Dmitry Kosyrev is one of Russia’s leading thriller writers. Kosyrev, who writes under the distinctive alias Master Chen, a legacy of his long-standing interest in the Far East, was born in 1955 and studied Chinese history at Moscow State University and the Nanyang University of Singapore.Since the late 1970s he has been actively involved in the national media, writing on international politics for leading newspapers such as Pravda, Rossiiskaia gazeta and Nezavisimaia gazeta; he is a Member of the Board of the Foreign Policy Association.

21 January - 21 March
Over two hundred previously unseen photographs by Alexander Rodchenko will feature alongside the work of his contemporaries in this exhibition at the Art Sensus gallery. Curated by John Milner.

21 - 29 January
The Moscow-based Sovremennik Theatre is bringing three of their acclaimed productions to London for the first time. Into the Whirlwind, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard, directed by Galina Volchek, will be performed in Russian with English surtitles.

A firm believer that architects should be gardeners not morticians enshrouding a city in cement, David Sarkisyan, Director of the Shchusev Museum of Architecture in Moscow, has been featured in the new issue of the Russia Now supplement to the Daily Telegraph, published today. Under David Sarkisyan's administration, the Shchusev museum became the centre of Moscow’s architectural and artistic life and now his old office is a memorial of his life's work.

29 September, 7.30pm at the Institut français
Author of 'A Russian Novel' Emmanuel Carrère joins Tibor Fischer for a talk on Identity. A Russian Novel traces Carrère’s pursuit of three obsessions: a good story, the disappearance of his Russian grandfather and his fascination with a woman he loves but cannot keep from destroying.
The talk will be followed by the screening of Emmanuel Carrère's documentary on Russia, Retour à Kotelnitch

On 19 – 25 April ACADEMIA ROSSICA will bring you SLOVO, the Russian Literature Festival that knows no boundaries. Packed with a kaleidoscope of genre-defying events, SLOVO will offer a unique insight into Russian literary culture, presenting not only the foremost contemporary Russian writers and highly opinionated public figures, such as Dmitry Bykov, Sergei Lukyanenko, Olga Slavnikova, Maria Galina and Vladimir Sharov, but also cutting edge young writers and poets from right across Russia’s eleven time zones. This year’s festival sees a particular focus on fantasy and magical realism. Lukyanenko’s 'Night Watch' series clearly comes under this genre, but ‘Living Souls’ by Dmitry Bykov,‘2017’ by Olga Slavnikova and ‘Iramifications’ by Maria Galina, all newly published in English, have also been influenced by this notable undercurrent of Russian writing. Our authors will present their new books in light of this genre, which has its roots in the 19th and 20th century literary greats, Gogol, Bulgakov, Zamyatin and Platonov, while Lev Danilkin, literary critic and ‘Afisha’ columnist will explore why Russian literature has a tendency to look at reality through a prism of the unreal. In addition to events with established authors, SLOVO will introduce Russia’s newest literary voices. Olga Slavnikova, herself an award-winning writer, is the coordinator of Russia’s prestigious Debut prize for young writers and will present six Debut prize winners at this year’s festival, including three of Russian literature’s rising stars, Polina Klyukina from Perm, Alisa Ganieva from Dagestan and Alexander Gritsenko from Astrakhan. Key to this festival is the belief that literature can act as an instrument of social and political change and can help to bring two cultures together. For this reason SLOVO will coincide with the London Book Fair, where ties between the Russian and British publishing industry have already been strengthened by naming Russia Guest of Honour and Market Focus of the London Book Fair 2011. SLOVO will continue in this spirit with unique collaborative events between Russian and British poets, as well as providing numerous opportunities for cross-cultural discussions. Indeed, as the slogan ‘WORDS IN ACTION’ may suggest, SLOVO is not just about the written word. Film also plays an important part in this year’s festival. SLOVO will hold the first ever screening of Russian underground video poetry in the UK and the London premiere of Aliona Van der Horst’s hauntingly beautiful film on poet Boris Ryzhy. SLOVO’s broad spectrum of events will be held across several venues, Waterstones Piccadilly, Waterstones Hampstead, The Calvert 22 Gallery and the Apollo cinema. Come and join us for this un-missable chance to witness literature in transition!

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

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.

Translate one of three extracts taken from new novels written by Russia’s foremost contemporary novelists and send us your entry by 1 April. The winning translator will receive £500 and the chance to attend a Translators' Congress In Moscow in September 2010. All under 25s, don’t let this exciting opportunity pass you by!

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.

Izbavi Bog i nas ot etakikh sudei

A few weeks ago something strange happened. Someone sent me, through the post, ten million printed words – I’ll repeat that, in case you weren’t concentrating: ten million words – nearly half of them in a difficult foreign language. I was told to get reading them.

The first day ended with an evening with Dmitry Bykov and Bridget Kendall at Waterstone’s, Piccadilly. Bykov entertained the large audience with, along with everything else, a joke. It went like this: “At birth you get a label put on your arm, after death, it’s put on your foot. If someone gets the same number both times, they win a prize – a pressure cooker.”

Born in 1975 under his real name of Yevgeniy Nikolayevich Lavlinsky, Zakhar Prilepin grew up in a small village, Ilinka Skaponskovo, in Ryazan Province, not too distant from Nizhni Novgorod. He comes from a family of teachers and nurses. After finishing at the Philology Department of Nizhni Novgorod State University he worked as a security guard and a journalist before joining the Russia’s ‘Special Purpose Police Squad’ (the OMON) and, as a captain, serving on military deployments in Chechnya during 1996 and 1999.

25 February, 20.00
Charlie Wright's, Old Street
£7
A trio widely regarded as the best in Russian improvised jazz. Each musician - from trumpeter Vyacheslav Gaivoronsky to bassist Vladimir Volkov to pianist Andrei Kondakov - is a virtuoso in his own right, a master of improvisation and brilliant composer.

by Mikhail Aizenberg
Translated by J. Kates
Zephyr Press, 2007, pp.108
Mikhail Aizenberg has lived and breathed and had his being at the heart of the last generation of poets that came to maturity under the regime of the Soviet Union. He has been not only one of its most eloquent practitioners, but also its chronicler and interpreter.

by Victor Pelevin
Translated by Andrew Bromfield
Faber and Faber, 2008, pp.333
Described as "the Zen Buddhist Will Self of the former Evil Empire", Victor Pelevin is a star of contemporary Russian literature. The Sacred Book Of The Werewolf is an extraordinarily accomplished piece of contemporary writing that mashes up an assortment of genres: horror, humour, romance, fantasy, satire and post-modern self-reflexivity and sampling. The result is something that has to be classified as "high" literature, if only because of its entanglings in and borrowings from the work of Vladimir Nabokov and its deadly serious critique of contemporary Russian society under Putin.

Director, 'Terra Nova'
In 2004 he created a new production company under the same name. Andreevski Flag produced Maria Saakyan's critically acclaimed debut film ‘The Lighthouse', and Sergei Bodrov's box-office hit ‘Mongol'.

Russia, 2007, 69 min
Dir. Vladimir Kozlov
A documentary about the legendary musician Yuri Morozov, who created a subversive, rebellious new style of Eastern rock during the Brezhnev era. The film features previously unseen KG footage, as well as homemade videos of underground rock concerts. It was made under the creative patronage of Otar Iosseliani. Presented by director Vladimir Kozlov.

Professor of Russian Government at the London School of Economics, Lieven has written extensively on Russian history and post-Soviet politics, and on empire and European history. His most recent publications include Russia and the Origins of the First World War (Macmillan, 1983), Russia's Rulers under the Old Regime (Yale U.P., 1989), Nicholas II (John Murray/St Martin's Press, 1993), and Empire: The Russian Empire and its Rivals (John Murray/Yale U.P., 2000).

Poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, biographer and translator Elaine Feinstein worked variously as an editor for Cambridge University Press, as Lecturer in English at Bishop's Stortford Training College, and as a journalist. She contributes to many periodicals, including the Times Literary Supplement. Elaine Feinstein's first volume of poetry, In a Green Eye, was published in 1966. Her later work has been influenced by the poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva, a poet whose work she has translated from the Russian. She received a Cholmondeley Award in 1990. Her book, Anna of all the Russias: The Life of a Poet under Stalin (2005), is a biography of Anna Akhmatova. Elaine Feinstein is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was elected on to the Council of the Royal Society of Literature in 2007.

14-16 April
London Book Fair, Earls Court, London
The first ever Russian stand at the London Book Fair will present books and publishing programmes of 20 leading publishers from St Petersburg and Moscow as well as a continuous 3-day programme of debates on contemporary Russian culture, politics and the future of Russo-British relations.

Director of the State Russian Museum in St Petersburg since the perestroika years, cavalier of the French Legion d’Honneur award for the promotion of Russan-French cultural ties. Used to be the Chairman of St.Petersburg committee for culture under Anatoly Sobchak, at the time when other committees were headed by the future leaders of Russia, including Vladimir Putin. Ogranizer of numerous exhibitions of Russian art in Russia and overseas. Hosts a TV show about the museum.