Stories
Long reads and featured stories about Russia — culture, mindset, media, everyday life. Pick a topic, or read down the list.
Being Black in Russia and 'Russian by Values'
An honest inside look: personal experience, state policy, and why Russianness is less about ethnicity and more about values
Article · 7 min read
The Truth About the Russian Mindset
Why Russians don't smile, why they don't hate the West, and what really drives the Russian psyche
Article · 5 min read
Russian Internet: The Ultimate Guide
Creators, Musicians & Websites You Should Know
Article · 3 min read
Western Memes About Russia… Explained by a Russian
18 memes fact-checked by a real Russian (It Gets Weird)
Article · 8 min read
Two Nations: Why This Project Exists
My story and the vision behind this project
Article · 3 min read
How French hacked the Russian language
And why it surprises everyone
1 min read
Russian nobility spoke French better than Russian
True or false?
1 min read
These Westerners moving to Russia
For genuinely weird reasons
1 min read
How Russians actually see Westerners IRL
Spoiler: it's not what you think
1 min read
My Moscow: what nobody actually tells you
The unfiltered truth
1 min read
When coverage of Russia merges state and people
A look at how the shortcut works, and what it leaves out
1 min read
Sanctions, and the turn toward China
Two things that happened in the same decade
1 min read
Western politics seen by a non-Westerner
External perspective
1 min read
Why Slavs Don't Smile at Strangers: Metro Rules, Small Talk, Dating Bills
The 'Slavic vibe' is culture, not genetics: survival rules, no random smiles, dating etiquette
1 min read