In this issue...

The Alexander Nevsky Competition Awards Ceremony

On 12 September, the feast day of the sainted Prince Alexander Nevsky, the Residence Taleon Sheremetev Palace was the venue for the awards ceremony of the Alexander Nevsky All-Russian Literary Competition.

…8

Imprisoned in his own past

Even his “classic masterpieces” were not sacrosanct. With every new edition Vsevolod Ivanov was obliged to “tidy them up” even more, making cosmetic changes at the demand of censors and editors.

…18

The“Indian  Project” Mystery

The French publicist and member of staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Charles Louis Lesure presented the European reader with incredible details of Russian Emperor Peter I’s plans for world domination.

…28

A Refined European Accent

Chestnuts can make a refined accent, both as a garnish and as a separate dish. They combine well with veal and chanterelles, sliced beef or goose liver, and give a special piquancy to meat sauces.

…40

The People’s Commissar Slipped on Grease

The investigator Ivan Nazaryev recommended that “the entire membership of the expert artistic commission headed by Maxim Gorky and People’s Commissar Lunacharsky be called to account for abuse of power”

…50

Breaking Point

Like all talented people, Hemingway had a need for powerful emotions. He loved passionate women, masculine pastimes and strong drinks. But in contrast to his father, he was firm in the knowledge that not one of those women would get him under her thumb.

…58

Doubly Cursed

His life was divided, as it were, into two parts by three days in April 1814, after which Bonaparte’s resplendent comrade in arms became known as “Marshal Judas”.

…72

St Petersburg’s Deadly Adornment

A St Petersburg flood is a distinctive, sinister spectacle.

…90

In Moscow kitsch, in Petersburg Ilyich

The airbrush makes it possible to achieve an almost photographically precise image that nonetheless remains a work of art.

…104

His Majesty the Russian Sable

Wearing sable is the same as having a Rolls-Royce car, because it is obvious that the owners of such superb furs are successful people.

…112

Bon Voyage à la Russe

In the second half of the nineteenth century travel became a general passion with the capital’s elite. But Russian wanderlust itself appeared a good deal earlier.

…120