A Kinder, Gentler History
The past can seem like a timeline of horrors. But might it also remind us of our own failings – and help to put them right?
Volume 67 Issue 10 October 2017
Listening for the Change
Understanding the period and context in which a piece of music was created can offer great rewards for the listener.
1917: The Fragility of Power
The First World War ensured the success of the Russian Revolution. Peace would have strangled it at birth.
The Spears of Peace
The arrival of a Christian mission on the island of Dobu in Papua New Guinea was met with ambivalence, but it resulted in a mixing of cultures and the development of new traditions.
The Man in Carriage No. 2013
Leo Steveni was a British officer based in St Petersburg at the time of the Russian Revolution. He became an active eyewitness to the chaos of the Civil War that followed.
Capturing the Cat
The arrival of big cats to 19th-century London forced a change in the image left by mythology and the Old Masters.
The Russian Revolution: People of the Future
The October Revolution of 1917 inspired a generation of young Russians to embrace new ideals of socialist living.
The Map: Poltava, 1709
An 18th-century map produced by Anna van Westerstee Beeck marks a pivotal moment in the histories of Russia, Sweden and Ukraine.