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I Once Came Across a Remarkable Letter from the Jewish Writer Vergelis to the Party Bureau of the Union of Soviet Writers of the USSR on the "Vicious Peculiarities" of Jewish Literature

I once came across a remarkable letter from the Jewish writer Vergelis to the Party Bureau of the Union of Soviet Writers of the USSR on the "vicious peculiarities" of Jewish literature. The author surveys the work of several Jewish writers: Hofstein, Albirt, Fefer, Der Nister, Bergelson, Dobrushin,

Archive · Books · Moscow · Observations · Society

In 1949 Alexandr Alexandrovich Fadeyev, then General Secretary and Chairman of the Board of the Writers' Union, appealed to Stalin with a proposal to close the Yiddish-language almanacs and dissolve the associations of Jewish writers

In 1949 Alexandr Alexandrovich Fadeyev, then General Secretary and Chairman of the Board of the Writers' Union, appealed to Stalin with a proposal to close the Yiddish-language almanacs and dissolve the associations of Jewish writers. The letter from the Department of Propaganda and Agitation of the Central Committee

Archive · Society · Ethnography

On 20 November 1941 the State Defence Committee resolved:

"To call up from the national economy of Arkhangelsk Region, the Komi ASSR and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug: reindeer drivers (kayurs), 1,400 men; reindeer, 10,000 head; sledges (narts), 500. The conscripts are to be sent to the disposal of the Arkhangelsk Regional Military Commissariat, to arrive

Books · Society · Nature · Ethnography

Reindeer transport units of the 14th Army in the Arctic during the war

"In the first winter of the war, reindeer transport units began to be organised in all the divisions of the 14th Army. Sámi, Nenets and Komi served in them. The reindeer were often used not only for evacuating the wounded and delivering military supplies, but also for inserting scouts

Archive · Moscow · Education · Society

Student Kogan's sinfonietta based on the Israeli anthem at the Gnesin Institute in 1953

In 1953 a student of the Gnessin State Institute of Music and Pedagogy, Kogan, wrote a sinfonietta as his diploma piece, and on examination it emerged that it was built upon the national anthem of Israel. This became the occasion for a further investigation, in the course of which it

Archive · Observations · Society

In fairness, it should be said that at the time of this libel the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR had 112 players, of whom 66 were Russians, 40 Jews and 6 others

In fairness, it should be said that at the time of this libel the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR had 112 players, of whom 66 were Russians, 40 Jews and 6 others. In 1951-52 fourteen people were admitted to the orchestra, eleven of them Russians and three Jews.

NB! · Art · Society · Pop Culture · Humour

What to Do When Telegram Is Blocked

What to do when Telegram is blocked. Francisco Goya, 1820, Doctor Arrieta knows how to help

Monarchies · Mores · Society

Age of consent in Britain and Russia from Edward I to the laws of 1886

In 1837, when Victoria came to the throne, the age of consent in Britain was 12, and only in 1875 was it raised to 13. Needless to say, child prostitution flourished thanks to this provision. Although Edward I, who reigned in the thirteenth century, had introduced severe penalties for rape,

NB! · Observations · Society

All I Can Say to Roskomnadzor

An old truck with a pale blue cab and green wooden bed stands on a metal ramp in front of a building, with plaques in Russian and Kazakh below.

NB! · Almaty · Heritage · Society

Monument to the GAZ AA Polutorka Truck for Veteran Motorists in Alma-Ata

A monument to the polutorka in Alma-Ata. Caption: the GAZ-AA lorry, a symbol of the labour and martial glory of veteran motorists. The vehicle was erected by Akan Kamelbekov, Honoured Innovator of Kazakhstan

Mores · Society

Legal burning for witchcraft in Switzerland in 1787 and an unlawful one in Poland in 1793

The last legal burning of a woman for witchcraft in Europe took place in Switzerland in 1787. A burning of a woman is known to have occurred in Poland in 1793, but that one was already illegal.

Archive · Faith · Mores · Society

The Council Code of 1649 prescribed burning for blasphemers

In Rus', blasphemers were burnt locked inside a wooden log cabin. In the Law Code (Sobornoye Ulozheniye) of 1649, burning for blasphemy was set down in the following form: “Should any man of another faith, of whatever creed, or even a Russian, utter blasphemy against the Lord God and