In the Press · Interviews · Books · People

New Literary Observer has published "Doctor Zhivago as a Historical Novel", by the philologist Konstantin Polivanov, a study of Boris Pasternak's principal novel, of the prototypes of its heroes, of Pasternak's spiritual and political evolution, and of ho

New Literary Observer (Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye) has published "Doctor Zhivago as a Historical Novel" by the philologist Konstantin Polivanov. The book deals with Boris Pasternak's principal novel, the prototypes of the heroes of his famous work, Pasternak's spiritual and political evolution, and the way

Watercolour drawing of men in early 17th century dress playing ball with bats in a courtyard, with a red tiled roof at the bottom.

NB! · Archive · Faith · Art · Education

Ball game in the courtyard of the Fulda seminary in an early 17th century album amicorum drawing

Men playing ball in the courtyard of the Fulda seminary, the oldest school in Germany, founded in the monastery of Fulda in the 8th century, that is, more than 1,200 years ago. Drawing from an album amicorum of the early 17th century

Coming Up · Books · People

Project for the 50th anniversary of poet Boris Ryzhy devotes a month to his works

Boris Ryzhy departed this life very young, at 26. This year he would have turned fifty. It was Boris Ryzhy who wrote the lines "In Russia people part for ever…". His poetry requires no preparation and no agonised interpretation: it is to be felt. Yevgeny Rein, a friend

Ancient marble head of a youth with wavy hair on a round base, displayed against a dark museum backdrop.

NB! · The East · Art · Museums · Observations

Exhibition of Ancient Sculpture at the Istanbul Airport Museum

A magnificent display of antique sculpture in the Istanbul Airport Museum. Frankly, the material is handled here far better than in most of Istanbul's city museums, which by no means always leave an impression of a high museum culture

Painting of several men asleep among olive trees, with a grey-bearded man sitting and resting his head on his hand.

Art · People

Felice Carena, Italian painter who lived from 1879 to 1966

Apostles, 1924. The Italian painter Felice Carena (1879-1966)

NB! · Moscow

The Dungeons of Moscow Are Kindly Asked Not to Scatter Money About

Close-up of gray stone steps with rough edges and thin joints between slabs. Sharp shadows fall across the upper steps, and a Roman numeral VI is carved into one slab.

NB!

Stone steps of a staircase in slanting sunlight

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations

The curious numbering of the steps in front of the State Kremlin Palace: have you ever noticed it?

Books · Observations · Education

This year's text for the "Total Dictation" will be written by the author Marina Moskvina

This year's text for the "Total Dictation" will be written by the author Marina Moskvina. I am scarcely acquainted with her work, but I remembered a charming story that contained this sentence: "Every Saturday I hoped that Dad would stay at home, that we would

Art · Mores · Paris · People · Pop Culture · Humour

In 1980 Dalí sent Yoko Ono a dry blade of grass for 10,000 dollars instead of a hair

How Salvador Dalí Sold Yoko Ono a Blade of Grass for $10,000. Some episodes from the life of Salvador Dalí, for all their plausibility, may seem entirely apocryphal: a kind of definition of Surrealism itself. Yoko Ono and Salvador Dalí first met in 1969, when Ono and John Lennon

Art · Books · Museums · Mores · Paris · People

Raphael's portrait of Baldassare Castiglione from the Mazarin collection in the Louvre

Portrait of the Italian Renaissance writer and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529), known as the author of The Book of the Courtier, which describes the court of Urbino in the form of a manual of etiquette. Castiglione gives particular attention to moderation and courtesy, regarding them as proof of civilisation.

Stylized engraving of a full-length winged figure with a halo, in armor and a cloak, holding a long sword upright. The wings are golden.

NB!

Alexandr Radayev