Books · London · Mores · Society

"The Pleasures of Coition" are notable also because their publisher was convicted in England on a charge of filthy libel, and his case laid the foundation of the English law on obscene publications

"The Pleasures of Coition" are notable also because their publisher was convicted in England on a charge of filthy libel, and his case laid the foundation of the English law on obscene publications. And only in 1967 did this offence cease to be regarded as a serious crime

Archaeology · Archive · Geography · Observations · Society

For the last week and a half I have been writing every day, sorting through old notes, editing and so forth

For the last week and a half I have been writing every day, sorting through old notes, editing and so forth. When I say old notes, I mean, for example, the field journals of the 1920s and 1930s from the Mongolian expedition and curious jottings on the Russian explorers of

NB! · Moscow · Observations · Society · Humour

Wikipedia reports that a Moscow law of 1997

Wikipedia reports that a Moscow law of 1997 (in force until 2002) prohibited the distribution and display of images of fasces as Nazi symbolism. But on the coat of arms of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation, the fasces look rather well

NB! · Books · Observations · Society

What do a seventeenth-century illustration from a book on executions and the emblem of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service have in common?

What do a seventeenth-century illustration from a book on executions and the emblem of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service have in common? The depiction of fasces: since antiquity, bundles of rods with an axe or hatchet have been a symbol of authority, including the power to execute and

NB! · Geography · Society

Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the surrender of Port Arthur, which the Russian army heroically held for 329 days

Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the surrender of Port Arthur, which the Russian army heroically held for 329 days. At the fortress walls the Japanese lost 110,000 men and 15 warships

NB! · Society · Ethnography

Fireworks in India

NB! · Society

On 31 December 1862 the Battle of Stones River of the American Civil War was fought, ending in a draw, with total casualties of 24,000 men out of 76,000 participants

Society · Paris · People

Arrest of Erenburg at seventeen in 1908 and his flight to France before trial

In January 1908 he was arrested for membership of an underground Bolshevik organisation. He was 17 years old! After several months in custody, the young Ehrenburg was released on bail of 500 roubles, his parents being, happily, well-to-do. And he promptly fled to France, without waiting for the

NB! · Moscow · Science · Society

Dear colleagues, this announcement concerns all of us and the staff of our friendly institutes, especially those located on Vavilov, Lyapunov and Fotiyeva Streets and on Leninsky Prospekt

NB! · Archive · In the Press · Geography · Society · Paris

The Novy Altaysky Luch of 15 Feb 1919 carries on a single page both the flooding of the Seine and the affairs of Semirechye: famine, cattle plague, arrests of the steppe intelligentsia

The Novy Altaysky Luch of 15 Feb 1919 carries on a single page both the flooding of the Seine and the affairs of Semirechye: famine, cattle plague, arrests of the steppe intelligentsia. The Bolsheviks, who had seemed to be calming down, have once more stepped up their terror

Faith · Society · People

Fyodor Kuritsyn subsequently espoused literally the opposite views, working actively to justify grand-ducal absolutism and giving life to many of its foundational documents

Curiously, Kuritsyn was not the only active churchman who, when necessary, went over to the opposing camp. Archbishop Gennady, for instance, at the behest of Ivan III, zealously dealt with the unruly Novgorod clergy, until matters came to the secularisation so important to the Kremlin. It was then that Gennady

Faith · Monarchies · Moscow · Society

In the Fifteenth Century, Strangely Enough, It Was the Priests Who Were Active Public Figures

In the fifteenth century, strangely enough, it was the priests who were active public figures. And after the annexation of Novgorod to Moscow in 1478, Ivan III began to persecute those Novgorod priests who held an active public position. But, understanding the importance of men of this type in the