Articles by Marina Darmaros



Collage Photos Mix War and Present-Day Life

The idea behind Sergei Larenkov's photo collages is simple and effective: Take a photo from World War II and mix the action into a photo from the present day. Sand bags meet glitzy streets; tourists meet soldiers.

U.S. Actors Take on Woody Allen Play in Moscow

This Thursday and Friday, three young American actors will perform “Riverside Drive,” a one-act play by Woody Allen, in English at the Flakon Theater.

Night Cycling Through Best of City’s East Side

Wary cyclists may think that the only safe way to cycle in Moscow is with an escort, ideally a very large one. But on July 3, there will be an escort of hundreds of cyclists, as Velonoch, or a night tour around historic Moscow, pushes off.

Sand Sculpture Presents Tour of Russian History

The fact that Russians carve ice into sculptures makes some kind of sense. But carving sand? Yet that is just what happened with a pile of sand, under a white tent, next to Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Real Argentine Milonga Ball to Debut in Moscow

Moscow residents can celebrate Argentinian culture on Wednesday, when an Argentine tango ensemble will be part of the first traditional milonga ball — where people dance to the sounds of a live tango orchestra — in Moscow.

The Best Of Brazil On Show At Festival

The Second Brazilian Film Festival opened Friday with a performance of capoeira, the martial arts dance, and a showing of “Meu Nome Nao E Johnny” (My Name Is Not Johnny).

Brazilian Capoeira Dances Into Town

Directed by Brazilians, the play “Brazilian Capoeira” shows the trajectory of this martial art developed by black slaves and disguised as a dance to fool the foremen of colonial Brazil.

Tolstoy Organizes Nettle Fest to Help a Village

Leo Tolstoy was once the justice of peace in Krapiva, a village in the Tula region where his descendants have organized a festival.

Where to Buy Bargain Blossoms for March 8

Do you want to cover your dearest one in rose petals come Sunday but see only the overpriced flower kiosks around the city with flowers that collapse once they're inside Moscow flats with the climate of greenhouses?

Cuban Photo Collection Marks the Revolution

A Soviet journalist who spent eight years working in Cuba opens up his set of photos and impresses Castro himself.

Cuban Photo Collection Marks the Revolution

A Soviet journalist who spent eight years working in Cuba opens up his set of photos and impresses Castro himself.

Moscow Gyms Cut Prices for February, Valentine

January may be the time that most people think of joining a gym, but the quickest are not always the wisest as gyms, which have long been charging higher and higher fees, are offering cheaper deals in February to get customers in.

Moscow Gyms Cut Prices for February, Valentine

Athletic clubs and gyms, which have long been charging higher and higher fees, are offering cheaper deals this February to get customers in.

Bottling Up Liquid Memories

Sergei Yaralov and his daughter have captured 18 months of memories.

Peeking In a Secret Printing Room

The blue, discolored facade at 55 Lesnaya Ulitsa says ""Kalandadze's Wholesale Caucasian Fruits Trade,"" but no lemons have been sold there for more than 70 years.

Pen Shows Up Sword at Tretyakov

Every painting, before acquiring its array of colors and fleshed-out shapes, begins as a skeleton of its future self as a drawing. Surveying the walls of most art galleries, these beginnings are nowhere to be found, but for the next five months at the Tretyakov, they get an entire wing for an exhibition titled "Mastery of the Pen," which features over 300 sketches, studies, travel-sketchbook snippets and other ink-drawn works by Russia's artistic greats.

Romanian Rockers Gig House Of Music

Until 1996, the 12 members of Romanian Gypsy band Fanfare Ciocarlia were peasant farmers and factory workers who performed at weddings and baptisms just to earn a living. None of them even had passports, but their new life of world tours and music awards has not brought about any seismic shifts in their lifestyles.

Avant-Garde Heirs Go on Show

The Jack of Diamonds was a group of artists that became the main exponent of the Russian avant-garde before the Revolution, a time when nobody imagined how short the first breath of art for art's sake in Russian painting would last."Heirs to Masters of the Jack of Diamonds" runs through Nov. 30 at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.


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