Although Russian folklore teems with fearsome spirits and creatures, horror has never taken root as a popular genre in Russian culture. In literature, the supernatural typically inflicts psychological rather than physical torment, and modern attempts at slasher horror in film have largely failed at the Russian box office. The most successful Russian horror films instead […]

The Latvian daina is far more than a folk song. This tradition stretches back over a millennium, with some examples preserving linguistic forms long lost in modern Latvian. These songs are credited with recording Latvia’s prehistory and sustaining its culture through centuries of foreign rule. Dainas were central to the Latvian National Awakening, which eventually […]