Aristocracy · Observations · Society

Editors debated how to describe the Rothschilds' ethnicity and settled on Ashkenazi Jews

Wikipedia's article on the Rothschilds: "Jewish family" replaced with "European family" The article's edit history contains a lively discussion among editors about why the Rothschilds suddenly became a family with a "European background" instead of a "Jewish" one,

Monarchies · Observations · People · Humour

Catherine II twice taken out of the palace in the first days after the overthrow of Peter III

I love the French language for its elegance. How do you like this subtle, refined characterisation of Catherine the Great: "usurpatrice"? It is known that in the first days after the overthrow of Peter III, Catherine II slept badly; she was even twice got out of bed and

Archive · Faith · Art · Observations

Merry Christmas to all! ❤️

Illustration from the Magnificent Hours of Notre-Dame, 1378/80.

Grey map of Europe showing the number of wolves in each country, with zeros on the British Isles and in Iceland, and drawings of wolves and trees.

NB! · Geography · Observations · Nature

Map of wolf numbers across European countries, with none in England

How many wolves live in the countries of Europe? England: 0. One would think that those who lecture the whole world on ecological thinking might have spared their own nature, yet they have disfigured it quite thoroughly

NB! · Observations · Humour

Genuine Culture vs Modern Tat: 1–0

Catalogue page: a mannequin in black with a Soyka radio direction finder at the waist and a suitcase in hand, USSR, 1960s.

Museums · Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Soviet and Russian radio direction finders in the catalogue of the Museum of Cryptography

I Keep Telling You, Fashion Always Comes Back. Radio direction finders of the USSR and the Russian Federation, from a very respectable catalogue of the Museum of Cryptography

NB! · Observations · Humour

A unique domestic original and a quality Western analogue, as so often happens, with the function altered to its very opposite

Monarchies · Observations · Mores

The abdication of Queen Margrethe II, the first such case in 500 years of Danish monarchy

The abdication of Queen Margrethe II is the first such case in 500 years of Danish monarchy. What, then, has made Margrethe go now? Health problems? She recently underwent an operation on her back, but is feeling better. A reluctance to keep her son waiting in the position of heir

NB! · Books · Observations · Humour

I have been looking for ages for precisely these sombre-hued stickers for reading Dostoevsky

NB! · Books · Observations · Mores

According to Danilevsky, the Greeks' morality lay in their sense of measure

NB! · Observations

I wish everyone a sense of proportion in the new year

Faith · Books · Observations

Metropolitan Platon of Moscow on the New Year in his 1766 sermon

The continuation of time is the continuation of God's goodness to us. This divine benefaction we must glorify at this hour. For now we enter the doors of the new year. The new year is, for everyone, a propitious occasion for new endeavours and new merits, a blessed