Books · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
"Of course, her pleasant face bore traces of corpulence," – I recommend all ageists to read Byron's description of Catherine II, the imperial mistress of Don Juan. A not especially flattering beginning, one would think. But in fact Byron is kind and benevolent towards the 62-year-
Books · Observations · Humour
- Dejection, being alien to man's nature, sits ill with wisdom and plunges whoever is possessed of it into madness. Is that clear? No moping around here!
Archive · Books · People
It Turns Out Pasternak Was Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature Six Times. The first occasion was in 1946, when Boris Pasternak's candidacy was proposed by the English Slavist and translator of Silver Age poetry Cecil Maurice Bowra. He nominated Pasternak again in 1949. In 1948 and
Books · Society
So lived the citizens of Florence, watching with indignation as the grandeur of their state was brought low, as every institution was perverted, the rule of law destroyed, morals corrupted and all decency trampled underfoot. Those who had never beheld the outward pomp of monarchical power could not without grief
Coming Up · Books · Museums
"Uncle Vanya". "Theatre Ark in Dubrava" Drama Theatre (Sergiev Posad). This play by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is more than a hundred years old. The company behind the production asked itself: "Who are these people, Chekhov's heroes, now, in the 21st century?" "
Archaeology · Archive · The East · Books · London · Museums · Observations · Ethnography
I am reading the diary of Professor Ivan Ivanovich Zarubin about his journey to the Pamirs in the summer of 1914. He describes sailing down a mountain river on a raft made of inflated goatskins. It brought to mind the Neo-Assyrian relief of the 8th century BC from the
NB! · Books · Society
Faith · Art · Books · Humour
A Robo-Pope in an Engraving from an Anti-Catholic Publication of the Eighteenth Century. A book of 1720 with the witty title "Pope's Porridge Served on the Dishes of the Huguenots, Considering the Papal Rise, Idolatry and Abuses in the Veneration of Images, as well as
Faith · Books · Observations · Rome
A photograph from the book Inside the Vatican, on the life of the theocratic state under John Paul II, with photographs by James Stanfield
Archive · Books · Society
The 1939 volume "The Press of the Land of Socialism" offers valuable data on the state of the publishing industry in the USSR. For example, it gives a comparative breakdown of book output and the print runs of books issued in particular fields and by particular authors. If
Architecture · Art · Books · Moscow · Museums · Paris
Yury Avvakumov, Russian architect, populariser of the concept of paper architecture, artist who has represented Russia three times at the Venice Biennale, and researcher who has worked for many years with the legacy of the Russian avant-garde and the them. The catalogue of the exhibition "Moscow-Paris. 1900-
NB! · Art · Books · Observations
Illustrations by the British artist Angela Barrett for "Anna Karenina". Better than any screen adaptation