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.

A historian of medieval Russia by training, Vladimir Sharov (b. 1952) is the son of a geneticist who turned to writing prose, for children and adults, in the 1960s. Sharov himself began writing fiction in the late 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s that his highly unusual historiosophical novels came before the public gaze. In so doing, they caused genuine acrimony and controversy among influential editors of the literary journals (especially Novyi mir).

A historian of medieval Russia by training, Vladimir Sharov (b. 1952) is the son of a geneticist who turned to writing prose, for children and adults, in the 1960s. Sharov himself began writing fiction in the late 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s that his highly unusual historiosophical novels came before the public gaze.

A historian of medieval Russia by training, Vladimir Sharov (b. 1952) is the son of a geneticist who turned to writing prose, for children and adults, in the 1960s. Sharov himself began writing fiction in the late 1970s, but it was not until the 1990s that his highly unusual historiosophical novels came before the public gaze. In so doing, they caused genuine acrimony and controversy among influential editors of the literary journals (especially Novyi mir). Many were appalled both by Sharov's literary method and by his exploration through fiction of the mythological and religious substrata of Russian (and especially Revolutionary) history and thought - in particular, of its Utopian, eschatological, and messianic tendencies. Undeterred, Sharov has continued in his distinctive groove, writing, in the opinion of many critics (some of whom now consider him a ‘living classic') one and the same book: an ongoing commentary on philosophy, history, and the sacred texts. In these complex meditations, the views of the author himself remain elusive.

Film historian, lecturer, collaborates with Berlin, Venice and Montréal, Oberhausen, Nyon and Leipzig international film festivals
Hans is a film historian and theorist who specialises in Russian, Eastern and Central European cinema and has numerous publications to his name.

Wednesday, 16 April, 6.30 pm
Waterstone’s Piccadilly, 5th Floor, £3
Orlando Figes, historian and award winning writer, discusses his latest book “The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia” with Alexander Ilichevsky, winner of the Russian Booker Prize 2007 and editor of radio “Svoboda”
In English and Russian

Russian Summer in London
In this issue we trace the life and career of Russian-Polish émigré artist and Art Deco icon Tamara de Lempica, and we explore the mystery of “Russianness” in 19th century Russian painting.

Russian Summer in London
In this issue we trace the life and career of Russian-Polish émigré artist and Art Deco icon Tamara de Lempica, and we explore the mystery of “Russianness” in 19th century Russian painting.

Wednesday, 16 April, 6.30 pm
Waterstone’s Piccadilly, 5th Floor, £3
Orlando Figes, historian and award winning writer, discusses his latest book “The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin’s Russia” with Alexander Ilichevsky, winner of the Russian Booker Prize 2007 and editor of radio “Svoboda”
In English and Russian