Can’t Go On
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, had aimed to bring new life to a system in which he believed until the last.
Russia
One Giant Leap for Tortoise-Kind
The first of Earth’s creatures to hurtle into the Moon’s orbit were slow and sedentary residents of the Great Steppe.
Writ in Water
A kaleidoscopic tour of the Volga and the history of the people who have resided by it.
On the Defensive
From the founding of Kiev in the ninth century through to the present, the Russian Empire has been both a predator and a victim.
Could the Soviet Union Have Survived?
We ask four historians whether the demise of one of the 20th century’s superpowers was as inevitable as it now seems.
The Western Gaze
Russian history through western correspondents.
‘The Russia Anxiety’ by Mark B. Smith review
Why is the West so suspicious of Russia? The Russia Anxiety: And How History Can Resolve It by Mark B. Smith attempts to answer.
Postcards and the Russian Revolution
Short, angry missives pinged across the world – Russian propagandists used postcards to get their message across.
From Russia with Borscht
A staple of Russia and the Slavic world, borscht has inspired films and novels – and has even reached outer space.
Homophobia in Russia
Despite the difficulties in accessing official archival sources, the history of homophobic persecution in Russia is covered convincingly in this study.