The Black Sea or “Chernoye more”is an inland sea, located in southern Russia and bordered by Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Moldova. The Black Sea is not immune from the ravages of mankind’s progress. As a result, it’s dying.

Slaves existed all over the world, and slavery was not an idea concocted by one specific race. In Russia, the roots of serfdom can be traced back to the eleventh century in Kiev and the invasions of the Mongolians/Tatars.

Who was Ghenghis Khan? He was a powerful Mongolian leader of the twelfth century who expanded his empire by conquering parts of Russia. The Mongolians or Tatars remained a presence in Russia for 250 years.

Tea or chai was introduced to Russia by the Mongols. Tea is prepared either in a teapot or in the samovar, a brass tea urn. Tea is a delightful beverage, and to boot, it can help ward off a cold with the recipe I've included in this article.

From the time when I began to understand Russian, I became acquainted with charming Russian sayings that made me laugh more often than not. Read and ruminate about a few of my favorites.

Discover the traditions of Russian Christmas Eve or Sochelnik. Did you know that Russians also have a version of the tale "The Night Before Christmas," written by Nikolai Gogol?

Summer is the perfect time to indulge in some delicious and healthy cucumber soup. Okroshka is Russian cold cucumber soup, easy to make and good to eat!

Every summer, my Papa had a ritual: he bought 10 pounds of sour cherries and proceeded to make his cherry liqueur. The Russian version of this cherry coridal is called vishynyovka, derived from the Russian word for cherries: vishyny.

Every culture has its fairytales and in those fairytales you'll discover a witch or two. Baba Yaga is the Russian witch or vedma.

Book review of "The Last Tsar" by Edvard Radzinsky.