In Russia, Web 2.0 services like LiveJournal are virtually the only way to keep informed and definitely the best way to get a sense of people’s reaction to the news. But bloggers by definition concentrate on the negative, which can leave readers yearning for a good old, politically correct and mentally stable newspaper.

Seven portraits of young noblewomen who studied at the Smolny Institute — Russia's first educational institute for women — in the late 18th century are now on display at the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The portraits, which helped create the role-portrait genre, capture the feminine ideal of Catherine the Great's Russia.

Our theater critic interviewed Thomas Irmer, a German journalist and theater critic, who had a keen outsider's view of a controversial play performed in Moscow.