Sonnet recited by Michael and Izabella is Sonnet 23 by William Shakespeare as translated in Russian by Samuil Marshak.
As date on the newspaper "Tanita Times" suggests episode takes place on and around April 17, 1998.
Among the headlines in the newspaper is "Ukrainian sailors freed from captivity in Nigeria". Despite being set in an abstract European setting, the episode is filmed in Ukraine.
Alfred Hitchcock: although not in person, main inspiration behind the series appears on a portrait and gets confused for "famous tenor" (likely Luciano Pavarotti also heard in the episode) by Michael and Ingmar Bergman by Izabella. It is also stated to be self-portrait: Hitchcock was indeed an artist, but rarely draw self-portraits apart from signature caricatures.
Viktor Nozdryukhin-Zabolotny: evoking appearance by Alfred Hitchcock, director appears briefly in the background of the crime scene seen on television.