Husbands (1970)

In December 1825, distinguished members of the Russian military, most of whom were quite affluent and of noble lineage, took it upon themselves to stir revolution against the autocratic and tyrannical Czar Nikolai I in the wake of his not honoring (or even acknowledging) the drafting of a constitution for the Russian people. The revolution failed miserably and the conspirators (known as the Decembrists) were weeded out by the czar himself. One by one, each of the conspirators confess and are systematically exiled to the harsh winters of Siberia, slated to work and wither in a prison/mine. The wives of the conspirators are faced with the prospect of leaving the bosom of wealth and family (including their own children) to be with their husbands in the brutal Siberian locale. If they agree to this, they face having their illustrious social stations stripped away and certain disdain from everyone around them. Among these remarkable women is a princess exiled from France who falls in love …

The third and last of Bear Family's Everly box sets, Chained to a Memory 1966-1972, chronicles the final act of the Everly Brothers' prime years, beginning just after the duo started to shake their mid-'60s doldrums and documenting their subsequent revival as they shifted to country-rock, the sound they continued to mine until their acrimonious split in 1973. This is a weighty set, containing a hefty hardcover book and a bonus DVD in addition to ten CDs, but the extra length isn't merely Bear Family's modus operandi – it's needed to bring an end to a story this epic. Indeed, the music on Chained to a Memory is in some ways some of the most interesting the Everlys ever produced. As their star began to fade, the Everlys reconnected with their country beginnings, quite deliberately titling their 1968 makeover, Roots, finding a wealth of new sounds and sentiments within country-rock. They exhibited a keen ear for material from emerging songwriters, and they wrote some terrific new songs, songs that exhibited the widening chasm between the two brothers who shared a sound and continued to harmonize beautifully together even as their sensibilities began to drift apart.

Behind closed doors, Russian society has a dark secret. It's estimated thousands of Russian women are murdered every year by their husbands or partners. Domestic violence is so deep-rooted in Russia there's even a well-known saying - “If he beats you, it means he loves you”. Despite the scale of the problem, in February 2017 the Russian government decriminalised certain forms of domestic violence. In Stacey Dooley Investigates: Russia's War On Women, Stacey travels to Russia to explore the reasons behind this decision and the impact the law-change is having on women.

America is in love with the alpha female. She's the quintessential modern woman— assertive, razor sharp, and fully in control. Her success in the marketplace is undeniable, a downright boon to society. But what happens when the alpha female gets married?She becomes an alpha wife, of course.An alpha wife is in charge of everything and everyone. She is, quite simply, the Boss. The problem is, no man wants a boss for a wife.

This composition can in a sense be regarded as a continuation of Selected Letters of Sergei Rachmaninoff, a piano cycle written after visiting Rachmaninoff’s grave. The starting point for the new piano cycle was as strong an impression, also in the US and also Russia-related: visiting the Novo-Diveevo Convent and Cemetery. It is a Russian Orthodox convent, and about seven thousand people are buried in the cemetery – mainly those who left Russia after the 1917 revolution, and their families.