Philip Ruff
@ruffphilip.bsky.social
Anarchist historian with a weakness for Latvia, good music and things that go bump in the night. Anarhistu vēsturnieks.
Pinned
Philip Ruff
@ruffphilip.bsky.social
· Dec 11
A Towering Flame: The Life & Times of the Elusive Latvian Anarchist Peter the Painter.
"Ruff avoids the traps of simplistic celebration or condemnation - a marvellous work of historical rediscovery" - John Patten, KSL
Order from @breviarystuff.bsky.social www.breviarystuff.org.uk/philip-ruff-...
"Ruff avoids the traps of simplistic celebration or condemnation - a marvellous work of historical rediscovery" - John Patten, KSL
Order from @breviarystuff.bsky.social www.breviarystuff.org.uk/philip-ruff-...
Still searching for the lost chord.
January 22, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Still searching for the lost chord.
Ferdinand Porsche presents Adolf Hitler with a Volkswagen convertible for his 50th birthday.
All Adolf really wanted was the Nobel Peace Prize. 🧐
All Adolf really wanted was the Nobel Peace Prize. 🧐
January 22, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Ferdinand Porsche presents Adolf Hitler with a Volkswagen convertible for his 50th birthday.
All Adolf really wanted was the Nobel Peace Prize. 🧐
All Adolf really wanted was the Nobel Peace Prize. 🧐
Who set fire to the Cat House?
And how was the murder of a Latvian anarchist connected to a dark secret that stretches back to the Kremlin?
Fact and fiction collide in my next book, The Cat House - nothing is real and everything is possible.
eng.lsm.lv/article/soci...
And how was the murder of a Latvian anarchist connected to a dark secret that stretches back to the Kremlin?
Fact and fiction collide in my next book, The Cat House - nothing is real and everything is possible.
eng.lsm.lv/article/soci...
January 19, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Who set fire to the Cat House?
And how was the murder of a Latvian anarchist connected to a dark secret that stretches back to the Kremlin?
Fact and fiction collide in my next book, The Cat House - nothing is real and everything is possible.
eng.lsm.lv/article/soci...
And how was the murder of a Latvian anarchist connected to a dark secret that stretches back to the Kremlin?
Fact and fiction collide in my next book, The Cat House - nothing is real and everything is possible.
eng.lsm.lv/article/soci...
So, pitched the idea of Fish n' Chip flavoured chocolates to business adviser Fiadh, but she reckoned it was too much of a niche market. Ah well, back to the drawing board! 🧐
January 18, 2026 at 3:50 PM
So, pitched the idea of Fish n' Chip flavoured chocolates to business adviser Fiadh, but she reckoned it was too much of a niche market. Ah well, back to the drawing board! 🧐
I loved Andy Pandy and his pals, Teddy and Looby Loo, when I was a kid in the 1950s. The 13 episodes for "Watch With Mother" on the BBC opened the door to a raft of shows: The Flowerpot Men, The Woodentops and Rag, Tag and Bobtail. The greatest puppet shows ever! www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEfn...
Andy Pandy (Episode 1)
YouTube video by luvthe1950s
www.youtube.com
January 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I loved Andy Pandy and his pals, Teddy and Looby Loo, when I was a kid in the 1950s. The 13 episodes for "Watch With Mother" on the BBC opened the door to a raft of shows: The Flowerpot Men, The Woodentops and Rag, Tag and Bobtail. The greatest puppet shows ever! www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEfn...
I've always treated the 1980s as a sort of "what did the Romans ever do for us" era. But I'm revising my opinion that 80s music is rubbish. "Situation" by Yazoo (Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, 1982), live in Berlin, February 2015, is now my favourite tune of the week. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEBJ...
Yazoo - Situation (Official Video Club Remix)
YouTube video by DJZÉPERES
www.youtube.com
January 13, 2026 at 6:19 PM
I've always treated the 1980s as a sort of "what did the Romans ever do for us" era. But I'm revising my opinion that 80s music is rubbish. "Situation" by Yazoo (Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet, 1982), live in Berlin, February 2015, is now my favourite tune of the week. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEBJ...
Laying flowers at the Lenin monument, Riga, 1960. (Lenin was taken away in 1991).
January 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Laying flowers at the Lenin monument, Riga, 1960. (Lenin was taken away in 1991).
January 11, 2026 at 5:18 PM
John, I'm only dancing". Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie (Terry O’Neill, 1974).
January 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
John, I'm only dancing". Elizabeth Taylor and David Bowie (Terry O’Neill, 1974).
Latvia's finest cartoonist @karikaturalv.bsky.social
January 9, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Latvia's finest cartoonist @karikaturalv.bsky.social
"Looks like rain, dear"
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05...
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05...
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders
'Military activity has increased massively here since Finland joined NATO,' one herder said.
www.japantimes.co.jp
January 8, 2026 at 5:36 PM
"Looks like rain, dear"
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05...
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05...
Ukrainian anarchist Lana "Sati" Chornogorska (25) died fighting against Russian occupiers on 1 January, 2026. A former journalist on "Luk" magazine, "Sati" volunteered for the army in 2004 and served in the "Udashniki" unit as a drone operator. #StandWithUkraine 🏴RIP
January 7, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Ukrainian anarchist Lana "Sati" Chornogorska (25) died fighting against Russian occupiers on 1 January, 2026. A former journalist on "Luk" magazine, "Sati" volunteered for the army in 2004 and served in the "Udashniki" unit as a drone operator. #StandWithUkraine 🏴RIP
Happy birthday to my dear amigo, Albert Meltzer.
Born on this day in 1920 - champion of class struggle anarchism, fondly remembered by all those whose lives he touched. 🏴
Born on this day in 1920 - champion of class struggle anarchism, fondly remembered by all those whose lives he touched. 🏴
January 7, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Happy birthday to my dear amigo, Albert Meltzer.
Born on this day in 1920 - champion of class struggle anarchism, fondly remembered by all those whose lives he touched. 🏴
Born on this day in 1920 - champion of class struggle anarchism, fondly remembered by all those whose lives he touched. 🏴
Ļoti interesanta grāmata (Riga, 2017) - iesaku.
January 6, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Ļoti interesanta grāmata (Riga, 2017) - iesaku.
Russia moans because Latvia didn't let its 'neutral' luge team in eng.lsm.lv/article/cult... #Sigulda #Latvia #Baltics 🐧
Russia moans because Latvia didn't let its 'neutral' luge team in
A World Cup event in luge sport took place at the track in Sigulda, Latvia over the weekend, but without the participation of Russian sliders, although a recent decision of the International...
eng.lsm.lv
January 5, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Russia moans because Latvia didn't let its 'neutral' luge team in eng.lsm.lv/article/cult... #Sigulda #Latvia #Baltics 🐧
Start the year as you mean to go on... 🥂
January 5, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Start the year as you mean to go on... 🥂
January 4, 2026 at 5:22 PM
3 January, 1911: wanted Latvian anarchist Fricis Svars and William Sokolov died resisting arrest in the Siege of Sidney Street, directed by Liberal Home Secretary Winston Churchill. He dismissed his critics as "Sour grapes - they only wish they had been there to see the fun!"
January 3, 2026 at 2:53 PM
3 January, 1911: wanted Latvian anarchist Fricis Svars and William Sokolov died resisting arrest in the Siege of Sidney Street, directed by Liberal Home Secretary Winston Churchill. He dismissed his critics as "Sour grapes - they only wish they had been there to see the fun!"
Daudz laimes jaunā gadā!
Wishing you all happiness in 2026!🍀
Wishing you all happiness in 2026!🍀
January 1, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Daudz laimes jaunā gadā!
Wishing you all happiness in 2026!🍀
Wishing you all happiness in 2026!🍀
Daudz laimes jaunā gadā!
Happy New Year! 🍀
Happy New Year! 🍀
December 31, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Daudz laimes jaunā gadā!
Happy New Year! 🍀
Happy New Year! 🍀
Estonia's spy chief: Russia not planning to attack a Baltic country at this time news.err.ee/1609896976/e... #Estonia #Baltics
Estonia's spy chief: Russia not planning to attack a Baltic country at this time
There is currently no indication that Russia intends to attack any of the Baltic states or NATO more broadly and it is Estonia's task to ensure the situation remains that way, Foreign Intelligence Ser...
news.err.ee
December 30, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Estonia's spy chief: Russia not planning to attack a Baltic country at this time news.err.ee/1609896976/e... #Estonia #Baltics
Life is short and unpredictable.
And so I raise a toast to "Absent Friends"! 🥂
Aija Uzulēna, actress, translator and all-round wonderful person, (1965-2021).
Pauls Bankovskis, writer and journalist (1973-2020).
Alberts Bels, circus performer and writer (1938-2024).
And so I raise a toast to "Absent Friends"! 🥂
Aija Uzulēna, actress, translator and all-round wonderful person, (1965-2021).
Pauls Bankovskis, writer and journalist (1973-2020).
Alberts Bels, circus performer and writer (1938-2024).
December 28, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Life is short and unpredictable.
And so I raise a toast to "Absent Friends"! 🥂
Aija Uzulēna, actress, translator and all-round wonderful person, (1965-2021).
Pauls Bankovskis, writer and journalist (1973-2020).
Alberts Bels, circus performer and writer (1938-2024).
And so I raise a toast to "Absent Friends"! 🥂
Aija Uzulēna, actress, translator and all-round wonderful person, (1965-2021).
Pauls Bankovskis, writer and journalist (1973-2020).
Alberts Bels, circus performer and writer (1938-2024).
Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!
Merry Christmas! 🎅
Merry Christmas! 🎅
December 24, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!
Merry Christmas! 🎅
Merry Christmas! 🎅
Reposted by Philip Ruff
Economics Christmas! 🎁 🎄
Dickens Was An Economist - Barry's Economics
YouTube video by Barry's Economics
youtu.be
December 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Economics Christmas! 🎁 🎄