Citizen K: Oil’s well in Russia

Citizen K: Oil’s well in Russia

It is not without American propaganda value, but the documentary presents a rare window into the enigmatic and ruthless persona that is Vladimir Putin. Khodorkovsky, as typical a rags-to-riches story as you can get, fights and manipulates his way to control Russia’s then-largest oil company Yukos before he turns 35.

The Renaissance Unchained: At the heart of Art

The Renaissance Unchained: At the heart of Art

It was not Italy alone that cradled the Renaissance. Belgian, Dutch, and German masters have come up with earlier and even better works. For every Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Botticelli, there is a Van Eyck, Memling, and Van der Wyden.

Masters of western classical music come alive

Masters of western classical music come alive

Chopin was perhaps the most interesting of the three. Born in Warsaw to a French father and Polish mother, he was a teenage prodigy, who based himself in Paris. Shy and ridden with TB, he never quite felt like an insider in Paris. When he landed in the city, he found it muddy and infested with venereal disease.