The East · Books · Science · Society

The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun, in the fourteenth century, described the dependence of society on tax rates as follows:

At the beginning of a dynasty, when the rulers' demands are modest, taxes are low, and crafts and trade develop freely. As crafts and trade develop, a taste for luxury awakens in the rulers. As the rulers grow accustomed to luxury, they raise taxes. When taxes rise, crafts and

NB! · Geography · Museums · Humour

All Olympian gods who descend for a short while into a mortal body to wander the city streets, the taverns or, as in our case, the museums, must bear in mind that the road from Athens to Mount Olympus is no short one, and the journey by post-horse will ta

Archive · Art · Museums · Humour

“Two Hermeses”: guide Nikolaos Zafeiropoulos beside the statue of Hermes in an Athens museum, 1935

Hermes in Marble and Hermes in the Flesh. In 1935 the photojournalist Vasilios Tsakirakis took a photograph of a stranger in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The man, who turned out to be a guide named Nikolaos Zafeiropoulos, proved to be uncannily like the statue of Hermes, a copy

Architecture · Art · Museums

The della Robbia dynasty and works by Andrea, nephew of Luca, in the Bargello Museum

Someone says "della Robbia", and you hear "Florentine glazed painted ceramics". This family gave the world a whole galaxy of notable maiolica masters. Vasari, indeed, directly names the eldest of the sculptors of the della Robbia family, Luca, of the fifteenth century, as the inventor of

Archive · Mores · Society

Sunday became the seventh day of the week in the USSR by decree of 26 June 1940

The calendars of 1928 and 1945. Spot the difference? Until 1940, in the USSR, as in many countries of the world, the first day of the week was the day of rest, Sunday. The Russian word for week, nedelya, originally meant Sunday, and the days that followed were named according

Interviews · Books · Society · Pop Culture

A view on Joan Rowling's statement, society's reaction and Tsvetaeva's poetry

I asked Tatyana Tolstaya what she thinks of the persecution of J.K. Rowling over her much-discussed remark, and how she deals with the problem of separating the creator from the creation. On J.K. Rowling: her remark was perfectly normal, and society's reaction was utterly cretinous.

A woman in a black sweater and glasses speaks into a microphone at a table with a water bottle and a glass. Behind her are shelves of old books, including Ves Petersburg and address calendar

NB!

Woman speaking into a microphone in front of shelves of old directories

NB! · Observations

I shall begin every acquaintance with my students with these words

Books · Science · Society · People

Arnold Toynbee spent more than 25 years writing "A Study of History"

Arnold Toynbee spent more than 25 years writing "A Study of History". The work, which describes the rise and fall of civilisations, gave us the remark that civilisations die from suicide, not murder. Toynbee maintains that the fate of civilisations is determined by their response to the challenges

Coming Up · Moscow

Concerts and theatre performances in Moscow from 26 April to 2 May

On the eve of the weekend, I am publishing a list of theatrical events and concerts for the coming week. 26 April, 20:00 Mahler's Symphony No. 6 in A minor at the Zaryadye Concert Hall, performed by the Moscow Academic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dimitris

Books · Observations · Society

Progress Is the Mother of All Problems

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

A small girl in a beige coat and pink bonnet stands in front of a pale green door with a glazed upper panel.

NB! · Art

Belgian Symbolist Fernand Khnopff painted “Portrait of Jeanne Kéfer” in 1885

"Portrait of Jeanne Kéfer", by the Belgian Symbolist Fernand Khnopff, 1885. Jeanne is about 5 years old

Alexandr Radayev