Most people on planet Earth judge society by their own image. At best, we see only what we are forced to see. To enter the position of a comrade, classmate, fellow student is a difficult task, requiring intellectual expenditure and leaving your comfort zone. No one would want to try on someone else's spacesuit. But the truth is somewhere nearby. Let's imagine a spacesuit. A regular flask made especially for you, perfect in size. Smooth, thick, polished glass to an azure shine.

where do you get the ticket?

I visited Istanbul for the first time in May of this year - I flew to present the translation of my book about animals into Turkish. Walking around the city with colleagues, I then noticed what kind of cars the local police were using to disperse peaceful demonstrations. It’s like something out of a movie about a totalitarian future—those huge, scary, gray armored paddy wagons with machine guns that our regime defenders can still dream about and dream about.

A.V.

I bring to your attention a translation of a conversation between Gilles Deleuze and Claire Parnet in 1986, entirely dedicated to the personality of Michel Foucault. The personality of Foucault, as portrayed by Deleuze, is similar to a system of complexly arranged lenses that refract many semantic lines characteristic of Deleuze, either focusing them, or vice versa - scattering them across the surface of an unfinished portrait.

Human destiny is a combination of shortcomings and a lack of excesses. If your heart is in your heels, your foot will definitely step on a nail. Bare feet will not pass by broken glass. If you are on the road with a beautiful girl, turn off the path. Meaningful suffering is better than meaningless pleasure. The world is real, because it only seems to us. Without man there would be no inhumanity. Even an unsuccessful materialization is not destined to disincarnate.

My mother would have turned 107 years old on December 14, but she died on November 30, 1999. My mother was in intensive care after a massive heart attack and no one was allowed to see her, but on the evening of the 30th they called me from the hospital at work and said that my mother really wanted to see me and that they would let me in to see her. Literally a few minutes later I was in her room.

Travel and delicious food are my two big weaknesses. I have visited many establishments in different countries of the world, tasted many dishes and I can say with confidence that there is no limit to perfection. As soon as on my next trip I find the ideal restaurant, in my opinion, within a few days an even better one is found. Most often, I remember establishments with some kind of twist, an idea, which are somehow different from other places.

Fate brought me to the Liteiny Theater at the end of September, during my vacation. I was very lucky to see Boris Pavlovich’s new performance. He was the artistic director of the Youth Theater in my hometown for 7 years. Many of his productions are still loved by audiences. And then, on September 20, I found myself in St. Petersburg at his performance “Laurel” based on the play by Evgeny Vodolazkin. As far as I know, this novel has never been staged in a theater before.