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Articles by Samantha Berkhead
2020 IN REVIEW
In 2020, Russia’s Memes Went Worldwide
In Putin’s case, with great power comes great meme-ability.
weekend profile
A Tolstoy Descendant Returns to His Roots in Yasnaya Polyana
Ilya Tolstoy left a journalism career in the big city for his ancestor’s famous estate. Now his new apple business is bearing fruit.
MUSCOVITES REACT
Muscovites Talk About Coronavirus, Moscow’s QR Code System
The Moscow Times spoke to local Muscovites to see how they really feel about the coronavirus measures being taken in the nation's capital.
cast a spell
Practical Magic: How Russia’s Ancient Witchcraft Traditions Continue to Thrive
Halloween might not be celebrated here, but mysticism, witchcraft and superstitions play a big role in everyday Russian life.
ALONE TOGETHER
Binational Couples Separated by Russia's Coronavirus Travel Bans Push for Change
Complicated visa rules and the lack of legal recognition for non-married couples make reuniting in Russia almost impossible.
insulted culture
A New Movie Transports Anastasia Romanov to 1980s America. Russians Aren’t Happy About It.
Russian viewers say “Anastasia: Once Upon a Time” mocks one of the most tragic episodes in their country’s history.
TRADITIONAL TIDE
A New Russian Law Could Ban Trans People From Officially Changing Their Gender
By aiming to enshrine a traditional understanding of family in the law, activists say Russia is marking LGBT people as second-class citizens.
'DAY OF KNOWLEDGE'
Russian Schools Reopen as Coronavirus Cases Climb
Authorities have released a set of safety guidelines for classrooms as the country is still registering nearly 5,000 new cases a day.
long read
‘Citizen Countess’: Sofia Panina Led the Fight for Women's Rights
To honor women's suffrage, meet the first woman in the world to hold a ministerial post.
RELIGIOUS RIFT
Fire and Brimstone: The Rise and Fall of Russia’s Coronavirus-Denying Rebel Priest
The Russian Orthodox Church is trying to remove defrocked, ultraconservative Father Sergei Romanov from a monastery he has taken over by force.
socially distanced excursion
Moscow Getaway to Nikola-Lenivets Art Park
It's like Russian Portlandia meets Midsommar — but so much more.
VAGINA MONOLOGUES
Russian Women Rally Behind Feminist ‘Political Prisoner’
Yulia Tsvetkova’s pornography case for body-positive drawings is sparking resistance across the country and beyond.
STIFLED IDENTITIES
Quarantined With Family, Russia’s LGBT Youth Face New Struggles
In a country where negative attitudes toward the LGBT community are rife, young people are forced to stay with unaccepting relatives.
EROTIC ISOLATION
‘Kinky Russia’ Throws Zoom Orgies to Overcome Coronavirus Quarantine
Russia’s sex party organizers are using video calling for more than work meetings.
VIRTUAL MOURNING
Russia's Funeral Industry Moves Online to Cope With Coronavirus
As the death toll from the virus rises undertakers are organizing live-streamed burials.
NOWHERE TO ISOLATE
Moscow’s Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves the Homeless Out in the Cold
The city’s 12 million residents have been ordered to stay inside as the coronavirus sweeps the city. Its thousands of homeless have nowhere to go.
HOLY RISK
Russia’s Orthodox Church Sticks to Its Traditions Despite Coronavirus Threat
As institutions across Russia close down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Church sees closing its doors as a last resort.
WOMEN’S DAY
Russian Women Are Ready to Reclaim Once-Forbidden Jobs
Women are training for professions that have been closed to them for decades.
Infected with love
Love in the Time of Coronavirus: Two Young Russians Start Dating in Quarantine
Inna and Daniil's hearts "started to beat faster at the sight of each other" in a clinic in Siberia after they were evacuated from China.
bloody valentine
Andrei Molodkin's Art Show 'Bloodline' Boldly Confronts the Language of Power
The show opens on St. Valentine's Day in Dublin.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Young People Take Back Soviet 'Kommunalkas'
Soviet Kommunalka apartments — each one housing several families — are still very much a thing in Russia's big cities.
‘IF HE BEATS YOU HE LOVES YOU’
Russia Faces Up to Its Dark Domestic Violence Problem
A rising chorus of outrage over high-profile domestic abuse cases signals a sea change in Russian society, but are lawmakers listening?
Growing chorus
Moscow Feminists Protest for Domestic Violence Re-Criminalization
Hundreds called for an end to what they say is Russia's culture of impunity toward domestic abusers.
long read
Alexander Lebedev's 'Hunt the Banker'
If you think you know the story of the last 25 years in Russia, think again, and read this book.
WEEKEND PROFILE
A Russian ‘Freegan’ Challenges Capitalism and Consumerism
As more Russians become aware of food waste, they’re putting on their gloves and heading to the dumpster.
one man's trash
What Can You Find in Moscow’s Trash?
While dumpster-diving is a well-known phenomenon throughout Western countries, in Russia this unusual activity has its own unique challenges.
canine community
How the Dogs of Chernobyl Found a Happy Ending
A U.S. charity is making sure the descendants of pets left behind after the world’s worst nuclear accident aren’t forgotten.
shutter speed
The Shape of Water in St. Petersburg
Claudio Koporossy’s exhibition captures the magic within Peterhof Palace’s fountains.
Doors of perception
Opening Eyes to Sightless Life in Moscow
Moscow’s first musical in the dark engages four out of five senses.
Once Upon a Time ... in Moscow
Tarantino ‘Shocked By Moscow’ in First Visit to Russia Since 2004
The director, in town to promote his new movie, went on a highly publicized Kremlin tour but stressed that he came to Moscow to see his fans.
Small screen
Andrey Ivchenko’s Truly ‘Stranger Things’
The Soviet-born actor talks about playing an "evil Russian" on the Netflix hit.
long read
'1983: The World At The Brink'
On this day 36 years ago, the world almost came to an end while you were sleeping.
Soviet Kitsch
A Glimpse Behind the Iron Curtain
As nostalgia for the Soviet Union swells, one project aims to show what life was like for ordinary citizens in the U.S.S.R.