The first Russian stand at BookExpo America New York, 25 - 27 May 2010 This year the BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand took part in BookExpo America, the main fair in the American book industry. The stand was organised by the Russian Federal agency for Press and Mass Communications and represented a range of Russian publishers. BookExpo America is currently undergoing major changes, transforming itself from a fair which focused primarily on the domestic market into an international book forum.

This year, Russia will become the main participant in the international literary event in the UK. Some 50 Russian writers, poets, and literary critics, along with about 70 publishers, will take part in the Russian program at the annual London Book Fair in April."This is very symbolic, that in the 40th year of the London Book Fair, Russia has become its central party," says the head of the event, Alister Bertenshou.

The Night Watch Sergei Lukyanenko. Arrow Books Ltd Besides ordinary citizens, there are “others” living in this world. They have the outward appearance of ordinary people but they are gifted with supernatural powers. The “others” are divided into “dark” (bad) and “white” (good). The main character in the series, Anton Gorodetsky, is a white magician working in the the "night watch", a white special service charged with ensuring the dark forces do not work their mischief at night. A former psychiatrist, Sergei Lukyanenko (born 1968) is the most popular and best-selling author among contemporary Russian science fiction writers; he is also one of the most popular bloggers in the Russianlanguage internet. In the Night Watch series, he has created a parallel universe exactly like ours – even the major historical events are the same – only everything in it is explained by the confrontation of the dark and white.

12-14 November 2010, St Petersburg
The festival aims to celebrate Russia's artistic contributions to the world and forge cultural relations between Russia and the West. St PetersBall with Corinthia will feature eminent cultural personalities and acclaimed artistic minds from the UK, Russia and other nations including Man Booker prize winning writer DBC Pierre, film director Mike Figgis, fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic, fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, taxidermy artist Polly Morgan, Turner prize winning Marc Quinn, film director John Hillcoat, designer Jasper Conran, Mat Collishaw - to name a few.

29 October - 7 November, Apollo Piccadilly
The 4th Russian Film starts this Friday, 29 October, featuring the best in new Russian film, documentaries and animation and opens with The Ugly Duckling, master animator Garry Bardin's sparky and affecting stop-motion animation with Orwellian overtones. All films are shown in Russian with English subtitles.

Diaghilev fever is taking London by storm. The V&A's major exhibition 'Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929' reveals Diaghilev's enduring influence on 20th-century art, design and fashion. The V&A is also holding a number of other Diaghilev themed events, including 'The Music of Diaghilev with the Philharmonia Orchestra' and 'Rephrasing the Ballets Russes', in collaboration with the English National Ballet. And the perfect accompaniment to this year's season of Diaghilev events is Sjeng Scheijen's new biography of the arguably the greatest (and most controversial) impresario of all time.

The International Lounge at the Moscow International Book Fair is a space where the Russian publishing world can form links with the international book industry. Alongside the extensive programme of seminars and roundtables, it is a place for networking and deals, as well as being an information centre on international collaboration. The International Lounge is organised by Academia Rossica with the support from the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication and the Moscow International Book Fair. The programme of seminars and presentations is focused on the preparation for Russia Market Focus at the London Book Fair 2011.

4th Russian Film Festival, 29 October – 7 November Dear Friends! The Russian Film Festival is getting ready to present London with this year's best premieres in Russian cinema. The Main Programme As always, the main festival programme showcases the best Russian films, award-winners at major international and Russian film festivals. These films include, 'Silent Souls' (Ovsyanki), directed by Alexei Fedorchenko and winner of three prizes at the Venice Film Festival, 'How I Ended This Summer' by Alexei Popogrebsky, awarded prizes for best actor and best cinematography at the Berlinale, 'One War' by Vera Glagoleva, Grand Prix winner at Sofia International Film Festival and Russia's nomination for the Oscars and Svetlana Proscurina's latest film 'The Truce', winner of the main prize at Kinotavr. As in previous years, guests include directors, producers and actors who come to London specially to present their films at the festival. Documentaries – 'Noughties Art' This year's documentary programme sums up the last decade with screenings of the ten best Russian documentary films, one for each year. The programme is presented by the great director and documentary maker, Vitaly Mansky, president of the ArtDocFest. Animation Alongside the main programme and documentaries, we have also put together a comprehensive and diverse programme of animation. As part of our festival 'Astral dogs Belka and Strelka' take a trip to outer space captained by director Inna Evlannikova, while Irina Evteeva, famous for her graceful and original style, brings 'Little Tragedies' to the screen. These films will capture the hearts of adults and childen alike. As well as an extensive programme of full length animation, we will be screening a special programme for our young audiences, presenting the best of award-winning Russian animated films of recent years Special Screenings This year's film festival also includes a retrospective of the great actor and director Sergei Bondarchuk's films and the works of Leo Tolstoy on film, as well as a retrospective of masters of Soviet and Russian animation. Venue For the fourth year in a row the Russian Film Festival will take place at the Apollo Piccadilly, one of London's best cinemas.

The first Russian stand at BookExpo America New York, 23 - 26 May 2011 This year the BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand took part in BookExpo America, the main fair in the American book industry. The stand was organised by the Russian Federal agency for Press and Mass Communications and represented a range of Russian publishers. BookExpo America is currently undergoing major changes, transforming itself from a fair which focused primarily on the domestic market into an international book forum.

Tolstoy's spirit returns to ancient lands: James Meek finds the power that Count Leo Tolstoy still holds over Russia's soul beating strongly in the heart of the novelist's great great grandson - the new director of his old estate, Yasnaya Polyana

3rd RUSSIAN FILM FESTIVAL 30 October – 8 November 2009 Apollo Piccadilly, London T: 0871 220 6000 Academia Rossica is proud to present 10 UK premieres of award-winning Russian films produced in. All films with English subtitles. Programme director: Andrey Plakhov, President of FIPRESCI. The festival opens on 30 October with a new adaptation of Anna Karenina by one of Russia’s most defiant film directors, Sergei Soloviev. The film took 14 years to make and it is part of Soloviev’s trilogy ASSA (1987) – ASSA-2 (2009) – Anna Karenina (2009). Full programme of the Festival:

Now in its second year, the Rossica Young Translators Prize is hard on the heels of the success of the main Rossica Prize. Through this prize we would like to encourage young people under 25 who are passionate about Russia, literature and translation to enter into the world of professional literary translation. We hope that this award will help to nurture a new generation of Russian to English literary translators, as well as further cultural dialogue between Russia and the English-speaking world. The Winner will be announced on 21 April at the London Book Fair. The winning translator will receive £500 and the opportunity to travel to Moscow to take part in a Translators' Congress in September 2010. All shortlisted translators will be invited to a special programme of events at the London Book Fair and introduced to writers and publishers. If you would like to take part in this competition, please translate one of the three extracts in this brochure. They are taken from new novels written by Russia’s foremost contemporary novelists: Leonid Yuzefovich’s “Журавли и карлики”, Mikhail Shishkin’s “Письмовник”, and Viktor Pelevin's "t". The deadline for submission is 1 April. The translations will be judged by prominent translators and winners of the Rossica Prize – Robert Chandler, Amanda Love Darragh and Oliver Ready. It is an exciting opportunity for young translators to enter into the professional world of literary translation.

In order to prepare Russia’s participation as Market Focus Country two steering committees have been set up - in London and in Moscow. The first London steering committee was held at the Russian Embassy in London on 9 November 2009. It was chaired by Mr Alistair Burtenshaw, Director of The London Book Fair.

SLOVO Russian Literature Festival 19 - 25 April 2010 London and other UK cities Russian Literature Week is back for the third time, held in the same week as the London Book Fair. The aim is to highlight Russian writers and publishers, both in London and on an international scale. This year's SLOVO will also showcase the new generation of writers, exciting new poets and the fascinating culture scene of today's Russia.

3rd RUSSIAN FILM FESTIVAL 30 October – 8 November 2009 Apollo Piccadilly, London T: 0871 220 6000 Academia Rossica is proud to present 10 UK premieres of award-winning Russian films produced in. All films with English subtitles. Programme director: Andrey Plakhov, President of FIPRESCI. The festival opens on 30 October with a new adaptation of Anna Karenina by one of Russia’s most defiant film directors, Sergei Soloviev. The film took 14 years to make and it is part of Soloviev’s trilogy ASSA (1987) – ASSA-2 (2009) – Anna Karenina (2009). Full programme of the Festival:

May 2008
Cannes, France
It seems that for Russian cinema, good things come in threes: the Russian film industry suitably showcased at the first ever Russian film pavilion; leading Russian production and distribution companies present their best creations at the International Marché du Film; and stunning triumphs for first-time feature film directors Sergei Dvortsevoy and Valeria Gai-Germanika!

by Maria Galina
Translated by Amanda Love Darragh
Glas; 2008; pp. 368
The central theme of "Iramifications" is the eternal misunderstanding between East and West. Misconceptions and the notion of identity are explored on a journey from Odessa to the symbolic Oriental city of Iram, via the complexity of friendship and the blurring of borders between fantasy and reality. Tales are woven, deserts are crossed, and battles are fought. East and West are worlds apart...or are they?