When I started writing for Adoption.com last January, one of the first blogs about Russian adoption that I was lucky enough to read was "Three Sons And A Princess". It was the tale of a military family with three boys who were trying to adopt a little girl, affectionately dubbed the "Pineapple Princess".

Jennefer, or Jeneflower as she sometimes styles herself, is the mom of the clan and its chief memory officer. Her writing captured the ups and downs of her family's adoption journey and featured so many smart tips about surviving... more

Maybe it's because I've watched the "Wizard of Oz" too many times, but I can't write the word "tigers" without also whispering under my breath "lions and bears, oh my". As luck would have it, this is B week in my little guy's class and they will be having a day about bears. And no nation is more closely identified with bears than the country of his birth, Russia.

A Russian circus wouldn't be a Russian circus without a bear act. You'll find bears on some of the regional emblems around the country, and... more

I got a lovely surprise in the mail over the weekend. No, not the six new cookbooks I've ordered (the "Jessica's Biscuit" catalog was too compelling). It was my first copy of Russian Life, a bi-monthly gem of a magazine about all things Russian.

Maybe you know all about Russian Life; after all it's only been around for 50 years. But maybe you remember what it used to be--a bit too much one-sided cheering--and hadn’t thought to pick up a copy lately. If that's your only memory, or if you've never seen the magazine, you... more

She was born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst in 1729. She died Yekaterina II Velikaya in 1796. And in between, she left a great impression on the world as empress of Russia.

Catherine the Great, as she has come to be known to the world's English speakers, has been the subject of many books--nearly 5,000, according to Amazon.com. And now she has a role in a newly published history book, Jay Winik's "The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800."

Catherine didn't, at her birth, seem destined for greatness. Her father... more

There are three Russian cultural festivals on the calendar in September. The first will be on Saturday, Sept. 9 from noon to 7 p.m. at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. The Russian Mosaic Cultural Festival, organized by the Philadelphia Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, features folk, classical, and ballroom dance performances, and Russian, Jewish, Georgian, Moldavian and Middle Asian food.

If you're in Silicon Valley on Saturday, Sept. 22, try the Russian festival at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church... more

There's a lot of Chekhov on the cultural calendar for June, so I thought it appropriate to take a minute to talk about another of Russia's great authors.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on Jan. 29, 1860, in Taganrog, in Rostov Oblast on the northern part of the Black Sea. There is a fairly active Yahoo! group for families who have adopted from Rostov, so if you're one of the lucky... more

Anna Karenina could have a lot in common with Ocean's 13, I've decided. The latter movie, which opens this coming week, has a cast that is packed with the cream of Hollywood's younger generation cream: Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Casey Affleck and Scott Caan. There could be roles for more than a few of these guys in our fictional casting of new movie version of Anna Karenina. (For anyone who's late to this series, I've already thrown out ideas for a new Anna... more

There's a lot of Chekhov on the program in June.

In Los Angeles, you can see his 1904 drama "The Cherry Orchard" at the Evidence Room Theatre Project, where it is playing through July 2. Chekhov's story line, of a family that is losing its wealth and its home, seems likely to have a lot of resonance for the Evidence Room cast: It is being forced by a lease dispute to move from its theater when the production closes.

Down near San Diego in Solana Beach, Calif. four directors are staging four... more

OK, we've played amateur directors to cast the lead of a new movie version of Anna Karenina. Now comes the hard part: Vronsky.

Why so hard, you ask? Hollywood must be brimming with young men who could fill the role of the dashing young army officer and Don Juan.

Maybe it's just me (as I've said, I don’t get out to see many movies that are not G-rated) but I don’t see a lot of choices. Remember, my starting point for Anna, in the initial... more

According to the Internet movie database IMDB.com, there hasn't been a filmed version of Anna Karenina since 1997. So I think those of us who are reading Tolstoy's opus to pass the time until re-accreditation (or just because it's a great book) should turn our thoughts to casting a new version.

First up today: Anna.

In the movie that came out a decade ago, which had a largely British cast, Anna was played by Sophie Marceau, a French... more