NB! · Architecture · Observations
Alexandr Radayev
Archive · Monarchies · Society · People
The 1389 will of Dmitry Donskoy and the end of tribute to the Horde under Ivan III
This remarkable phrase appears in the testament of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. The whole sentence runs thus: "And should God change the Horde, my children shall not be obliged to give the tribute to the Horde, and whichever of my sons takes tribute in his own appanage, to him
Moscow · Observations · Society · People
Remembering Election Night in March 2018
I remember Election Night in March 2018. It was his sixth presidential defeat, yet Zhirinovsky climbs onto the stage without any visible disappointment. A short speech on how the political landscape would change in the years ahead. We applaud more out of inertia: the result has been announced, though everything
NB! · Humour
Manu Decided to Hitch a Ride on the Trend
Archive · Art · Monarchies · Humour
The future Louis XI isolated Charles VII from the court, and the king feared poisoning
The Parlement of Paris, or the Supreme Royal Court of France, in solemn session in the presence of King Charles VII. Miniature by Jean Fouquet from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier, 1450s. From about the summer of 1461, the future King Louis XI effectively isolated his father, Charles VII, in
Architecture · Cinema · Observations · Heritage · Society
Trump decides to change the colour of the pool bottom on the National Mall in Washington
Trump Plans to Rebuild the Reflecting Pool, the Very One Between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, Along Which Forrest Gump Ran to Jenny and Around Which a Crowd of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Listened to Martin Luther King. I've probably built more than a hundred
Archaeology · Geography · Science · Nature
An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena has set side by side three sets of data: models of the distribution of the largest complexes of vector mosquitoes, palaeoclimatic models and the settlement sites
An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena has set side by side three sets of data: models of the distribution of the largest complexes of vector mosquitoes, palaeoclimatic models and the settlement sites of early humans in sub-Saharan Africa in the period
Archaeology · The East · Art
Marble statue of Athena from the Augustan era found in Laodicea theatre ruins, Turkey
In the ancient city of Laodicea in south-western Turkey, a marble statue of Athena almost two metres tall has been found in the ruins of the western theatre. The statue lay face down in a collapse of rubble by the outer wall of an administrative building. The head and
Architecture · Observations · New York · Society
Have you come across reels criticising the new skyscraper in New York, which is being berated for blocking the view of the Empire State Building from Fifth Avenue?
Have you come across reels criticising the new skyscraper in New York, which is being berated for blocking the view of the Empire State Building from Fifth Avenue? These lamentations have been turning up in my feed for a week now, and New Yorker acquaintances confirm that everyone is indeed
Archaeology · The East · Books · Mores · Education
Sumerian poem “School Days” about a negligent pupil and gifts for his teacher
The first documented case of sucking up to a teacher was preserved for us by Sumerian literature. It is probably one of the most popular texts in Sumerian: a poem about a negligent pupil, written around 2000 BC by an unknown teacher. The poem was called "Schooldays". The
NB! · Art · Museums · Society
The Venice Biennale jury "will not award artists from countries whose leaders have been accused of war crimes"
The East · Geography · Society
Forever in Iran's Hands
A Persian inscription on a propaganda billboard depicting the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran. Photo: Abedin Taherkenareh, EPA agency