Bookshelf

Von Zürich nach Kamtschatka. Schweizer im Russischen Reich. Chronos, 2008.

Mit dem fall des eisernen Vorhangs und der Erweiterung der Europäischen Gemeinschaft beginnt Europa sich wieder als Kontinent zu verstehen, der eine gemeinsame Verganhenheit mit zahlreichen Berührungspunkten besitzt. Die Schweiz ist Teil dieser europäischen Ost-West-Geschichte, die von Krieg und Frieden, von Handel und Wirtschaft, nicht zuletzt von persönlichen Kontakten geprägt war und ist.
Unter den Russlandschweizern bafanden sich auch Zürcherinnen und Zürcher. Statistisch gesehen eine kleine, wenig homogene Gruppe, waren sie in allen Bereichen anzutreffen und hinterliessen als Wissenschaftler wie als Künstler, als Kaufleute wie als Pädagogen, als Industrielle wie als Musterlandwirte ihre Spuren. Auf der Suche nach solchen Spuren lädt das reich illustrierte Buch ein zu einer Entdeckungsreise in eine Welt, die 1917 ein abruptes Ende fand.

About the author

Nadia Sikorsky

Nadia Sikorsky grew up in Moscow where she obtained a master's degree in journalism and a doctorate in history from Moscow State University. After 13 years at UNESCO, in Paris and then in Geneva, and having served as director of communications at Green Cross International founded by Mikhail Gorbachev, she developed NashaGazeta.ch, the first online Russian-language daily newspaper, launched in 2007.

In 2022, she found herself among those who, according to Le Temps editorial board, "significantly contributed to the success of French-speaking Switzerland," thus appearing among opinion makers and economic, political, scientific and cultural leaders: the Forum of 100.

After 18 years leading NashaGazeta.ch, Nadia Sikorsky decided to return to her roots and focus on what truly fascinates her: culture in all its diversity. This decision took the form of this trilingual cultural blog (Russian, English, French) born in the heart of Europe – in Switzerland, her adopted country, the country distinguished by its multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Nadia Sikorsky does not present herself as a "Russian voice," but as the voice of a European of Russian origin (more than 35 years in Europe, 25 years spent in Switzerland) with the benefit of more than 30 years of professional experience in the cultural world at the international level. She positions herself as a cultural mediator between Russian and European traditions; the title of the blog, "The Russian Accent," captures this essence – the accent being not a linguistic barrier, not a political position but a distinctive cultural imprint in the European context.

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A Russian Mystery at the Fondation Jan Michalski

A Russian accent in an Art Brut collection? I certainly did not expect to encounter one at the exhibition Écrits d’Art Brut at the Fondation Jan Michalski. It all began with a sheet of paper dated December 1938, covered with Russian, French and English words, which which evoked a vague sense of someone's tragedy, encoded in chaotic lines and symbols.

"White Nights" in Rome: Why Are Italians Turning to Dostoevsky?

On 17 June, people in the Italian capital will be reading Dostoevsky’s «White Nights». That is the premise of La tempesta silenziosa (The Silent Storm), an initiative conceived by the writer Alessandro Baricco and organised by Rome’s Department of Culture as part of the city’s Day of Remembrance programme.