Andrei Maximov via Flickr

The Real Meaning Behind Russia’s Eurovision Controversy

The annual Eurovision contest often serves as a stage on which political tensions play out.
wo Sami people near their “lavvu”, a temporary dwelling similar to a Native American tipi.

318 Words for Snow: How to Preserve the Indigenous Languages of the Arctic

How scientists, linguists, and activists are working together to preserve indigenous languages in the Arctic—as well as the region's biodiversity.
George Kennan 1885

The American Who Exposed the Tsar

American supporters of revolutionaries in Russia in the late 19th century contributed to the downfall of the Tsarism.
Broken windows in Prypiat, Chernobyl

Chernobyl: Can Wildlife Return After the Blast?

For 30 years we have assumed that no life would return to Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster there. We may be wrong.
A pinned map indicating Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad for Beginners

An introduction to the Kaliningrad Oblast, surrounded by Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea.
A book opened to the title page of Dr. Zhivago

Why Boris Pasternak Rejected His Nobel Prize

The noted Russian author was forced to choose between his homeland and international recognition of his poetry and fiction.