russia

World War II fighter pilot Eric Carter was one of the members of a secret mission code-named "Force Benedict". The men in this mission were dispatched to defend Murmansk, Russia's only port not under Nazi occupation. If Murmansk fell, Soviet resistance against the Nazis would be difficult to sustain and Hitler would then be able to turn all his forces on Britain. Many members of the mission thought they would never survive, but they did, and were threatened with court martial if they talked about where they had been. Seventy years later, Eric Carter tells of his experiences in Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle.

"The ... tale of the rise to power of Russia's current president--of his emergence from shrouded obscurity and deprivation to become one of the most consequential and complicated leaders in modern history. ... This ... narrative elucidates a cool and calculating man with enormous ambition and few scruples. We see Putin, a former KGB agent, come to office in 2000 as a reformer, cutting taxes, expanding property rights, bringing a measure of order and eventual prosperity to millions whose only experience of democracy in the early years following the Soviet collapse was instability, poverty, and criminality. But Myers makes clear how Putin then orchestrated a new authoritarianism, consolidating power, reasserting the country's might, brutally crushing revolts, and swiftly dispatching dissenters, even as he retained--and continues to retain--the support of many"--Provided by publisher.

One of Dedoushka's turnips grows to such an enormous size that the whole family, including the dog, cat, and mouse, is needed to pull it up.

An account of one of the defining moments of twentieth-century history : the siege of Leningrad. It began in September of 1941 when Nazi German forces severed the last outside connection to the city. The siege lasted 872 days, during which the dying population suffered horrors beyond the power of description. The author interviewed dozens of survivors to create a deeply personal and universal story of survival in extreme circumstances.

Chronicles the life of twentieth century figurative artist Marc Chagall, discussing his childhood, schooling, personal turmoil, controversial relationships, artistic impact, and other related topics.

Contains forty articles from Akim Volynsky, a Russian literary critic, journalist, and art historian; in which he details the careers of Russian ballet dancers such as Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokine, George Balanchine, and others; as well as his writings on classical dance technique.

Chronicles the friendship between Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Josef Stalin, discussing how Stalin used their friendship to exploit Shostakovich's work and mental instabilities and how Shostakovich's compositions were impacted by Stalin's totalitarian rule.

Chronicles the life of Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev, following his personal and musical journey from his childhood on a Ukrainian country estate to the years he spent traveling in America and Europe as an interpreter of his own works.