We are used to movies and operas where Eugene Onegin’s Tatiana (Tatyana) is played by a woman well over twenty, or even thirty. It’s also a common habit to condemn Onegin for rejecting Tatiana’s true love. But according to Russian newspaper … [Read more...] about Onegin’s Tatiana Was Only Thirteen?
Best Russian Books & Movies
The Return
The Return, released internationally in 2004, tells the story of two Russian boys whose father suddenly returns home after a 12-year absence. He takes the boys on a holiday to a remote island on a lake that turns into a test of manhood of almost … [Read more...] about The Return
The Master and Margarita
Surely no stranger work exists in the annals of protest literature than The Master and Margarita. Written during the Soviet crackdown of the 1930s, when Mikhail Bulgakov's works were effectively banned, it wraps its anti-Stalinist message in a … [Read more...] about The Master and Margarita
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
The movie tells a story of three provincial girls who come to Moscow in the late 1950s. The main character, Katerina, strives to earn her degree and also works hard at a factory. She house-sits a luxurious apartment for Moscow relatives for awhile, … [Read more...] about Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Heart of a Dog
This early book from Mikhail Bulgakov, published in 1925, already shows the surreal comic genius that later produced The Master and Margarita, the writer's masterpiece. A kind of Frankenstein parable, Heart of a Dog is the story of a stray dog that … [Read more...] about Heart of a Dog