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The Ice House (St. Petersburg)
The Ice House (russian: Ледяной дом) was an palace built of ice in the winter of 1739–40 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The palace and the surrounding festivities were part of the celebration of Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739), Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire. The Empress Anna of Russia, Anna Ivanovna ordered Alexis Tatishchev, a court functionary, to construct it on the river Neva between the Admiralty and the Winter Palace during the bitterly cold winter of 1739–40. It was 80 feet long, 33 feet high, and 23 feet deep, and cost 30,000 rubles. By June 1740, the palace had melted into mere blocks of ice floating in the river.Mina Curtiss, "The Empress Anna's Ice Palace." '' History Today'' (Feb 1973), Vol. 23 Issue 2, pp 122-127, online. History Traditionally in very cold winters on the Neva ice installations were built as fortresses for the training of soldiers and for the entertainment of the residents. In the winter of 1739/40 with temperatures of −40&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns. The term gable wall or gable end more commonly refers to the entire wall, including the gable and the wall below it. Some types of roof do not have a gable (for example hip roofs do not). One common type of roof with gables, the gable roof, is named after its prominent gables. A parapet made of a series of curves (Dutch gable) or horizontal steps (crow-stepped gable) may hide the diagonal lines of the roof. Gable ends of more recent buildings are often treated in the same way as the Classic pediment form. But unlike Classical structures, which operate through trabeation, the gable ends of many buildings are actually bearing-wall structures. Gable style is also used in the design of fabric structures, with varying degree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuri Nagibin
Yuri Markovich Nagibin (russian: Ю́рий Ма́ркович Наги́бин; 3 April 1920 – 17 June 1994) was a Russian Soviet writer, screenwriter and novelist. Biography Yuri Nagibin was born in Moscow in 1920. Nagibin's mother Ksenia Nagibina was pregnant with him when his father — Kirill Nagibin, a Russian nobleman — was executed as a counter-revolutionary before he was born. He was raised by his Jewish stepfather Mark Leventhal who was also later arrested and sent into internal exile to the Russian North in Komi Republic in 1927. Nagibin was unaware of his real father, so he assumed he was partly Jewish (Nagibin's mother was of Russian ethnicity). He found out late in life that both of his parents were in fact Russian, but he consciously related himself to Jews and condemned antisemitism, having suffered many antisemitic incidents in his early life. In 1938 he entered the Moscow State Medical University, but left it for VGIK. He wrote his first story in 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Lazhechnikov
Ivan Ivanovich Lazhechnikov (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Лаже́чников; September 25, 1792 – July 8, 1869) was a Russian writer. Biography Lazhechnikov was born into the family of a rich merchant in Kolomna in 1792. He received a well-rounded education from private tutors at home. He served in the active army in 1813–15, which inspired his ''Campaign Notes of a Russian Officer''.''The Great Soviet Encyclopedia'', 3rd Edition (1970-1979). 2010, The Gale Group, Inc. Lazhechnikov was one of the originators of the Russian historical novel, along with Faddey Bulgarin, Mikhail Zagoskin and others. His first novel, ''The Last Novik'' (1831–33), set in the early 18th century, was very successful.The Cambridge History of Russian Literature, Cambridge University Press, 1996. His novel '' The House of Ice'' (1835) dealt with the intrigues and horrors of the court of Empress Anna. The novel was praised by the influential critic Vissarion Belinsky for its aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspecies. A 2022 revision of the genus elevated five of the subspecies to species (see Taxonomy below). They have a circumpolar distribution and are native to the Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal forest, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration. Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest species, the Svalbard reindeer (''R. t. platyrhynchus''), to the largest subspecies, Osborn's caribou (''R. t. osborni''). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provide food (milk and meat) and textiles (fiber and felt from hair). Camels are working animals especially suited to their desert habitat and are a vital means of transport for passengers and cargo. There are three surviving species of camel. The one-humped dromedary makes up 94% of the world's camel population, and the two-humped Bactrian camel makes up 6%. The Wild Bactrian camel is a separate species and is now critically endangered. The word ''camel'' is also used informally in a wider sense, where the more correct term is "camelid", to include all seven species of the family Camelidae: the true camels (the above three species), along with the "New World" camelids: the llama, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalmuck
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, whose ancestors migrated from Dzungaria. They created the Kalmyk Khanate from 1635 to 1779 in Russia's North Caucasus territory. Today they form a majority in Kalmykia, located in the Kalmyk Steppe, on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. They are the only traditionally Buddhist people whose homeland is located within Europe. Through emigration, small Kalmyk communities have been established in the United States, France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Origins and history Early history of the Oirats The Kalmyk are a branch of the Oirat Mongols, whose ancient grazing-lands spanned present-day parts of Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and China. After the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty of China in 1368, the Oirats emerged as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift (offering, rings, symbolic item, flowers, money, dress), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or Celebrant (Australia), celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as Wedding superstitions, superstitious customs. Common elements across cultures Some cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of the white wedding, in which a bride wears a white wedding dress and veil. This tradition was popularized through the marriage of Queen Victoria. Some say Victoria's choice of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Costume
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicate social, marital or religious status. If the costume is used to represent the culture or identity of a specific ethnic group, it is usually known as ethnic costume (also ethnic dress, ethnic wear, ethnic clothing, traditional ethnic wear or traditional ethnic garment). Such costumes often come in two forms: one for everyday occasions, the other for traditional festivals and formal wear. Following the rise of romantic nationalism, the pre-industrial peasantry of Europe came to serve as models for all that appeared genuine and desirable. Their dresses are crystallized into so-called "typical" forms, and enthusiasts adopted that attire as part of their symbolism. In areas where Western dress codes have become usual, traditional garments are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Zoo
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the supposed inferiority of the exhibits' culture, and implied the superiority of "Western society", through tropes that purported marginalized groups as "savage". The idea of a "savage" derives from Columbus's voyages that deemed European culture remained pure, while other cultures were titled impure or "wild", and this stereotype relies heavily on the idea that different ways of living were "cast out by God", as other cultures do not recognize Christianity in relation to Creation. Throughout their existence such exhibitions garnered controversy over their demeaning, derogatory, and dehumanizing nature. They began as a part of circuses and "freak shows" which displayed exotic humans in a manner akin to a caricature which exaggerated their differe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnival Of Venice
The Carnival of Venice ( it, Carnevale di Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday (''Martedì Grasso'' or Mardi Gras), which is the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The festival is world famous for its elaborate masks. History According to legend, the Carnival of Venice began after the military victory of the Venetian Republic over the Patriarch of Aquileia, Ulrico di Treven in the year 1162. In honour of this victory, the people started to dance and gather in San Marco Square. Apparently, this festival started in that period and became official during the Renaissance. In the seventeenth century, the baroque carnival preserved the prestigious image of Venice in the world. It was very famous during the eighteenth century. It encouraged licence and pleasure, but it was also used to protect Venetians from present and future anguish. However, under the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor and later Emperor of Austria, Franc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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