Observations · Mores · Society
If We Write It the American Way, Today Is 123123. Writing the date back to front, with the month ahead of the day, is no original American invention: it is a relic of an old colonial custom left over from the days of British rule. The British themselves abandoned such
Faith · Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations
"He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is called "The Word of God". And the armies of heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, with which to strike the
Archive · Monarchies · Observations · Mores · People
I read how His Imperial Highness Pavel Petrovich, the future Emperor Paul I, celebrated his tenth birthday. The first to congratulate the Tsesarevich that morning was his confessor, the hieromonk Platon Levshin, after which the heir was led to the apartments of Her Majesty, and together with the Empress he
Books · Monarchies · Observations · Humour
A History of Peter III: three volumes. The Life of Catherine II: two volumes. There is in this a certain inexpressible historical irony.
Geography · Art · Maps · Observations · Ethnography
A very charming "treasure map" of the Nizhny Novgorod Region has appeared on the Sobaka.ru website. The map shows, in interactive form, the main centres of the region's folk crafts and decorative and applied arts, and is at the same time a chronicle of Russian
Books · Observations · People
The French dramatist Prosper de Crébillon (1674-1762), named among Voltaire's chief rivals, took very hard the failure of his play "The Triumvirate", about Roman history and the events preceding the murder of Cicero, and the open rejection of it by the public. Crébillon was so
Art · Books · Observations · Rome
"Gods! What horror! My father's head!" cries Tullia, beholding the remains of the executed Cicero. Mark Antony, who together with Lepidus and Octavian Augustus had established in Rome the regime of the Second Triumvirate, declared Cicero, the most influential of the senators, an enemy of the
Faith · Observations · Society
Yet in reality everything now happening in the world looks rather the other way round. "Amid a world so judgemental and unforgiving", "you are not a number but a face", and the Christ Child "descends into the narrow confines of our lives, not shunning our
Art · Observations · Humour
Illustration by the American artist Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951)
NB! · Art · Books · Observations
Incredible, enchanting illustrations for the 1989 "Hobbit" by the wonderful Latvian artist Laima Eglīte. Just look at this curly-haired ginger Bilbo and the kindly Gandalf! A lovely, heartfelt piece of work
Art · Museums · Observations · Society Pages
Yesterday I attended an event rather out of keeping with my usual routine, at the Avtoklaster. If you are wondering what on earth the Parnassian Mockingbird has to do with a space for devotees of the motor industry, I answer: firstly, small private museums are often more interesting than old,
Cinema · Books · Observations · Pop Culture
More Tolkien films are on the way. The vast, intricate and dazzling universe devised by Tolkien remains almost entirely unexplored on screen, and the producers mean to put that right. The rights have been bought, and work is under way. Judging by last year's «Rings of Power», with