Product Description: This book directly confronts uncomfortable questions that many prefer to brush aside: if economists and other scholars, politicians, and business professionals understand the causes of economic crises, as they claim, then why do such damaging crises continue to occur? Can we trust business and intellectual elites who advocate the principles of Realpolitik and claim the "public good" as their priority, yet consistently favor maximization of profit over ethical issues?Former deputy prime minister of Russia Grigory Yavlinsky, an internationally respected free-market economist, makes a powerful case that the often-cited causes of global economic instability—institutional failings, wrong decisions by regulators, insufficient or incorrect information, and the like—are only secondary to a far more significant underlying cause: the failure to understand that universal social norms are essential to thriving businesses and social and economic progress...read more

Product Description: Sergei Dovlatov’s subtle, dark-edged humor and wry observations are in full force in The Suitcase as he examines eight objects—the items he brought with him in his luggage upon his emigration from the U.S.S.R. These seemingly undistinguished possessions, stuffed into a worn-out suitcase, take on a riotously funny life of their own as Dovlatov inventories the circumstances under which he acquired them, occasioning a brilliant series of interconnected tales: A poplin shirt evokes the bittersweet story of a courtship and marriage, while a pair of boots (of the kind only the Nomenklatura can afford) calls up the hilarious conclusion to an official banquet...read more

Product Description: Through surreal, often grotesque humour, Bulgakov gives an ingenious new twist to the "Frankenstein" parable, in a new translation of one of the most popular satires on the Russian Revolution and on Soviet societyHaving been scalded by boiling water earlier that day, and with little chance to survive the severe winter night, a stray dog is left for dead on the streets...read more

A Russian emigre draws a panoramic view of the cosmopolitan culture that thrived over three centuries in Russia's 'Gateway to the West,' producing such figures as Stravinsky, Nabokov, Balanchine, and Chagall

Product Description: Adapted from the Russian edition, this book analyzes the dominant stereotypes and myths that formed during the Putin presidency and that continue to hamper our understanding of Russia's current situation.Author Lilia Shevtsova explains the origins of such political clichés as• Russia is not mature enough for democracy;• Capitalism first, and democracy will follow;• The humiliation of Russia by the West is the key cause of their soured relationship;• Arms talks between Russia and the United States will help to reset the relationship...read more

Profiles the Romanov Dynasty tsar as one of Russia's most forward-thinking rulers, documenting his efforts to redefine history by bringing freedom to his country, the use of terrorist bombings by the radicals that lived during his regime, and the series of assassination attempts that eventually ended his life. By the author of The Last Tsar. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

When her wealthy husband is shot to death by a hired killer, a wealthy widow embarks on a luxurious but precarious life of haute couture shopping, drunken orgies, gossip, red-carpet events, cocaine addiction, and torrid affairs in an exclusive Moscow suburb, in a debut novel based on the author's own life. 25,000 first printing.

Considers how Joseph Stalin's unpredictable persecution of artists influenced the life and work of the avant-garde composer, tracing Shostakovich's struggles to remain faithful to his music in spite of attacks on his contemporaries and Stalin's contradictory banning and support of his work. 20,000 first printing. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Maya Plisetskaya, one of the world’s foremost dancers, rose to become a prima ballerina of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet after an early life filled with tragedy and loss. In this spirited memoir, Plisetskaya reflects on her personal and professional odyssey, presenting a unique view of the life of a Soviet artist during the troubled period from the late 1930s to the 1990s...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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Product Description: Russians fleeing from the chaos that followed the revolution of 1917 brought with them styles in fashion that led to a craze for Oriental and exotic clothing, decorated with pearls, silks, and embroidery, which influenced Western culture, not only in popular couture, but the costumes worn by performers at the ballet, modern dance and theater, all illustrated here in copious b&w reproductions...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

The Olympic gold medal-winning skater talks about her daughter Daria, with reflections on her own mother and grandmother, and advice for Daria

The epic sequel to the best-selling Children of the Arbat follows the experiences of a Soviet tank commander in World War II as he fights his way from Siberia to Stalingrad and onward to Berlin.

The failed 1991 coup that attempted to oust Gorbachev forms the backdrop for an incisive, semi-autobiographical novel about life, love, and politics in the former Soviet Union. 30,000 first printing. Tour.