Do you mean, this kind of thing? It's called vyaz. It is discussed and shown in a great number of Russian (and non-Russian) books on paleography and early printing. One good source that comes to mind is Зернова А. С. Орнаментика книг московской печати кирилловского шрифта, 1677-1750. Москва, 1963, but the titles are many. A fairly good listing of Russian books on type and typography can be found here. By the way, Paul, the sample you have attached to your post is just god-awful.

yes, thank you Maxim! for some reason i seem to be rather impressed with the lettering (as well as all the artwork) inside the Spac na Krovi in Petersburg. It's been 6 years since i was there now, so i can't remember whether there was any vyaz in the mosaics in that particular church or not. i remember thinking that that style of lettering was particularly exquisite. i've been kicking myself for not buying a photo book on the spot, but wondering if i could still find one. can you recommend any online bookstores, Maxim? Oh, and I bought a ring with the inscription "Господи Спаси и Сохрани Меня," (Lord, save and keep me) but i've lost it now. I wonder if i could find that online too...

Spas na Krovi is a careful, and quite expensive, fin-du-siècle fake, imitating the classical 16th-century Moscow style (in a way, it is a Russian version of the Sacré-Cœur). Just compare it with the real thing.

And, speaking of a good, classical vyaz, have a look at the lettering on the Ivan the Great Bell-Tower in the Kremlin (1505–8).

Now the good news. It looks like your ring was found by one Evgeny Kutuzov, a fan of the popular Russian actor Nilkolay Karachentsov...

thnx john, one of these links SHOULD work for you:
http://typophile.com/wiki/vyaz
http://typophile.com/wiki/Vyaz

if not, then i'll be baffled.

Some examples of the present-day interior design (actually, murals) that seems to draw inspiration from the ancient vyaz’ tradition. Of course, it's miles and miles away from the real thing, but curious nonetheless.

Wow, that Arabic is so overwhelming (in a good way). How does anyone undertake a letter job so complex? Where is this type of craftsmanship nowdays?

Maxim,

Here's the image of my old faithful Church Slavonic IBM Selectric Golf Ball.

http://www.decotype.com/images/100_6924.JPG

The background text is a page of the Handbuch der altbulgarischen Sprache by A. Leskien, the dean of the neogrammarians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Leskien

The golf ball was produced by IBM Nederland in thr 1980's in collaboration with the University of Utrecht I believe. I bought ot from from the old IBM Direct Shop at the Johan Huizingalaan in Amsterdam. Unfortunately I no longer have the actual machine, I donated it to the Scryption Museum in Tilburg, NL.

Thomas Milo
DecoType
www.decotype.com