Mission

Paris Period

The quarterly magazine Kontinent was founded in Paris in 1974 to publish the works of authors subject to censorship in the USSR and the countries of the Communist bloc. The writer, Vladimir Maksimov, remained the editor-in-chief until the operation moved to Moscow in 1992.

Four Nobel Prize winners and many other prominent writers and public figures from the USSR and Eastern Europe were among the permanent members of the editorial board, but the actual working group from 1974 to 1992 consisted of only five people: Vladimir Maksimov, Victor Nekrasov, Natalya Gorbanevskaya, Vasily Betaki, and Violetta Iverni.

The magazine published literary, historical, and philosophical works as well as public statements presenting ideas for the future of free Russia. With great difficulty, the issues of the magazine were smuggled into the Soviet Union, where they were passed among colleagues and friends, but those who were caught reading or distributing them could get a prison term.

Authors

Over the years, among the authors in the Paris Kontinent were A. Avtorkhanov, M. Agursky, V. Aksenov, L. Alekseeva, Yu. Aleshkovsky, A. Bezanson, N. Betell, Igor Birman, D. Bobyshev, I. Brodsky, V. Bukovsky, G. Vladimov, V. Voynovich, A. Galich, Geller, P. Grigorenko, T. Goricheva, M. Dzhilas, S. Dovlatov, Ven. Erofeyev, B. Kenzheev, T. Kibirov, N. Korzhavin, V. Krivulin, Yu. Kublanovsky, Mikhail Lemkhin, E. Limonov, I. Lisnyanskaya, L. Losev, Yu. Maletsky (under a pseudonym Yury Lapidus), Yu. Mamleev, A. Mikhnik, E. Nakleushev, E. Neizvestniy, Zh. Niva, D. Orwell, B. Paramonov, G. Plisetsky, G. Pomerants, A. Pyatigorsky, G. Sapgir, A. Sakharov, A. Solzhenitsyn, V. Suvorov, A. Terts, I. Chinnov, B. Chichibabin, L. Chukovskaya, A. Shmeman, E. Etkind, V. Grossman, Yu. Dombrovsky, Georgy Ivanov,  B. Pasternak, . Rozanov, A. Tarkovsky,  N. Berdyaev, L. Shestov, and many others.

Moscow period

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the magazine’s political and ideological goals were mainly exhausted, and in 1992, Vladimir Maximov transferred the whole operation to Moscow. Igor Vinogradov became the new editor-in-chief until he died in 2015 when the magazine’s print edition ended. However, it existed for a few years in the web format.

The encyclopedia “Who is Who in Russia (M., 1998)” called Kontinent “one of the best periodicals.” During its 40+ year history, Kontinent has been found in many of the world’s foremost public and university libraries. In addition to its publications, Kontinent’s board organized several major international conferences in Moscow, Paris, Rome, New York, and Geneva, as well as Maximov’s readings “Past, Present, Future of Russia” in Paris, Moscow, Washington, and Warsaw.

New Kontinent

The mission of the New Kontinent (NewKontinent.org) is to publish works by Western authors whose opinions are more objective and balanced regarding Russia, U.S.–Russia, and East-West relations. The unprecedented anti-Russian campaign in Western political circles and the media gives Russian citizens the impression that no dialogue is possible in such conditions, but this is not true.

The current state of U.S.-Russia relations does not reflect their real potential or serve the vital national interests of the two countries. In a world where the United States and Russia face so many common threats and challenges, they all too often view each other more as a foe than a friend.

The roots of this animosity go back to the Cold War when both countries were cast as inevitable opponents incapable of finding common ground on any issue. Even today, the United States and Russia are separated not only by history and culture but also by their geopolitical goals and domestic priorities. Contributing to the problem is the shortage of direct communication between civil institutions and business groups interested in better relations between the two countries.

No two nations can ever achieve total harmony in their worldviews. This, however, should not prevent the United States and Russia from trying to develop a constructive working relationship. Closer U.S.-Russia cooperation is in the best interests of both countries, and history also provides ample evidence that a coordinated U.S.-Russian response to world challenges tends to reduce tension and produce positive results.

Communication is a key factor here. The quality of bilateral dialog must be dramatically improved to improve U.S.-Russia relations. Political and civil institutions in both countries must have a solid platform to discuss issues, exchange opinions, and resolve outstanding problems.

With this in mind, we have created New Kontinent to promote political, economic, and civil cooperation between the United States and Russia. We are committed to fighting old stereotypes, building trust, and identifying areas of common interest. While we perfectly understand that bringing friendship and genuine cooperation into U.S.-Russia relations is a difficult goal, we believe it is realistic.

Those interested in joining this effort or getting more information, please write to Forum@RussiaHouse.org