This course will be offered in mid-to-late 2021. Sign up here to join the waiting list: …
Continue Reading about How to Read Classic Russian Literature
Slavic Mythology Spotlight: Russian Impressionism
Those of you who have followed this blog or read my books know that I have a pretty visual style of writing fiction. Part of that …
Continue Reading about Slavic Mythology Spotlight: Russian Impressionism
Renaissance Man: Seven Inventions of the Russian Leonardo da Vinci
When you think about the great inventors of history, a few names come up: Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Thomas Edison. …
Continue Reading about Renaissance Man: Seven Inventions of the Russian Leonardo da Vinci
A Russian Cinderella Story: How the Tsar Chose His Bride
Sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction. Take the story of Cinderella, the quintessential rags to riches story, the …
Continue Reading about A Russian Cinderella Story: How the Tsar Chose His Bride
Olga, the Viking Queen of the Rus
It seems that Vikings, and everything Viking-related, is internationally popular right now. Take the multi-season History Channel …
A Hero for Our Time: Prince Dimitry Pozharsky
Does the news cycle depress you? Have you lost any hope in the emergence of a hero for our time who might direct our political …
Continue Reading about A Hero for Our Time: Prince Dimitry Pozharsky
Anna Dostoyevskaya: the Heart and Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 3
This week, we conclude the amazing story of Anna Dostoyevskaya, the woman without whom Dostoyevsky would never have written his …
Continue Reading about Anna Dostoyevskaya: the Heart and Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 3
Anna Dostoyevsky: the Heart of Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 2
Last week, you were introduced to one of the most fascinating and fruitful romances of literary history. Feodor and Anna …
Continue Reading about Anna Dostoyevsky: the Heart of Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 2
Anna Dostoyevskaya: the Heart and Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 1
This week is my third novel’s birthday. It’s been a long process to get it into print, and the many rewrites and adjustments are …
Continue Reading about Anna Dostoyevskaya: the Heart and Soul of Russia’s Greatest Author, Part 1
6 Surprising Stereotypes of Russian Cities
Stereotypes are a funny thing. On the one hand, they’re often no more than caricatures. On the other hand, there’s a surprising …
Continue Reading about 6 Surprising Stereotypes of Russian Cities
Constantine the Great: Russia’s Secret Tsar
The problem of power and personality is one that has fascinated people from the beginning of history. We are going to through our …
Continue Reading about Constantine the Great: Russia’s Secret Tsar
The Rosetta Stone for Old Rus Was… a Piece of Birch Bark?
Have you read Evgenii Vodolazkin’s excellent novel Laurus? If you haven’t, you’ve deprived yourselves of a rare experience of …
Continue Reading about The Rosetta Stone for Old Rus Was… a Piece of Birch Bark?
Mikhail Nesterov: Torn between Two Passions, Part II
Last week, we delved into the early life and work of Mikhail Nesterov , an artist who was, in many ways, a bridge. He bridged …
Continue Reading about Mikhail Nesterov: Torn between Two Passions, Part II
Mikhail Nesterov: A Modern Artist with an Old Soul, Part I
The end of the 19th and turn of the 20th century was a period of rich cultural growth for Russia. As the empire expanded, the …
Continue Reading about Mikhail Nesterov: A Modern Artist with an Old Soul, Part I
The strange tale of how Napoleon’s soldiers became Cossacks
You know that scene in Godfather II where young Vito is given the last name “Corleone” by the American border guard, only because …
Continue Reading about The strange tale of how Napoleon’s soldiers became Cossacks
Don’t blame the Byzantines: Why does Russia have such problems?
One of the early readers of my first novel complained that I had too many adjectives in my writing. He was absolutely right; I was …
Continue Reading about Don’t blame the Byzantines: Why does Russia have such problems?
The Curse of the Murdered Prince Dmitry of Uglich
Several episodes in Russian history are so fanciful that they read like novels. One of the more mysterious and interesting is the …
Continue Reading about The Curse of the Murdered Prince Dmitry of Uglich
The Coronation of Nicholas II: Triumph and Tragedy
The problem of ideal government has bothered people for millennia. Perhaps until very recently, some people might have considered …
Continue Reading about The Coronation of Nicholas II: Triumph and Tragedy