Tag Archives: Russia

Three and the Moon

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I recently stumbled upon this amazing title with mind-blowing illustrations by Boris Artzybasheff . The artist was a Russian refugee who arrived penniless in the U.S. after the Russian Revolution. He spent the next four decades creating illustrations for popular … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

An Honor Without Irony

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Last week, an outdoor sculpture honoring the iconic American author J.D. Salinger was dedicated on a hillside near his family’s ancestral home in Lithuania. The artwork celebrates the writer’s most acclaimed novel The Catcher in the Rye. Ironically, Salinger’s 1951 bildungsroman … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Europe, History, Tourism, Uncategorized, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Keep a sharp lookout

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“The Peasant and the Cucumbers” by Leo Tolstoy (trans. by Leo Wiener) A peasant once went to the gardener’s, to steal cucumbers. He crept up to the cucumbers, and thought: “I will carry off a bag of cucumbers, which I … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Hermitage

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I was very fortunate to spend an entire day in the world renowned Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia a few years ago. It’s almost overwhelming to try and take in the immense institution in one visit. To save our … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Europe, Film, Museums, Music, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Russia Tourism Rebrands

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Brian D. Butler

A design team from ad agency Suprematika recently won an open competition to come up with an entirely new brand identity for Russia’s tourism board. They created a dynamic abstract design featuring bold geometric shapes and colors. The central graphic … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Europe, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Some Random Island In The Pacific Ocean

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Brian D. Butler
Posted in Animation, Art, USA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thinking of Saint Petersburg

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Since yesterday’s terrorist bombing,  I have been thinking about Saint Petersburg and all of the amazing people that I met there on my visit six months ago. With the heightened tensions between the United States and Russia, I had anticipated … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, History, Photography, Tourism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Saint Petersburg Is Packed With Surprises

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

When I was in Saint Petersburg, Russia this Fall, I did my due diligence as a tourist and visited as many museums, palaces, cathedrals, and attractions as I could manage in a week. Unfortunately, I was a few months too … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Bookstore Tourism, Europe, Libraries, Museums, Tourism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Moscow Boulevard

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

I really appreciate travel magazine Flaneur’s singular focus on just one street in a city for each issue. The Berlin-based publication’s latest actually concentrates on a large district this time. Their new issue explores Moscow’s Boulevard Ring in the center of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Europe, History, Photography, Tourism, Travel Writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Without Libraries What Are We

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Brian D. Butler

Montreal-based Instagramer Olivier Martel Savoie has been traveling the world for the last two years visiting libraries and taking terrific photos with just his trusty iPhone. His series #olive_libraries covers beautiful institutions from Budapest to Boston. “Without libraries what have … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Canada, Europe, Libraries, Photography, USA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment