Gossamer or spider web shawls have been knitted in Orenburg for generations. The tradition nearly disappeared, but...

Regional journalist Elena Strelnikova takes a wry look at some of the events of the departing year.

Orenburg is typical of many provinicial Russian towns in that the government does what it wants, while the people...

It’s an age-old adage that things always look greener on the other side of the fence and this is particularly true...

Life for ex-prisoners is not easy in any country in the world, but there are so few opportunities in provincial...

In any country farming is a hard life, but in Russia the mass exodus to the cities of people of working age has had...

The degree of press freedom in Russia has fluctuated violently over the 20 years since the fall of communism. The...

Bordering Kazakhstan, Orenburg is a first destination for migrant workers from post-Soviet Central Asia. In her...

Over the last 20 years the teaching of history has changed dramatically in Russia. Today’s children seem not to know...

External factors like the Internet, post-Soviet economic upheaval and the availability of exotic fruit have given...

Voting at the recent local elections in Orenburg Oblast was listless and perfunctory. Voters don’t know the...

The Russian heat wave has been going on for weeks. From her dacha Elena Strelnikova gives a wry account of officials...

The recent catastrophic fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm grabbed national headlines. Local authorities all...

The region is gripped by swine flu panic, much of it orchestrated, in the opinion of Elena Strelnikova. But every...