Learn Russian Conversation: Daily Summaries Delivered

286--287 Eternal Sicily in the Modern Age

"Everything must change for everything to remain the same" - this is how Tomasi di Lampedusa describes life in Sicily in his novel The Leopard.

270–271 Karl Polanyi and capitalism

284–285 Prince Oleg of Kiev – the epic hero

In the 10th century, Kievan Rus was first a military-trade company. Later, it turned into a Slavic state. Prince Oleg settled in Kiev and named it the mother of the cities of Rus.

282–283 International relations - theories and approaches

Realism, liberalism, Marxism, Neo-Marxism, and Constructivism are the major approaches to international relations.

280–281 Gnostics and the Bible

If Christianity is about Christ, why is the Old Testament included in the Bible?

278–279 Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes founded a theory of modern state, as he looked for a way to stop religious wars that afflicted Europe and England, in particular, in the 16th and 17th centuries. He based his theory on the fear of death that is common for most people.

276–277 Nikolai Fedorov – resurrection and cosmos

He slept on the chest and was wearing poor clothes – Nikolai Fedorov was an unassuming librarian and a mentor of Tsiolkovsky, a father of astronautics, as well as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, big writers.

274–275 Blaise Pascal – the last believer

Blaise Pascal (1623– 1662) believed that we are great when we are aware of our insignificance.