The East · Books · Mores · Humour

Pushkin on the price of a cab fare in Tiflis in “Journey to Arzrum”

In Tiflis I was struck by the cheapness of money. I drove in a cab across two streets and dismissed the driver half an hour later, and had to pay two silver roubles. At first I supposed that he meant to take advantage of a newcomer's ignorance; but

NB! · Books

May this day endure through the ages as a union of friendship, glory and valour…

NB! · Observations · Society

But in fact the Russian army took Berlin three times: the first in the course of the bloody Seven Years' War, on 12 October 1760; the second on 4 March 1813, during the Russian army's Foreign Campaign of 1813-1814; now, unjustly…

A dark-haired woman in a black jacket smiles with her arms crossed beside a sculpture pedestal in a park.

NB! · Interviews · Books · People

Donna Tartt in an interview compares good books to an off-road vehicle on rough terrain

Donna Tartt, in a recent interview, likened reading and writing good books to an off-road vehicle driving over terrain so rough that it is unclear whether the machine will ever make it back. "It ought to be fun, I think," the writer remarked.

NB! · Archive · Observations · Education · Society

In today's presidential decree "On Approval of the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Sphere of Historical Education", I noticed an important clause on the digitisation of archival documents and the creation of a nationwide

In today's presidential decree "On Approval of the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Sphere of Historical Education", I noticed an important clause on the digitisation of archival documents and the creation of a nationwide platform for archival search. We shall

Narrow gallery with brick walls and domed vaults; gilded mosaics with figures cover the arches, blue light enters the windows, and a visitor stands far off.

NB!

Mosaics on the vaults of a gallery in an old brick church

Architecture · Faith · The East · Observations · Heritage

Of all the churches in Constantinople, the one that impressed me most was the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, part of the Chora Monastery complex

Of all the churches in Constantinople, the one that impressed me most was the Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, part of the Chora Monastery complex. In present-day Istanbul it is the best-preserved Byzantine church; the current building dates from the 11th century and stands on the

NB! · Faith · Art · People

Crucifix from the church of San Domenico in Arezzo, wood, tempera and gold

Crucifix from the church of San Domenico in Arezzo, wood, tempera and gold. The work of Giotto's teacher, known under the pseudonym of Cimabue, dated to roughly 1268-1271

Manuscript page with Cyrillic text and a miniature showing warriors in a boat, riders on white horses and a tower.

Archive · Art · Books

Folio 14 of the Radziwill Chronicle from the late 15th century, with a miniature

The Campaign of Oleg the Prophetic against Tsargrad. Folio 14 of the Radziwiłł Chronicle, late fifteenth century

Geography · Books · Nature

Sergey Yesenin’s 1920 poem “Sorokoust” about a foal running after a train

Have you seen How it runs across the steppes, Hiding in the lake mists, Snorting through an iron nostril, A train on cast-iron paws? And behind it Through the tall grass, As at a festival of desperate races, Flinging its slender legs up towards its head, Gallops a red-

Passport booklet page with a handwritten entry declaring the holder unfit for military service at the 1902 conscription.

Archive · Society

Record of exemption from military service in a Russian Empire passport booklet of 1907

Attitude to Military Service:. Appeared for the performance of military service at the conscription of 1902, but was found wholly unfit for military service, and is therefore exempted from service for ever From a passport book of the Russian Empire, 1907

Aristocracy · Archive · Books · Mores

A week of dinners and evenings in the notes of Princess Varvara Turkestanova

"On Monday I dine at home on a small quantity of soup, a cutlet, eggs and a little glass of port; then I spend nearly the whole day writing; in the evening, that is at 9 o'clock, I go to Princess Boris. Nothing is yet decided as

Alexandr Radayev