Even if one of the last surviving Tolstoyan communes has fallen short of Leo Tolstoy’s ideals, it’s still turned into something meaningful. It’s a place for people who don’t want to be found.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Russia: Life After Trust
Michael Idov, who’d returned to his native Russia for work a few years ago, recalls the culture of cynicism and sense of hopeless defeat under a deceitful, immovable “hybrid regime…an autocratic one that retains the façade of a democracy.” He suggests Americans take note, as we may be headed in that direction ourselves.
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Kingdom for a Horse: Kokpar and the Future of Kazakhstan
“[N]owhere in this region is the contrast between the contemporary and the ancient higher than in Kazakhstan. And nowhere is the interplay between the two more starkly embodied than in professional Kazakh kokpar.”
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Under Autocracy, The Eroding of Trust
At New York Magazine, Russian-born Michael Idov reflects on the few years he returned to Moscow to edit the Russian edition of GQ, beginning in 2011. He was surprised by the culture of cynicism he encountered — a response to constant deceit and crushing autocracy under Vladimir Putin. And he wonders whether a similar lack of trust and sense of defeat are in store for the U.S. under Trump.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Down the Breitbart Hole
Breitbart, a far-right media outlet, was once described by Steve Bannon as a “platform for the alt-right.” But its editor-in-chief says he is trying to turn the site into a legitimate news organization and has been called a traitor for acknowledging Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
Posted inCrime, Current Events, Nonfiction, Quotes
Why Are the Details of One Russian Diplomat’s Death So Hazy?
At BuzzFeed, Ali Watkins investigates the way the Russian consulate called Sergei Krivov’s death a heart attack when he seems to have died of blunt force trauma on the floor of New York City’s Russian Consulate building.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Life in a Post-Soviet Melting Pot
Journalist and illustrator Lomasko was first noticed in the West for her graphic reportage from the Pussy Riot trial. In Tbilisi, Georgia, she spoke with historians, artists, journalists, activists, squatters, and local clergy about the political and cultural climate in this former Soviet republic.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Georgia: Asian, European, or Just Georgian?
Joshua Kucera travels to the nation of Georgia, along the border of Russia and Europe, to examine the longstanding debate about whether it belongs to Asia, Europe, or the Middle East, and why it matters.
Posted inBlog Post, Books, Nonfiction, Quotes
Alan Watts and the Eternal Present
To know happiness in the future, we must be happy now.
Posted inEditor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Feature, Food, Nonfiction
Forgetting the Madeleine
A pastry chef reflects on taste, memory, and literature’s most famous confection.
