Russia's effort to stake a larger claim to the Arctic Ocean has sent shivers through international observers.

Last week, an expedition that included a nuclear-powered ice breaker and submersible vessels left Murmansk bound for the North Pole. Their mission: To prove that a large part of the Arctic is actually connected to Russia's far northern region and, hence, fair game for Russian oil and gas exploration.

On Thursday, the submersibles dove two miles... more

Where is it? Murmansk Oblast is located on the Kola peninsula, which juts into the Barents Sea in northwestern Russia and includes Russia's borders with Norway and Finland. It is, however, in the Moscow time zone, and you can find the local time here.

What's the biggest city? Murmansk, whose population includes 336,137 of the region's 892,534 million people, according to the 2002 census.

Who lives here? ... more

After I completed the Russian culture calendar for August, I had another dilemma to deal with: Why was there so much Tchaikovsky on it?

At first, I thought it might be an anniversary that hadn't popped up on the Russian calendar I've set up. But no: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in what is now the Republic of Udmurtia (bordering on Perm krai) on May 7, 1840... more

If you want to brush up on your Russian culture, you can listen to a lot of Tchaikovsky around the United States this month.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m., Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival will feature a program of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, including his Swan Lake Suite. The Russian composer's Violin Concerto is on the program on August 8, and there will also Russian music--pieces by Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich on August 3 and 4 All the concerts are free.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will perform... more

It's too early to be thinking about the three "Rs" here, but four areas of Russia have revealed school curriculum plans for the fall that may surprise you.

According to a feature story on Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty last Friday, it will be mandatory for schools in four regions to teach the Russian Orthodox religion this fall. Ten other regions will have the choice of teaching about the religion or not.

The four mandatory regions are Belgorod,... more

Want a measure of how far the Russian economy has come in recent years? Russians are putting money in their banks.

If you are an American of a certain age, that statement may seem to be a bit of a head-scratcher: Why wouldn't you put your money in a bank? Ask your grandmother, or anybody old enough to remember the Great Depression. When you don't have faith in your country's economy you don't put money in a bank.

But Russians are putting money in the bank now--in droves. According to a... more

Those of you who are getting ready to travel to Russia to complete adoptions with newly accredited agencies may want to read a new feature story on the Associated Press wire.

Then again, you may not. It's all about Russian air safety, or more properly, the lack of air safety.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know the basic issues involving aviation in Russia: deregulation, competition--and too many fatal crashes. (Read the previous posts "How... more

Where is it? Chelyabinsk Oblast is at the crossroads of the European and Asian sides of Russia, at the foot of the Urals mountains. Chelyabinsk is two hours ahead of Moscow and you can find the local time here.

What's the biggest city? Chelyabinsk, whose population includes some 1 million of the region's 3.6 million people, according to the 2002 census.

Who lives here? Ethnic Russians account for more than... more

Global warming was in the news this week in Russia. The Voice of America and several other news sources are reporting that a Russian naval expedition is headed to the North Pole to secure Russia's rights to oil and natural gas under the Arctic Ocean. The VOA says that while an icebreaker is now sailing ahead of the research ship, global warming is melting the Arctic ice, which would make it easier to drill for oil in the region. The Russians apparently want to prove that a... more

As you might have guessed from my previous two posts on the work of Professors Robert McCall and Christina Groark, I find the work being done at St. Petersburg's orphanages by these University of Pittsburgh professors fascinating.

They've quantified the basic environment in many Russian orphanages and then they set out to see what changes were possible... more