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In 1722 Peter I introduced a special mass-produced form of state insignia, the Zertsalo, which remained an obligatory attribute of the institutions of the Russian Empire until 1917
The symbol of the supremacy of law took the form of a wooden prism with three panels, crowned with the state eagle. On the panels were placed decrees on the proper conduct of business in public offices: - the Decree on the Safeguarding of Civil Rights of 17 April 1722; - the
Books · Monarchies · Observations · Science
Ivan the Terrible Ruled as an Autocrat, Now Wisely and Sagely, Now Recklessly and Cruelly
Autocracy (samovlastye), according to V.I. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary, is unlimited power, strength, will, or the right of disposal, constrained by nothing, felt and perceived as a right or a quality. The word "samovlastnost", as representing a fusion of the meanings of supreme power and the
Art · Monarchies · Mores
Louis XIV Plays His Favourite Game, Billiards, 1694
Note the cue, which resembles a little mallet. Look at the billiard table. First, it has no pockets. Second, a post and an arch stand upon it. What are they? This is a variety popular in France: fortification billiards. For this game the table was furnished with lead arches, gates
NB! · Art · Monarchies · Museums
"Ivan the Terrible and the Shades of His Victims", Mikhail Klodt, paper, ink, gouache
"Ivan the Terrible and the Shades of His Victims", Mikhail Klodt, paper, ink, gouache. Stavropol Regional Museum of Fine Arts
Monarchies · Mores · People · Humour
In 1977 the self-proclaimed Emperor of Central Africa, the dictator Bokassa I, presented the guests of honour at his coronation with gilded replicas of his own throne
Paris supported the ruler of the former French colony, who in the tenth year of his rule had decided to turn from president into monarch. France furnished his regime with financial and military backing and supplied up to a third of the state's budget. The souvenirs for the
Art · Monarchies · Observations · Society
Arthur Drummond's Allegory of the British Empire, 1901
Arthur Drummond's allegory of the British Empire, 1901. Queen Victoria, already dead by the time the picture was painted, is seated on a heavenly throne, surrounded by aristocrats, bureaucracy and native subjects from the colonies. On earth are Edward VII, the Prince of Wales, and other members of
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · People
Nicholas II after the Coronation
Books · Monarchies · Observations
I liked this politically topical line in Lomonosov's ode on the accession of Peter II to the throne:
Ликуют западны пределы, Предвидя щастие войны. Literal translation The western borders rejoice, Foreseeing the happiness of war. And what follows is good too: Европа ныне восхищенна Внимая смотрит на восток, И ожидает изумленна, Какой определит ей рок Literal translation Europe, now enraptured, Looks eastward, listening, And awaits, astonished, What fate
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
Nicholas II and George V are such card-players, swapping places in identical photographs to confuse everyone around them: the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of their day
Nicholas II and George V are such card-players, swapping places in identical photographs to confuse everyone around them: the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of their day. I just can't decide whether this is already "Big Daddy" or still "Two of a Kind: Me
Archive · Art · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg
The Imperial Family of the Russian Imperial House in Alexander Eikhov's photograph of 1867, showing Alexander II with his wife, children, brothers and nephews, one of the first examples of photomontage in the history of photography
The Imperial Family of the Russian Imperial House in Alexander Eikhov's photograph of 1867, showing Alexander II with his wife, children, brothers and nephews, is one of the first examples of photomontage in the history of photography. All the figures were photographed separately. Moreover, as Alexey Loginov, curator
Archive · Monarchies · Paris · People · Humour
Louis XVI could not abide cats and was mortally afraid of them
Louis XVI could not abide cats and was mortally afraid of them. Once, during a brilliant reception at Versailles, a cat somehow slipped into the hall; Louis, beside himself, leapt from his seat, seized a heavy candelabrum and killed the animal on the spot. On another occasion, hammer in hand,