In light of the ‘Russian disease’ that appears to have overrun Lady Gaga’s Instagram account following rumors of her romantic relationship with Bradley Cooper, we at Russia Beyond would like to offer our condolences and a bit of wisdom to the almighty Gaga with this open letter.

To most of you the portrayal of Soviets (or Russians - who cares!) as backward evil-doers by Hollywood is nothing surprising. A new view is gaining traction that the silly stereotyping is fizzling out. I argue the opposite: it’s entered a new, more nuanced phase.

Russians are more liberal about sex than they have been at any point in the last 100 years. But with the good comes the ugly. Liberated or not - it’s still predominantly women that pay the price for the archaic insecurities of a society built on masculine principles.

How did Buddhists make their way to the southern steppes of Kalmykia and why don’t people in Altay like shamans?