This volume contains a selection of early works by Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yevtushenko who blazed a trail for a generation of Soviet poets with a confident poetic voice that moves effortlessly between social and personal themes. 'Zima Junction' vividly describes his idyllic childhood in Siberia and his impressions of home after a long absence in Moscow. Private moments are captured in 'Waking', on the joys of discovering the unexpected in a lover, and 'Birthday', on a mother's concern for her son, while 'Encounter' depicts an unexpected meeting with Hemingway in Copenhagen. 'The Companion' and 'Party Card' show war from a child's eye, whether playing while oblivious to German bombs falling nearby or discovering a fatally wounded soldier in the forest, while Yevtushenko's famous poem, 'Babiy Yar', is an angry expose of the Nazi massacre of the Jews of Kiev.

"Born in the 1360s, Andrey Rublev was a Muscovite monk and icon painter who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is acknowledged as the supreme medieval Russian painter of icons and frescos, yet much about him remains mysterious. To date there is no volume in English on him or his work. This book addresses the gap, giving an overview of Rublev’s own times and later reputation, and taking in the most recent Rublev scholarship. It uses Russian-language material (including Old Russian), but is thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist reader. Andrey Rublev is profusely illustrated with previously unpublished images, bringing the story of Rublev’s ‘rediscovery’ right up to date.