his eye bores a hole

by Vasily Iakolev

— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground

Russia’s village libraries. Photos by Ksenia Inverse

"Grade D, Again",  Fyodor Pavlovich Reshetnikov, 1952

Due to the work's realistic scenario, the Soviet school curriculum used the painting as a topic for essay-writing. The painting was well known to the Soviet public.

― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The House of the Dead

ВДНХ

Viktor Vasnetsov - A Knight at the Crossroads, 1878

This is classic scene of Russian mythology. Great Knight Ilya Muromez comes across crossroads post saying “Who goes forward shall not return alive. Who goes on right shall not return unmarried. Who goes on left shall be rich.” Ilya proceeds to visit each direction, What Happens Next Will Surprise You.

— Faina Ranevskaya

— Faina Ranevskaya (Russian actress, 1896 – 1984)

Enrasta💙