Art · Observations · Mores · Society
A painting by the Soviet woman artist and front-line veteran Raisa Zenkova, called "Drones", 1949. I cannot decide on the tone: is this still passive aggression or already the active kind? But the artist is plainly ill disposed towards at least two of the three heroines of
Archaeology · The East · Art · Observations
We have long known that the distant past was far more colourful than its ruins. Here is an attempt to restore colour to the artefacts of ancient Persia, using the example of Achaemenid stone reliefs, on the basis of chemical analysis of microscopic pigment residues in the stone. It is
Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Society
Albert II, King Emeritus of the Belgians, Queen Paola and Delphine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Barely two weeks after her first-ever meeting with her brother, the reigning King Philippe of the Belgians, Delphine has been received in the house of the father who denied her existence for more than
NB! · Observations
Coming Up · Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society
While we plan our working weeks, I suggest turning your attention to the new programme at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, a series of discussions and closed seminars on "New Ethics, Stigma and Inequality". To my mind, the most interesting thing about this thematic field is its
NB! · Cinema · Observations
Meanwhile, Anya Chipovskaya reports that the release of the long-awaited film "Has Anyone Seen My Girl?" has been postponed until next year owing to the state of affairs in the country's cinemas. A great pity, but what can one do 🐥
NB! · Observations · Society · Humour
NB! · Observations · Reportage
Special thanks for allowing me to visit the wine cellars of Golubitsky, which supplies Russian tables with more than a million bottles of white, red, rosé and sparkling wine a year. I am sure that this location deserves the particular attention of artists and could become part of another art
Geography · Observations · Nature
So I have visited the Golubitskoye wine estate on Taman myself, the one I wrote about in connection with Alisa Ioffe's exhibition. The estate lies in an old Cossack stanitsa named after the sotnik Grigory Golubitsky, who earned in the Russo-Turkish war not only the rank of
Architecture · The East · Observations · Heritage
"A Turkish fortress, far from first-class but politically most pernicious, Anapa demanded of the Russian state such a number of military campaigns, by army and fleet alike, as no other enemy fortress, even of stronger construction, ever called forth. Some four times it was blown up until completely
Faith · Cinema · Observations · Society
Should the Pontiff's remark in the documentary really be considered so sensational? It is at least the third such statement of his. And note that on each occasion the Pope draws a clear distinction between marriage and a union recognised by the authorities, which we too should take
Faith · Cinema · Observations · Society · People · Rome
I see that many media outlets have run headlines along the lines of "Pope recognises gay marriage" or "Pope calls for legalisation of gay marriage". Let us clarify at once. First, today's statement is of a quite different nature, as I wrote earlier; second,