Interviews · Observations · Society · People

Pierre Nora in a 2011 Interview on Regional Languages and the 2008 Constitutional Reform

In 2011 the distinguished French historian Pierre Nora gave an interview to the Russian scholar of identity, Doctor of Historical Sciences Elena Filippova, and touched upon a subject of some interest in present circumstances: the French constitutional reform of 2008. I give an abridged extract: “A good example, which I

Coming Up · Art · Moscow · Museums

Yuri Annenkov exhibition “Revolution Behind the Door” at the Museum of Russian Impressionism, 1 July to 23 August

From 1 July to 23 August, the Museum of Russian Impressionism is holding an exhibition, "Yury Annenkov. Revolution at the Door". It is a rare chance to see in one place paintings from the Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum, the

NB! · Art · Books · Monarchies

The King of Thule, hero of Goethe's poem of the king who kept to his dying day a golden goblet in memory of the beloved from whom he had parted for ever, vividly embodied by the brush of Pierre Jean van der Ouderaa, could not but have been an inspiration

NB! · Observations · Humour

When One Tries Too Diligently to Keep Pace with the Times

Coming Up · Heritage · Science · Nature · Saint Petersburg

Arboretum Park of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden operates in test mode from 2 July

Incidentally, since 2 July one of Russia's first parks, the Arboretum Park of the Peter the Great Botanical Garden, has been open on a trial basis. The oldest trees in the regular part of the park, laid out in the 1820s, are two hundred years old, but the

Coming Up · Art · Education · Saint Petersburg

Online lecture by Ilya Doronchenkov of the European University on Diaghilev's failure in the West

At 19.30, join the online lecture by Ilya Doronchenkov, Professor at the European University at Saint Petersburg: “Diaghilev's Failure? The Wrong Road to the West”

NB! · The East · Monarchies · Observations · Mores

I do not know what exactly is going on, presumably some seasonal ceremony, but this procession with the King and Queen of Thailand looks very solemn and stylish, apart from the absolute relic of the ryndas with their parasols, of course

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

Pertsova apartment house on Prechistenskaya Embankment, its present condition and fate

A fairy-tale terem on the Prechistenskaya Embankment, the Pertsova tenement house for gifted artists, is now in the use of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As you can see, one of the landmark buildings of early twentieth-century Moscow is not in the best of states: tiles keep dropping

NB!

This Is Genuinely VERY Frightening

The East · Observations · Society

Uzbekistan Promises Foreign Tourists 3,000 Dollars if They Contract Coronavirus

Uzbekistan offers foreign tourists $3,000 if they catch coronavirus during their stay in the sunny republic. Tourism occupies an important place in the country's economy, and the lockdown has had a serious effect not only on the well-being of enterprises in the sector but on a

A fig tree's foliage hangs down from a stone vault inside an ancient structure, with a park and houses visible beyond.

NB! · Archaeology · Observations · Nature

A fig tree grows upside down in the Baiae Baths Archaeological Park on the Bay of Naples

A fig tree that grows upside down. The Archaeological Park of the Baths of Baiae, on the shore of the Bay of Naples. The tree is about 20 years old. Such an unusual fig

Coming Up · Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations · Ethnography

Since such fairy-tale goings-on are afoot, a reminder that from today you can visit the exhibition "The Russian Fairy Tale" at the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val

Since such fairy-tale goings-on are afoot, a reminder that from today you can visit the exhibition "The Russian Fairy Tale" at the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val. The display brings together classic works on fairy-tale subjects, contemporary art, sculpture and media: a veritable journey through

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