The East · Books · Observations · Nature
For all who remember the opening lines of my book, where the drink haoma is mentioned, and never learnt what this bracing tipple was: remember this little herb, which grows in many lands of Eurasia. This handsome plant goes by many names: Kuzmich's grass, steppe raspberry, soma and,
Archive · Books · Museums · Science · People · Saint Petersburg
The Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences announces the long-awaited acquisition of Vladimir Nabokov's Swiss archive, after three years of preparatory work and colossal logistics. The archive amounts to as many as 300 boxes of documents, manuscripts and texts. To be
Interviews · Books · London · Monarchies · Observations · People
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, photographed by Holly Fernando for The Telegraph. From the interview we learn that she is now the author of 77 books (for children) and has at last written a novel for adults, Heart for a Compass, about the vicissitudes of court life in the Victorian
Geography · Maps · Books · Monarchies
Novorossiysk is, in principle, clear enough: the new name was tied to that of the whole region, Russia's southern Russian acquisitions. But Kafa and Akhtiar? The former is found as early as Afanasy Nikitin; it was what the Genoese called Feodosia, and after them the Turks who seized
Cinema · Books · Observations
Remember when Kharita Ignatyevna was teaching Larisa how to handle wealthy suitors, and she took up her guitar, sat down by the window and sang "Matushka, golubushka, solnyshko moe, Pozhalei, rodimaya, dityatko tvoe!" What, in essence, does this romance by Gurilyov, to words by Nikormsky, signify? On the
Books · Moscow · Museums · Mores
They call the neighbour to the samovar, And Dunya pours the tea; They whisper to her: "Dunya, mind your manners!" Then they bring in the guitar too: And she starts to squeak (good God!): Come to my golden palace! Literal translation Here the guitar is a sign of
Archive · Books · Mores · People
Many Tolstoys, for understandable reasons, do not care for Chertkov, the closest friend, confidant, fellow thinker and comrade-in-arms of Lev Nikolayevich. To appreciate Chertkov's place in Tolstoy's life, it is enough to recall that their correspondence fills five volumes of Tolstoy's collected
Aristocracy · Architecture · Books · Heritage · People
A memorial marker at Yasnaya Polyana on the site of the house laid down by Prince Volkonsky, in which his grandson, Leo Tolstoy, would be born. Like the rebuilt estate of Bald Hills in «War and Peace», the house was built after the prince's death, and somewhat more
Archive · Books · People · Rome
Byron visited the Roman Colosseum in 1817, when the ruins were still wholly overgrown with thick vegetation and a veritable carpet of flowers. He wrote of it: "I have passed some days in wondrous Rome, and am delighted with Rome. As a whole, Rome, both ancient and modern, is
Coming Up · Archive · Interviews · Books · Moscow
An exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the Library of Foreign Literature itself and the 120th anniversary of its founder, Margarita Ivanovna Rudomino, has opened at the library. The display includes the first director's personal belongings, letters and photographs. It also features an unusual multimedia element: an interview
Architecture · Books · Reportage · Society Pages
Today sees the long-awaited opening of the mysterious park in the former pioneer camp of Veretyevo near Dubna, designed by Alexander Brodsky himself, who conducted one of the first tours between the clumps of nettles and thickets of thistle. The landscape park, laid out right on a bog, is
Cinema · Books
The first of three screen versions of H. G. Wells's "The Island of Doctor Moreau" (1932 Erle C. Kenton, 1977 Don Taylor, 1996 Frankenheimer-Stanley) may seem the most naive, but on reflection "Island of Lost Souls" is quite a modern horror story, whose