Publications

Anna Genova Last year has brought another great loss: Alexandre Zelkine has passed away on December, 4. He was 84 years old. We have decided to republish our last conversation with this outstanding person, who brought Russian culture and Russian songs around the world. Mariposa Folk Festival - Toronto 1970 Nowadays not many people know the name of Alexandre Zelkine (or Alexander Zelkin in Russian version) a singer of Russian, Gypsy, French songs and romances. His noble baritone won listeners in the USA and Canada, France, Israel and many other countries in the 1960-1980s. One of the most famous of his LP records was Russian...

Alla Shelyapina Photo credit: mos.ru December 30, 2022, marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. "Born in the USSR" is a phrase that has recently become a true brand. It defines not only people, but also technologies, goods, concepts, and behavior. There is a lot of disagreement as to whether the USSR had more good points or bad ones. Let us remember some facts to avoid pointless arguments. RSFSR and Other Republics As the center of the empire, Russia used to consistently invest significant resources in the development of...

Anna Genova  Rodion Shchedrin, 2009. Photo credit: wikimedia.org On December 16, the world-renowned Russian composer celebrates his 90th birthday. Rodion Shchedrin has composed many vocal, chamber, instrumental, and choral pieces, as well as ballets and operas, such as The Lady with the Dog and Carmen Suite, which made a worldwide splash with Maya Plisetskaya in the lead. "Shchedrin is the Grand 'Shcha' of Russian music. No other alphabet has such a letter, neither English nor German. His music is merciless and new. It is powerful, bittersweet, and squinty with pain or laughter. Such...

Sergey Vinogradov The FIFA World Cup ended in Qatar on December, 18. Visitors will long remember the tournament matches, as well as the cultural events with the Russian flair. Artistic groups of Russian compatriots were invited by the World Cup organizers. They sang and danced Russian folk songs and dances, as well as performed excerpts from classical ballets by Tchaikovsky in the center of Doha during the entire period of the championship.  Representatives of about fifteen countries wore Russian sarafans and kokoshniks during performances. They all attend the ballet studio and chorus of Russian teachers....

Svetlana Smetanina The Soviet War Memorial, Treptower Park, fragment. Photo: Sly07192909 / wikipedia.org The most famous monument to the victorious Soviet soldier is probably the one in Treptow Park in the center of Berlin. There is a bronze sculpture of a Soviet soldier in a martial cloak. He cuts up a Nazi swastika with a sword in his right hand and gently holds a little German girl with his left arm. Nikolai Masalov saved the child during the final battles for Berlin and served as the prototype of the monument. He would have celebrated his 100th birthday these days. Almost Buried Alive in...

Editor’s office of the Russkiy Mir Portal Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Photo credit: Falin / ru.wikipedia.org (CC BY-SA 3.0) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has undertaken what could be called a "crusade" against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Pyotr Poroshenko, his predecessor, rudely stepped into the church's internal affairs and orchestrated a split of the Orthodox Church into the UOC and the OCU. It seems as if that wasn't enough for the Ukrainian authorities. Today they are seeking some legal means to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and seize the Kiev Pechersk Lavra from it...