Methodius Buslaev. Ticket to Bald Mountain

4

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice (1603) is a Shakespearean play. Othello, having been manipulated, smothered his innocent wife Desdemona out of jealousy.

5

The original Russian text used the word bezbashennyi for mindless, referring to the severed head.

6

Australopithecus – from Latin australis (southern) and Greek pithekos (ape) – is a genus of hominins that existed millions of years ago and from which modern humans are considered to be descended.

7

The Russian word for stroller is the same word for wheelchair.

8

Pierrot and Harlequin are both stock characters of pantomime, Pierrot being the sad clown and Harlequin the nimble and witty servant, both pursuing the same love interest – Columbine.

9

This is an adaptation of It’s time, my friend (1834), a poem by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin (1799–1837), the greatest Russian poet.