Maslenitsa: Slavic ‘Spring Festival’

Maslenitsa (Belarusian: Масленіца, Russian: Мaсленица, Rusyn: Fašengy, Ukrainian: Масниця, ; also known as Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe week, or Cheesefare Week) is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday, which has retained a number of elements of Slavic mythology in its ritual, celebrated during the last week before Great Lent, that is, the eighth week before Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter).

Meet France’s Mister Nasty

Roger Faulques was born in France on 14 December 1924, and he joined the French Resistance in 1944 during World War II. He served in the French 1st Army as a corporal, fighting in the last battles of the war and received the Croix de Guerre medal.

Derision for Europe’s Loopiest Leader

An Afghan man in his 20s was gunned down by cops after a bloody knife attack in the Swedish town of Vetlanda that left seven people injured. The assassin has been arrested on suspicion of several cases of attempted murder, but bizarrely not charged with terrorism.

The Prophecies of Vanga

If you are concerned about where our world is heading it would be well to take an interest in Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova (Vanga 1911 – 1996). Vanga lived in Rupite, which straddles the borders of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece. It is a place said to be a source of incredible cosmic energy.

A Difficult and Painful Death

A DIFFICULT AND PAINFUL DEATH: On 1 March 1953, Stalin’s staff found him semi-conscious on the bedroom floor of his Volynskoe dacha. He had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. He was moved onto a couch and remained there for three days. He was hand-fed using a spoon, given various medicines and injections, and leeches were applied to him.