[Scrap] Land of the Firebird - The Beauty of Old Russia by Suzanne Massie

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yaroslav's wife was the daughter of King Olaf of Sweden and his three daughters all married kings. Elizabeth became the Queen of Norway, Anastasia the Queen of Hungary, and Anna the Queen of France when she married Henry I in 1051...

Anna spoke three languages; and at the time of her marriage was able to write her own name on the marrage contract, while her husband, though King of France, could only make X...

She continued to sign state documents, and when Henry died in 1060 and she became the ruling queen, she signed her name "Anna Regina" in Slavic characters..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

terem - Russian Harem

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

자고로 양식있는 양반(귀족)이라면,, 허리춤 벨트 속에 자기 포크와 수저 정도는 가지고 다니는게 기본 예의였지,,ㅎㅎ

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

눈이 매혹적인,,, Swan Princess, Mikhail Vrubel. 1900. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ice Slide, St. Petersburg

But of all the winter amusements, the most beloved and typically Russian were the ice slides or ice mountains which were erected in all villages and towns. Ice hills and the carnival towns which grew up about them on holidays were a very old and popular amusement, known since the 15th and 16th centuries...

As soon as winter came, in squares and public places all over the land, ice hills were erected, usually near a river. They were constructed of wood-a narrow long-legged temporary stage that rose to a height of 30 or 40 feet and sometimes even higher. The platform, to which  one ascended by wooden stairs, was suppoerted by tree trunks and wooden pillars...