In this issue…

Towards the Sources of Imperial Statehood

On the feast day of the Sainted Prince Alexander Nevsky, 12 September 2007, the All-Russian Alexander Nevsky Literary Prize was awarded in St Petersburg for the third time. Prize winners and those on the shortlist were honoured in the White Hall of the Sheremetev Palace.

…8

King Asyka’s Clerk

Marina Tsvetayeva called his prose “a living treasury of the Russian soul and speech”; Alexander Blok dubbed Remizov’s work “Dostoyevsky cubed”, and Valery Briusov’s response on reading the manuscript of the book Shurum-Burum (Old Rags) was surprisingly categorical: “A maniac!”

…18

Beneath the unwavering eye of the Whiskered Princess

From the lounge of the Old Vienna you can see the Queen of Spades’ windows – dark and impenetrable as before. What do they conceal? What murky secret do they keep?

…28

France’s Gastronomic Heritage

This delicacy can perform a solo role as part of a formal dinner, but can also set off to advantage the tastes of other foodstuffs.

…38

A Matter of Princip

Did the Bosnian nationalist Princip grasp the possible deadly consequences of his firing on the hated Austrian?

…44

“Et consilio et robore”

Fiodor Golovin performed all those activities unseen by the world, without which not a single brilliant reformer could achieve success.

…58

Two Crossed Daggers

Dmitry Irinarkhovich called his brother his “evil double”. In many ways they were indeed alike – take their shared passion for striking emblems and ceremonial. But while the elder Zavalishin would have made Gogol a suitable character, the younger seemed to call for the pen of Dostoyevsky.

…70

The Past here is ineffaceable

Russia finally established itself on the Caspian coast after the Second Russo-Persian war that ended in 1828 with the signing of the Treaty of Turkmanchai.

…80

The man responsible for the power of our state

The historian Nikolai Karamzin devoted three volumes of his epoch-making opus The History of the Russian State to the reign of Ivan IV.

…94

A Fabulous Kingdom of Ice and Flame

Icelanders are firmly convinced that their country is populated by trolls, elves, gnomes and other supernatural beings. Mysterious creatures and strange events are discussed seriously both at home and when out with friends.

…98

“The illusion of light was his deity”

The windows of the attic that was located above Kuinji’s apartment at that time afforded a broad panoramic view of the city. Light and space, sun and sky filled the artist’s new studio.

…110

The Glorious Sounds of that Voice

As she crossed the threshold of the Saratov Conservatory, modest young Galya from the settlement of Goryachy Kliuch (Hot Spring) in the Kuban river basin could not have dreamt of a brilliant career as an opera singer.

…120