Moscow is Dressed for the Holidays

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The Holidays have just begun in Russia. Only a very few people celebrated on 25 December, mostly the tiny Catholic and Protestant minorities. At the beginning of the year, Russians get a 10-day holiday that covers both New Year’s and Orthodox Christmas. In short, as America winds down the celebrations, Russia ramps ’em up. Go figure!

“You Are A Cat”

Are you talkin’ to ME?

I usually don’t pay attention to such things, but, one of those silly internet “tests” caught my eye. You see, my Nicky calls me “his cat”, and this seems to “confirm” it. Hmm… wanna see my claws? MIAO… or, is it МИЯУ?

You are very independent and reclusive. No one really understands you, and you like it that way!

You are quite clever and ingenious. You can get yourself out of any sticky situation.

You are confident and cool tempered. You know you have many advantages and resources to draw from.

No matter what life throws at you, things always seem to work out your way.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. A View of Lugano in Switzerland. no date (first decades of the 20th century)

A View of Lugano in Switzerland (Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, no date (first decades of  the 20th century)

A Window Into a Lost World 5: The People of Tsarist Russia

This appears to be an older snap, for the uniform indicates that it was taken in the time of the reign of Tsar Aleksandr Aleksandrovich or Tsar St Nikolai. That is, it dates from about 1880 to 1895. This young man was in his middle age when the Revolution broke out in 1917. What happened to him? Damn… pictures don’t talk… don’t you wish that they did?