NB! · Observations · Humour
Alexandr Radayev
Architecture · Science
Deliberate curvature of lines in the architecture of the Parthenon and other Greek temples
It turns out that the finest examples of classical Greek architecture, the Parthenon, the Hephaisteion, the Temple of Apollo at Corinth and the Temple of Zeus, are marked by a deliberate absence of perfectly straight lines. It is precisely the calculated curvature of the straight and the inclination of the
Archive · Faith · Books · Monarchies
Archbishop Platon on the hidden benefit of misfortunes and on moral unhappiness
Paul I's tutor, Platon, Archbishop of Moscow and Kaluga, in his sermon on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, 22 October 1779, reasons on good and ill fortune, paying due respect precisely to the state of misfortune. According to Archbishop Platon, we reckon
Observations · Humour
Happy New Year!
A very rare stamp of 2008
Observations
Ladies and gentlemen, my congratulations on the approaching New Year!
Ladies and gentlemen, my congratulations on the approaching New Year! I wish you to draw nearer to an understanding of your own happiness, never to lose heart, and to remain true, above all, to your own higher principle. Read poetry, spend time in nature, keep your own company, step away
NB!
A New Year Marvel
Monarchies · Moscow · Museums · Mores
A beard badge confirmed payment for exemption from shaving under the 1698 decree
The Famous Beard Token, or a Metal Receipt for the Tax on Wearing a Beard in the Time of Peter I. The compulsory shaving of beards, confirmed by a decree of 1698, did not apply to men who paid, depending on their estate, from 30 to 600 roubles a year.
NB! · Books · People
A Poetic Exchange
A poetic exchange. Sergey Gandelevsky replies to Nikolay Gumilyov, 77 years on
NB!
The Door: Winking
Archive · Art · Humour
To Caw or Not to Caw?
An open letter. Drawing by Valery Carrick (1869 – 1943)
Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour
Vatican Publishes Terms of Jubilee 2025 Indulgences, Including Abstaining from Social Media
The Vatican has issued fresh indulgences. In 2025, the remission of sins is offered not only for visiting churches, praying and doing good deeds, but also for giving up television, video games, telephones and social media at least once a week. Folks, we still have a chance. If you thought
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Humour
Nicholas II at the Gym
Nicholas II at the gym. No, you're not seeing things