Books · New York · Society · People
On 15 September 1959 the first visit by a Soviet leader to the United States began. A Soviet sputnik in Earth orbit, a Soviet rocket on the Moon, and the Soviet leader arriving in the United States aboard a Soviet Tu-114, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. Khrushchev
Books · Monarchies · Mores · Paris · People
Napoleon knew perfectly well how to set his priorities. Urgent tasks he took up at once; papers that were important but not pressing he laid in a pile to be dealt with later; and documents he did not consider important he threw on the floor. Whereas Louis XVIII had a
Art · Books · Monarchies · People
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Proves to Be One of the Acknowledged Illustrators of "The Lord of the Rings" Tolkien once received a letter from a certain Ingahild Grathmer, who sent him her drawings, inspired by the universe of Middle-earth. Although he preferred his books to have
NB! · Archive · Art · Books
The greatest illustrations to "The Lord of the Rings", 1980-1990, by Sergey Yukhimov. They were published in the 1993 Russian edition
Aristocracy · Books · People
Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Dolgorukov
Aristocracy · Books · Observations · Mores
Counts Alexei Konstantinovich (1817-1875) and Lev Nikolayevich (1828-1910) were second cousins to one another
The East · Art · Books · Education · Humour
Disorder in the classroom. A pupil does not obey his teacher. A tale as old as time. From a manuscript of Saadi's «Gulistan», 1567/8, attributed to Mir Ali Husayni of Bukhara
Archive · Books · People
It turns out that the village of Borodino belonged to Denis Davydov, who became famous in the war of 1812. Sergey Nikolayevich Glinka recalls that the partisan Davydov set fire to his own house in Borodino with his own hands, before a battle had even been appointed to take place
Faith · Art · Books
When, like the high-soaring Icarus, we beat our way up towards the heavens, the Almighty singes our wings a little, that we may fly somewhat lower. Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who knew not by what means to bring his son out of the labyrinth (that is, out of
NB! · Archive · Books · Mores
Krestoslovitsa ("cross-wordery") is the forgotten Russian name for the crossword. If you are sure of your breadth of knowledge and pride yourself on your erudition, do try your hand at this puzzle from an émigré newspaper of 1943.
Books · People · Humour
The French poet Nicolas Boileau (1636-1711)
The East · Art · Books
The translator, Inoue Tsutomu, gave the book the title "The Trial of the Pledged Flesh". The action was transposed into contemporary settings, and in Utagawa Yoshimune's illustrations the characters appear in the dress and surroundings of the nineteenth century