Russia on Vice

An Interview with a Gay, Russian Neo-Nazi

As you might recall from being within spitting distance of any history textbook ever, the Führer and his Third Reich buddies weren't too keen on either Russians or homosexuals. But minor historical details like rampant persecution and horrific genocide have apparently been forgotten by some gay Russians. Full story

The Soviet Scientist Who Dreamed of Melting the Arctic with a 55-Mile-Long Dam

As much as we worry about climate change today, a warm, melted Arctic was actually a dream of geo-engineers like Petr Borisov since at least the 19th century. Full story

People Skateboard in St. Petersburg, Too

It's unfair, but when I think of Russia I think of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' snow, and old people who drink vodka to ward off pneumonia. But then I got a glimpse of Vika Mak's pictures and realized that wherever you are in the world, skating all day and getting drunk all night is a Full story

Central Asia Rally Was the Worst Journey of My Life

I'm standing on the side of a busy road in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, about 50 miles from the Georgia-Russia border, because our route on the inaugural Central Asia Rally (a 5,000-mile car rally from Budapest to Tajikistan) had to take a massive detour after we were refused entr… Full story

Far Out

Agafia's Taiga Life

In 1936, a family of Russian Old Believers journeyed deep into Siberia’s vast taiga to escape persecution and protect their way of life. The Lykovs eventually settled in the Sayan Mountains, 160 miles from any other sign of civilization. In 1944 they had a daughter, Agafia. Today… Full story

Meet the Last Lykov

Not Many Other People in the World Have

When I asked 70-year-old Agafia, the sole surviving member of the Lykov clan, if she wished that the geologists who discovered her family in the isolated wilderness of Siberia’s taiga forest had never found them, she shook her head. “I don’t know if we would have survived [withou… Full story

The Soviet Ghost Town in the Czech Republic

There’s a little bit of the Soviet empire left in the middle of the Czech Republic, but it’s abandoned, decaying, and forgotten. How could two towns, one Czech and one Russian, exist without the residents knowing about each other? If you’ve got enough barbed wire fences and Kalas… Full story

Far Out

Agafia's Taiga Life - Trailer

In 1936, a family of Russian Old Believers journeyed deep into Siberia’s vast taiga to escape persecution and protect their way of life. The Lykovs eventually settled in the Sayan Mountains, 160 miles from any other sign of civilization. In 1944, Agafia Lykov was born into this w… Full story

Will Cypriots Have to Pay to Clear Up Their Bankers' Mess?

On Saturday, Cypriots were looking at the possibility of having the government freeze their bank accounts and take a portion of their savings without even giving them the time to rush to the bank, take out all their cash, and blow it on the large quantities of Zivania they're goi… Full story

Russia's Dyatlov Pass Incident, the Strangest Unsolved Mystery of the Last Century

Nearly 1,000 people were injured in Russia yesterday when a meteor exploded somewhere over the Ural Mountains. But crazy cosmic phenomena are nothing new in the Ural range. Full story