25
Rick must have been as impressed by the ballet as the drama critic Clive Barnes once was when he saw the triumphal performance by Maris Liepa in London, which prompted him to say:
26
Rick decided to combine his trip to Riga with the Lāčplēsis Day celebrated as a symbol for independence struggle of Latvia. He reckoned not to go at the same time that Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second was in Riga. Her Majesty participated in opening the monument to George Armistead on the 18 October 2006. By the way, Armistead was granted a title of Baron by the Russian Tsar due to his diligence in developing the city of Riga. But as soon as Latvia separated from Russia his daughters were in a hurry to return back to Scotland.
27
In Ancient Greece the nymphs took part in the drunken orgies of Dionysus, but they only gave their love to the heroes and the beautiful youths as they drove them to frenzied inspiration.
28
‘Look at these children abandoned by their fathers!’ thought Rick as fear pierced him and he wondered if they could have been his.
29
As he hugged it he estimated the shape to be an assertive C.
30
She is not some woman of the East who is used to carrying boxes and baskets on her head. He couldn’t have known that in the years that passed she managed to travel a lot with her show. Not only had she been to Riga but to just about all the hot countries where the nymphs are particularly highly valued.
31
The pose was reminiscent of the Vera Mukhina’s (a born and raised Rigan) sculpture ‘Worker and the Kolkhoz Woman’ created for the Soviet pavilion for the Parisian International Exhibition in 1937.
32
A weekly journal ‘
33
When Richard Blockhead was shown a photo of a gilded doll on the Arbat fountain, so that he could determine the extent of her fountaniety, he exclaimed: ‘What kind of fountain can she possibly be?!’ ‘Не верю!’ – ‘I do not believe!’ he uttered clearly in Russian without excessive ceremonies, according to the Stanislavski method. Stanislavski (1863–1938) is a famous Russian actor and theatre director, a founder of the ‘method acting’ – a pervasive method based on the verisimilitude of acting. He was known for criticizing the actors’ performance by saying: ‘I don’t believe you!’
34
To declare one’s official address is conveyed by the Russian word ‘прописываться’. This word can also be a derivative from the verb ‘to pee’ (писать). So the author alludes to his character abundantly peeing on the Arbat Street, which sounds like his declaration of address.
35
The best psychologists and somnologists struggle with the task of stopping such form of paedophilia. And the juvenile fakers deserve a special concern.
36
The Russian word ‘написание’ can be translated as ‘writing’ or as ‘peeing’. This pun is also reflected in the Russian word ‘чистописание’, which stands for accurate writing but may also sound as ‘accurate peeing.’
37
Obviously, some amateurs did that job.
38
Dick could not have known then that his name, Dick – an affectionate derivative of his name in English coincided with the derogatory meaning hidden in his calligraphic art.
39
The picture shows concealed Russian letters Х, У and Й, which is a popular pejorative word for penis in the Russian language discourse. According to the author’s interpretation this may also coincide with
40
The result bulletin of the Eurovision contest: ‘
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The music herald: ‘
42
Bilingual Latvian-Russian journal for children ‘
43
The author uses Russian abbreviation OMOH, which stands for ‘Отряд мобильный особого назначения’, a system of special units of Police force within the Russian Federation, which translates as a Special Purpose Mobile Unit. But he deciphers the abbreviation as ‘отдел Министерства образования и науки’ or ‘Department of the Ministry of Education and Science’ in English. Some people still have fearful memories of OMOH. But this depends on the viewpoint. Consider it as one of the puzzles for the intellectuals. If you read it in Russian, Special Purpose Mobile Unit really comes to mind, but you can also read it the way it was intended, namely, the other way around! And then the humane attitude of the special purpose is revealed: HOMO. It is simple! You just have to define and choose your way of reading and your life position.
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In the Latvian language the word café is ‘
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Department of Health and Wellbeing Booklet ‘
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The typical
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But more frequently they join a regular
49
Computer Journal ‘
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Customer rights’ herald:
52
This line comes from Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 poem ‘The Hero’ where the two characters debate the value of the truths and lies in relation to the human being.
53
It will only take the readers to have one look at the Riga Colosus erected on the Daugava