alina_kotik

Yegor Gaidar

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:14:09 GMT

Yegor Gaidar is dead... I can't believe it: he was only 54. I have just read a transcript of one of his lectures ("Mutinies and Institutions") on Polit.ru. He was one of the few major figures in modern Russian history I profoundly admired: a great thinker, one of the best economists in the world, impeccably honest, courageous in this old-fashioned sense of the word that does not imply brandishing swords, but rather standing quietly on the barricade when every one else has fled. True to his friends, even when they were making serious mistakes, understated, modest, a real intellectual - he has saved my country from hunger and civil war in the early 90's, and has suffered popular hatred and slander without wavering from his course.
My country has lost a great man at the time when it needs him most....

Jude Law in "Hamlet"

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:23:19 GMT

Here is an article you might find interesting
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601112&sid=aF4PCxlV3UnM

Jude Law in "Hamlet"

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:14:24 GMT

I'm just back from London, where I've seen Jude Law playing Hamlet in Wyndham's Theatre. I always admired him, but I have never seen him on stage, and, shame to me, I have never seen "Hamlet" on stage. Films, yes, a number of them, but never before have I heard the Bard's lines shouted, screamed, whispered from the stage a few meters away from me. I was mesmerized by Law's acting: he made his nervous, grief-ridden very young prince extremely convincing from the first lines. Torn by suspicions and disgust, already too distrustful of the world (the famous replica to Horatio:"There's more in heaven and on earth" is pronounced not in wonder but with a heavy sigh), he is dealt one staggering blow after another as the action moves on, yet remains standing until the very end - dying on his feet, as the last soldier holding the deserted bastion.
The staging is sombre, no colours besides murky browns and greys, the set is limited to massive castle walls and gates, the costumes hint at 30-s without being too insistent, and it's always cold in Elsinor. The snow is falling on the ghost and two soldiers, gushes of piercing wind make everyone shudder and hide in their coats. When the mad Ophelia floats onto the stage in her white dress, a ray of dusty light among shadows, flowers in her hands seem evern more unnatural and symbolic than ever.
If you are in London before August 20, go and see it - it's worth it!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:18:49 GMT

A few photos from Pavia - the old University town.

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:08:48 GMT

Please stop this madness now!
I am ashamed for my Government, even though I voted against the people who are bombing civilians in Georgia, codoning robbery and instigating hatred.
This is photo of a monastery in Imerety. I was there barely a month ago.

Leonard Cohen - World Tour 2008

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:35:54 GMT

I am just back from Lucca, from Leonard Cohen's concert! It was amazing - nothing of the "old star coming back" vibes, just a wise, definitely old, but serene and confident Singer, comfortable with himself, proud of his songs, generous with his band and his audience. Three hours of pure bliss, starting with "Dance me to the end of love", going through "Democracy", "Everybody knows", "Anthem", "Take this waltz", "Suzanne" ... "Who by fire" had the whole Piazza Napoleone crying, it was so powerful.
There was something surreal in Leonard Cohen, the mythical figure of my youth, singing under a velvety night sky of Lucca, sprinkled with stars barely visible in the beams of scenic lights. Later someone told me that there were people from 31 country gathered in the Piazza: some were holidaymakers, but others came specifically for this concert. Everyone was singing and waving - Сohen's contemporaries with neatly trimmed white beards, 40 year old "latecomers" like myself, in jeans and long floral skirts or dressed to kill in the italian fashion of late summer, the youngsters with crooked smiles and suspiciously looking cigarettes - we were in the presence of a miracle, and everyone felt it.
Thank you, Mr. Cohen!

It's raining

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:34:27 GMT

Well, it's been a long time since I have posted anything. RL takes a lot of time, as everyone knows.
It rains in Torino, a warm long summer rain, bringing in lovely nostalgic smells of a childhood spent on my grandparents' dacha in Pavlovsk. (see the picture below).

Unfortunately, both English and Italian lack the lovely wealth of synonyms present in Russian to describe the sounds produced by raindrops falling on the pavement: шорох, шелест, шуршание, ропот, плеск etc.
Even the noun, "дождь" (doshd') - rain - comes with the soft sound of rain streams splashing aganst the asphalt or ground.
Well, enough of nostalgia for today...

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:11:01 GMT

Well, I'm back from the UK! I was so lucky, the weather was wonderful for the first two days. I spent half a day in Kew Gardens, watching a peacock trying to seduce his three hens, to no avail. Do you know they emit most irritating cracking noises by crackling their tail feathers?

On weekend we went to Newstead Abbey (a bow to Byron), visited Hardwick Hall (a bow to the Virgin Queen who had actually never visited it), and admired the ruins of Ashby de la Zouch (a bow to Sir Walter Scott). I will upload some photos to my gallery later.

Munich and family

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 11:26:06 GMT

I am in Munich today, will stay here for a week to help Mum out: she is recovering from a hip articulation prostetics. She is doing fine, so I am just here to boost her confidence a bit, and take care of a few things requiring too much movement (shopping, cleaning, etc.)

Munich is a lovely city, almost completely rebuilt after the WWII. The centre is charming, despite an enourmous amount of tourists. After our quiet, somewhat provincial Torino it's a bit overwhelming. Munich smells of roasted sugar almonds and early spring.

Alexander the Great

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 21:05:13 GMT

Guess what! There is a new exhibition in Torino - Following the routes of Alexander the Great from Seleucia (or is it Selevkia?) to Gandhara. It's not as big or all-embracing as I have thought based on advertising, but it's still very interesting: sculpture, ceramics, some fragments of frescoes illustrating Hellenistic influences in the East and the way Oriental religions, customs and mores picked up some Greek ideas and discarded others. I wish they had brought the Sogdiana frescoes from the Hermitage, but obviously the funds were quite limited - still, there are a few pieces from the British Museum, Louvre and Berlin.

Photographs

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:21:31 GMT

I have opened a gallery and uploaded some Italian photos. It's called "Martamelia", take a look: http://pics.livejournal.com/alina_kotik/gallery

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:18:32 GMT

Great news! One of my favourite writers has added me to her "friends" list! Thank you, Inca!

Other good news: visited a "Macchiaioli" exhibition at Palazzo Bricherasio. It's definitely worth seeing. Though the artists' philosophy leaned more towards Impressionism, their art is closer to the Barbizon school. There are some absolutely wondeful landsapes, particularly by Telemaco Signorini.

Really bad news: we have to pay an enourmous fine for failing to undestand and comply with local rules for traffic violation. Now I am off to the Post Office to pay it...

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:05:19 GMT

OK, fourth time trying to post an entry. Hello, I am new here.

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:03:51 GMT

OK, here we go (this is the third time I try to add an entry - am I a total dunce or what?).

I have just opened a LJ to be able to read and comment on my favourite fanfiction slash stories, and maybe, to share some of my best photos of Italy and the rest of the world.

I live in Torino, and love it dearly, particularly because it reminds me of my own St.Petersburg, the beloved city I was fortunate to be born in. I am a fourth generation St.Petersburger, and am very greatful to my ancestors who chose to move to the capital of the Russian Empire at the end of the XIX century.

Now I will try to upload or download (?) some photos.

Good day to all of you!

Добро пожаловать в LiveJournal

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 08:59:13 GMT

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I have just started this LJ and have no idea what to do with it. Perhaps I will download some of our photos: we live in Italy now and have this burning desire to capture its beauty. There are so many lovely, interesting and exciting places here!
I would like to use LJ to comment on some of my favourite slash stories - apparently you cannot do it without having an account...