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 As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email [email protected] and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that...