Faith · Art · Museums · Observations · Saint Petersburg
Happy Epiphany! Second half of the 17th century, icon “The Baptism of Christ” from the festal tier, Russian Museum collection
NB! · Geography · Observations
Faith · Interviews · Observations · People
Pope Francis says he likes to think that hell is empty. Yesterday evening, in an interview with Italian television, Francis said, verbatim: "What I am about to say is not dogma, but something personal: I like to think of hell as empty, and I hope that this is the
Architecture · Art · Monarchies · Observations
The floating statue of Robert the Bruce in Scotland. Not magic, but reality. A quite peerless pedestal, on which, in snowy weather, the horse appears to be quite detached from the ground. Bravo, the Scots! The monument stands by the site of the landmark Battle of Bannockburn. Bravo, the Scots,
NB! · Observations
NB! · Observations · Humour
NB! · Observations · Pop Culture
Observations · Society · People
Yury Solomin was Russia's Minister of Culture during the collapse of the USSR, though only very briefly: less than a month at the end of 1991. This was still the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR. By then Solomin was already artistic director of the Maly Theatre. It
NB! · Art · Books · Observations · Humour
Books · Moscow · Observations
Realised I had never heard or read any poems by the well-known Moscow poet and essayist Lev Rubinstein, found at home a 2000 collection of his writings, "Domestic Music-Making", with a bookmark: a 2006 Madrid metro ticket at page 43. There were no poems in the
NB! · Architecture · Observations · Paris
Art · Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Humour
It is often said what a filthy palace Versailles was in its day. There is talk of women merely hitching up their skirts to relieve themselves on the very spot where nature overtook them, and of men easing themselves straight from the balustrade in the middle of the royal chapel,