Miscellaneous 2023, March

Sometimes the personality of the Georgian Queen Tamara is difficult to distinguish from the collective epic image. In terms of legend, it will overtake any other ruler of Georgia since the beginning of the history of the state. In every somewhat self-respecting Georgian settlement there is a street named after Queen Tamara. Historically, all architectural delights in the country are attributed to her merits. Tamara, who led Georgia in the difficult and alarming 12th century, remains, perhaps, the only woman who bore the title of tsar

Today, July 15, Pyotr Mamonov, a cult performer, founder and leader of the Zvuki Mu group, passed away. His whole life was built on contrasts. It had a place for creativity, fame, recognition and at the same time - cruel dependence, life in a drunken stupor. And later he found his salvation in faith, retired from the capital, began to lead a secluded life, without giving up creativity. And by his side there was always his wife, his guardian angel. Over the years of marriage, she more than once saved him from

They have not had to prove anything to anyone for a long time. The representative of the "golden era" of Hollywood Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne Bidense met in the middle of the last century, went through serious trials together, survived the loss of one of their sons and remained still in love and happy with each other. What is the secret of their all-consuming long-term happiness?

Boris Skosyrev can be called a unique person: a foreigner, far from an aristocrat, he managed to become the king of a foreign country, without any coup d'etat. Taking advantage of the unstable situation in Europe and combining his oratorical skills with legal knowledge, Skosyrev received royal power in Andorra for 12 days. Perhaps his reign would have lasted much longer if the newly-made king had not made the fatal mistake that left the country without its first and last monarch

The television series about Gogol, first released in Russian cinemas, is perhaps one of the most underrated novelties in Russian cinema. He has been criticized a lot for his visual decisions. Especially those that relate to the characters of the series: their faces, hairstyles and clothes. But maybe in vain?

On the Internet, you can often find the statement that in Russia women did not have to fight for all rights. The laws that enforce them appeared in 1917, ranging from suffrage after the February Revolution to a series of decrees regarding their family rights after the October Revolution. But people forget that the October Revolution took place thanks to the February Revolution, the February Revolution - thanks to the "woman's revolt"

In the forties, emigrants from Russia faced a choice: to support the Nazis (“if only against the USSR!”) Or to decide for themselves that there is and cannot be any reason to become even temporary allies of Hitler. Nun Maria Skobtsova was in the second camp. But she not only did not refuse to cooperate with the Nazis - she helped those who suffer from them. For saving other people's lives, Mother Mary paid her

In 2010, an FBI special operation destroyed the measured life of an ordinary, seemingly, family of French Canadian origin. In front of two frightened teenagers, their parents, Donald Howard Heathfield and Tracy Lee Ann Foley, were handcuffed. And soon the newspapers exploded with headlines: the FBI took Soviet spies! At least, Andrei Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova were introduced back in Soviet times

A document often circulates on social networks, which many consider to be a fake of jingoistic patriots: a petition to confer the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on medical instructor Maria Baide. For what? For the fact that she recaptured prisoners from the Germans, personally killing twenty Nazis in the battle. Those who doubt in vain doubt. This is quite possible, because Maria Baida was not only a medical instructor, but also a military intelligence officer

Not only the European monarchies, the courts of the centuries ago were shaken by scandals, captured in history. The Moscow tsars and the tsarist entourage did not escape them either. And many scandalous situations men unfolded around women, and on such occasions that now seem trifling or just strange

Books about the golden-haired beauty Angelica and her adventures have been read all over the world. Later, based on the novels, several films were shot, which enjoyed incredible success. Anne and Serge Golon were able to achieve incredible success, and it all started back in 1947 in the French Congo, where a young journalist and an experienced scientist met. Met to walk the difficult path from obscurity to glory together

The oldest cookbooks known to mankind were written with wedges on clay tablets, that is, in Ancient Babylon. They are nearly four thousand years old. The dishes described in them can even be reproduced. True, you will have to make allowances for the fact that over four thousand years the taste and appearance of many vegetables, fruits and cereals has seriously changed

Future kings, by all accounts, should not be raised in the same way as ordinary boys. Indeed, the lives of princes often differed from the lives of their peers. After all, they were not prepared to make a career, but to rule destinies … Although sometimes on the contrary, no one imagined that the prince would become famous and even more so - a monarch. The more interesting it is to look at the result

The poets of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries seem to be people of a completely different world. The world ended, people disappeared … In fact, the First World War, the Revolution and even the Second World War, many of them survived. And many of them left descendants whose fate reflects the entire twentieth century

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, England and Europe were rocked by a scandal - one of the few domestic violence scandals. He evoked such a warm response among the people that riots even broke out here and there - the British protested against the conversion of first the Crown Prince, then King George IV, with his wife. The unfortunate name was Carolina, and she was her husband's cousin

Meghan Markle and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, both complained that they were imprisoned by the British royal family. History shows us that these two women were not the first to find themselves in this position. From time to time, British monarchs kept women in honorable (or not so honorable) imprisonment. Perhaps this is one of the bad old English traditions that is so difficult to abandon, who knows

Russia is a country that has always occupied the minds of Europeans, no matter how far from it they live. There are Russian characters in a huge number of cult Western books. Many writers have visited Russia to write what they saw there. But there were also those who transferred the action of the book to Russia. This is the rarest option

In a Soviet cartoon where D'Artagnan and his Musketeer friends turned into dogs, they are confronted by the Cardinal's cats. This image for the cardinal's supporters was not chosen by chance. Cardinal was a big cat lover, and at first this seriously challenged the existing attitude to cats as to the offspring of the devil, which he has to endure near him except for the sake of fighting mice

In history lessons, you learn a lot about where and when the troops of different states went to fight. And there is little about what is usually more interesting for children: how people lived, what they ate exactly, how they coped with everyday difficulties. For example, what did all these kings and queens do when they had toothache? Fortunately, adults can learn the details without textbooks. At least about the royal teeth

Victorian England at the same time fascinates with its desire to ennoble and decorate literally everything in life and terrifies the seamy side of this strange, elegant and sentimental world. A woman there, for example, should not have been born at all. Humiliation awaited you at every step, even in such an elementary thing as going to the restroom

Not all maids of honor lived exclusively under Pushkin. Many were unlucky enough to live to see the revolution. For the new society, they have become alien elements. And their fate after life in the country turned upside down, developed differently

An international group of scholars decided to see how the incest taboo worked after the consolidation of the Christian church in Europe on society. Their conclusion is that it seems that modern civilization has developed largely due to the ban on marriage between relatives. Although, of course, this was not the only factor, but the effect on the processes in society was strong

Leo Tolstoy, whom everyone knows from the school curriculum, is a mighty mind and a wide-hearted old man. He is sorry for everyone, he cares for everyone and generously shares his deep thoughts about everything in the world. But the records of Tolstoy himself, and his wife Sophia, and their children, denounce him as a petty domestic tyrant. If it seemed to you while reading "Karenina" or "War and Peace" that he was heartless and cruel to people, then it did not seem to you. It's just that this ruthlessness is usually passed off as a struggle for morality

In Russia, they took very seriously not only the choice of materials for the construction of the hut, but also the place for the construction of the house. There were so-called “bad places” that had to be avoided so as not to bring trouble to your family. Today it may seem ridiculous, but earlier signs were an important condition in construction. Read in the material what signs were used for safety, why it was impossible to put a hut by the road, how spiders helped with construction and what a bannik and other advised

Almost all women have worked in the past. During the Renaissance, commoners earned money for a living by working as laundresses, cooks, dishwashers, midwives, nannies, maids, tradesmen, seamstresses, and serving women. But such work was not for noble ladies. They made a career of a different kind - well, they could afford

It is customary to treat the last refuge of the deceased, no matter how the body is after death, with reverence. It is not surprising that the tombs of noble women, and even more so of rulers, are different and often become attractions - they are so majestically executed. Here is a list of the most famous tombs of queens and queens of the past

The ancient Slavs believed that some plants have a miraculous effect and are able to heal the body from ailments, and cleanse the soul from evil spirits. Initially, only the sorcerers-greengrocers were the bearers of secret knowledge, but soon ordinary people stocked up with personal herbalists and healers. Such collections kept detailed descriptions of medicinal and miraculous properties of plants

From time to time in social networks, the “shocking truth” about this or that holiday is spread in Russian. The purpose of the information thrown in lies on the surface - to convince not to celebrate anything. Three holidays are usually exposed - March 8, Valentine's Day and New Year. And, although the “shocking truth” is written in the spirit of the most daring yellow press and does not stand up to scrutiny, many people believe and spread the information further

Our ancestors were very fond of having fun, so not a single holiday could do without folk festivities and fun. And sometimes the leisure time was different for men and women, for noble persons and commoners, but absolutely everyone loved to have fun. There were also forbidden amusements, which from this even more attracted people. So how did you have fun in Russia?

Today this actress is called one of the most successful and sought after. Irina Muravyova became famous thanks to her favorite Soviet films, but now she continues to play in the theater, act in films and TV shows. One of the most striking roles of the actress was the work in the film by Gerald Bezhanov "The Most Charming and Attractive". But initially Irina Muravyova categorically refused her, and the creators had to make a lot of efforts so that she still played the role of Nadia Klyueva, in love with

The 18th and early 19th centuries were the era when politics was taken over by monarchs. Many undemocratic enlightened despots romanticized liberal democratic philosophy, often using it as a weapon to hold onto power. They strove to embody Plato's ideal of the philosopher king. The enlightened ideals that shaped the generation of rulers were largely immortalized by the satirical French thinker Voltaire. Arranging philosophical treatises in the work

As you know, happiness does not depend in any way on age, status and financial situation. For a woman, the desire to become a mother often becomes one of her life goals. The main thing is to confidently go towards your dream and not despair along the way. Our stars, who have known the happiness of motherhood after 40 years, claim that their life with the birth of a baby took on a new meaning and was painted with bright colors

This year marks the 165th anniversary of the founding of the Tretyakov Gallery. Her story begins in the spring of 1856. It was then that the Moscow entrepreneur and connoisseur of works of art Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov bought the first two canvases for his collection. They were: "Temptation" by Nikolai Karlovich Schilder and "Clash with Finnish smugglers" by Vasily Grigorievich Khudyakov. From this purchase, the idea of creating a large museum of Russian art in his

Variety master Maxim Fadeev recently admitted to the audience that he is a real performer of some of the songs released by his production center and became hits. A special piquancy was given to the intrigue by the fact that the high vocals sounding in the compositions were mistaken by many for female. I must admit that the unusual PR move worked. The producer, who recently dispersed all his "stars", managed to quickly attract attention to himself once again. Although this story made many people think about the question, what, sobs

In the world of musical idols, there is a myth called Club 27. By some strange tragic coincidence, many cult musicians died at the age of 27. The mythology of this "club" began to develop rapidly after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994. The musician left at the same age as the iconic rock artists, including: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Amy Winehouse's premature death at the age of 27 in 2011 has reignited interest in the curse of age. Why is this music

At one time, almost the entire female half of the Soviet Union was crazy about the sweet-voiced soloist of the group "Laskoviy May". But few of his fans knew that the image of an orphan was not entirely true. However, Yuri Shatunov had his own reasons for hiding the truth

Young people have always strived for entertainment, at all times. Today the Internet has burst into our lives, changing a lot. People are more likely to stay at home, chatting online, not trying to meet in person. Everything was different under the USSR. And although many of the interests and hobbies of young people have not changed, they began to be expressed in a different form. Why go to the movies when you can watch a movie online? Read how the Soviet youth was having fun and compare it with the current situation. You will be surprised how much everything has changed

Vladimir Vysotsky is a songwriter, actor and bard, whose talent, according to many, borders on genius. He was such an outstanding and extraordinary person that his fame does not subside to this day. He was a hero of that time, a legendary man, a rebel. For some time he was banned by the Soviet government because of his struggle with the system. He always said that he thought, toured abroad, married a foreigner, in general he was not a "man of the Soviet regime." The image of Vysotsky is still shrouded in a curtain behind

Very French (despite the international composition of the troupe), very medieval, very gothic - this is how the musical "Notre Dame de Paris" was perceived by spectators and listeners all over the world. Luc Plamondon's famous production burst into the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful in its first year. Success accompanied each of the artists - and one of them took part in the renewed version of the musical, created in 2016

In ancient times, Orthodoxy demanded virginity from the bride. The girl was supposed to be innocent before marriage, and when she got married, she was obliged to remain faithful to her husband. But still, situations arose when the bride could not boast of her purity. For such an offense, she was severely punished in villages and cities, and both the woman herself and her parents were responsible. The requirements for men were less stringent, and the culprit was not punished. Read how the spoiled bride was "brought up", how f