The Sword of the Hospodar of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, the First Ruler of United Romania, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza

Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza forwarded arms from Russia to the Serbian government, needed to withstand the West and the Ottoman Empire. Despite the encroachments of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, backed by Austria and England, Cuza did not allow the convoy to be stopped.

In recognition of Alexandru Cuza's services, the Serbian Prince Michael Obrenović presented him with this precious sword of gold, diamonds and emeralds, symbolising the friendship and unity of Serbia and Romania in the struggle against foreign occupation. The hilt bears an image of Saint Andrew, the heavenly patron of Serbia; a lion and an eagle fighting a serpent personify the struggle of Serbia and Romania against the Western occupiers.

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free. So, here is the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

The Sword of the Hospodar of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, the First Ruler of United Romania, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza

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At the close of the Strugatskys' "Roadside Picnic" the Golden Sphere is asked for this: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to leave no one aggrieved, but the digest really does come free

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s