Anna Chapman (nee Kushchenko) briefly enjoyed the international spotlight when she was arrested in New York and later exchanged in a a large spy swap.
In June 2010 Anna Chapman and nine others were arrested by the FBI for failing to…
Category: Life
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‘The Baton and the Cross’ by Lucy Ash Shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2025
“If there is no God, everything is permitted,” wrote Dostoyevsky. “The Baton and The Cross: Russia’s Church from Pagans to Putin,” the first book by former Moscow correspondent Lucy Ash, explores the provocative…
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Wrap Anything in Dough and Call it a Pie
Pirogi (pies) have always held a place of honor on the Russian table. Fish pies have come down to us from ancient times barely influenced by foreign culinary traditions, making them a truly national…
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Howard Amos’ ‘Russia Starts Here’ Shortlisted for Pushkin House Book Prize 2025
“Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire” is Howard Amos’s debut book, but it doesn’t read like one. That’s not surprising. He is a seasoned journalist and editor who has…
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What’s in a Name? Everything if Your Blinis are Called ‘Benderiki’
Do you think you know everything there is to know about pancakes and blinis? Well, think again; here’s something you might not have heard of. No one knows if Stepan Bandera liked this dish, but today…
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Exiled Electronic Duo AIGEL Crashes the Dancefloor With ‘Killer Qız’
It’s murder on the dancefloor.
In the propulsive opening track to exiled electronic duo AIGEL’s new album, vocalist Aigel Gaisina inhabits the role of a DJ whose beats kill a “fool old man” on…
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In Photos: The Works of Sculptor Zurab Tsereteli
Georgian-Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, known for his monumental and often polarizing public works, died Monday at the age of 91, his assitant told state media.Born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tsereteli rose to prominence in the…
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New York’s Hottest Playwright? Anton Chekhov.
Despite Russian propaganda’s repeated claims that Russian culture is being “canceled” in the West, the most popular playwright in New York right now is — somewhat surprisingly — Anton…
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Walk the ‘Green Mountains’ of the Caucasus with Author Caroline Eden
Can you tell us about your “color trilogy”?
Green Mountains, my new book, is the final book in my ‘color trilogy’, following on from Black Sea: Dispatches and Recipes — Through Darkness and…Continue Reading
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Who Invented Gingerbread – Europe or Russia? Who Cares?!
Everyone loves gingerbread. Unlike okroshka, Lenten buckwheat with mushrooms or steamed turnips, this mainstay of old Russian cuisine does not have nay-sayers.
Gingerbread is a universal favorite —…
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