Madrid · Monarchies · Mores · Society
On a Spanish morning news programme, the story of King Juan Carlos I and his mistress Bárbara Rey is under discussion. Let me try to recount this absorbing tale in brief. Juan Carlos I, now a king in retirement, abdicated in favour of his son in the summer of 2014.
NB! · Observations · Society · Paris · Humour
The discreet charm of Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris: delightful heaps of rubbish two steps from the Gucci boutique on Avenue Montaigne. Not everything in Europe is as it is made out to be, but something invariably lives up to the most unpleasant expectations
Observations · Society · Paris · Nature · Humour
On the fence of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, as at other historic monuments, there are posters with the plea "Stop the rats!" and an explanation: waste left on the ground attracts rodents. On the whole, it is just like private life: the more waste you leave behind, the
Archive · London · Society
The German air raids on Great Britain by Zeppelin, particularly those aimed at London, captured the imagination of the German public, yet did the English no substantial harm. Still, the airship raids, together with the later bombardments by aeroplane, forced England to divert a portion of its forces from the
Coming Up · Art · Moscow · Society
It is now fifty years since the bulldozers and water-sprinkler trucks rumbled away from the junction of Ostrovityanov and Profsoyuznaya Streets, but the memory of the USSR's chief exhibition of unofficial art, the so-called "Bulldozer Exhibition", lives on, and interest in Soviet nonconformism only
Books · Society · People
A very sad message from the creator of the nationally beloved project "Flibusta", known by the pseudonym Stiver. Stiver has written about his grave illness and about the fact that Flibusta will most likely soon cease to exist. Launched in 2009, the site with its free library of
Archive · Monarchies · Society · People
Peter I's autograph drawing of a tricolour flag with the colours indicated, and of a flag with the diagonal Saint Andrew's cross, 1699. Collection of the Archive of Ancient Acts. The sketch of the three-striped white-blue-red flag is drawn on the reverse of
NB! · In the Press · Observations · Society
Books · Society
The Ministry of Labour is discussing an extremely interesting draft professional standard for writers. The standard was drawn up by the Association of Unions of Writers and Publishers of Russia, chaired by Sergei Shargunov. The professional standard for writing includes the following job functions: - creating original literary works in various
NB! · Observations · Society
Faith · Society · Paris · People
Such is the effect of the Life-Giving Cross upon the unclean! It is officially declared that he violated the religious code of the Olympic Games, the offence being construed precisely "in the context of observing the rules and norms of the competition". Even before this, Majdov had
Faith · Society
“To have an abortion is to kill a human being. Whether you like the word or not, it is murder... The Catholic Church does not permit abortion, because it is murder. It is murder. And we must understand this clearly.”