How Saint George’s Dragon Got Its Wings
As time went on, the dragons in Russian iconography slowly became more Western in style—just like Russia itself.
Tsarist Russia’s Feminist Intelligentsia
In the context of Russia's patriarchal autocracy, its intelligentsia was surprisingly feminist, as Vera Podorovskaya's life illustrates.
Dreaming of Spaceflight in 1920s Russia
Early in the 20th century, Cosmism was all the rage in Russia, inspiring a utopian and mystical view of interstellar travel.
Exploring Lake Baikal
The world's largest, deepest freshwater lake is home to hundreds of species that don't live anywhere else on Earth. But it's threatened by climate change.
The Memoirs of Catherine The Great
Catherine II ruled Russia for many years. She also wrote her own memoirs, in a time when such writing was considered inappropriate for a monarch.
How Far Does the Periodic Table Go?
Efforts to fill the periodic table raise questions of special relativity that “strike at the very heart of chemistry as a discipline.”
Revolutionary Writer Maxim Gorky’s NYC Sex Scandal
In 1906, Russian Bolshevik writer Maxim Gorky was given a warm welcome in the United States. Then the American media manufactured a scandal about his girlfriend.
Russian Cuckoos are Invading Alaska. Songbirds, Beware!
Songbirds may loose their entire broods to cuckoos’ parasitic tricks.
The Soaring Symbolism of Moscow’s Subways
Lofty ceilings, massive slabs of marble, and colorful mosaics celebrated Soviets in all their incarnations, from military leaders to collective farmers.
What Do We Really Know about Joseph Stalin?
It took three more decades of Soviet rule before the archives dealing with Stalin and his times could be explored. And then the doors were shut again.