Russian Archives - Public Seminar

To Know Your Enemy’s Face

Russian studies and language programs face a decline in the US, despite stable demand for expertise in the field

September 27, 2024 • by Anastasia Shteinert

Knowing your enemy as the key to victory is centuries-old wisdom. Washington seemed to embrace it during the Cold War, investing significant resources in the development of Soviet studies. In recent years, however, the situation has changed. Researchers and university professors are concerned about the deepening crisis in Russian studies ...

Echoes of War Reach New York

Among those affected are people with both Ukrainian and Russian roots

April 13, 2022 • by Anastasia Shteinert

It is believed that people adapt to everything. I am already fine with New York’s enormous rent prices, loud sirens, and small talks. But I’m not sure I will ever be able to adapt to this monstrous war. ...

Rapture, by Iliazd: an excerpt

Translated by Thomas J. Kitson

June 14, 2018 • by Thomas J. Kitson

Public Seminar [PS]: How did you find yourself translating Rapture? Are you an admirer of Iliazd’s work? I guess I’m interested to know why you chose Iliazd, and Rapture in particular? Thomas J. Kitson [TJK]: When I was in college, I was attracted to the varieties of zaum (beyonsense) practiced by Russian Futurist poets, especially Velimir Khlebnikov and ...