Rachel Polonsky
Home from home for the Bolshevik elite
Yuri Slezkine’s The House of Government tells the story of a place where revolutionaries came home and the revolution came to die
The Russian Love Affair With Palmyra Resumes
The Syrian desert city now recaptured from ISIS has a long affinity with St Petersburg, and the Hermitage will be vital to its restoration
Underrated: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova
The star of Pussy Riot combines beauty and charisma with quiet courage and a remarkable mind
Tsar Of The Holy Land
For Vladimir Putin, Syria is as much a question of religion as of arms sales; in his eyes, Assad protects Syria’s ancient Christian communities
Will the green agenda be killed off by the pandemic?
‘Will the green agenda be killed off by the longer-term coronavirus recovery? Or might the closure of so much business, and the cleaner air that results from planes not flying and factories not working, give us extra years to gain control of our environment?’
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
His contemporaries’ reputations have diminished. But Eliot’s has grown: he is the poet who shows us what can be saved from the ruins
Music’s in the house
Rappers have found a role in lockdown: chronicling coronavirus with topical tunes. Most people, though, are rushing to the safety of the past