Moscow · Observations · Education · Society

On the resignation of the rector of MGIMO I made the following observation: in the 46 years from 1944 to 1990 the institute changed 14 heads, and not one of them held the post to the last day of his life, all continued working after retirement, the longes

On the resignation of the rector of MGIMO I made the following observation: in the 46 years from 1944 to 1990 the institute changed 14 heads, and not one of them held the post to the last day of his life, all continued working after retirement, the longest term as

Books · Observations · Heritage · Society · Paris

While in Russia they timidly wind down discussion of moving the long-suffering body of Lenin from Red Square, and all but ignore the dismantling of the necropolis at Novodevichy Convent, in France the subject of famous graves is at the centre of attention

A petition is being put to the President for re-interment in the national Pantheon; it has already been signed by 10 former ministers of culture and various eminent figures of the intelligentsia. The subject is two notable nineteenth-century poets, Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. The romance of Rimbaud

Cinema · Books · Observations · Society

National Electronic Library opens free access to classic works in an app

The National Electronic Library, under the Ministry of Culture, has released an app called “Svet” [“Light”] with free access to thousands of books, films and plays. Since we do, after a fashion, have a copyright law, what has been made openly available is mostly classic works whose terms happen to

London · Observations · Society · People · Humour

I know that many are still mourning the untimely death of the American judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but let us not pass by the darlings still among us, such as Baroness Floella Benjamin, who celebrated her 71st birthday in such a dazzling look…

I know that many are still mourning the untimely death of the American judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but let us not pass by the darlings still among us, such as Baroness Floella Benjamin, who celebrated her 71st birthday in such a dazzling look that, as Andrey Malakhov would say, "

Museums · Society · Saint Petersburg

Museum community on benefits for museum staff and the Hermitage's position

As for the view from the museum community, concessions are laid down in an order of the Russian Ministry of Culture, but there is also a list of concessions that a museum sets for itself, and the Hermitage has evidently availed itself of that right. In most museums, staff from

Moscow · Museums · Observations · Education · Society

Back in my postgraduate days I noted with vexation that the overwhelming majority of Moscow museums did not count a postgraduate card as a student one, and not only denied free entry, although one would think that a history faculty should be able to visit

Back in my postgraduate days I noted with vexation that the overwhelming majority of Moscow museums did not count a postgraduate card as a student one, and not only denied free entry (although one would think that a history faculty should be able to visit at least the historical museums

NB! · Observations · Society

Why America Lives in a Potemkin Autocracy, or a Few Words on the Life of Russian Idioms in the English-Speaking World

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Society · Reportage

In my view, the trouble with events of this kind, where people try to stand up to commercial giants backed by the authorities at every turn, lies not even in the futility of such undertakings in our country, but in the fact that the camp of the defenders…

In my view, the trouble with events of this kind, where people try to stand up to commercial giants backed by the authorities at every turn, lies not even in the futility of such undertakings in our country, but in the fact that the camp of defenders of the righteous

Display board with a photo of a dilapidated building at 7-9 Khokhlovsky Lane and a render of its facades after restoration.

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Society · Humour

Muscovites doubt the restoration render for a Khokhlovsky Lane building over discrepancies in business centre volumes

Developers: but we shall make it all beautiful, here is the render. Muscovites: but we cannot take your word for it, for in the planning documentation the volumes of your business centre differ from those you have announced by more than a factor of two.

Architecture · Moscow · Heritage · Society

Developer plans business centre in Kolpachny Lane and demolition of existing buildings

However softly the developers with a stake in a billion-rouble project may lay the bedding, the bed turns out rather hard. Will you feel better if, instead of an elite residential block, a new Patriarch's Ponds or the Pit so idly invoked by the head of the

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage · Society

It turns out that, besides building yet another office Palmyra of loot and woe in the protected zone on Ivanovskaya Hill, they also plan to remove all the fences and make the territory barrier-free (really?), to protect the century-old poplars from the Zh

It turns out that, besides building yet another office Palmyra of loot and woe in the protected zone on Ivanovskaya Hill, they also plan to remove all the fences and make the territory barrier-free (really?), to protect the century-old poplars from the Zhilishchnik state budgetary institution, even to

Architecture · Moscow · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Society

The Museum of Architecture Hosts a Debate on Demolition and Construction in the Historic Zone of Ivanovskaya Gorka in Moscow

The Museum of Architecture has provided a venue for a debate on the demolition and construction of buildings in the historic zone of Ivanovskaya Gorka in Moscow. The background is as follows. On Kolpachny Lane, within a protected zone, a five-storey business centre is planned, complete with glazed attic,