Letter from Alexander Herzen to Alexander II, an Emperor Who Did Not Have to Cross a Square Drenched in Blood to Mount the Throne. Simple, clear and kind words. A cherished appeal. The request of a free Russian to grant the Russian people freedom, land and the spoken word. Much of what Herzen wished for would come to pass already under the reign of Alexander II, whom he would call the Liberator
An American archaeologist has carried out a forensic analysis of skulls of people who were buried beside the tombs of Egypt's first kings at Abydos, and has found on many of them traces of violent death. Abydos in Upper Egypt served as the burial place of the kings
A costume evening at one of the Moscow theatres in the early twentieth century
Professor Oba Mie of Kanagawa University writes that Japan could become a third partner for the ASEAN countries alongside the USA and China. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations preserves its independence under the slogan of "centrality": the bloc's members seek to remain the principal forum
On 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is regarded as the patron of animals and of nature, animals are blessed in churches all over the world. Stories of his sermon to the birds and of the wolf of Gubbio are associated with the name of Francis,