Society · People
The first US President to be impeached was Andrew Johnson, who came to power after the assassination of Lincoln and bought Alaska from Russia. Johnson was locked in a protracted conflict with Congress, but the impeachment was set in motion over the President's unfounded attempts to dismiss the
London · Mores · Society · People · Pop Culture
In 1940, Anna Volkova-Muromtseva, a White émigré and the daughter of the last naval attaché of the Russian Empire in England, was arrested in London. Anna Nikolayevna was charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Volkova was an active member of the Right Club, an opponent of Britain'
Art · Madrid · Museums · Society · Nature
The Prado Museum and WWF have illustrated the consequences of climate change with great paintings from the museum's collection. Diego Velázquez's Philip IV is drowning, horse and all; Joachim Patinir's crossing to the underworld has run dry; Joaquín Sorolla's Children on the
Aristocracy · Cinema · Observations · Society
The one thing about "Downton Abbey" that I simply cannot bring myself to accept is the romanticisation of what are, in essence, monstrously unjust foundations, built upon feudal inheritance, the treacherous will of monarchs of old, very nearly slaveholding and vassal-suzerain relations. It is not easy to
Observations · Heritage · Society · Nature
A state of emergency has been declared in Venice: the water rose to 187 centimetres in recent days, 20 million euros have already been allocated to clear up after the flood, while the mayor puts the damage at 1 billion euros. ps I feel terribly sorry for the little rat
Archive · Observations · Mores · Society
Look at what this charming fifteen-year-old girl became in a mere year, after making the acquaintance of the dreadful sin of masturbation! Yet another nineteenth-century pamphlet against self-gratification is a rather typical example of how the state and society, through the institutions of morality, propriety and
NB! · Archive · Books · Science · Society
NB! · Moscow · Observations · Society · Humour
Recently, outside the Moscow government building, I saw a lone picketer with a placard: "We feared the 90s, and got the 30s instead". There is something in that. At the very least, it holds out hope for the 50s
Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Society
The building of the Choral Synagogue of Mogilev, known as the Zukerman Synagogue, was erected in the late nineteenth century on the ruins of the burnt-out palace of the Catholic bishop Bohusz-Siestrzeńcewicz. Today it houses a sports hall. A memorial plaque on the building tells the history of
Architecture · Heritage · Society · Paris
Meanwhile in Paris, an angry debate is raging over the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, and her contentious decisions on urban improvement. Many are simply shocked by the new city benches, made of roughly hewn logs. Taken together with the installation of ungainly public lavatories, the removal of the railings around trees
Books · Observations · Society
Irina Prokhorova has revealed that she is preparing a large book on women entrepreneurs in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to her, before the Revolution 13% of women in Russia had a business of their own. Well, we shall await the book.
Art · Observations · Society · Pop Culture · Humour
Charming stories with an adventurous sheen reminded me of the episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa's guinea pig ruined their painting of a primitive little ship above the sofa, and they decided to replace it with something and, by luck, found at the Van Houtens' garage