Speaking about oddities of cultural life… and death

Friends, let me introduce the culture secion of PRAVDA.Ru, which is new, and this is why it is a bit eclectic. The reason is probably the wish to simultaneously satisfy needs of our different, though very exacting, audiences in covering news from cultural life and death. Being a poet, I remember with sorrow two deceased people whose creative work made our perception more delicate: Tatyana Snezhina and Ilya Tyurin. A poet said, “Who finishes his life tragically is the true poet.”

The most tragic thing in death is that the Earth continues to revolve.

The theme of death is covered by the Israeli theatre Gabima with its “Kaddish for Naomi” and a play by R.Pinkovich, “The Dairy of Anne Frank.” While even life in Israel itself develops the theme of death: all the time, reports appear about bloody terrorist acts and victims. Everything points to the fact that one survives in our world only by chance.

He who manages to survive will hear new Paranoia album of Russian pop-star Zemfira or see Star Wars and even the Irish Disco Pigs. However, our site intends to satisfy optimists’ needs as well: Cherry Forest, jazz, sex, and Yakov Shtelin’s historical anecdotes about Peter I.

Regarding Peter I. Once, Peter I, having listened in the Senate too many cases and complaints about stealing and bribery, ordered Prosecutor Pavel Yaguzhinsky to compose a decree: if the stolen money is enough to buy a rope, the thief should be immediately be hung without any trial. At first, Yaguzhinsky started to write, though he suddenly hesitated and laid his pen aside.

“Your Majesty! We all steal, some of us more, some less. Do you really want to remain without citizens?” – he asked. The tsar laughed and cancelled the decree.

However, probably, was it in vain that he did it? Now, newspapers report that corruption is being searched for even in the Tourist Department of the Economy Ministry. However, already, Oscar Wilde noticed that journalism was organized slander. To be short, it would be very nice of you, dear readers, if you make comments on the new section.

Dmitry Darin PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/05/20/41414.html