Lishnevsky house, also known as the house with ‪‎Mephistopheles‬, built in 1910 in St. ‪‎Petersburg‬ has lost its face, literally: This Wednesday, August 26th, several “faceless” workers have removed the Mephistopheles relief from the facade of the historical building. Some report that the removal of the bas-relief depicting the mythical demon might be connected to the construction of an Orthodox […]

Human memory is remarkable to me in a sense that small details such as smell, sound, texture, color, taste can elicit powerful images in our brain. Words too, like physical senses, evoke memories and trigger physical and emotional responses. Every time I read or hear the word “Kursk,” a face of an old woman instantly appears before my eyes. Each […]