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Arts & Life

weekend kitchen

The History and Mystery of Beef Stroganoff

Did a Stroganov or his chef invent this dish? Which one? And does it matter?
final protest

Pop-Up Museum Marks ‘End of an Era’ As Anti-LGBT Law Awaits Putin’s Signature

ST. PETERSBURG — A museum about LGBT history opened to visitors in Russia’s second-largest city this week — but it looked set to be accessible...
The Word's Worth

Angry? Welcome to the Zoo!

Fierce, furious and furry - that's you when you're mad.
Weekend Kitchen

The Art of Pâté

The Russian word “pashtet” (паштет) may not be Russian originally, but now it is firmly part of the language. But few people today...
The Word's Worth

Get Ready for Seasons Greetings

Take two little words - хлеб (bread) and соль (salt) - put them together and get something grand.
A real showstopper

Children's Play Author Claims Run Canceled Over ‘Male Princess’

The director of a children's play has claimed that its run at a Siberian theater was canceled just days after it began due to audience allegations that...
Weekend Kitchen

In Russia Thursday is Fish Day

Thursday was a special day in the Soviet Union— Fish Day. All the cafeterias in the country only sold fish dishes that day. Until Friday dawned,...
The Word's Worth

Russian Pandemonium Pop Quiz

How do you say chaos in Russian? Let me count the ways.
'huge loss'

Aleksandr Gorshkov, Half of First Ice Dance Olympic Gold Medal Pair, Dies

Russian skater Aleksandr Gorshkov, the first Olympic ice dancing champion and president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, has died at the age of...
undesirable history

Russia Bans ‘Provocative’ Soviet Famine Documentary

Russia has banned the screening of a documentary on the Soviet famine that drove civilians into cannibalism and killed an estimated 5 million people, saying...
Silent Not Silent

Can Protest Art Exist in Russia?

Three young women wearing the capes of superheroes, their bodies painted in the colors of the state flags of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, make love on...
weekend kitchen

Russian Ushnoye: Soup or Stew?

Ushnoye is yet another mysterious Russian dish that culinary experts are still arguing about. We decided to be detectives and investigate it through the...
The Word's Worth

The New Russian Revolutionary Language

NewSpeak, new letters and a new level of crude language used by the Russian elite.
'polite people'

Russian Audiences Held ‘Hostage’ By Mock Ukrainian Soldiers in Pro-War Play

Theatergoers south of Moscow were held “hostage” and shot at by actors playing Ukrainian soldiers during an immersive play that glorifies Russia&rsquo...
weekend kitchen

The Curious Russian History of Lobsters and Crab Sticks

Lobsters, crabs, crawfish… what could be further from Russian cuisine? Actually, that’s not right, if only because all kinds of European seafood...
weekend kitchen

Who Doesn't Love Cabbage Rolls?

A joke in Russian goes like this: some people eat meat, some people eat cabbage, but on average people eat cabbage rolls. Today everyone in Russia knows...
tapestry of stories

Adam Curtis Delivers Harrowing But Essential View of Post-Soviet Russia in New Series

Nobody can accuse Adam Curtis of lacking ambition in his new BBC series “Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone.”  In a harrowing seven-hour viewing...
celestial sight

In Photos: Partial Solar Eclipse Shines Over Russia

The last partial solar eclipse of 2022 was visible in the skies over much of Europe on Tuesday, including Russia.

The moon's shadow reached its peak in...
weekend kitchen

Chocolate Potatoes for Dessert

One of the rites of culinary passage for foreigners in Russia is the first time they are introduced to a “chocolate potato,” one of the iconic...
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