Blazhennye pokhaby - Ivanov Sergei Anatol'evich

Who are the freaks and why in ancient Russia they were called babes? What is the difference between a "fool of Christ for the sake" of an ordinary madman? Why is the ugliness as an institution formed in Russia at the same time as autocracy? What was the attitude to the played out, culturally interpreted madness in the Middle East and in ancient Greece? Is it possible to consider the foolish Prince Myshkin or Vladimir Jirinovsky? And Oleg Kulik and Rayot? Why would a monk go to a tavern? And for what purpose, after all, is the foolish fool? Historian Sergey Ivanov, using a fantastic amount of materials, from ancient texts to modern research, gives an exhaustive, fascinating and incredibly informative description of the ugliness as a religious and cultural phenomenon, tracing it history from the Byzantine Empire to the New Age.