December 21, 2010

Moscow, Winter of 1908


Now that winter has officially arrived, it is appropriate to send along this link to an AMAZING video of Moscow in 1908, over 100 years ago.

Look at the architectural details, at the faces of the people haggling for mushrooms, at the Kremlin churches no longer standing, at the sleds and skiers, and the soldiers happily marching across the Kremlin grounds. And then consider what lies in store for these people. In six short years, the First World War will turn life upside down, followed by Revolution, Civil War, the Purges and 70 years under Communism. And plenty of very hard winters in between. And then count your blessings. Happy Winter.

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The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 

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Faith & Humor
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A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

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The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

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Fish

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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
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The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 

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