Archive · Society
12 September 1990. Representatives of the FRG, the GDR, the USSR, the USA, France and Great Britain at the signing of the treaty on the unification of Germany. The so-called "Two Plus Four" treaty concerned the renunciation by the victor powers of the Second World War of
NB! · Observations · Society · Humour
Dear Liza Yankovskaya, there is such a word. Nepotism. Do google it at your leisure
Art · Museums · Observations · Society · Humour
If you want to feel lucky, simply know that in Brussels all the museums will reopen for the FIRST time since the start of the pandemic only on 15 October. To begin doubting your own luck, consider that this reader of novels in Antoine Wiertz's painting, from his
Moscow · Observations · Society · Paris
The French on Opportunities for Normal Life for Disabled People in Paris: A Paralympian Carrying the Olympic Flame Cannot Get Down into the Metro. A reminder: in Paris only 9 stations out of 300 are fully equipped for wheelchair users. In Tokyo, by comparison, it is 186 out of 211.
Archive · Society
Originally the emblem of the Red Army was a star with a plough and hammer; the combination of sickle and hammer was approved only in July 1918. In an order of the Military Commissariat of Moscow Province of 8 May 1918, the emblem is called a "Martian star with
NB! · Society
Society · Humour
Pavel Titov's kiosk in Krasnodar:
Faith · Interviews · Society · People
Continuing our Papal Readings, I offer the second part of Pope Francis's interview with Carlos Herrera. Read attentively; Saint Peter will be checking later. On euthanasia - We live in a culture of rejection. What is useless is thrown away. The old are disposable material: they irritate. Not all
Faith · Interviews · Society · People
Pope Francis has given a long interview to Spanish radio. And, it seems, for the first time. I have listened to the two-hour conversation with the pontiff, restored to health by the grace of God, and made notes on the most important points. Whether or not you have already
Cinema · Moscow · Mores · Society
In the film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", which begins in 1958, we meet the girls working at a factory. The heroine, Katerina Tikhomirova, who has come from the provinces, becomes not merely a fitter but a setter-operator. That, however, is another matter altogether: different circumstances,
Observations · Mores · Society
According to the 1958 reference manual of the Academy of Sciences, the correct form is “Muž s ženoj pošli na ogorod” [“Husband and wife went (plural) to the kitchen garden”], since the subjects, husband and wife, are equals. But “mat’ s rebenkom pošla na ogorod” [“Mother and child went (singular)
The East · Observations · Society · People
Speaking of the French and the English language, one might recall François Hollande or Jacques Chirac, who took a master's degree in the United States and naturally knew the language perfectly well, though I have heard his pronunciation criticised. In reply I offer this footage, famous in its