Dublin Writers Festival hit the right note with an engaging programme, says Orlagh Ní Arrachtain.

Peter the Great patterned the city after Amsterdam, and even though St Petersburg is newer than New York by almost 100 years, in some places it feels a thousand years old — a few buildings seem to be a cross between Roman ruins and German palaces. The building walls, usually between three and four feet thick, host basement cafés and restaurants where you can’t get a mobile phone signal. The walls are moist, and smell like rivers, because the city was built on marshland.

Veteran French actor Gerard Depardieu was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival last night.