The book consists of short, captivating stories. They describe the adventures of modern-day Moscow schoolchildren—twins Vanya and Masha. During their vacation at their grandmother's in the village, they not only learn about the villagers' way of life but also find themselves in a fairy tale, where they encounter a mermaid, Baba Yaga, and the dragon Gorynych. The authors' engaging narrative...

Leading cultural scholar Vladimir Paperny, author of the book ‘Culture Two’, and Maya Turovskaya, a renowned film critic and co-author of the script for the documentary film ‘Ordinary Fascism’, created a joint project in 2008 dedicated to a comparative analysis of Soviet and American cinema of the 1930s and 1940s. After Turovskaya's death in 2019, Paperny continued the study, expanding its...

A gripping and incredibly funny autofiction about how people don't hear each other. – A young writer works in a shop selling absurdly expensive designer candles in New York City and can't help her customers. – New York 2019–2021: capitalism and survival on the other side of the globe.

The themes that unite these diverse texts are the clash of cultures, the conflict between one's own and another's, and art through the eyes of a cultural scholar. The author's ability to write humorously about the serious and seriously about the humorous is evident in both the autobiographical and, relatively speaking, historical and cultural sections of the collection, making each text a...

Includes: Tsinkovye mal'chiki, Vremia sekond hend, U voiny ne zhenskoe litso, Poslednie svideteli, Chernobylskaia molitva

Alyosha is a first-grader, the smallest in his class. Because of his height, he's teased with the silly nickname 'Two-Portfolio.' Kysh is a funny puppy with a very strange name. They're both on probation: the boy at school, and the dog at home. They try their best, but somehow, it always turns out badly! Alyosha will disrupt school, Kysh will misbehave at home, or they'll get into trouble...

Alyosha is a first-grader, the smallest in his class. Because of his height, he's teased with the silly nickname 'Two-Portfolio.' Kysh is a funny puppy with a very strange name. They're both on probation: the boy at school, and the dog at home. They try their best, but somehow, it always turns out badly! Alyosha will disrupt school, Kysh will misbehave at home, or they'll get into trouble...