed for several months. And the club has an eye on regaining some of its former glory.


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