one of two major universities located in nevada, united states. home of the wolf pack. situated in northwest reno, the university boasts high-quality education at pretty low cost. the orvis school of nursing and the reynolds school of journalism are two of the most popular programs in the university and are highly praised.

home to numerous noteworthy landmarks including the london eye, queen elizabeth tower, stonehenge, and beautiful cheddar gorge.

businessman turned 45th president of the united states. part of a massive pedophilia ring involving jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell. claimed he would "make america great again" but has turned it into the laughingstock of the world by promoting racism, sexism, and failing to do pretty much anything useful. currently undermining the united states postal service, admitting to attempting to sabotage the presidential election.

the oldest us city, was founded in 1565.

peter cooper was an inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist who believed that the wealthy have a duty to help society. before the age of 30, cooper made his fortune with a glue factory. about 1828, he built an ironworks in baltimore and began a second career in the iron industry. during his life, cooper produced many inventions, including a steam-powered locomotive and flavored gelatin, and he supported the development of the new telegraph network. he also helped to secure public education and improve sanitation in new york city. in 1859, he founded the cooper union, a university that gives all its students a free education.

a chemical company that is founded in turkey. it is exclusively prevailing in the field of exportation of plastic.

has become one of twitter's biggest shareholders (slightly bigger than 9% stake).

after world war ii, many nazis and collaborators fled europe to escape trial for war crimes. surprisingly, some of them found refuge in the united states. there were a few different ways this happened.

operation paperclip: this was a secret program in which the u.s. government recruited scientists from nazi germany to work on america's behalf during the cold war. these scientists, some of whom were alleged to have ties to nazi war crimes, were invaluable assets due to their advanced knowledge in rocketry, medicine, and other fields. perhaps the most famous of these was wernher von braun, a former member of the nazi party who played a key role in developing the v-2 rocket during wwii and later became an integral part of nasa's moon landing program.

intelligence use: the u.s., like many nations during the cold war, was focused on gathering as much intelligence as possible to gain an edge over the soviet union. some former nazis and collaborators were used as spies or informants, despite their criminal pasts.

immigration: some nazis managed to immigrate to the u.s., often hiding their past affiliations. they lived in the country for decades, typically maintaining a low profile. many were later tracked down and prosecuted or deported, particularly after the formation of the office of special investigations (osi) in 1979, a unit of the department of justice tasked with identifying and expelling former nazis.

it's important to note that the presence of nazis and collaborators in the u.s. after wwii has been a source of controversy. these events have been subject to numerous investigations and have led to changes in u.s. policies regarding war criminals and immigration. as of my knowledge cutoff in september 2021, these efforts to hold former nazis accountable continued, even as the number of surviving wwii-era nazis dwindled.

dog.

baron d'holbach (paul-henri thiry, baron d'holbach, 1723-1789) was a pivotal figure in the french enlightenment, renowned for his philosophical materialism and radical atheism. born in the german palatinate but primarily active in paris, d'holbach was a prolific writer, philosopher, and encyclopedist who made significant contributions to enlightenment thought through his critiques of religion and advocacy for scientific rationalism.

d'holbach's salon in paris became a hub for many leading intellectuals of the time, including denis diderot and jean-jacques rousseau. it was here that many ideas central to the enlightenment were debated and developed. despite his german origins, d'holbach wrote primarily in french, and his works played a crucial role in shaping french intellectual culture.

his most famous works include system of nature (1770) and the social system (1773), in which he argued that the universe operated solely on the basis of physical matter and motion, devoid of divine intervention. in "system of nature," d'holbach contended that everything in the universe could be explained through the laws of nature, and that the concept of god was unnecessary for understanding natural phenomena. this work is often seen as the quintessence of atheistic materialism in the enlightenment era.

d'holbach's ideas were highly controversial and deemed subversive in his time, leading to a significant backlash from both religious institutions and conservative political forces. his philosophical stance positioned him as a radical thinker who pushed the boundaries of atheism and materialism further than most of his contemporaries.

his intellectual legacy lies in his vehement challenge to religious orthodoxy and his contribution to the development of secular and humanist thought in modern philosophy. d'holbach's work paved the way for later intellectual movements that embraced atheism and materialism, influencing figures such as karl marx and friedrich engels. his emphasis on reason and empirical evidence as the foundations of knowledge continues to be influential in contemporary humanist and secular thinking.

in the 18th century, under the personal initiatives of peter the great, a significant wave of westernization swept through russia. the country began adapting western ideas in philosophy, art, and science. russia pursued urbanization and industrialization through a top-down, state-led approach, and these changes significantly influenced art and literature, offering these fields new opportunities.

the unique conditions of russia blended with western thought to create a distinctive synthesis, carrying both material and spiritual elements. the most striking urban symbol of this synthesis is st. petersburg. it is no coincidence that many of russia's most iconic works of art and literature were created by artists and novelists living in this city, built entirely on a swamp with distinctly western architecture. writers like pushkin, gogol, and dostoevsky produced their extraordinary works in st. petersburg, not only because it was a center of the russian empire but because it represented the intersection of local russian culture and western influence. for the same reason, st. petersburg played a pivotal role in the literary careers of turgenev and tolstoy.

the "virtuous yet free" 19th century

in short, russian literature, which produced some of the world's greatest novelists and classics, achieved these feats in just one century and within almost a single city: 19th-century st. petersburg. the 20th-century russian novelist vladimir nabokov, himself born in st. petersburg, attributed another reason to this concentration of literary brilliance: the "incompetence" of 19th-century russian censors.

according to nabokov, the state censors of 19th-century russia were quick to ban obscene works but often failed to understand subtle political allusions, leaving such writings untouched. while this forced russian authors to write their novels in a "chaste" manner, it also granted them considerable freedom to explore political and social ideas.

the decline in the 20th century

the inability of this great literary tradition to sustain itself in the 20th century was largely due to the changing political system. the new soviet regime adopted a highly intrusive and pragmatic approach, controlling nearly every aspect of society.

following the 1917 revolution, the censorship mechanisms of the ussr became far more sophisticated, complex, and educated compared to those of the russian empire. literature was now subordinated to the needs of the system, and the idea of "art for art's sake" was wholly replaced by the motto "art for the people." any attempt to challenge this new motto was harshly banned or exiled.

in such a stifling environment, the only widely recognized 20th-century russian authors were system opponents like boris pasternak and vladimir nabokov, who wrote their works abroad. as a result, when most readers think of russian literature today, they typically refer to its 19th-century achievements.

"the best" in 23,000 pages

nabokov, who taught literature for many years at cornell university in the u.s. and achieved fame with his novel lolita, focused exclusively on the 19th century in his lectures on russian literature. he claimed that the finest examples of russian prose and poetry collectively amounted to only 23,000 pages—a relatively small volume compared to european and american literature, yet substantial enough to stand alongside them. in his book lectures on russian literature, nabokov's canon includes pushkin, gogol, turgenev, dostoevsky, tolstoy, chekhov, and gorky, suggesting that russian literature is essentially defined by these figures.

admiration and resentment

nabokov ranked these authors in order of greatness: tolstoy as the greatest, followed by gogol, chekhov, and turgenev. dostoevsky, conspicuously absent from this list, was the subject of nabokov's peculiar disdain. throughout his lectures, nabokov referred to dostoevsky as a mediocre writer whose works, in his view, lacked artistic value. he famously wrote, "i can't wait to debunk dostoevsky," and described crime and punishment as a "cheap literary trick," notes from underground as "100% banal," the idiot as a "series of clumsy blows rather than an artist's touch," demons as a "play disguised as a novel," and the brothers karamazov as a "detective story in the guise of a novel" or a "peculiar vaudeville script."

dostoevsky's "best" work is his "worst"

ironically, nabokov considered dostoevsky's the double—widely regarded as one of his weakest works—to be his best, though he dismissed it as a mere imitation of gogol. nonetheless, many literary critics have argued that nabokov's lolita owes much to dostoevsky's a gentle creature, and that characters like humbert humbert in lolita were inspired by stavrogin in demons and svidrigailov in crime and punishment. this dynamic suggests that nabokov's complex relationship with dostoevsky, marked by both admiration and resentment, may have shaped his personal bias against him.

nabokov's genius

despite nabokov's overt hostility toward dostoevsky, the other sections of his lectures on russian literature, recently published in english, offer valuable insights and commentary. his brilliance permeates much of the book, captivating readers and igniting their curiosity. for seasoned readers of russian literature, the book provides a compelling perspective on the trajectory of 19th-century russian authors within the interplay of state, critics, and audiences. however, beginners may find its depth more challenging to navigate.

we are aware that profile photos are not being fetched correctly when users sign up with their apple or facebook accounts. this issue will be fixed shortly.

you can suggest new features that you think would improve the platform. whether it's a tool, a function, or something creative, your ideas help shape udictio's future.

a roman emperor and philosopher once said,
“a person’s worth is measured by what they devote themselves to.”

first, a bit of motivation:
“if something external upsets you, the pain doesn’t come from the thing itself, it comes from the value you’ve placed on it. and you have the power to change that value at any moment.”

this city has almost the same latitude and similar hot dry summers and cold winters as ankara, türkiye. it feels oddly familiar after all those years i lived there between 2008 and 2017.