Aristocracy · Archive · Observations · Mores
"A man prematurely aged provokes surprise, if not fear" Countess Lydia Andreyevna Rostopchina applied this conclusion to the memory of her father, Andrey Fyodorovich. Not very flattering words, but the fact is that the younger son of the all-powerful Governor-General of Moscow really did look considerably
Aristocracy · Archive · Mores · People
Baroness Natalya Mikhailovna Stroganova, known for her rich collection of books and the vast fortune she received from her husband Nikolai, was widowed at forty and left with one son. Her nephew, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Dolgorukov, left a most amusing account of his relations with his aunt. Chance joined the
Aristocracy · Archive · Moscow · Mores
The boy's upbringing was taken in hand by the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, while as guardians of the young Sheremetev's person and of his fortune she appointed the State Secretary Dmitry Petrovich Troshchinsky and the Privy Councillor and Senator Mikhail Ivanovich Danaurov, whose family settled at
NB! · Archive · Science · Humour
It is hard to believe this invention did not become the most popular in history. A contrivance for descending from the upper floors without a staircase! GE-NI-AL!
Archive · Moscow · Observations · Mores
The Moscow winter seasons of 1814-15 were brighter and richer than the pre-war seasons of 1810-11. This is understandable: people were exhausted by the hardships of war, by ruin, universal gloom and interminable mourning, and when the time came, they returned to life with fresh and even
Aristocracy · Archive · Moscow · Mores · People
Ekaterina Khovanskaya, like many mothers, suffered terribly when no news came from her son, especially during the main and bloodiest battles, which only aggravated her already extremely frail condition. The son was a noted carouser and simply forgot to write home, for which his father devised a stratagem: he asked
NB! · Archive · Moscow · Mores · People
Andropov's flat at 26 Kutuzovsky Prospekt. The photographs were taken in 1984, after the death of the General Secretary
Archive · London · Mores · People
At the funeral of the national hero Admiral Nelson on 9 January 1806, I was struck by the sumptuous hearse in the form of a boat, drawn by 6 black horses: the procession made its way from the Admiralty to Saint Paul's Cathedral. On the cornice of the
Archive · Faith · Books · Observations
On St Nicholas's Day, a detail comes to mind. In the 1642 book "The Service and Life of Nicholas the Wonderworker" there is, in the margin of one page, a curious note dating from the eighteenth century: "If things go quite badly for you, pray
Archive · Mores · Society
From the report of Guard Corporal Ignaty Kolosyev, with the hand of the clerk Stepan Lavrentyev affixed in his stead. To the Bryansk Chancery of the Voivodeship Administration: "On the 21st day of August of this year 1730, in Bryansk, in the square, the peasant wench Yefrosinya was buried
Archive · Monarchies · Observations · People
The legend of the elder Fyodor Kuzmich, under whose name Alexander I supposedly lived in hiding in Siberia, is not the only evidence that the Emperor was terribly weighed down by the burden of the crown and longed to be rid of the duties of power, to run away. A
Archive · Faith · Museums · Mores
What Did the Common People of Ancient Rus' Die Of? Of wild beasts, the elements, disease and clumsy cookery. The synodikon, a handwritten church book listing names for commemoration, is recorded in Rus' quite early. In theory, a synodikon ought to name every Orthodox Christian who had ever