Archive · Books · Science
The Medieval Dog. Strange as it may seem, the symbol @, which Russians call a "dog", appeared long before the internet: it was invented back in the Middle Ages. To economise precious parchment and the copyists' time, monks replaced the frequently occurring Latin preposition "ad" with
NB! · Archive · Art · Books
The Wheel of Fortune in a 15th-century edition of Giovanni Boccaccio's "Fates of Illustrious Men and Women" looks like a fairground carousel, with a king enthroned at the very top while courtiers go flying off the rickety side seats
Archaeology · The East · Art · Museums · Observations
It is incredible that these objects were made in the 1300s BC and earlier. I can quite easily picture the golden couches in the form of lions and buffaloes, the busts of the celestial cow, the chests, the statues and the Nile barges sailing into the interior of my flat
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Architecture · Monarchies · Museums · Heritage · Saint Petersburg
The Palace of Monplaisir was built to designs by Peter the Great. Whenever the Emperor came to Peterhof, he would usually stay here, in one of his favourite palaces. The interiors were adorned with Dutch tiles, wood carving, lacquer panels, stucco and painted ceilings. The floors of the galleries and
Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Society
Most of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve now looks like this. A continuous fence with pinpoint access to the architectural ensemble, while the protected park itself has been effectively sealed off and dug up. I did not go to the trouble of finding out why the work is being done, or
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Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Society
The Destruction of Churches in France: A Standard Procedure in the Package of Measures for Changing a Civilisational Substrate. Several churches a year in every département. The reasons may be purely formal, in this case administrative reforms that turn Christian places of worship into an expensive burden on the books
Monarchies · Museums · Society
On 24 November 1813 Russian Cossacks liberated Amsterdam from the French invaders. Russian and Prussian troops helped the Dutch to free their country from the French, and soon after the events in Amsterdam the Netherlands proclaimed its independence. But the Dutch now react very painfully to statements along the lines
Archive · Moscow · Science · Society
Muscovites observe the Great Solar Eclipse of 19 June 1936: a solar eclipse on the eve of the repressions. Photographs by Yefrem Yefremov. Against the purplish-grey sky there flared a silken, silvery corona, of the form typical of the epoch of solar maximum. The absolutely black disc of the
Faith · Art · Books
The singing shepherd, for a martial feat, Took up no heavy sword, No helmet, no armour of tempered steel, No mail from Saul's shoulder; But, overshadowed by the spirit of God, He took a plain flint in the field - And the foreign-born foe fell, Flashing an. And