Izumo et al., Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers) (1971)

Takeda Izumo, Miyoshi Shoraku, and Namiki Senryu.
Chūshingura (The Treasury of Loyal Retainers): A Puppet Play.
Translated by Donald Keene.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1971.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Authors and Translator Information :

• Takeda Izumo II (1691 – 1756), Wikipedia.
• Miyoshi Shōraku (1696? - 1772?), The Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection, Columbia University Libraries.
• Namiki Sōsuke, also known as Namiki Senryū, (1695 – c.1751), Wikipedia.
~~~~~
• Donald Keene (1922 – 2019), Wikipedia.
• Professor Donald Keene, Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture, Columbia University.
• Donald Keene, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Kanadehon Chūshingura, The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, 1748.
  (The play in the book that is the subject of this post.)
• Bunraku, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre.
• Forty-seven rōnin, "The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin, also known as the Akō incident or Akō vendetta, is a historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (lordless samurai) avenged the death of their former master on 31 January 1703."
  (The events dramatized in Chūshingura.)
• Sengaku-ji Temple.
• Chūshingura, "the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven rōnin."
• Some film versions of Chūshingura, from the article Chūshingura :
  • Chushingura, in two parts, 1939, directed by Kajirō Yamamoto, assistant director Akira Kurosawa.
  • The 47 Ronin, 1941, directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.
  • Chūshingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki, 1962, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki.
  • 47 Ronin, 2013, an American film with actor Keanu Reeves.
• Japanese literature: Edo-period literature (1603–1868).
• Theatre of Japan.

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Other Websites and Articles :

• Dr. Henry Smith, Chūshingura and the Samurai Trandition, Columbia University.
• Henry D. Smith II, "Rethinking the Story of the 47 Ronin: Chûshingura in the 1980s," Modern Japan Seminar, Columbia University, April 13, 1990.

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Barton, Fifty Sounds (2021)

Polly Barton.
Fifty Sounds.
London: Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2021.
New York: Liveright Publishing, 2022.

Book Information : Publisher UK; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Author Information :

• Polly Barton (b. 1984), Wikipedia.
• Polly Barton, The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH).
• Polly Barton, Porn: An Oral History, London: Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2023.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

Translations :

• Tomoka Shibasaki, Spring Garden, Translated by Polly Barton, London: Pushkin Press, 2017, 2024.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Nao-cola Yamazaki, Friendship for Grown-Ups, Translated by Polly Barton, Norwich, UK: Strangers Press, 2017.
  [Publisher; Amazon.com.]
• Misumi Kubo, Mikumari, Translated by Polly Barton, Norwich, UK: Strangers Press, 2017.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Aoko Matsuda, Where the Wild Ladies Are, Translated by Polly Barton, London: Tilted Axis Press, 2020; New York: Soft Skull Press, 2020.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Kikuko Tsumura, There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job, Translated by Polly Barton, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Misumi Kubo, So We Look to the Sky, Translated by Polly Barton, New York: Arcade (Simon & Schuster), 2021.
  [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Mieko Kanai, Mild Vertigo, Translated by Polly Barton, New York: New Directions, 2023.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Asako Yuzuki, Butter, Translated by Polly Barton, London: 4th Estate (HarperCollins Publishers), 2024; New York: Ecco (HarperCollins Publishers), 2024.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Sado Island, Japan.
• Japanese language.
• Onomatopoeia.
• Japanese sound symbolism.
• Reduplication.
• Ideophone.
• Mimesis.
~~~~~
• Culture of Japan.
• Japanese nationalism.
• Ethnic nationalism in Japan.
• Nihonjinron, "literary work that focuses on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity."
• Religion in Japan.
• Edo neo-Confucianism.
• Buddhism in Japan.
~~~~~
• Western culture.
• Feminism.
• Feminism in the United Kingdom.
• Women in Japan.
• Feminism in Japan.

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A young British woman goes to Japan, learns Japanese, and, after years of studying the Japanese language, works as a professional translator. Through the device of essays about distinctive onomatopoetic Japanese expressions [see Onomatopoeia and Japanese sound symbolism] she tells the story of her life in Japan. Some of the onomatopoetic expressions are presented in a tone of neutral reportage about amusing or quirky curiosities of Japanese culture; and some arise in situations of cultural misunderstandings that inevitably occur to any foreigner in a foreign land; but many of the onomatopoetic expressions arise from deeply personal and highly charged experiences in the author's life in Japan. So, while the book has the appearance of focusing on a narrow aspect of the Japanese language, the book is mainly a very personal memoir.

In the penultimate essay she confesses :
"For a long time, and particularly of late, it has worried me that I don't love Japan in the way other people around me do; that all I really like is the language" (page 339).

After 10 to 15 years of experience in Japan the author decides to not make Japan her permanent home and returns to the UK, a decision she makes after much psychological distress. She says she had never felt homesick while in Japan and sincerely wanted to assimilate into Japanese society. What was the problem here? Why couldn't Polly and Japan get along?

There is no discussion of the traditional culture of Japan in this book, no discussion of Shinto, absolutely no explicit mention of Confucianism, and Buddhism appears only once in the second to last essay when a romantic partner of the author quotes a most banal Buddhist statement to the author: "The Heart Of The Buddha Is Not Greedy And Does Not Get Angry" (page 331). Barton considers this an intolerable insult.

Who could expect that a national culture has an effect on how individuals think about themselves and how they live their lives?

[Perhaps I should say explicitly what seems so obvious to me: that the author Barton is so thoroughly indoctrinated in the more extreme ideologies of Western liberalism and feminism that she was / is unwilling and incapable of assimilating into Japanese culture and society.]

Addendum, February 2025:

Another, more visceral, psychological, non-ideological, reason for Barton's alienation from Japan deserves recognition. Throughout her memoir she recalls occasions when acquaintances, friends, and strangers notice or call attention to her foreignness, the simple fact that she is not an ethnic Japanese person but something else. School children remark on her curly hair. Acquaintances and friends in various ways adjust their expectations of her because she did not grow up in Japan as an ethnic Japanese person. Towards the end of her memoir it sounds like Barton has become hypersensitive about her foreignness, her non-Japanese ethnicity, and is constantly on alert for interactions where others recognize her as not Japanese. Strangers on the street and in convenience stores stare at her.

One can watch any number of videos on YouTube, and in other media, of foreigners who are fluent speakers of Japanese describing their experiences, positive and negative, living in Japan. Many can and do marry ethnic Japanese people, have children, and live the rest of their lives in Japan [example 1; example 2; example 3; example 4; example 5]. Clearly there is a range in people's ability to accommodate psychologically to their status as a non-ethnic Japanese person living in Japan.

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Goossen, editor, The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (1997)

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories.
Edited by Theodore W. Goossen.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(The book was reissued in 2010 with a new cover but the contents appear the same as the 1997 version.)

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com, 1997; Amazon.com, 2010.

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Editor Information :

• Ted Goossen, Wikipedia.
• Ted Goossen, Department of Humanities, York University, Canada.
• Theodore Goossen, York Centre for Asian Research, York University.
• Ted Goossen, Granta.

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Wikipedia Articles : Japanese Literature

• Japanese literature: Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa-period literature (1868–1945).
• Japanese literature: Postwar literature (1945–onwards).

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Contents of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories :

1. Mori Ōgai (1862–1922), "Sanshō the Steward," 1915.
   From: Mori Ōgai, The Incident at Sakai and Other Stories, Translated by J. Thomas Rimer, University of Hawaii Press, 1977.
2. Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916), "The Third Night," 1908.
   From: Natsume Sōseki, Ten Nights of Dream, Hearing Things, The Heredity of Taste, Translated by Aiko Ito and Graeme Wlson, Tuttle, 1974.
   Some recently in-print translations of Ten Nights of Dreams:
   • Natsume Sōseki, Ten Nights' Dreams, Translated by Takumi Kashima and Loretta R. Lorenz, Trafford Publishing, 2006.
   • Natsume Sōseki, Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat's Grave, Translated by Matt Trevyaud, Dover Publications, 2015.
   • Natsume Sōseki, Ten Nights' Dreams and Our Cat's Grave, Translated by Sankichi Hata and Dofu Shirai, Zea Books (University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries), 2022.
3. Kunikida Doppo (1871–1908), "The Bonfire," 1896.
   The Oxford anthology translation of "The Bonfire" by Jay Rubin was previously published in Monumenta Nipponica, 1970.
   "The Bonfire" is also included in:
   • Kunikida Doppo, River Mist and Other Stories, Translated by David Chibbett, Kent: Paul Norbury, 1983.
     [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
4. Higuchi Ichiyō (1872–1896), "Separate Ways," 1896.
   From: Robert Danly, In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life of Higuchi Ichiyō with Nine of Her Best Short Stories, W.W. Norton & Co., 1981.
5. Nagai Kafū (1879–1959), "The Peony Garden," 1909.
   From: Edward Seidensticker, Kafu the Scribbler: The Life and Times of Nagai Kafū, 1879–1959, Stanford University Press, 1965.
6. Shiga Naoya (1883–1971), "Night Fires," 1920.
   The English translation of "Night Fires" by Ted Goossen was first published in the Oxford anthology.
   An English translation of collected stories by Shiga Naoya does exist but it does not appear to include "Night Fires":
   • Shiga Naoya, The Paper Door and Other Stories, Translated by Lane Dunlop, North Point, 1987; Columbia University Press, 2001.
     [Columbia, 2001; Google Books, 2001; Amazon, 1987; Amazon, 2001.]
7. Tanizaki Jun'ichirō (1886–1965), "Aguri," 1922.
   From: Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, Seven Japanese Tales, Translated by Howard Hibbett, Alfred A. Knopf, 1963; Vintage Books, 1996.
8. Satomi Ton (1888–1983), "Blowfish," 1913.
   Previously published in Descant 75, Winter 1991-1992; Translated by Ted Goossen.
   The only other work by Satomi Ton in English translation I have found so far is "The Camellia" in:
   • Modern Japanese Short Stories, Edited by Ivan Morris, Tuttle Publishing, 2019
     (First published as Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology in 1962 or 1963).
     [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
9. Okamoto Kanoko (1889–1939), "Portrait of an Old Geisha," 1939.
   The English translation of "Portrait of an Old Geisha" by Cody Poulton was first published in the Oxford anthology.
   Other works by Okamoto Kanoko are available in English translation. For example:
   • Okamoto Kanoko, The House Spirit and Other Stories, Translated by Kazuko Sugisaki, Capra Press, 1995.
     (Includes the story "The Old Geisha", possibly the same story as "Portrait of an Old Geisha"?)
   • Okamoto Kanoko, "A Mother's Love" in Rabbits, Crabs, Etc.: Stories by Japanese Women, Translated by Phyllis Birnbaum, University of Hawaii Press, 1984.
   • Modern Japanese Tanka: An Anthology, Translated by Makoto Ueda, Columbia University Press, 1996.
   • Okamoto Kanoko, "A Riot of Goldfish" [1937] in Kingyo: The Artistry of Japanese Goldfish, Kodansha, 2004.
   • Okamoto Kanoko, A Riot of Goldfish, Translated by J. Keith Vincent, Hesperus Press, 2011.
   • Okamoto Kanoko, A Buddhist Life Reader, Translated by Marcello Rotondo, 2022.
10. Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (1892–1927), "In a Grove," 1922.
    From: Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Rashomon and Other Tales, Translated by Takashi Kojima, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 1952; Tuttle, 2018.
11. Miyazawa Kenji (1896–1933), "The Bears of Nametoko," 1927.
    From: Miyazawa Kenji, Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa, Translated by John Bester, Kodansha International Ltd., 1993; New York Review of Books Classics, 2018.
12. Yokomitsu Riichi (1898–1947), "Spring Riding in a Carriage," 1926.
    From: Yokomitsu Riichi, 'Love' and Other Stories of Yokomitsu Riichi, Translated by Dennis Keene, University of Tokyo Press, 1974.
13. Ibuse Masuji (1898–1993), "Carp," 1926.
    From: Ibuse Masuji, Salamander and Other Stories, Translated by John Bester, Kodansha International Ltd., 1981.
14. Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972), "The Izu Dancer," 1926.
    The Edward G. Seidensticker translation of "The Izu Dancer" appearing in the Oxford anthology is said to be the first unabridged English translation of the story.
    However, in 1997 another unabridged English translation was published in:
    • Kawabata Yasunari, The Dancing Girl of Izu and Other Stories, Translation by J. Martin Holman, Counterpoint, 1997.
15. Kajii Motojirō (1901–1932), "Lemon," 1925.
    The English translation of "Lemon" by Robert Ulmer was first published in the Oxford anthology.
    Many stories by Kajii Motojirō in English translation may be found in:
    • Stephen Dodd, The Youth of Things: Life and Death in the Age of Kajii Motojiro, University of Hawaii Press, 2014.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
16. Hayashi Fumiko (1903–1951), "The Accordion and the Fish Town," 1931.
    The English translation of "The Accordion and the Fish Town" by Janice Brown was first published in the Oxford anthology.
    Some other works by Hayashi Fumiko available in English translation include:
    • "Bangiku" ["A Late Chrysanthemum" or "Late Chrysanthemum"], 1948; in A Late Chrysanthemum: Twenty-one Stories from the Japanese, Translated by Lane Dunlop, North Point Press, 1986; Tuttle, 1988.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Hayashi Fumiko, Floating Clouds [1951], Translated by Lane Dunlop, Columbia University Press, 2006.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
17. Enchi Fumiko (1905–1986), "The Flower-Eating Crone," 1974.
    The English translation of "The Flower-Eating Crone" by Lucy North was first published in the Oxford anthology.
    Some other works by Enchi Fumiko available in English translation include:
    • Enchi Fumiko, The Waiting Years [1957], Translated by John Bester, Kodansha International, 1971; London: Vintage Classics, 2019.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Enchi Fumiko, Masks [1958], Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Alfred A. Knopf (Random House) / Vintage Books, 1983.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Enchi Fumiko, A Tale of False Fortunes [1965], Translated by Roger K. Thomas, University of Hawaii Press, 2000.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Enchi Fumiko, "A Bond for Two Lifetimes - Gleanings" [short story], in Rabbits, Crabs, Etc.: Stories by Japanese Women, Translated by Phyllis Birnbaum, University of Hawaii Press, 1984.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Enchi Fumiko, "Love in Two Lives: The Remnant" [short story], in Japanese Women Writers: Twentieth Century Short Fiction, Translated by Noriko Mizuta Lippit and Kyoko Iriye Selden, M.E. Sharpe, 1991; Routledge, 2015.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
18. Hirabayashi Taiko (1905–1972), "Blind Chinese Soldiers," 1946.
    From: Japanese Women Writers: Twentieth Century Short Fiction, Translated by Noriko Mizuta Lippit and Kyoko Iriye Selden, M.E. Sharpe, 1991; Routledge, 2015.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    The only other work by Hirabayashi Taiko available in English translation that I have found so far is:
    • Hirabayashi Taiko, "Demon Goddess," in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: Volume 2: 1945 to the Present, Edited by J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel, Columbia University Press, 2007.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
19. Sakaguchi Ango (1906–1955), "In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom," 1947.
    The English translation of "In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom" by Jay Rubin was first published in the Oxford anthology.
    For more about Sakaguchi Ango one might turn to:
    • James Dorsey and Douglas Slaymaker, Literary Mischief: Sakaguchi Ango, Culture, and the War, Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield), 2010.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
20. Inoue Yasushi (1907–1991), "Passage to Fudaraku," 1961.
    From: Inoue Yasushi, Lou-Lan and Other Stories, Translated by James Araki, Kodansha, 1980.
21. Dazai Osamu (1909–1948), "Merry Christmas," 1947.
    From: Dazai Osamu, Self-Portraits: Stories, Translated by Ralph McCarthy, Kodansha, 1991; New Directions, 2024.
22. Nakajima Atsushi (1909–1942), "The Expert," 1942.
    "The Expert", translated by Ivan Morris in the Oxford anthology (from Encounter, 1958), appears more recently under the title "The Master" by a different translator in:
    • Nakajima Atsushi, The Moon Over the Mountain and Other Stories, Translated by Paul McCarthy, Autumn Hill Books, 2011.
23. Kojima Nobuo (1915–2006), "The Rifle," 1952.
    Included in: Kojima Nobuo, Long Belts and Thin Men: The Postwar Stories of Kojima Nobuo, Translated by Lawrence Rogers, Kurodahan Press, 2016.
24. Endō Shūsaku (1923–1996), "Unzen," 1965.
    From: Endō Shūsaku, Stained Glass Elegies, Translated by Van C. Gessel, Peter Owen Ltd., 1984; Dodd, Mead & Company, 1987; New Directions, 1990.
25. Abe Kōbō (1924–1993), "The Bet," 1960.
    From: Abe Kōbō, Beyond the Curve, Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Kodansha International Ltd., 1991.
26. Yoshiyuki Junnosuke (1924–1994), "Three Policemen," 1974.
    From: Seven Stories of Modern Japan, Translated by Hugh Clarke, Wild Peony, 1991.
    [Google Books; Amazon.com]
27. Mishima Yukio (1925–1970), "Onnagata," 1957.
    From: Mishima Yukio, Death in Midsummer and Other Stories, Translated by Donald Keene, New Directions, 1966
28. Kōno Taeko (1926–2015), "Toddler-Hunting," 1961.
    From: Kōno Taeko, Toddler-Hunting and Other Stories, Translated by Lucy North, New Directions, 1996.
29. Mukōda Kuniko (1929–1981), "Mr Carp," 1985.
    From: Mukōda Kuniko, The Name of the Flower, Translated by Tomone Matsumoto, Stone Bridge Press, 1994.
30. Kaikō Takeshi (1930–1989), "The Duel," 1968.
    From: Kaikō Takeshi, Five Thousand Runaways, Translated by Cecilia Segawa Seigle, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1987; Peter Owen, 1994.
31. Ōe Kenzaburō (1935–2023), "Prize Stock," 1957.
    From: Ōe Kenzaburō, Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness, Translated by John Nathan, Grove Press, 1977.
    The story was also published as "The Catch" in The Catch and Other War Stories, Kodansha, 1981.
32. Tsushima Yūko (1947–2016), "A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy," 1985.
    The English translation of "A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy" by Geraldine Harcourt was previously published in Descant 89, Summer 1995.
    Several novels by Tsushima Yūko have been published in English translation.
33. Murakami Haruki (b. 1949), "The Elephant Vanishes," 1987.
    From: Murakami Haruki, The Elephant Vanishes, Translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Jay Rubin, Alfred A. Knopf, 1993; Vintage International, 1994.
34. Shimada Masahiko (b. 1961), "Desert Dolphin," 1992.
    The English translation of "Desert Dolphin" by Kenneth Richard was previously published in Descant 89, Summer 1995.
    Other works by Shimada Masahiko available in English translation include:
    • Shimada Masahiko, Dream Messenger [1989], Translated by Philip Gabriel, Kodansha, 1992.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Shimada Masahiko, Death By Choice [2003], Translated by Meredith McKinney, Anthem Press, 2013.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Shimada Masahiko, "A Callow Fellow of Jewish Descent," in New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan, Edited by Helen Mitsios, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1991.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
35. Yoshimoto Banana (b. 1964), "Dreaming of Kimchee," 1992.
    From: Yoshimoto Banana, Lizard, Translated by Ann Sherif, Grove/Atlantic, 1995; Washington Square Press, 1996; Grove Press, 2018.

[I assembled this Contents list partly in order to point to where one can find more short stories by a given author. Much of the basic information above comes from the Publisher's Acknowledgment section on pages 450-452 of the Oxford anthology. For some authors I could not find a separate book in English collecting the author's stories. For most authors simply entering an author's name into a search engine, such as Amazon's Advanced Book Search, will show a number of works by that author in English translation. Sometimes I went out of my way to list some other works by authors who are older or less extensively published in English translation (that is, not for more well known names like Natsume Sōseki, Tanizaki, Akutagawa, Kawabata, Inoue, Dazai, Endō, Abe, Mishima, Ōe, Murakami, Yoshimoto).]

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The more recently published The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories (2018) includes some authors who overlap with authors appearing in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (1997) [Mori, Sōseki, Kunikida, Nagai, Tanizaki, Akutagawa, Kawabata, Enchi, Mishima, Kōno, Tsushima, Murakami, Yoshimoto], but there is no overlap in the stories included in the two anthologies.

• The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories. Edited by Jay Rubin. New York: Penguin Classics, 2018.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (1997) includes a helpful list of previously published [from 1994 and before, so now a little dated] English translation anthologies of short stories from Japan on page 447. There is also a Filmography on pages 448-449 listing some noteworthy films from Japan.

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Inaba, Mornings With My Cat Mii (2024)

Mayumi Inaba.
Mornings With My Cat Mii.
Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.
London: Harvill Secker (Penguin Random House), 2024.

Originally published: Mii No Inai Asa, Tokyo: Kawade Shobo Shinsha Ltd. Publishers, 1999.
Note: A New York edition will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux under the different title Mornings Without Mii in 2025.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com, UK edition, 2024; Amazon.com, USA edition, 2025.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Mayumi Inaba (1950 – 2014).
• Japanese literature: Postwar literature (1945–onwards).

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Strugatsky & Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (2012)

Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky.
Roadside Picnic.
Translated by Olena Bormashenko.
Forward by Ursula K. Le Guin.
Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2012.

First published in Russian in the Soviet Union in 1972.
First published in English translation by Antonina W. Bouis in 1977.
The 1970s published versions were based on a manuscript heavily edited by the Soviet publisher. The 2012 English translation is based on the original manuscript.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :

• Arkady Strugatsky (1925 – 1991).
• Boris Strugatsky (1933 – 2012).
• Roadside Picnic.
• Russian literature: Popular Soviet genres.
• Russian speculative fiction.
• Russian speculative fiction: Late Soviet era.

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Szablowski, Dancing Bears (2018)

Witold Szablowski.
Dancing Bears: True Stories of People Nostalgic for Life Under Tyranny.
Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.
New York: Penguin Books, 2018.
Originally published: Tańczące niedźwiedzie, Warsaw: Agora SA, 2014.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Information :

• Witold Szablowski (b. 1980), Wikipedia.
• Witold Szabłowski. The Assassin From Apricot City. Poland, 2010. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. London(?): Stork Press Ltd, 2013.
  [Publisher; Amazon.com.]
• Witold Szabłowski. How to Feed a Dictator. Poland, 2019. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. New York: Penguin Books, 2020.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Witold Szabłowski. What's Cooking in the Kremlin. Poland, 2021. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. New York: Penguin Books, 2023.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wikipedia Articles :

• Cold War, 1947–1991.
• Eastern Bloc.
• Post-communism.
• Communist nostalgia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note:

This book's title, Dancing Bears: True Stories of People Nostalgic for Life Under Tyranny, seemed a little strange to me, awkward somehow. "Dancing Bears"? No, that evokes only a mildly pleasurable idea of seemingly happy bears. After some reflection the cause of the awkwardness became apparent: the subtitle "Life Under Tyranny". That's quite a contrast, from seemingly happy "Dancing Bears" to an ominous and forbidding "Life Under Tyranny". There are at least two ways of considering this contrast. First, in reading the book you will find that the individual bears were in a sense tyrannized by their keepers by the iron ring their keeper inserted into the bear's nose and used to manipulate the bear's behavior, giving the illusion that the bear "danced". Somehow you might also create a vague metaphor or simile between bears and people, that people living in societies in which the ruling ideology included some variant of communism are like bears controlled by a ring in their nose. I don't think that simile is successful because ALL societies have some kind of ideology in which individuals are indoctrinated and by which their behavior can be manipulated and controlled. Anti-communist ideologues seem to me particularly obnoxious in their jumping up and down exclaiming and pointing at a foreign society, that it is ruled by some kind of communist ideology. What about themselves? What ideologies rule their own society? And is there not also some kind of tyranny in their own society? These reflections point to a second way of viewing the contrast in the book's title: the phrase "Life Under Tyranny" is pure Cold War propaganda. As someone born in the USA in 1960, I lived the first 30 years of my life on the receiving end of American Cold War propaganda; we were constantly instructed on the evils of communist tyranny. So this book's title gives me an uneasy feeling. Further, consider this: nobody wants to live under tyranny and tyranny can rarely be justified, although in rare circumstances of extreme danger all societies will impose some temporary measures considered tyrannous in order to deal with some temporary emergency. Otherwise nobody will argue in favor of tyranny. Note the shift from specific policies considered tyrannous to the more nebulous penumbra of "tyranny". My main point in this note is to point out that the book's subtitle "Life Under Tyranny" screams out to me that this book is engaging in propaganda.

I started wondering whether the book's title had been engineered for the American audience. The USA and United Kingdom editions of this book have the same title with the "Life Under Tyranny" subtitle. HOWEVER, the Australian edition has a different subtitle! : Dancing Bears: True Stories about Longing for the Old Days.

• Witold Szabłowski. Dancing Bears: True Stories about Longing for the Old Days. Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Melbourne, Australia: Text Publishing Company, 2018.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

I think this difference in subtitles confirms my suspicions about the propagandistic nature of the title of the USA edition. Looking more closely at the Wikipedia article about Szablowski, and noting the praise he has received from American establishment propaganda outlets (The New York Times, NPR, Foreign Affairs), I can only conclude that Szablowski himself is an experienced propagandist.

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Lippit, editor, The Essential Akutagawa (1999)

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
The Essential Akutagawa: Rashomon, Hell Screen, Cogwheel, A Fool's Life and Other Short Fiction.
Edited by Seiji M. Lippit.
New York: Marsilio Publishers, 1999.

Book Information: Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892 – 1927).
• Japanese literature: Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa-period literature (1868–1945).
• Akutagawa Prize.
• Seiji M. Lippit, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of California at Los Angeles.
• Contents of The Essential Akutagawa :
  1. Rashōmon (short story), 1915.
  2. The Nose (Akutagawa short story), 1916.
  3. Kesa and Morito, 1918.
  4. The Spider's Thread, 1918.
  5. Hell Screen, 1918.
  6. The Ball, 1920.
     The Ball refers to the novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti (1850–1923) first published in 1887 [Archive.org; Amazon.com].
  7. Tu Tze-chun, 1920.
  8. Autumn Mountain, 1921.
  9. In a Grove, 1922.
  10. The Faint Smiles of the Gods, 1922.
  11. San Sebastian, 1927.
  12. Cogwheels, 1927.
  13. A Fool's Life, 1927.
  14. A Note to a Certain Old Friend, 1927 (Akutagawa's suicide note).

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Note:

A reviewer on Amazon points out that this 1999 Marsilio Publications edition of Akutagawa stories (Lippit, ed., The Essential Akutagawa) consists of translations that are old, poorly done in some cases, and need to be replaced by newer, more competent translations. Since then, in 2006, Penguin published a new collection of translations by Jay Rubin:

• Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories. Translated by Jay Rubin. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 2006.
  [Publisher; Amazon.com.]

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Tanizaki, The Makioka Sisters (1995)

Junichiro Tanizaki.
The Makioka Sisters.
Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker.
New York: Vintage Books (Penguin Random House), 1995.
This translation was first published in 1957.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886 – 1965).
• Tanizaki, The Makioka Sisters, first published in parts from 1943 to 1948.
  The original Japanese title of the novel, Sasameyuki, translates as "Light Snow".
  People say that "yuki" (snow) in the title echoes the name of the character Yukiko around whom a major storyline of the novel revolves.
• Edward Seidensticker (1921–2007).
• Some historical events mentioned in The Makioka Sisters :
  (Note: the politics, militarism, and wars of the period of the novel, 1936-1941, are rarely and mostly only indirectly mentioned.)
  • Marco Polo Bridge incident, July 1937.
  • Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945.
  • 1938 Hanshin flood, July 1938.
  • 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.
    In Book Two, Chapter 10, in the aftermath of the 1938 flood, the destruction reminds the character Teinosuke "of Tokyo and Yokohama after the great earthquake," referring to the 1923 event in which more than 100,000 people died.
    Tanizaki may also have been thinking of the relatively less destructive 1894 Tokyo earthquake which he experienced as a child.
    The Wikipedia article for the 1894 event says "The earthquake is also mentioned by author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki in his autobiographical work, Yosho-jidai, in which he described how his family's house collapsed during the earthquake, a traumatic event to which he attributed his lifelong phobia of earthquakes."
• History of Japan:
  • History of Japan: Modern Japan.
  • Empire of Japan, 1868 – 1947.
  • Meiji era, 1868 – 1912.
  • Taishō era, 1912 – 1926.
  • Shōwa era, 1926 – 1989.
• Japanese literature:
  • Japanese literature: Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa-period literature (1868–1945).
  • Japanese literature: Postwar literature (1945–onwards).
• Tanizaki Prize.

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Nakajima, The Moon Over the Mountain and Other Stories (2011)

Atsushi Nakajima.
The Moon Over the Mountain and Other Stories.
Translated by Paul McCarthy and Nobuko Ochner.
Bloomington, Indiana: Autumn Hill Books, 2011.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Author Information:

• Atsushi Nakajima (1909 – 1942).
• Japanese literature: Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa-period literature (1868–1945).

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Mearsheimer, The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities (2018)

John J. Mearsheimer.
The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Author Information:

• Mearsheimer, his website.
• John Mearsheimer, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago.
• John Mearsheimer (b. 1947), Wikipedia.
• John’s Substack | John J. Mearsheimer, Substack.
• Mearsheimer AI Chatbot.

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Other Books by John Mearsheimer:

• John J. Mearsheimer and Sebastian Rosato. How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2023.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• John J. Mearsheimer. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Updated Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014. (First edition 2001.)
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• John J. Mearsheimer. Why Leaders Lie: The Truth About Lying in International Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• John J. Mearsheimer. Liddell Hart and the Weight of History. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1988, 2010.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• John J. Mearsheimer. Conventional Deterrence. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Selected Articles by John Mearsheimer:

• John J. Mearsheimer, "Why the West is to Blame for the Ukraine Crisis", Foreign Affairs, September/October 2014, 18 August 2014.
• John J. Mearsheimer, "Bound to Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order", International Security, volume 43, number 4, pages 7–50, 2019.
• John J. Mearsheimer, "Playing With Fire in Ukraine: The Underappreciated Risks of Catastrophic Escalation", Foreign Affairs, 17 August 2022.
• John J. Mearsheimer, "Who Caused the Ukraine War?", Substack, 05 August 2024.

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Liberalism (international relations).
• Idealism in international relations.
• Liberal internationalism.
• Liberal international order.
• Polarity (international relations).
• Realism (international relations).
• Nationalism.

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Akutagawa, Rashōmon and Other Stories (2018)

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
Rashōmon and Other Stories.
Translated by Takashi Kojima.
Forward by Seiji Lippit.
Introduction by Howard Hibbett.
Tokyo; Rutland, Vermont; and Singapore: Tuttle Publishing [Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.], 2018.
(This collection of translations was first published in 1952 by Tuttle and by Liveright Publishing Corporation, and reprinted in 1999 under the Liveright imprint by W.W. Norton & Company.)

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892 – 1927).
• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, In a Grove, 1922.
  ("In a Grove" provides the main storyline in Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon, 1950.)
• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Rashōmon (short story), 1915.
• Japanese literature: Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa-period literature (1868–1945).

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Notes:

The Tuttle Publishing (and Liveright/Norton) edition of Rashōmon and Other Stories contains only six stories. In contrast, the collection of Akutagawa stories first published by Penguin in 2006 (and reprinted in Penguin "Deluxe" and "Vitae" editions) has eighteen stories. On the basis of numbers alone, in hindsight I would have rather purchased one of the Penguin edition first (although Tuttle generally uses higher quality paper and binding than Penguin).

• Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories. Translated by Jay Rubin. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 2006.
  [Publisher; Amazon.com.]

Tuttle recently published a Manga version of these stories:

• Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Akutagawa's Rashomon and Other Stories: The Manga Edition. Adapted by mkdeville. Illustrated by Philippe Nicloux. Tokyo; Rutland, Vermont; and Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 2024.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Diesen, The Ukraine War & the Eurasian World Order (2024)

Glenn Diesen.
The Ukraine War & the Eurasian World Order.
Atlanta, Georgia: Clarity Press, 2024.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Author Information:

• Glenn Diesen, University of Southeast Norway.
• Glenn Diesen (b. 1979), Wikipedia.
• Glenn Diesen, YouTube channel.
• Glenn Diesen. EU and NATO Relations with Russia: After the Collapse of the Soviet Union. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2015. London: Routledge, 2016.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. Russia's Geoeconomic Strategy for a Greater Eurasia. London: Routledge, 2018.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. The Decay of Western Civilisation and Resurgence of Russia. London: Routledge, 2019.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. Russian Conservatism: Managing Change under Permanent Revolution. Lanhan, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. Europe as the Western Peninsula of Greater Eurasia: Geoeconomic Regions in a Multipolar World. Lanhan, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. Great Power Politics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Geoeconomics of Technological Sovereignty. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Glenn Diesen. The Think Tank Racket: Managing the Information War with Russia. Atlanta, Georgia: Clarity Press, 2023.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Realism (international relations).
• Liberalism (international relations).
• Idealism in international relations.
• Liberal internationalism.
• Liberal international order.
• Polarity (international relations).

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Diesen provides a very good summary of international relations theory, contrasting realism and liberalism, which then provides a very insightful framework for understanding geopolitical events over the last 500 years. He then describes events since the late-1980s end of the Cold War, how the West's/USA's dismissal of Russia's security concerns and aggressive expansion of NATO eastwards eventually provoked the recent war in Ukraine, and the consequences this has for the now emerging (already emerged) multipolar world order and the end of previous world order of liberal hegemony dominated by the USA. This book is an excellent introduction to understanding past events and the approaching future.

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Lao-Tzu; Addiss & Lombardo trans, Tao Te Ching (2007)

Lao-Tzu.
Tao Te Ching.
Translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo.
Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, 2007.
Originally published: Hackett Publishing Company, 1993.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles:

• Laozi.
• Tao Te Ching.
• Tao.
• Wu wei.
• Taoism.
• Taoist philosophy.

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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

• Laozi.
• Daoism.
• Religious Daoism.

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This edition of the Addiss and Lombardo translation has these dust jacket blurbs by Gary Snyder:

• "Of the many translations I have read in English, this is unquestionably the best."
• "This crystalline translation of the Tao Te Ching is accurate down to the nuance and is as concisely poetic as the original. It preserves the quirks and flavors of the original text. The translators harkened to the message of the book itself, and kept it clear and gently strong."

I chose this book on the basis of these endorsements by Gary Snyder (also, it's a nice little hardback, printed on nice paper). While this translation is very poetic (how would I know that it follows the original text very closely?) I also found it very terse and cryptic. This edition has no explanatory notes or commentary; the Introduction by Burton Watson provides some historical context but is of no help in understanding the text. As a beginner encountering the Tao Te Ching for the first time I often found this edition too cryptic and occasionally, to me, incomprehensible. I think an edition with added commentary or explanatory notes would be very helpful. Here are some alternatives.

• Lao Tzu. Lao-Tzu's Taoteching: with selected commentaries from the past 2,000 years. Translated by Red Pine. Port Townsend, Washington: Copper Canyon Press, 2018.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Laozi. Daodejing. Translated by Edmund Ryden. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Translated by D. C. Lau. Penguin Classics. London: Penguin Books, 1963.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Lao Zi. Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation. Translated by Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall. New York: Ballantine Books, 2003.
  (has much commentary by the translators)
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Lao Tzu. The Way and Its Power: Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Its Place in Chinese Thought. Translated by Arthur Waley. New York: Grove Press, 1958.
  (has a lengthy introduction)
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way. Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin. Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala Publications, 2019.
  (has some explanatory footnotes)
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Laozi. The Daodejing of Laozi. Translated by Philip J. Ivanhoe. Hackett Classics. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2003.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version. Translated by Stephen Mitchell. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

The Wikipedia article on Tao Te Ching contains a list of "notable translations". The Bibliography of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article "Laozi" includes many translations.

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Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (1991)

William Shakespeare.
Measure for Measure.
Edited by N. W. Bawcutt.
The Oxford Shakespeare.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
This edition was first published in 1991.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Wikipedia; Amazon.com.

Book Series: The Oxford Shakespeare; Oxford World's Classics.

Some other noteworthy editions of Measure for Measure :

• William Shakespeare. Measure for Measure. Edited by A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson. The Arden Shakespeare, Third Series. London: Bloomsbury Press, 2020.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• William Shakespeare. Measure for Measure, Second Edition. Edited by Brian Gibbons. The New Cambridge Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• William Shakespeare. Measure for Measure. Edited by Grace Ioppolo. Norton Critical Editions. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• William Shakespeare. Measure for Measure. Edited by Terri Bourus and Emma Smith. The New Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Editor: N. W. Bawcutt

• Bernard Beatty, Obituary: Dr Nigel Bawcutt, University of Liverpool, 31 October 2023.
• N. W. Bawcutt, OCLC WorldCat Entities.
• Bawcutt, N. W., The Library of Congress, LC Name Authority File (LCNAF).
• N. W. Bawcutt, "'Policy,' Machiavellianism, and the Earlier Tudor Drama", English Literary Renaissance, Volume 1, Number 3, Autumn 1971.
• N. W. Bawcutt, editor. The Control and Censorship of Caroline Drama: The Records of Sir Henry Herbert, Master of the Revels, 1623-73. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Bawcutt also edited editions of Middleton & Rowley, The Changeling; Ford, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore; Shakespeare & Fletcher, The Two Noble Kinsmen; Marlowe, The Jew of Malta; and Richard Fanshawe.

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Wikipedia Articles:

Shakespeare:

• William Shakespeare (1564–1616).
• Measure for Measure, written between summer 1603 and late 1604; first performed in 1604; first printed in 1623.
• Chronology of Shakespeare's plays: Measure for Measure (1603–1604).
• Shakespearean comedy.
• Shakespearean problem play.

English Renaissance Literature, Drama:

• English Renaissance, 16th - 17th Centuries.
• English literature: English Renaissance (1500–1660).
• Elizabethan literature.
• English literature: Jacobean period (1603–1625).
• English Renaissance theatre.

England during Shakespeare's Time:

• Tudor period, 1485–1603.
• Elizabethan era, 1558–1603.
• Elizabethan government.
• Elizabethan Religious Settlement.
• English society: Tudor society.
• Elizabeth I (1533–1603); Queen of England and Ireland 1558–1603.
• Elizabeth I: Later years.
• Stuart period, 1603–1714.
• Jacobean era, 1603–1625.
• James VI and I (1566–1625); King of Scotland as James VI 1567–1625; King of England and Ireland as James I 1603–1625.
• Early modern Britain, 16th – 18th Centuries.

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Engel & Martin, Russia in World History (2015)

Barbara Alpern Engel and Janet Martin.
Russia in World History.
New Oxford World History.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Book Information: Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

Book Series: New Oxford World History.

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Author Information: Barbara Alpern Engel

• Barbara A. Engel, Department of History, University of Colorado, Boulder.
• Barbara Engel (historian) (b. 1943), Wikipedia.
• Barbara Alpern Engel. Women in Russia, 1700–2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Five Sisters: Women Against the Tsar. Edited and Translated by Barbara Alpern Engel and Clifford N. Rosenthal. Allen and Unwin, 1975. New York and London: Routledge, 1992. DeKalb, Illinois: Northern Illinois University Press, 2013.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Barbara Engel, OCLC WorldCat Entities.
• Engel, Barbara Alpern, The Library of Congress, LC Name Authority File (LCNAF).

Author Information: Janet Martin

• Janet L. B. Martin, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Miami.
• Janet Martin. Medieval Russia, 980–1584, Second Edition. Cambridge Medieval Textbooks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
• Martin, Janet, 1945-, The Library of Congress, LC Name Authority File (LCNAF).

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Wikipedia Articles:

• History of Russia.
• Russia.
• Russians.
• Culture of Russia.
• Russian literature.
• Russian philosophy.
• Religion in Russia.

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