Turkmenistan’s Tragicomic Publishing Revolution
When the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was invented in 1925, the literacy rate among its mostly nomadic population was somewhere between 2-3%. By 1970 not only had universal li
A Short History of Turkmen Literature
Turkmen literature began in the 18th century, thanks to Makhtumkuli (1733–1813) who composed mournful, painful poems about injustice, the decline of morals and the general harshn
Nas asas do tédio
Especial Para a Folha Berlim hoje é celebrada por sua posição de vanguarda na cultura e na música, pelo design e pela arte vibrantes, e também como um ponto de encontro brusco
Paradise, Texas
In Paradise: A Pilgrimage in Seven Stages I How to reach Paradise? This question has plagued mankind for millennia. In fact, the ancients largely despaired of entering heaven, whic
A Government Commission
AUSTIN (Texas), June 16 (Daniel Kalder for RIA Novosti) – In the early 1990s Russia was awash with mystics, fortune tellers and messiahs as the collapse of the Soviet Union had o
Сила диктаторского художественного слова
Туркменский президент Гурбангулы Бердымухаммедов – очередной тиран, пробующий себя на поприще
Last Postcard from the Golden Age
Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan was the showpiece of Turkmenbashi’s Golden Age. Originally a village, then a Russian fort, subsequently a dusty soviet settlement, the city
Poland Diary
Monday 3rd November I did not know that I was famous when I arrived in Poland, and as I spent the first couple of days probing the remote borderlands and discussing John Denver in
Vissarion Christ: Siberian Saviour
Vova the taxi driver wasn’t happy about abandoning me in Petropavlovka, a village separated from the nearest city by over a hundred miles of silent, snow-covered Siberian forest.
Daniil Kharms: Today I Wrote Nothing
For decades Daniil Kharms was known in Russia only as a children’s writer. In fact, he was the last genius of the Soviet avant-garde, providing a link from the giants of Futurism