Publications

Anna Efremova Harbin Saint Sophia Cathedral built in 1907. Photo credit: bigpicture.ru The year 2023 marks the 125th anniversary of Harbin, a Russian city in the land of China. It was founded on the banks of the Songhua River as a central station of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). The city was built by Russian architects and inhabited by Russian people. According to one of its residents, the city used to feature a "preserved Russian lifestyle" until the middle of the twentieth century. City on the Songhua River The city developed in record-breaking time. There had been only a...

Sergey Vinogradov Photo credit: Ruslan Shamukov / National Reserve-Museum “Tsarskoye Selo” Twenty years ago, on May 31, 2003, the Amber Room was opened in the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg. Russian conservation professionals spent two decades working hard to restore the masterpiece. The Amber Room disappeared when the Nazis looted the Catherine Palace. Ever since the interest in it hasn't faded but rather become a global one. For more than 80 years this room has been haunted by various historians, art experts, conspiracy theorists, treasure hunters, and novelists. Even...

Sergey Vinogradov Chief Scout of Australia Mikhail Shakhmatov was born in China and grew up in Australia. However, over the years he has strived to maintain a connection with Russia. He joined the Russian Scouts of Australia when he was 11 or 12 years old. After a year or so, he was appointed a squad leader. Half a century later Mikhail Shakhmatov became the leader of the Australian branch of the National Organization of Russian Scouts (NORS). Scouts in Australia arrange camps for children and teach them about survival in the great outdoors, as well as Russian history and culture. NORS locations can be identified...

Applicants of Russian universities in the Russian House, Tanzania. Photo courtesy of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam 866,342 people came to Russia for studying purposes, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2022. Our regional universities actively inviting students from abroad. The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) named after Patrice Lumumba remains the leading higher education institution in the country for international students, as it was when it was founded in February 1960. Young people from 160 countries study here. They...

Svetlana Smetanina Photo: Nikolina Shmukler-Matasova. Photo courtesy of Nikolina Schmukler-Matasova Krakow District Court convicted Polish citizen Nicolina Schmukler-Matasova for a "positive attitude towards Russia.” Nikolina is a sworn interpreter, she has been teaching Russian at her Russian Language Study and Translation Center for many years. Over the past few years she was subjected to harassment for not having fear to support Russia's position. - A Polish court recently sentenced you to four months' suspended imprisonment for giving...

Svetlana Smetanina Photo credit: R. Demian More than 1,000 people took part in the procession of the Immortal Regiment in Madrid. Russian and Spanish compatriots marched in the same line. While instigators tried to disrupt the march, law enforcement swiftly intervened and quelled their actions. Roman Demyan, one of the organizers of the demonstration, recounted the unfolding events during the Immortal Regiment in Madrid. - There was a constant concern until the very last moment that the Immortal Regiment procession might not proceed as planned. What specific apprehensions did you have? -...