Moscow - Post Report Question and Answers
Do you recommend any books or movies about this city/country for those who are interested in learning more?
Russia is well known for it's literature and movies. The movie BRAT (Brother in English, it shows Cyrillic writing as ???? ) is as accurate a portrayal of Russia as you can get. The second one is even more of a classic. - Dec 2023
Though outdated "Bears in the Caviar." It's a great and hilarious book. - Nov 2018
Too many to mention. - Sep 2016
The Moscow Times is online and in English. - Jun 2015
Any of the DK travel guides, The Master and Margarita
Anything by Pushkin. Master and Margarita by Bulgakov -- many of the settings in the book are in central Moscow. - Jul 2013
Nicholas and Alexandra (Modern Library)
- Mar 2012
Andrew Meier's Black Earth; Orlando Figes' Natasha's Dance; The Russia Reader; Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad; works by Tolstoy, Andrei Makine, Joseph Brodsky, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Gogol. - Jan 2011
To really understand why Russia is the way it is (and what to expect), knowing Russian history is vital. Good authors/books include Robert Conquest's The Great Terror, Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad, W. Bruce Lincoln's The Romanovs, Orlando Figes' Natasha's Dance (about the history and impact of Russian culture). Russian literature is also world class and almost all Russians know enough about the country's literary heritage to discuss (and quote) it -- Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, etc. I would strongly recommend Mikhail Bulgakov as well. While most usually mention his "Master and Margarita", in my opinion the short story "Heart of a Dog" is more enlightening on the Russian condition. - Jul 2010
The Internet - many regions have homepages, even my street has a website dedicated to landmarks and history. Most of it is in Russian, but Google language tools do an adequate job. - Feb 2010
Master and Margarita by Bulgakov; The Nightwatch, by Sergey Lukyanenko - Jan 2010
Really? The usual Russian literary giants will keep you busy for quite a while, I'm sure! - Nov 2009
All the usual Russian stuff. Read a Chekov play then visit his house! Listen to Stravinsky and go visit his grave at Novidivichy cemetery. moscowinyourpocket.com - Oct 2009
Gulag by Anne Applebaum. Moscow Station (can't remember the author) - Aug 2009
Many. My favorites are War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (long but SO good), The Mask and Margarita by Bulgakov and We The Living by Ayn Rand. - Aug 2009
Guide books. - Sep 2008
I would read the Russian classics (even those that take place in other cities) in order to gain a better understanding of the country. - Sep 2008
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Solzhenitsyn or Journey Into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg. - Aug 2008
Tolstoy and other famous Russian authors. - Aug 2008
