Of Reading Russia—And Our Mail - Russian Roulette Episode 56

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff answer the mail! (yes, it has been too long without a mailbag). Then, Olya sits down with Michael Kimmage, a professor of history at Catholic University who from 2014-2016 held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio on the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State. They discuss Russian literature: the essential works (including those less known in the West); how literature expands and complicates America’s understanding of Russia (and vice versa); film, animation, and Russian normalcy; the role of books and prose in Russian politics and society; and why policymakers in Washington should read Russian literature now more than ever.

For more information on Michael and for a list of his publications, click here: https://history.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/kimmage-michael/index.html

For your reference and reading enjoyment, here are some of the books, poets, films, and animations discussed in the episode:

Books and Poets

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/one-day-in-the-life-of-ivan-denisovich/pics/

The “Silver Age” of Russian poetry, including early works by Anna Akhmatova, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anna-akhmatova, and Boris Pasternak, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/boris-pasternak

The Brothers Karamazov, https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0374528373 , and Crime and Punishment, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2554/2554-h/2554-h.htm, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Life and Fate, by Vasily Grossman: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Fate-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590172019

The early works of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310394/there-once-lived-a-girl-who-seduced-her-sisters-husband-and-he-hanged-himself-by-ludmilla-petrushevskaya/9780143121527/ ; https://granta.com/our-circle/

A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, by Aleksander Radishchev: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Saint-Petersburg-Moscow/dp/0674485505

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy: https://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Translated-Volokhonsky-Classics-ebook/dp/B005JSZJVS

Film

The Irony of Fate: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073179/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

Animation

Nu, Pogodi! (Just You Wait!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K1j8CoOoks

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