Author Archives: yalensis

Episode 5 Recap: A grieving but determined Fyodor Borisovich Godunov ascends to the throne of his father.  The teenager looks out at the same sea of two-faced boyar faces.  Bishop Varlaam entreats him to be strong and depend on “these … Continue reading →

Episode 4 Recap: Poor Boris is having another bad nightmare.  In this one he re-encounters Ivan the Terrible in the hot tub.  But the bathhouse is all cob-webby and everything is falling apart.  Ivan looks like a zombie, with scabs … Continue reading →

Episode 3 Recap: Dear Readers:  Where we left off, Xenia Godunova was supposed to get hitched to Prince Charming of Denmark, but then he keeled over unexpectedly and is in a coma.  But don’t throw those bridesmaid dresses away just … Continue reading →

Episode 2 Recap: Famine.  The people of Moscow are dying like flies. Tsar Boris knows perfectly well that the boyars are hoarding grain.  A little Marxist education:  Medieval Russia was an oligarchy, in which the main landowners ran the government.  … Continue reading →

Dear Readers: The production of the Boris miniseries was a huge and expensive project.  Please to watch the 13-minute video in the link I just linked for some exciting trailers and historical analysis.  The subject matter:  The crucial period of … Continue reading →