Gilles de Rais—a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc and a Marshal of France—was also a bloodthirsty serial killer. The Roman Emperor Tiberius—a contemporary of Jesus Christ—was one of history's most notorious libertines. What connection do they have to Epstein’s island? What is reincarnation, really? Are we responsible for actions committed in past lives? Was it truly *us*? Who was Jeffrey...

*Summa Technologiae* marked the culmination of the classical era of future studies. In this book, Stanislaw Lem conducted a unique and bold technological analysis of civilizations. He examined the potential emergence of fundamentally new groups of scientific disciplines and completely rejected simple extrapolative models of the future. Written over forty years ago, the book remains entirely...

Did Kings Saul, David, and Solomon actually exist? Who authored the Pentateuch, and which events described in the Old Testament truly took place? In exploring the most complex enigmas of biblical studies, Russian scholar Andrey Desnitsky asks: is it valid to treat Holy Scripture as a historical source? Can we reconstruct the biblical past using the scientific method, and to what extent are such...

A first introduction to the Gospel story—simple and accessible! *The Bible for Children: Gospel Stories* is a wonderful way to introduce young children to the New Testament in an engaging manner and lay the groundwork for a deeper exploration of Christian culture. Maya Kucherskaya’s unique retelling presents key New Testament narratives, such as the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, and...

It is not only financial capital that is facing difficulties today. These challenges hinder the development of the information society and manifest as a decline in the intellect’s orientation toward the future. In his new book, the renowned scholar—philologist, philosopher, and cultural theorist—Igor Pavlovich Smirnov examines the turmoil shaking the global economy in the 21st century as an...

A multitude of different personalities dwell within each of us, yet a rational mind suppresses any attempt they might make to assert their independence. Rosa, the protagonist of Tatyana Shcherbina’s novel, spent many years in a lethargic sleep; it is hardly surprising, then, that she slips back and forth between classical antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the final years of the USSR. Yet the...

Drawing on a wealth of source material, this collection of articles examines various aspects of the relationship between the two states over an extended period. Significant attention is devoted to the roles played by Russia and Kazakhstan in the process of consolidating peoples across the Eurasian region, including in the post-Soviet era. The volume highlights the development of economic and...

Philological observations and literary criticism written in different years.

Sergei Dovlatov is one of the most popular and widely-read Russian authors from the end of the twentieth century. His stories, anecdotes and notes have been translated into many languages, adapted to film, and studied in schools and universities. Dovlatov's surprisingly funny yet at times strikingly sad stories have long been considered classics. You will remember his quirky jokes instantly,...