We tell the tale of the legendary 10th St. baths in New York. Also known as The Shvitz or the Russian and Turkish Baths or simply The Baths, the place has been co-owned by two Soviet immigrants since 1995, bringing its own particular breed of bath-spa culture to its devoted clientele.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

We watched Werner Herzog's latest documentary, Meeting Gorbachev.Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev wast the last general secretary and only president of the Soviet Union. He's known for supporting nuclear disarmament, causing mass chaos and having a birthmark on his balding head.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

FALSE CLAIM: SIR is run by Putin trollsFACT: SIR is run by two brilliant lady humans who are here to dispel myths about RussiaRussian Embassy's report The Russiagate Hysteria: a Case of Severe Russophobia: https://washington.mid.ru/en/press-centre/news/russian_embassy_special_report/By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

We talked to Ukrainian-born, London-based chef and cookbook author Olia Hercules about some of her delicious family recipes, summer kitchens, Georgian food you only get in Georgia and dishes from her childhood in Cyprus. Check out Olia's cookbooks: https://oliahercules.com/books/Follow Olia: https://www.instagram.com/oliahercules/?hl=enEpisode ...…

Special guest and dear friend Polya once sailed across the North Atlantic ocean on a viking-style ship. Now's she's written a book about it based on her notes and drawings from the onboard. We talk about the voyage, how the crew slept, ate, socialized and went to the bathroom on an open wooden ship at sea. Plus a bit about sex ed and drug preve ...…

Dissecting Rachel Maddow's screen vom and crimes against journalism.Related episodes:Troll Factory indictment https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/37-indict-meAnnexation of Crimea https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/episode-11-crimea-it-existed-before-20142018 elections https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/39-maybe-putin-wont-be-president-a ...…

Lily went to the great medieval city of Vyborg and gawked at abandoned buildings and Finnish tourists. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop for new Russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Why the right loves Solzhenitsyn and his Gulag writings.Anna Akhmatova's everyday life of squalor, drama and paranoia during the Terror. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop for new Russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/Watch ContraPoints: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNvsIonJdJ5E4EXMa65VYpA…

Yulia Voznesenskaia was part of the Leningrad dissident women's movement that formed in the 1970s. Later, as an emigre in Germany, she wrote the Women's Decameron — the story of ten women quarantined in a Soviet maternity ward for ten days, telling each other tales. *Support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaShop new Russian fashion: htt ...…

What happened to all the death-commemorating and erotic traditions of everyone's favorite bliny-consuming, effigy-burning holiday, Maslenitsa? Here's the history of the week-long, slavic-pagan-christian, pre-Lenten celebration, plus several bliny recipes from a real Russian.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Popularly referred to as the puppet master and the shadowy man, Vladislav Surkov is back on the public stage with a manifesto on what he happily refers to as Putin's Russia. We break down the ideas he introduces in his latest article and trace how the man himself, specifically in the West, came to be known as the mastermind behind modern Russia ...…

Icicles falling from buildings kill people in Russia every year, but this winter, walking outside in St. Petersburg is even scarier than usual.buy russian fashion: https://www.depop.com/fortochka/By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

SIR is joined by Crocodile Gena, Cheburashka, Vinni Pukh and Hedgehog in the Fog to discuss myths, techniques, legendary figures and beloved classics of Soviet animation.Watch all the cartoons we reference (plus ones we don't reference): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLFDtUKjvwX2P50tlMeyrtyx7KHPevbFW…

Founder of London supper club KinoVino Alissa Timoshkina talks about why Russian-Soviet cuisine is so hard to define, plus shares memories of her childhood kitchen in Siberia and beautiful, mouth-watering descriptions of some favorite foods. Pre-order Alissa's cookbook Salt and Time — Recipes from a Russian kitchen: https://amzn.to/2DBnR34Aliss ...…

We talk with Yulia Gorbunova, a researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch, and author of a recently published report on domestic violence in Russia and the state's response to it. report in english: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/russia1018_web3.pdfreport in russian: https://www.hrw.org/ru/repo ...…

The history of collective dining and the soviet cafeteria — utopias of factory kitchens and kitchen-less apartments, the science of soviet food consumption and where the design of the stolovaya as we know it actually came from. If you missed Fortochka, our Russian fashion pop-up at the beginning of December, you are in luck. We are selling off ...…

Why BuzzFeed news and Rachel Maddow suck and a little update on Russian president Putin and Belarusian president Lukashenko's holiday meetups.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Maybe the only critical analysis of the new movie Donbass (Dir. Sergei Loznitsa) that you're gonna get, folks (in English, at least).This non-documentary, allegedly based on real events and YouTube videos, is set in the eastern regions of Ukraine (collectively referred to as Donbass) — which are currently fighting a war with the western regions ...…

The failings of Michael McFaul, Boys Town scandals, and why Lily is probably not a spy. Help us out and email this guy at Buzzfeed about how much you love our little podcast: https://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/podcast-suggestions-2019By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

This fine New Year we read and discuss texts by and about 19th c. Russian/Soviet/queer/polyglot poet Marina Tsvetaeva. Read Tsvetaeva's poem New Year, translated by Caroline Lemak Brickman: http://hypocritereader.com/26/new-yearBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

The co-creator of the ethnographic recording label Ored Recordings (@ored-recordings-1), Bulat Khalilov, talks to Smith about traditional music from various ethnic groups from the Caucasus. The ep includes lots of music, so best to listen with headphones.Listen to and support Ored Recordings: https://oredrecordings.bandcamp.com/Episode image ta ...…

The creator of streetwear merch producers Sputnik1985, Sergei Pakhotin, talks to Lily about why he's not a designer, the importance of subtle irony in political commentary, DIY punks in Belarus and what makes Gosha Rubchinsky an artist. Website: https://sputnik1985.com/Episode image taken from Sputnik1985 ig…

The history of standup comedy, reality TV, and what makes media in Russia independent. Our very special guest is Andrei Konyaev, founder and editor in chief of N+1, co-host of Kuji Podcast, math professor and humor expert.N+1: https://nplus1.ru/N+1 FB page (in English): https://www.facebook.com/einsteinsmama/Kuji: https://www.youtube.com/channe ...…

Historian, teacher, and author Tamara Eidelman talks to us about her recently-published book Как Работает Пропаганда (How Propaganda Works), published by Individuum.Russian-speaking SIR listeners! You can read Tamara's book for free here: https://bookmate.app.link/tamaraAll, you can also use the promo code TAMARA to subscribe to the Bookmate ap ...…

We are doing a popup of new Russian fashion designers on Dec 8th & 9th at 332 E 4th St, New York, NY. Follow things: https://www.instagram.com/fortochka_, http://fortochka.site/.This week: Gossip, slander, facts about the sexual harassment case that led to Meduza's Editor in Chief Ivan Kolpakov resigning last week. Episode image lifted from len ...…

We are doing a non-digital project, wherein we sell clothes made by Russian designers for two days in December in New York City: fortochka.siteWhy do slavs squat? The eternal question. The history of the gopnik phenomenon. Plus we trace the emergence of the gopnik image/meme from Runet—>Slavic internet—> Western internet—> global fashion trend. ...…

Two friends meet Baba Yaga and her army of babushkas in modern day St. Petersburg.A radio drama made in collaboration with Benita Klavis (Benjamin Davis and Nikita Klimov). Written by Ben, produced by SIR. Featuring the voice talents of: Elliot Davis, Ben, Nikita, Smith, and LilyEpisode art by Nikita.Ben (author) and Nikita (illustrator) have a ...…

Last month we trekked to a small village deep in the woods near the Ukrainian border to visit a certain legendary American and her horses. This episode is dedicated to the life, work, and loved ones of Laura Williams.Episode photo is a young Laura, taken by her husband Igor Shpilenok (presumably).If you would like to read Laura's book: https:// ...…

School shootings, how their symbolism and aesthetics continue to echo Columbine, and whether or not they're preventable. This week's ep is unfortunately apropos of the mass murder at the Kerch Polytechnic College on Oct. 17.If you'd like to send money to help fund the treatment of those injured in the attack, you can do that here (sorry, it's i ...…

The mystical St. Petersburg courtyard, the rural homestead, the royal court. This week we talk about the architectural and emotional history of the Russian dvor.patreon.com/shesinrussiaMusic: (theme music) Shit Happens by Tierra Whack, Русский Ковчег by Монеточка, Шоколадное кафе by ТупыеBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Joined by our amazing special guest, Caucasus and MMA expert, Zukhra, we talk about how people from the North Caucasus relate to larger Russia, Khabib vs. Connor, why you shouldn't insult Caucasian people (the real ones), and everyday racism in Russian housing.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Super recognizers come one come all! The plot thickens in the case of the helpless Russian tourists visiting the lovely town of Salisbury.https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

The Russian dacha wasn’t always а one-family weekend house symbolizing a return to the land and folksy country virtues. Lily tells Smith the more complicated story.Main knowledge source for this ep: Summerfolk: A History of the Dacha, 1710–2000 by Stephen LovellBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Smith came to St. Petersburg and we went around recording our trials and tribulations.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

(Best to listen with headphones, as this episode is in stereo)We tell the story (and listen to the music) of musician and poet Yanka Dyagileva and the late 1980s-early 1990s Siberian punk-rock scene she was at the center of. Listen to all the music from this episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLFDtUKjvwX0tq-FOBtZHbsDvNqw6nkXlSuppor ...…

A discussion in Lily's kitchen about race paradigms, Gosha Rubchinskiy, censorship in Thaw-era film, and why Russia is the greatest country on earth.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

We give our very in depth and diverging two cents on Keith Gessen's new novel A Terrible Country. There are spoilers, be warned.SPOILERS: 50:16 - 55:01 and 56:49 - 58:47Support us plz: patreon.com/shesinrussiaBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

An informal conversation where we talk about (among other things) a particular type of male expat in Russia, their relationship to women and sex, and the time Lily revealed herself to be nothing better than a capitalist parasite.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Part two of a two part series on the saga of Telegram in Russia. This week we give you a news update on the case, explain encryption, discuss one of the heroes of this story, Pavel Durov, and raise the question (and the various theories) of why, really, Telegram is being blockedFor this series we spoke to a multitude of people more important an ...…

Part one of a two part series on the saga of Telegram in Russia. This part is the one where we tell you more generally how the internet is regulated in Russia, why we care about Telegram, and how it (did it?) got blocked in Russia, legally and technically speaking.For this series we spoke to a multitude of people more important and knowledgeabl ...…

We learn about the history of the Russian-speaking mafia and its intricate system of prison tattoos speaking with a specialist in the subject, Mark Bullen, a US-based former UK cop. Mark wrote a book documenting Russian prison tattoos and organized crime called Thief in Law, you can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Thief-Law-Russian-Russian- ...…

Lily visits a certain well-known Russian-speaking peninsula and learns that since its annexation, things have changed. And mostly not for the better. For a more in-depth legal/historical overview of Crimea, listen to our episode https://soundcloud.com/shes-in-russia/episode-11-crimea-it-existed-before-2014https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussia…

The story of Moscow’s (in)famous Cherkizon market, the 90s born “city within a city” known for its cheap prices, über-wealthy owner Telman Ismailov, rampant corruption, and horrible living and working conditions.https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Budapest local Zsolt tells Lily and her dear friend Liz about growing up in Soviet-occupied Hungary, why everything that's Russian is bad, and how Hungarian prime minister Orban Victor's feelings towards Russia have shifted since his days as a "young buck" on the early 90s political scene.https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussia…

Before the ever-encroaching Euro-Americans got their grubby hands on Alaska, Russian frontiersmen were colonizing the peninsula with the help of a fur trade-bead racket. Smith tells Lily the story.patreon.com/shesinrussiaBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

We talk with head of press for The Bolshoi Theater, Katya Novikova, about the cultural significance of the institution, Ballet Nureyev, and how the theater used to be overrun with cats.You can watch Bolshoi production in real time in movie theaters around the world, keep an eye on this list: https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/relays/Patreon: https ...…

Hello, yes, we have a launched a Patreon, support SIR: https://www.patreon.com/shesinrussiaEuropean University professor Alissa Klots talks to us about early Soviet domestic labor and post-Stalinist discourses on aging. More about Alissa: https://eu.spb.ru/en/history/faculty/17377-klots-alisaBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Lily and Smith talk about dating without language, parallel lives, and romanticizing America.By Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.

Artist, activist, and writer Slava Mogutin talks to us about being exiled from Russia, outing Zhirinovsky, and the fetishization of military uniforms.Transcript of the episode: https://medium.com/shes-in-russia/malicious-hooligan-interview-with-slava-mogutin-2c529cc183b5Slava's website: http://slavamogutin.com/Get Slava's latest book of photogr ...…

Nuclear policy specialist Alicia Dressman talks to us about ballistic missiles, Cold War weaponry, and what "the Russia threat" means to her.Follow Alicia: twitter.com/thedelphivisionBy Olivia Capozzalo and Smith Freeman.