Black-and-white photo of a dark-haired man in a light uniform and open greatcoat seated on a chair, a bicorne hat on the floor. The walls have rococo-style ornament.

NB!

Man in a military uniform and greatcoat seated in a room with carved panelling

NB! · Cinema · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Marlon Brando as Napoleon is, on the whole, better than Napoleon as Napoleon

Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores

Yakov Ulfeld describes Ivan the Terrible and his play with the orb at an embassy reception

Jacob Ulfeldt described Russian court etiquette with great astonishment and displeasure. Ivan the Terrible he characterises as an arrogant, swaggering, vain and abrupt man, surrounded by dull-witted boyars and streltsy. The prince, moreover, was wholly inattentive and simply did not listen as the embassy's letters and addresses

Lithograph portrait of an elderly monk with long light hair and a beard, a cross on his chest and a prayer rope in his hands

Faith

Saint Seraphim of Sarov on a peaceful state of mind and spiritual gifts

When a man walks in a peaceful frame of mind, he is as if scooping up spiritual gifts with a spoon (lzhitsa). The holy fathers, having a peaceful disposition and being overshadowed by the grace of God, lived long lives. Saint Seraphim of Sarov

NB! · Observations · Humour

Can Anyone Explain How Joan of Arc Ended Up in This Company?

Bronze figure of a winged deity with a radiating halo around the head and outstretched arms, against a golden background.

NB! · Archaeology · Faith · Museums

The Etruscan sun deity Kave on a bronze fitting from a chariot

The Etruscan deity of the rising sun, Cavatha, depicted on a bronze chariot plaque. One of the most powerful figures in the Etruscan pantheon, to whom 80 sacrifices were offered each year

Museums · Heritage · Society · Paris

Today the Louvre was forced to close owing to a staff strike

Today the Louvre was forced to close owing to a staff strike. The strike is the outcome of a mounting crisis that began several months ago, after the leak of a letter from the museum's director, Laurence des Cars, to the French Minister of Culture. In it she

Red leather cover with a gold coat of arms of Russia and the title “Constitution of the Russian Federation”.

NB! · Books · Society · Humour

Chitai-gorod names the books most often stolen from its stores

Chitai-gorod conducted an internal audit and found out which books are stolen from its shops most often. The list was topped by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In second place among book thieves came Orwell's dystopia 1984.

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

Project for the repair and restoration of the Mosselprom House in Kalashny Lane, a monument of Constructivism and one of the architectural symbols of the capital, has been approved

The restoration project includes the recovery of the graphic design of the façades, executed by Rodchenko and Stepanova. The wooden windows and doors will be restored, as will the Metlakh tile flooring in the entrance hall. On the staircase, the metal railings with their wrought and cast decorative details will

Faith · Art · Museums · Heritage

Yorkshire Museum buys medieval Limoges crucifix figure at auction for 8,500 euros

An incredible medieval crucifix of copper alloy by the craftsmen of Limoges, which returned a couple of years ago to York, where it was long kept in St Mary's Abbey, now no more. The Yorkshire Museum bought the figure at auction for 8,500 euros. For more than

Architecture · Moscow · Society · Rome · Humour

The Palace of Italian Civilisation in Rome, its architecture, the Dioscuri and Fendi

If you too sometimes feel that most Moscow architects, with all their arches, cappuccino colours and studiedly plain façades, are simply trying to copy some little-known famous building, your instinct has not failed you. Such a building exists. It is called the Palace of Italian Civilisation and was built

NB! · Art · People · Humour

Alexandr Radayev