Aristocracy · Archive · Moscow · Mores

With the death of Count Nikolay Petrovich Sheremetev, Dmitry Nikolayevich was left a complete orphan: the seven-year-old son of the former serf actress Praskovya Kovalyova-Zhemchugova, who had died soon after his birth

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

Archive · Moscow · Observations · Mores

A week of balls in Moscow in January 1815, as described by Sofya Volkova

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

A Moscow grandee, poet and celebrated writer, Yury Alexandrovich Neledinsky-Meletsky, found a touching and ingenious way to calm the anxieties of his ailing wife over the fate of their only son Sergei, who served in the years of the Patriotic War…

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

Moscow · Observations · Mores · Humour

The interior of Andropov's Moscow apartment and his well-known modesty

It is a matter of common knowledge that Andropov was a very modest man. Yet, looking at the interior of his Moscow flat, it is hard not to ask oneself: why not summon a decorator, from some theatre or other if need be, or any other artist, to help make

Bedroom with two beds, green fern-pattern wallpaper, a bay window, a polished wardrobe and framed portraits on the walls.

NB! · Archive · Moscow · Mores · People

Interiors of Andropov's flat on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, photographed in 1984

Andropov's flat at 26 Kutuzovsky Prospekt. The photographs were taken in 1984, after the death of the General Secretary

Art · Museums · Observations · Mores

Ribera's Portrait of Magdalena Ventura and the Symbolism of the Spindle

To pose for Ribera, the 52-year-old Doña Magdalena Ventura was lodged in the palace of the Duke of Naples. It is believed that at this time she had just given birth to a child who, in the opinion of many art historians, is not depicted in the portrait:

Art · Museums · Mores · People

Jusepe de Ribera painted the bearded Magdalena Ventura for the Viceroy of Naples in 1631

The great wonder of nature, Magdalena Ventura of the town of Accumoli among the Samnites, commonly called the region of Abruzzo, in the Kingdom of Naples, aged 52 years. And it is noteworthy that at the age of 37 she began to grow hairy and sprouted a beard so thick

Archive · London · Mores · People

Funeral of Admiral Nelson on 9 January 1806 and the boat-shaped hearse

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

Three carved Roman bone dolls with sculpted hairstyles on a grey background, the one on the left with movable arms and legs.

NB! · Archaeology · Museums · Observations · Mores · Humour

Roman bone dolls with movable limbs from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD

I thought Soviet baby dolls were creepy, and then I saw these Roman bone dolls with movable limbs, 3rd to 4th centuries AD. Shall we talk about the psyche of the children of Ancient Rome?

Archive · Mores · Society

From the Report of Guard Corporal Ignaty Kolosyev, with the Hand of the Clerk Stepan Lavrentyev Affixed in His Stead

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

Art · London · Monarchies · Mores

Sir John Melville Was Put in an Awkward Position by Queen Elizabeth: She Asked the Scottish Ambassador Whether She Was Fairer Than His Queen

Sir John Melville was put in an awkward position by Queen Elizabeth: she asked the Scottish ambassador whether she was fairer than his queen. Melville replied that "Elizabeth is the fairest queen in England, and Mary the fairest in Scotland". Which of us dances better, then? Elizabeth pressed

Archive · Faith · Museums · Mores

The 17th-century Kirillo-Novoezersky Synodikon lists dozens of forms of death

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