Museums · Observations · Society · Saint Petersburg

The Hermitage announces epidemic measures and says the museum stays open

In view of the spread of coronavirus, the Hermitage announces the following. - A crisis management plan has been drawn up, which includes possible options for the museum's operation should the situation deteriorate. - The Hermitage does not plan to hold any mass cultural events with more than 1,000

Architecture · Art · Observations · Society · Paris

Studying the bas-relief of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, one notices a peculiarity shared by all the colonial figures: like the images of ancient Egypt, they face the viewer in profile, and only the allegorical figure of France, on the central axis of the

Studying the bas-relief of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, one notices a peculiarity shared by all the colonial figures: like the images of ancient Egypt, they face the viewer in profile, and only the allegorical figure of France, on the central axis of the composition above the doorway,

Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society

The Tretyakov Gallery only recently announced with pride that it was ready to receive the public and to furnish its guests with hand sanitiser

The Tretyakov Gallery only recently announced with pride that it was ready to receive the public and to furnish its guests with hand sanitiser. Until thunder strikes, the peasant will not cross himself.

Books · Observations · Society

Final scene of Alexander Sumarokov’s tragedy “Dimitry the Pretender” and the death of its hero

There is a tragedy by Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov called "Dimitry the Pretender". And it contains these lines: ... Parmen (with a drawn sword, tearing Ksenia from his hands) Your cruelties and your thunderings are over! Our people are delivered from deaths, persecutions, wounds, The tyrant in his impotence is

Observations · Mores · Society

Graffiti left by vandals in Tsarist Russia

Popular graffiti has of course existed in every age, but it has not always taken such hideous forms. https://theparnassian.com/graffiti-ot-vandalov-tsarskoi-rossii/

Observations · Society · Humour

The Brezhnev constitution contained a good deal of absurdity of its own: the USSR was described as a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat that had fulfilled its tasks and become a state of the whole people, "developed socialism" was defined as a s

The Brezhnev constitution contained a good deal of absurdity of its own: the USSR was described as a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat that had fulfilled its tasks and become a state of the whole people, "developed socialism" was defined as a stage on the road

Archive · Society

15 years to prepare the 1977 Constitution and 98 days to the vote on the 2020 amendments

The Brezhnev Constitution of 1977 took 15 years to prepare. The decision to draw up a new constitution was taken in the spring of 1962, and the constitutional commission originally numbered 97 members. A draft was ready by the autumn of 1964, but it was not adopted and was sent

Books · Observations · Society · Humour

Playwright Noël Coward and propaganda for US entry into the Second World War

A doomed quotation of the day, and very much in season. Though, given that at this very minute the dollar stands at 75.63/72.63, one is tempted to cite Gandalf the Grey’s “Fly, you fools”. As it is, it is curious that the celebrated British playwright Noël

Science · Mores · Society · People

Nobel laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini, who pursued science despite her father's views

The famous laughing old lady with a glass: winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Rita Levi-Montalcini, known not only for her scientific achievements but also for her active political stance, her public engagement and her charisma. Rita's father was against higher education for

The East · Monarchies · Moscow · Observations · Society · Humour

Maxim Suchkov, the Russian editor of the American Al-Monitor, has drawn attention to the setting of Putin's talks with Erdoğan on 5 March: behind Recep stands a bronze Catherine II, who routed the Turkish army, destroyed the Turkish fleet at Ochakov and I

Maxim Suchkov, the Russian editor of the American Al-Monitor, has drawn attention to the setting of Putin's talks with Erdoğan on 5 March: behind Recep stands a bronze Catherine II, who routed the Turkish army, destroyed the Turkish fleet at Ochakov and Izmail in 1768-1774 and

Observations · Education · Society

A lecture on the privileges of students and teachers at medieval universities

I came across an interesting lecture on the university liberties of the Middle Ages on Theories and Practices. Just what privileges did students and teachers enjoy? By the standards of the time, very weighty ones: for example, the right to be absent from their parish, since most students and teachers

NB! · Museums · Society