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The Last Will and Testament of Sergei Esenin: Cultural History of a Mystification, Part I
In this article, I’d like to turn away from heated debates over Esenin’s alleged “killers,” or unprofessional falsifiers of literary history, toward an apparently calmer place. I will focus on...
All the "Pravda" about International Women’s Day
Examining March-8th dispatches in Pravda between 1920 and 1991 reveals a gradual shift in the official feminine ideal: at first, women were glorified as fellow workers and builders of socialism;...
Overcoming Deep Polarization: Motherhood, Care and Islamic Activism
By filling the gaps left by societal structures, women work to assist and empower the most vulnerable members of society.
Upcoming Columbia Event
In Search of Empire: the 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov February 14th-16th 2013 Co-sponsored by the Bakhmeteff Archive, the Harriman Institute, the Department of Slavic Languages at Columbia...
An excerpt from Alexandra Petrova's "Appendix" (2016)
I felt even worse about my appendix. Over and over, they’d told me: “Don’t swallow fruit pits, and make sure to shell sunflower seeds before sticking them in your mouth,...
There and Back Again (Russia's Alien Nations)
Was the Soviet Union the model for Mordor?
Open Letter on the Termination of Russian Studies Faculty at Ohio University
Like you, we are wholeheartedly invested in the survival and recovery of higher education in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That recovery depends on the will of universities...
The Story of the Russian “Winnie the Pooh,” Part II
Zakhoder’s Vinni Pukh tends to make snarky comments that speak directly to adult reality.
Expanding the Gulag Archipelago (No, not that way)
These women’s Gulag stories, as I unceremoniously call them for the time being, contribute in significant ways to Russia’s current mediascape. First, the change in setting is important. Moving the...
Open Letter in Support of DOXA
We demand that the charges against Natalia Tyshkevich, Vladimir Metyolkin, Armen Aramyan, and Alla Gutnikova be immediately dropped and that all four be released, and we express our wholehearted support...