Books about the art market
Several years ago I bought almost all books on the art market almost in a row and gradually created my own library of this literature. I have it all in…

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strip tease
Pop Art and Literature
I do not like to talk about art, its impact on society and all that. I do not like, does not mean condemn such reflections. Well, you know how often…

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Two crosses of Konstantin Batiushkov
This year marks the 230th anniversary of the birth of Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov (1787–1855) and the 200th anniversary of the release of his only book, the two-volume book Experiments in…

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chronographic order

“Drone”, Novikov magazine

Of the Russian prints of the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, the most serious was Novikov’s journal “The Drone”, which was published in the capital from May 1769 to April 1770. In this organ Novikov began to flaunt the vices of modern society, exposing them to the living faces of contemporaries, probably well-known and because it is easy for everyone to recognize.

Catherine resolutely rebelled against this — her satire in “All things” was “in a smiling way” and did not allow certain individuals to be convicted — she did not invade the state, even public life, and was of a general nature, as a result of which she was distinguished by vagueness. Continue reading

“Woe from Wit” and “Misanthrope” by Moliere

Of foreign works, the comedy by Moliere “Misanthrope” was especially important for “Woe from Wit” (see the summary, analysis and the full text). Studies by Professor Alexei Veselovsky showed that the image of Alceste was reflected in Chatsky: in the work of Griboyedov, the love story of the main character of “The Misanthrope”, Alceste, was repeated. Finally, the similarities are observed in some trifles. Of course, such a borrowing doesn’t make Griboedov’s comedy non-independent: if the form and some details were borrowed, then its content remained deeply Russian. Continue reading

“European Herald” – Karamzin magazine

Creativity Karamzin in the years of the reign of Alexander I is of considerable interest. A sentimentalist writer, an individualist, essentially his temperament, who was first interested in mainly his sensitive soul — he appeared in the Alexander’s epoch as a public figure and publicist. Karamzin wrote and published a whole series of articles reflecting the living interests of our time in the journal “Vestnik Evropy” (1802-1830), the editor-in-chief of which was. Continue reading

Grossman "Life and Fate"
How strikingly disappeared all the Soviet spells and formulas, enumerated above! [cm. Grossman's article “For the Right Cause” - analysis by A. Solzhenitsyn] - and no one will say that…

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Homeric epic
Epic means nothing more than a word about exploits (in Greek “epic” - “word”), songs that were performed by wandering singers. To the accompaniment of the lyre, they were sung…

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