An American college student who studies Russian history heads to St. Petersburg at the the end of the Cold War and becomes attracted to her roommate's boyfriend, a former soldier. His stories, along with her interactions with other college students, add to her experience of a tentative social environment in post-war Russia.

In 1990s Leningrad, a Russian man prepares to emigrate, but things don't quite go as planned—twists of fate, complex friendships, and the omnipresent KGB stand in his way.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, a Russian man studying in the United States reconnects with his estranged, ludicrously Communist grandfather. Through letters, phone calls, and eBay, they bond over their shared experiences with death and Soviet life.

In 20th century Russia, a Korean-Russian mechanic's childhood best friend suddenly returns to their hometown. Their unexpected reunion stirs memories from their families' intertwined past and forces the mechanic to confront the disappearance of his Russian mother.

A Russian man recalls the first time he fell in love.

A Russian girl looks forward to occasional visits by her mother's best friend. When the friend soon plans to visit with her new deaf and blind lover, feelings of scandal, anxiety, and curiosity emerge in the girl's family.

While touring Russia to better understand the lives of its inhabitants, an Englishman is invited to stay at a local man’s home, where he witness one of the region’s infamous holy men perform a miraculous, but dubious healing.

As conflict rages between Russia and Ukraine, a woman struggles to get through to her friend caught in the middle of it.

When a Soviet state official attempts to coerce a celebrated poet into apologizing for a political joke he made, the official gets a taste of his own predatory medicine at the hand of the poet's vengeful wife.

Two little girls form a tumultuous friendship that impacts each of their life's dreams and desires in deep, unconscious ways—a fact that only becomes evident when they reconnect many years down the line.