Russia Beyond

Exploring Dmitrov: Microcosm of Russian history (PHOTOS)

Architectural historian and photographer William Brumfield details the remarkable history of this small, but very significant town that lies just 65 km north of Moscow.
Travel
What Pushkin, Tolstoy & Dostoevsky thought about the tsars

Russia of the 19th century was a “literature-centric” country. Emperors knew of and read many of the country’s big name writers, eagerly reflected upon their works, sometimes even punishing and then pardoning them. So what did the authors themselves think about their overlords?
Culture
How Soviets built a futuristic ‘birdhouse’ cottage out of plastic (PICS)

In 1961, a small cottage standing on a thick platform of glass bricks appeared on Torzhkovskaya Street in Leningrad. One of its walls was fully glass-paned; and its frame was completely made from plastic.
History
5 reasons to visit the new Museum of Nonconformist Art in Moscow (PICS)

The private museum right in the center of the capital introduces visitors to this underground Soviet artform. We reveal why you absolutely have to see it for yourself!
Culture
How a black Frenchman helped save Russian planes during WWI

An aircraft engine engineer and a talented marksman, this Frenchman of Polynesian descent was a legend of the Russian air fleet during World War I.
History