Russian History Blog

Russia in 2011

2011-12-28T00:34:00.000-05:00

The year of 2011 is going to be a history for us in just 4 days...

I have gathered some of the important events happened in the Russian Federation in 2011.

The beginning of the 2011 year started with a very sad event - 37 people were killed when a bomb exploded at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow.

- Selling of incandescent lamps with more that 100 Watts is forbidden;

- Foreign citizens cannot buy property on the border area in the Russian Federation.

- The first criminal case was opened against the violation of copyright in Russia (how sad, right?)

- Russian Duma (Russian parliament) adopted the law of Police. Note: Russian police was called Militia.

- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cancelled the winter time shift on the territory of the Russian Federation.

- International driver license is now accepted in Russia.

- Russian team won XXXI World Championship in Gymnastics which took place in Montpellier, France.

- Vladimir Putin was appointed for his third presidential elections in 2012.

- Mass protests started in December against the vote rigging in elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

- Russia has been accepted to the WTO.

Hopefully there is going to be more happy and prosperous news for Russia in 2012.

Happy New 2012 Year!

С Новым 2012 Годом!

Cruiser Aurora - Rumors and Secrets

2010-12-07T17:34:00.001-05:00

There is such an impression that the glory of the cruiser "Aurora" is changing. In the past it was called a legendary battleship for its heroic military and revolutionary past, now many media resources call it a "legendarily scandalous" ship. Indeed, none of the ships that are in the Russian Navy have been surrounded by so many scandalous rumors as "Aurora."

Last scandalous rumor launched by a variety of publications in Moscow and St. Petersburg is that officials and businessmen offer to buy tickets for a New Year's party on the cruiser Aurora. Ministry of Defense which still owns the ship fiercely deny this.

Previous scandal in 2009 was that during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, there was a party on the cruiser organized by a businessman named Mikhail Prokhorov. Guests were entertained with fun anti-crisis chastooshkas and caviar, vodka and waitresses in striped vests! There also were foreign guests attending the party: from London, Australia, USA, etc. Of course, they had Russian interpreter and all conversations were translated into English from Russian.

As already reported by Pravda.Ru as of 1st of December 2010, naval military crew of the legendary cruiser Aurora is disbanded from the War Department, the ship goes into a department of culture and will become a branch of the Naval Museum. Thus, the military biography of the cruiser is completed. On the ship there will be only small civilian staff.

Pushkin House in London

2010-02-26T15:09:00.002-05:00

Pushkin house in London. Why Pushkin? I guess Pushkin is the most famous Russian writer known in foreign countries... Or maybe Maria Kullmann - the founder of Pushkin house trust - was a big fan of Alexander's poetry?
Anyways, the actual house has quite of a history of its own. On the 5 Bloomsbury Square lived a doctor of Queen Anne and King William 3. The house was designed in a Georgian style. When you are inside the house, you can feel the history breath upon you. Pushkin house was established in 1954 as a cultural center that would stay like Switzerland in diplomatic and political relationship between Russia and England.
After the collapse of USSR, tons of Russian speaking immigrants flew to UK. And Pushkin House was the place where all the people would get cultural experience that used to have back in their country. They also could get some help in many other aspects of life in a new country - such as Russian translation in London. As of now you can get information about Russia, Russian language and education in Pushkin's House. You can also study Russian language since they have regular Russian language courses there.
Basically, it's a London's bridge to Russia.

Trolleybus History of Saint Petersburg

2009-01-19T02:16:00.003-05:00

St. Petersburg is the birthplace of Russian trolleybus history. First trolley bus was built in March 31 of 1902. It was built by Petersburg's engineer P. A. Fresa. The first trolleybus way was from Red Square (now it's Alexander Nevsky Square) and Annunciation Square (now Square of Labor), its length was 5.8 km which is about 3.6 miles. This route was opened on October 21st, 1936. There were 4 cars in first trolleybuses. An interval in between trolleybuses was 15-16 minutes. An overall load was over 8 thousand passengers a day. The first trolley was made at a factory of Vagonoremontny (Varz-1). Later Leningrad was getting these machines from Yaroslavl plant (YATB-1-2-4), they had a wooden body and these trolleys were used until 1959. To support the TV was adapted depot number 3 tram park named Smirnov. By 1940 trolleybuses had transported over 41 million passengers. By 1941 in Leningrad there were 5 trolley routes the length of which was 49.1 kilometers and there were 130 machines.

Trolley-buses were stopped running when Leningrad was in a blockade in December 8, 1941 due to the cessation of the supply of electricity. In February of 1944 a transportation began to work again. In 1944 the line had only 16 machines, but in 1947 the route network had reached its pre-war level, while the volume of annual traffic got to 80 million. In 1946 were built 4 new-generation trolley-buses. They had metal body and a large capacity of 65 people. At the end of 1982 a first trolleybus came out of the plant which could carry up to 250 passengers. By 1990 the length of a single route was about 700 km. St. Petersburg had about 1.3 thousand units. In 1990 it carried about 550 million passengers a year.

Borodino Battle - Insiders Pictures

2008-11-07T23:05:00.005-05:00

As I promised in one of my previous posts, I'm uploading pictures of the Borodino Battle Celebration. My friend whose name is Vladimir (I call him Vova - it's a diminutive Russian man's name) kindly let me use his own pictures that were taken during this fabulous celebration of the Battle of Borodino. He participates in the event starting from 1996. An interesting part of this is that you have to be a member of the Borodino club. They gather every two weeks in their own towns to show what they prepared for the anniversary, to ride the horses and much more which sounds like a lot of fun.

Here you can see a General and officers of the Russian army.

This is the actual battle.

A battle again.

Girls also participate in the battle.

Everything looks like it was back to Napoleon's age.

This picture was taken from some Russian phone.

As you can see there are a lot of visitors watching the battle. They come here every year and it's a big attraction for tourists.

My friend with a Russian flag.

These were made by hands when visiting one of those Borodino club meetings.

An injured Russian soldier and a horse.

They shed their tears over the dead friends and they are drinking, of course.

And another hard day on the battle field.

Picture of a Russian Triumph!

How to watch Russian TV - paid and free

2008-11-01T22:54:00.004-04:00

I had a lot of requests about Russian TV. Well, there are two ways you can watch Russian TV:

1) Order it from DirectTV which has a pretty decent selection. They say that they carry RTR Planeta, Vremya: Retro Channel, Muzika Pervogo, Dom Kino, C1RW ... 7 in total. Cost = $45 plus taxes.

You can also get Russian Channels from DishNetwork. There are several option you can choose from, the most expensive is $32 plus taxes and you are getting 5 channels, but in my opinion they are better than those from DirectTV: EuroNews in Russian language, Inter+, NTV America (which I like very much), RTVI, and TVC (popular channel in Russia).

2) You can watch Russian TV for free online using your high speed internet, I found this page with Russian channels - http://www.russian-translation-pros.com/free-russian-online-tv.html.
These channels are all for free, the quality is not that great, but hey it's free!

Comments: American and Russian Churches

2008-10-01T17:30:00.007-04:00

Recently I had a lot of visitors reading my post that I got translated from Russian to English. And two visitors wrote very interesting opinions about American church as well as a Russian church in USA.

The first person's nickname is Abales:

"Unlike Europe & Russia - American churches never receive funds from the government. This would violate the US Constitution. Except for some radical fundamentalists that want the whole world under their religion, no one in the US wants government control or money in any church.

US Churches are also free to move about and collect members; and lose members & die off. They are competitive for members. This inspires them to change and adapt to their members spiritual and emotional needs far more than the Russian Orthodox Church or the Catholic Church does even here. Because of the competitiveness and nimbleness of the small churches, they are the dominate form of religion in the US.

Most of these pastors have other jobs. When I worked in the mailroom at the USDA gov agency for food crops we had a lot of pastors working in that building.

What you have witnessed is the evolution of Christianity and the death of Russian/Greek Orthodox & Catholic/Protestant Euro Churches. If trends continue all of those old churches will exist only as muesums.

I am an aethist."

And a second opinion was left by Jeffrey:

"Churches in America can be very competitive. I would not prefer a child of mine to attend a typical church in America because the doctrine allows no questioning. If you do question, the pastors are trained to find the answers in the Bible and guide you to your salvation. God is a personal matter form, and I don't want a church to be critical of every aspect of my life, let alone determine for me how I should be living. On a brighter note, there are a few beautiful places in every city, but the person must endeavor to find these places. You will know you are in the right place when people honor you as a human being and don't spend their time in judgment or criticism of your life. You will know these places by their work to bring a better quality of life to people in the world and in the community and that their work is not tied to any sort of mandatory affiliation.
Last, Let not the government have it's hand's in our churches and let the churches keep away from government. Spirituality has a place in every home, but not in government. Government should concentrate itself on the building of bridges and roads and on feeding the people, proper welfare functions. I understand that government must help to pay for the churches in Eastern countries, but this is so because the churches never had a way to pay themselves and were to be considered a right of the people. American system is vastly different and steeped in a different historical background. Many people use religion as a cover to show the world that they are good people. Good people don't need church to cover with, but many good people are active parts of churches that share their values. Values should not be dictated by churches or by governments but should originate in the minds of honorable women and men who care deeply about their futures, then the church and the government, rightfully so, may find ways to reflect these values. The Christian church in particular claims to have a value system, but it is filled with holes, thus holier than thou. Be careful. If you are a Christian, I only suggest that you reflect on the teachings of Christ and see to it that your church is not trying to control the government, nor that the government is trying to control your church. This is all related to the ideas of free religion, free speech, and free press. A free people must be exactly that, Free!"

Russian Church vs American

2008-09-16T00:36:00.003-04:00

I know that this post might be quite controversial, some of you will and some will not agree about it. But I decided to post it anyways. I found the original post on some Russian forum that I will not disclose. Sorry. It seemed like a pretty interesting opinion, so I decided to make a (non) certified Russian translation of that message and post it here. If you have something to express, please leave your opinion in my comments.

As soon as I saw American church and visited the service, I understood right from that moment that this is not my kind of church! In the beginning (I have to go to American church, because I want to please my husband), all people sing praises to God, I could not stand that and I smiled a lot. Of course, this happens to me sometimes, there is nothing I can do about it. Pastor that married us said that he works in a church bookshop without being paid. He was like: this is my work for God and it should be done for free! Well, ok, it's understandable and clear to me! Today, one of my coworkers who is veeery faithful (she goes to church 2 times a week, sometimes almost 3 times a week) said that church pays those pastors for their bills, loans for cars, houses, insurances, and they are getting a salary besides all that! Not too bad, haa??????????? Why government doesn't support churches? And why is it supported only by people? It seems that the Government is not interested in helping people. Why Russian government supports all churches? Here in the United States almost everyone wants to become a pastor, because it's an easy money. In fact everything church gives them (or maybe they just take it themselves!)- is money from people, I believe that all the churches here are commercial, it's like a business ... and some people are getting good money from this! Have you noticed that you can find a church on every corner of a street. Why can't they just build one big and good church? When we started to discuss this subject at work, I said that if I were rich, I would donate some of the money to Russian church, and not to the American church. And do you know why? - because everybody in American churches are just spoiled. Actually I have many thoughts on this ... I got all this not very clearly, but I think you understand what I mean!

Generally how do you feel about American churches?

I think that even if I find a Russian church here in the US, it will be of an American prototype!

And I still can not understand the fact that those pastors receive so many privileges? Why do they spread the word of God for money? They must do so for free! Everybody smelled easy cheese and built churches where needed and not needed ...

Oh, I forgot to add ... My pastor works for free in book shops, and his wife hires house wives. My coworker said that they serve the Lord, and now he gives them all. People are the ones who pay all the money for these pastors. When a pastor begins his speech that we must give God 10 percent of our salaries, and s/he at the same time makes a big pressure on those words making people believe in this and that your money will double. They don't do like this in Russia. People in Russia donate as much as they can afford! Why a pastor can't just mention a verse where it is said about the 10% in Bible? And these two guys in costumes and with plates for money are just making me mad... I asked the coworker why can't they just put some kind of a donation box in front of a church and people would put the amount of money they are really willing to give to a church? But no, they want make people uncomfortable and they remind people not to forget to give the money to the church? How can you refuse to do so in front of your neighbors, friends, and relatives? Of course, you will put the money on that plate!

Sometimes I think that a demon is inside me and I tell to myself - go and give the money to church ...

Battle of Borodino Celebration

2008-09-03T11:36:00.003-04:00

Every first Sunday in September 124 km from Moscow near Mozhaisk a unique show is taking place. It's called Battle of Borodino.
Back in old days this legendary battle played a great role in a victory of Napoleon by Russian troops.
People from all over the country and overseas, particularly from France come to this historical event. These people are big fans of history. This celebration took place in 1962. In 1995 it got a status of a historic military fest. During its 190 anniversary in 2002 300 thousand people gathered.
Here is a picture from a fan of this celebration from fotodelo website -

Borodino field. It was here 22 - August 26, 1812 (4 - 8 September) came into a violent confrontation Russian army under the command of the celebrated commander Mikhail Kutuzov Illarionovich army and the Great French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. This ambitious battle was attended by about 300 thousand people, there were 1200 artillery shells. Kutuzov after personal inspection of Borodinskoy position ordered to strengthen it. Early in the morning of 26 August (8 September), the French army had about 135 thousand people and 587 shells, and the Russian army, consisted of 155 thousand people, and had 624 guns, they gathered against each for over 8 km. Losses of each of the parties were about 40 thousand (dead, wounded, missing). Napoleon Bonaparte failed. Russian army was divided and still represent formidable force. This battle, August 26, 1812 was the bloodiest in the military history of that time.

My Russian friend is there right now. He ordered a 3 way telephone conference call to talk with his friend from another country. After he's back I'll try to get some insider picture from the celebration.

St. Petersburg will celebrate Dostoevsky Day

2008-07-24T12:31:00.002-04:00

A Committee of Culture of St. Petersburg took the initiative to introduce a new festival in the city - Dostoyevsky Day. Dostoevsky - a "global brand" and its use - "correct history". It may be a good start for cultural events in St. Petersburg.

They also plan to organize a ballet festival, which is scheduled for 2010. Saint Petersburg government is also going to "reformat" the City Day into a "major event". The City Day of Saint Petersburg is celebrated on 27th of May. City Day is a birthday of a city. Moscow's city day, for example, is in the begining of September. They want to redo this holiday in St Pete. It will be a week long holiday. It used to be a pretty quiet and calm holiday with no major events going on.

Who tried to sink Russian cruiser Aurora...

2008-07-10T17:09:00.003-04:00

Two lovers almost gave the stem legendary Russian cruiser Aurora today in St.Petersburg.
For about 90 years there weren't signals like "Man is overboard", but this Thursday early in the morning the ship was awaken...a little yaht crashed into Aurora's left side. Its armour endured Tsusimsky battle and it resisted this time as well. But the yaht is not a subject to repair. People found a bottle of whisky near the yaht.
There was a couple on the yaht: a man and a woman. The owner of the yaht flew overboard and hit on of the ladders of Aurora by with his head. He is in a bad condition right now. A lady has not suffered at all.
Even though a cruiser is not used for military operations, it is still considered as a warship. And there was a team of navymen who rescued the man. But the woman escaped from the yaht.
There are some minor scratches on the Aurora, but other than that - it's fine.
A man will be charged for speeding, violation of navigation rules and swimming in prohibited places.
When the man will feel better, he will pay a fine for speeding from 300 to 500 rubles and his right to operate boats will be suspended as well for 6 months. But if it turns out that a man was drunk, he'll pay up to 2000 rubles and 2 years of not operating boats.
There is a new tradition on the Neva river - if a person sails under the anchor chains of Aurora, it is believed that it is for good luck.

Novgorod Archaeologists Discovered Prison dated 11 Century

2008-07-01T16:19:00.009-04:00

The image of one of the towers in Novgorod Veliky Kremlin is taken from wikipedia by Russian telephone translator.

Archaeologists have discovered a prison in Novgorod Veliky, which was functioning approximately in the XI-century, said a researcher at the Institute of Archeology, Ph.D. in History Oleg Oleinikov.

According to his words, this prison could easily be claimed as the oldest place of imprisonment for noble people. "The prison is a deep outgoing log construction of the size of three to three meters. In fact, we haven't seen a log construction of the 20 crowns like that before, even in Kiev where the excavations were conducted. We found this prison in late May 2008, but we could not find out its purpose. But when at the bottom of the log construction we found two shops and a place serving as a toilet, it became obvious that here was a cell for imprisonment, " said O. Oleynikov.

He added that this idea was supported by many specialists in this field. The head of excavation suggested that such punishments were subjected to negligent senior ranks. As for the penalty for ordinary people — it was much simplier — twigs or execution. (according to a Russian certified translation of documents)

"Today we disassemble this log construction and we are going to send it to our research institute and for a conservation. When there is already such a unique finding, it will be easier to build a context for further studies, and perhaps we will be able to find a hint in old texts pointing at some events or facts connected with this prison, but it is all in the future.

Excavations around Desyatinny monastery in the historic part of Novgorod the Great began in the middle of March and will be continued till the end of this year. So hopefully we will see some more interesting news from Novgorod Veliky, said one of the Russian translation service representatives for news and media.

Happy Birthday Russian Cakes! - Pictures!!!

2008-06-20T16:48:00.012-04:00

When you are about to through a birthday party for someone, what do you need the most? Of course, Happy Birthday Cake!
Well, this ones are not regular birthday cakes, and first looking at those images, I couldn't believe they are actually cakes. They look so real.
I also included a video from youtube on how a Russian family bakes a Russian birthday cake (at the end of a video you will see that it's a b-cake without Russian certified translation=)). Well, here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiN1Uay2Cd4

And here are those birthday cakes I've been talking about. Aren't they great?

A Russian English translation of those words on the picture is - For our beloved girl Nyusya.

You don't need translation here...just the names of planets.

Human Anatomy

I wouldn't like to eat this kind of cake, even though it's Russian=)

Russian translation on this picture will be: The Glory of Labor - how communistique.

Same subject here=), but very inventive.

They didn't forget American pepsi.

Boutique number five en Francais, bien sur.

Just a kitchen
Cake-Kitchen

You don't need a Russian translation here.

First Woman in Space - Valentina Tereshkova

2008-06-16T12:01:00.003-04:00

Today is the 16th of June, 2008 and exactly 45 years ago Valentina Tereshkova went to space. Woman on a spaceship - it's so romantic. Valya (diminutive Russian woman's name for Valentina) was a first woman in space. The name of a spaceship was "Vostok" — Russian translation — "East". Today woman in space is not a rare thing - there were around 50 women already. But back then it was an experiment, basically a medical and psychological experiment.
Valentina Tereshkova spent 70 hours and 50 minutes in space. Nobody really knew about woman body reaction in space and after a landing.
She is the only woman who was all alone in space - all other women were with man cosmonauts and astronauts. As it appeared later - there is almost no difference in between woman and man astronauts. On the spaceship everything is as on the Earth - women are more inclined to the patient and painstaking work, they are quiet and focused, said in an interview with Business FM corresponding member of the Russian Academy Kosmonavtiki of Tsiolkovskogo, Alexander Zheleznyakov: "This is the case when there is not needed so much daily load, but required a lengthy work. In terms of endurance the woman body adapts to weightlessness is better than man's body. A man can actively polish the 8 o'clock and then he would need rest. A woman can also effectively polish the 10 hours, but it does not deal with those situations as open space. Attentiveness and concentration in conditions of weightlessness is very important. This may seem strange, but woman looks better than the male astronaut."
There were 102 Russian cosmonauts, and among them were only three women: Valentina Tereshkova, Svetlana Savitskaya and Elena Kondakova (she was the first woman in the world who spent six months in space). Most women's team - Americans. In their account there were 41 female astronauts. They are preparing for the same program as men. The only thing that colleagues note: a woman remains a woman even in outer space - the same habits, said cosmonaut, hero of the Soviet Union, the hero of Russia, Sergei Krikalev.

May 9 - Victory Day - Facts about WW2 - Eastern Front

2008-05-06T17:50:00.006-04:00

This Friday - May 9th is a Victory Day! One of my friends and a big fan of Russian culture and history whose name is Jared shared his own story and facts that he knows about World War II (particulary Easter Front). Those of you who studied history in the USA High School will hardly know these facts.

The Great Patriotic War
Die Ostfront 1941-1945
The Eastern Front was by far the largest and bloodiest theatre of World War II. It is generally accepted as being the deadliest conflict in human history, with over 30 million killed as a result. The Eastern Front was unparalleled for its high intensity, ferocity, and brutality. More people fought and died on the Eastern Front than in all other theaters of World War II. It involved more land combat than all other World War II theatres combined. The largest number of civilian deaths in a single city was 1.2 million citizens dead during the Siege of Leningrad or блокада Ленинграда now known as Saint-Petersburg or Санкт-Петербург. The combined damage of the Eastern Front theatre consisted of complete or partial destruction of 1,710 cities and towns, 70,000 villages/hamlets, 2,508 church buildings, 31,850 industrial establishments, 40,000 miles of railroad, 4100 railroad stations, 40,000 hospitals, 84,000 schools, and 43,000 public libraries. Seven million horses, and 17 million sheep and goats were also slaughtered or driven off.

Picture of Rodina Mat' - MotherLand Statue in Volgograd
The Battle of Stalingrad
A city that was once known as Tsaritsyn until in 1925 when it was changed to the name of Stalingrad. Since 1961 it has been known as Volgograd. Anyway from 17 July 1942 until 02 February 1943 1.5 million people lost their lives in this one campaign for a single city. Fighting on Mamayev Kurgan, a prominent, blood-soaked hill above the city, was particularly merciless. The position changed hands many times. During one Soviet counter-attack, the Soviet Army lost an entire division of 10,000 men in one day. For this one hill over looking the city. This division was the 13th Guards Rifle Division, assigned to retake Mamayev Kurgan and Railway Station No. 1, on September 13. Both objectives were successful, only to temporary degrees. The railway station changed hands 14 times in 6 hours. By the following evening, the 13th Guards Rifle Division did not exist, but its men had killed an approximately equal number of Germans. This is the most famous battle of the Soviet and German Snipers. One of the most famous Soviet snipers from this battle was Vasily Zaytsev who was credited with 242 confirmed kills during the battle and a grand total of more than 300; he was also credited with killing a specially-sent German sniper named Heinz Throvald. You might remember the US made movie titled Enemy at the Gates in which this battle was filmed about. The battle of Stalingrad was one of the largest battles in human history. It raged for 199 days.

Part 2: More Pictures of Moscow Subway

2008-04-24T11:26:00.015-04:00

I'm posting my last collection of those images of Moscow's metra system.

This is Komsomolskaya subway station.

Komsomolskaya again.

And the final picture of Komsomolskaya station.

This is Krasnopresnenskaya. I know that some of the Russian names can be very difficult, even for Russian speaking people.

This is Mayakovskaya station.

Novoslobodskaya metro.

Oktyabrskaya station.

Park Kultury Metro Station (You can figure out the Russian translation of this phrase, right? — Park of Culture — What a big name!)

Paveletskaya Metro.

Ploshad' Revolutsii - the translation would be The Square of Revolution.

Prospekt Mira - another beautiful name - A prospect of Peace.

Semionovskaya - after the name of some Russian guy named Semyon.

And at last - Taganskaya station.

I hope you like the Moscow Subway. A little bit information for you about it: Subway hours are between 5:30 a.m. ―1:30a.m. trains come at 1 minute intervals, sometimes even less especially during the evening hours.
There are total of 9 lines in a Moscow subway, each of them is coded into a different color. Each year the Subway Lines get longer and get deeper into the far away suburbs where new subway stations are built. Did you know that during World War II, The Moscow Subways, due to its depth, offered shelter for thousands of mosowites during the Aerial bombings. A highly ranked person from Kremlin asked for a Russian phone translation a person who was hiding in one of the metro stations. And by a big chance, one of the telephone landlines was in a working condition. I'm not sure what was the whole deal about, but I remember one person telling me that story. Here is what I found in one of the slides I have about Moscow's Subway: in Revolution Square Station , The Bronze statues represent revolutionaries in 1917 «Red Octomber», in Komsomolskïa Station - Kutuzov maybe seen, who beat Napoleon, in Kievskaïa Station , Peter The Great at the Battle of Poltava, in Teatranlaïa Station there are ballerinas in national costumes and columns of flowers. Pretty interesting...

More Pictures of Moscow Subway - Metro System

2008-04-11T13:11:00.015-04:00

One of my friends sent me a power point presentation about Moscow's Subway. I know I posted about Russia's capital subway system not so long ago. But I decided to post these pics anyways - may be some of you will be interested to know more about it. By the way, Russian English translation for subway is Metro. So if you are about to go to Russia and see a sign Метро or just a sign with an "M", you should know that it stands for subway.
Here you go...Pictures of gorgeous Moscow subway.

Baumanskaya Metro Station

This is also a Baumanskaya Metro Station

Belorusskaya Station

Dobrinskaya Subway Station in Moscow

Dinamo Station in Moscow

Kievskaya Subway station - One of the most beautiful stations in Moscow. Long time ago I was doing a Russian phone translation for one of my friends from USA visiting Moscow. At the time of the translation he was in that station...Well, you won't believe me how much of an excitement he had.

This is also Kievskaya Station...

And this is the same station — Kievskaya

Komsomolskaya Metro

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. I have some more of those...

Russian Easter - How They Celebrate Pascha in Russia

2008-03-26T17:46:00.006-04:00

Catholic world celebrated Easter last week. Russian Easter or Pascha — transliterated Russian word for Easter is on its way. This year Orthodox Church will celebrate it on the 27th of April. People start preparing for Pascha one week ahead. They say that it is one of the most important religious holidays. It's time for confession and spiritual self-perfecting. You won't notice a Paschal joy if you don't fast.
The celebration of Easter in Russia and other Eastern European countries start with a going to a Paschal worship service which starts at midnight. Nowadays a lot of people tend to participate during this service and almost all the churches are full of people. So it would really help if you come earlier. After the worship people salute each other and kiss with words "Christ is Risen!"
After that people start to celebrate this holiday, they start eating all the Paschal goodies. People visit each other and exchange with Easter eggs and Easter cakes. People call their relatives and friends. My friend who does Russian phone translation says that it is one of the most busiest time in her business. This is the most favorite time for children because they go to their neighbors and ask for Paschal eggs and cakes. It's like going treat or trick in the USA during a Halloween night.

Butter Week or Russian Maslenitsa

2008-03-04T22:07:00.002-05:00

Today I would like to introduce you to Russian cultural event that takes place every year. Some people call it Russian Pancake Week, others - Russian Butter Week, or Cheesefare Week, but in Russian language it's called Maslenitsa (Масленица). It has already started and people celebrate it across the country. The word Maslenitsa originated from the Russian word Butter (Масло). In the begining Maslenitsa was called a one week long pagan celebration of the end of winter by ancient Slavs. After Russian Christianization it became a Russian religious holiday, which goes 7 days before the Great Lent. Maslenitsa is a well known sun festival which is famous for its great amount of Bliny (Russian Pancakes) served on the streets. People celebrate the end of the winter and the beginning of spring. During this holiday you will see a lot of interesting sport competitions among young guys who want to show to their beloved ones that they are the strongest and the best. There are a lot of eating, celebrating, and drinking!

History Blog about Siberia based on memories, journals and diaries

2008-02-20T00:58:00.004-05:00

Today I got a comment from an author of a Russian History blog. I found it very interesting, especially for those people interested in Russian history of WWI period. Basically this blog is a diary of an American Infantryman in WWI Siberia and even more. This blog is based on the words of George C. Voegeli, author's great grandfather. He makes posts of his journals, including the entirety of a consolidated journal he put together based on his hand written journals and his memory. Author also supplements the journals with historical background and information. Unless otherwise noted the entries come straight from George's consolidated journal. Blogger incoporates supplemental material from other, hand written journals. Also, any posts that deal specifically with historical events, places or people are clearly marked and sources cited. I hope you will enjoy reading his blog which can be found at: aefinsiberia.blogspot.com

Moscow Hotels

2008-02-11T18:05:00.000-05:00

Continuing my story about Moscow subways, I would like to let you know about hotels in Moscow. So, according to statistics provided by the company TRI Hospitality Consulting, Moscow is still the most expensive city in Europe, and the cost of a room in a 4-5 - star hotel in the Russian capital - is the highest in the world. While the Moscow hotel occupancy is 68.1%, their profitability in the first half of the year reached 15% per annum to 7% on average from the world's competitors.

Following the closure of major hotels such as the Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Minsk and Intourist, all other hotels have increased their prices. The cost of a room in a 5 - star hotels increased by an average of 18-25%, and in the category of "four-star" - by 30%.

But believe me, there are a lot of decent hotels in Moscow that won't cost that much. It is just a difficult task for a person who doesn't know Russian language to find such a hotel. You can easily make an online Russian translation of a phrase like "Hotels in Moscow" and google it. This will give you plenty of results for Russian speaking audience. People in Russian still have a stereotype that foreigners have a lot of money and that's why prices for Russians and people from other countries differ.

Next time you are going to Russia try to be a Russian...(if you want to save some money of course)

Moscow Subway - the biggest and most gorgeous in the world

2008-02-01T18:04:00.000-05:00

If you are to visit Russia, you have to go to Moscow. Not only because it is Russian capital and a pretty amazing city on its own, but because it has one of the world's most beautiful, the cleanest and the biggest subway system. Believe me Moscow subway deserves a special visit. The work of the subway started in 1930 and its overall length is about 159 miles. There are 138 stations. If you want to see the most beautiful stations then you should go to the center of the capital. It is going to be a very impressive tour for foreign visitors. A lot of people who have never seen this Russian subway will think that it's a museum or a palace with spacial hallways. Just take a look at this picture and you will understand everything I'm talking about in this post.

Novgorod — The Most Ancient Russian City

2008-01-28T13:45:00.000-05:00

Novgorod is the most ancient and beautiful city (amost like its neighbor - St.Petersburg) in Russia. Cyrrillic version will look like this: Новгород Великий. Please do not be confused, because there are two Novgorods in Russia: Novgorod Velikiy (also called Novgorod Veliky, Novgorod the Great) and Novgorod Nizhny (also called Novgorod Nizhniy). I am talking about the first Novgorod. It is located in the North-Western part of Russia and is only 180 kms (about 100 miles) away from Saint Petersburg. This great city was established in 859. It almost became a Russian capital centuries ago. This city was a first one with a democratic goverment in Russia. It influenced a lot on a Russian history. There are lot of sightseeings in Novgorod. You will see hundrends of gorgeous churches, monuments of Russian architecture. The most popular one is Novogord Kremlin. Even though this city has so many tourist attractions, not a lot of tourists visit this city. They just don't know about the existance of Novgorod. St. Petersburg takes amost 90 percent of tourists comming to that part of Russia. Accomodation, transportation, Russian translation service, museums, tour guide fees are very cheap there compared to Moscow and St.Pete. So if you are thinking about visiting Russia, don't miss this wonderful Russian city. I promise, you will enjoy it to the fullest. Take a look at this beautiful church which is called St. Sofia Cathedral.

A new Author at Russian History Blog

2008-01-15T14:34:00.001-05:00

Hello dear Russian History Blog readers!
My nickname is Translatorus and I will try to keep this blog up to date with interesting facts and stories about Russian history, Russian culture, Russian cities and towns.
Russia is a very interesting country. And it's in its new historical cycle. So, we have a lot to discuss in the future. Please send me your comments and wishes on what you are interested the most and I will try to tell you all I know about a certain topic.
Little bit about myself:
I speak Russian — it's my native language. I grew up in a Soviet Union, but don't remember a lot about it, since I was 6 when the country disappeared from the map of the World.
I went to college in a city called Novgorod, Novgorod Veliky. In my next post I will tell you about this beautiful ancient city.
And once again, everybody is welcome to leave their comments.

Future plans

2006-01-11T16:55:00.000-05:00

I'm shutting down.
Its been fun but I have other plans- like getting a graduate degree in educational leadership. This takes money and I need to freelance. But I hope some of you have been inspired by my lead- its not a hard task to do. Thanks for the readership. If anyone would like to take over for me I'll entertain such thoughts... jpotter@mail.com

Going on indefinite hiatus

2006-01-02T22:31:00.000-05:00

2005-12-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

Notice: My 'city tour' will last until January 8

Ryazan: Home to Russia's Stonehenge

2005-12-28T11:29:00.000-05:00

Ryazan, a half-million city about 196km southeast of Moscow, is mostly known for its military bases (perhaps 3-4% of the population is employed by the military). Perhaps not so ironic given that Ryazan was the first Russian city to meet the Mongols of Batu Khan (1237)- and was wiped out. Kommersant, as usual, provides good background on the city/region.

Given its military bases, its perhaps not surprising that a paratrooper general from the nationalist Rodina (motherland) party just won a gubernatorial election in the province (though the communist party is still strong in Ryazan (pic)). Or that an outfit called Incredible Adventures offers Russian Special Forces training to civilians.

And most of all, its perhaps not surprising that a Ryazan apartments was supposedly a target of Chechen bombs in 1999. I say supposedly because many Putin critics strongly assert that bombs were planted as a way for him to get elected (more here and here)

Stonehenge article

"(A) parallel can be drawn to Stonehenge, which is close to our
monument in terms of the erection date and initially also was made of wood,"
Ahmedov told Pravda. "However, no blood relationship could have existed between
the peoples who erected Stonehenge and the Ryazan observatory. The latter
evidently indicates the influence of (an) alien population (the Iranian forest
dwellers) from the South-East of the Eurasian steppe."

More here from Pravda and an earlier Pravda article

Beautiful photos of Ryazan and here as well

Russian Church Architecture

2005-12-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

Apparently, William Craft Brumfield never finds Russian church architecture boring- and it really never is upon closer inspection.

He has a listing of northern Russian church photographs, a text page on Vologda architecture, and best of all, a public radio interview with him.

Yaroslavl: I was there

2005-12-27T14:59:00.000-05:00

Yaraslavl- named after Yaroslavl the Wise (11th century Rus ruler), pop. 650,000, 150 miles northeast of Moscow. Second largest city in Russia during the 17th century.

Yes, I was there in 2004 and enjoyed my visit, esp the Baltic Restaurant, walking the Volga embankment, strolling the downtown city park, viewing pastel-colored buildings on the side streets, and so on. While driving through the city, I saw a Chevy Impala which, upon closer inspection, had a NYPD logo on the sidedoor. Strange...

As usual, Kommersant provides a pretty good rundown of the city and its prospects, including this description:

During the planned reconstruction carried out in 1936-1937
and 1965, construction work went on mainly in the east and
south in order to preserve the historic part of the city.
New streets, parks, and squares were built and monuments
were improved and restored...

The central part of the city preserves the radial-ring
structure that formed spontaneously in the 17th century
along with the regular development according to the plan of
1778; thus, the main streets fan out from the central
square towards the former gates in the city wall. No other
Russian city has so many beautiful works of medieval fresco
painting.

Perhaps the city was able to save its churches because,

There is an anecdote that the Soviets had an
alphabetical list of towns slated for "reconstruction"
-- and they never got to the "ya's" (Yaroslavl begins
with the last letter in the Russian alphabet, the ya).
(here)

In 2010 the city will celebrate its 1000 anniversary. However, the centerpiece for the celebration, reconstruction of the Dormition Cathedral , is proving problematic (a UNESCO conflict). BTW, UNESCO has the city's historical center listed as a world heritage site.

Also, an interesting website: photographic documentation of churches in the Vologda region (just north of Yaroslavl).

Googling 'Yaroslavl', this Yaroslavl State University website describing the city always appears first. But I like this well-written history better.

Some familiar-looking pictures to me.

Ivanovo: City of Brides

2005-12-26T13:52:00.000-05:00

Why City of Brides? Because the city (pop 455,000) has long been Russia's textile capital, an industry predominantly female.

Unfortunately, the city's heavy reliance on its textile industry has led it toward somewhat of a decline (reminds me of my hometown Detroit):

After 1990, however, the industry's monostructure became its downfall. Like many
other manufacturing plants, Ivanovo's large, fully-automated "8th March Textile
Factory" was closed down; its buildings were converted into a shopping mall.
These days, unemployment, partly overt and partly concealed, is high. The number
of its inhabitants, who mostly live in vast, pre-fabricated housing estates,
sank by 5.8 percent. In some towns and villages in the area, almost one-fifth of
the populace moved away.

This Shrinking Cities article is highly recommended, though quite sad. I'm guessing the village of Palekh, a well-known icon-painting center 60 km to the east, has a brighter future.

In the 19th century, Ivanovo was once known as "the Russian Manchester", however, as this a research paper (abstract) asserts, the similarities end where Russian serfdom's influence is felt (most often by hindering captital accumulation).

Kommersant provides perhaps a more detailed and objective view of Ivanovo's history.

wikipedia site. And not to be confused with a city in Bulgaria that houses very interesting rock-hewn churches (unesco site).

Samara: Home to Stalin's Bunker

2005-12-23T15:17:00.000-05:00

Samara, known as Kuybyshev during Soviet times, is a 1+ million cityon the Volga about 600 miles southeast of Russia. And yes, Stalin's bunker was situated in Samara- indeed, the city was the country's secondary capital from 1941-43. Because the city was involved in aerospace manufacturing (including space flight), it was a 'closed city' during the cold war. (more on the bunker).

The twin city of St. Louis seems fitting. The site reveals,

Russia's get-ahead Volga region of Samara is seeking to secure itself a
glittering future as a center for Western capital, by setting up its own gold
reserves to underpin foreign investment. Samara's liberal governor Konstantin
Titov says the ambitious food-for-gold plan could help secure the region, sited
1,000 kilometers (some 620 miles) from Moscow, its place as a favored home for
overseas funds.

A worthwhile site, The Jews of Samara, notes that

The city of Samara was founded in 1568 in order to defend the southeastern
borders of the Russian state from Nogay and Crimean Tatars...(and)
Samara served as shelter for the participants in the peasant revolts of
Stepan Razin (c.1630-1671) and Yemelyan Pugachev (c.1742-1775).

Until they were relocated in 1941, many German Catholics had settled in the Samara region (among elsewhere on the Volga as well).

Strangely enough, Bulgarians produced the Samara region's flag

On the negative side, TB and hepatitis B/D appear to be problems as well as contract-style killings in the automobile industry. And the city appears not to be growing in population anymore.

photos and more photos of the city

Tver: An unexceptional city

2005-12-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Yes, it serves me right for picking a Russian city (Tver) at random to explore.
However some interesting tidbits here and there:

As good a site as you will find for Tver (located between Moscow and St.Petersburg - though closer to the former). The site reveals that...

The image of modern Tver with its present, clear, and rational layout is a
unique example of 18th century architecture and city planning. Commissioned by
Catherine the Great, the renowned Italian architect Rostrelli incorporated many
of his ideas for the construction of St. Petersburg to rebuild Tver after a
disastrous fire in 1763 that destroyed many of the old buildings in the city.
Classical 1700s and early 1800s town houses and public buildings are typical of
modern Tver, especially along the downtown waterfront.

Why is it that the best websites on Russia are those advertising Russian brides?
The inside scoop is rather unflattering, as well as this. Of course, every country has these cities (even in Michigan). Pushkin's statue and other views.

I wonder if having Buffalo as its twin city means anything.

Much more intersting is who Tver was named after- Mikhail Yaroslavich (St. Michael of Tver) who had to explain his martial actions (against a competitor) to rulers from the Golden Horde. A glimpse of the Hordes power.

Kazan: Capital of Tatarstan, Russia

2005-12-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Kazan, a million plus city in western Tatarstan, a region that is perhaps 2/3rds Muslim (map).

The history of Kazan from Kazan State University - or you can simply view this timeline.

As in much of Russia, Kazan's architecture tells history quite well

A Washington Post article on relations between Tatars and Russians in Kazan:

We spent part of the day walking around Kazan -- which means "cauldron" in
Tatar -- asking people on the street what they thought. One thing we heard
repeatedly was that "mixed marriages" abound here, apparently more so than in
other ethnic enclaves. About half of the Tatars we stopped reported being
married to Russians, and vice versa. "How can you hate Tatars when your own
children are half-Tatar?" one woman asked me.

However, in the same article a local historian gives another answer:

There have been many governments here over the centuries," she said. "The
Bulgars, the Golden Horde, the Kazan Khanate. There was always a certain amount
of tolerance to other religions. Under the Kazan Khanate, no churches were ever
destroyed. So we have a history of tolerance here."
The she added another comment, about the Chechens themselves: "People from the Caucasus are different. Our blood doesn't run as hot as theirs."

However, Islam's importance seems to be slowing reemerging- perhaps because a very large mosque (pics) has recently been built within the city's kremlin walls- a replica of the one destroyed by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 (who failed in forcibly converting the Tatars). How the battle over Kazan proceded.

So, is fighting over religious symbols a sign of growing tension?

An Interfax report on a controversial book (A Modern History of the Islamic Community in Russia ) Orthodox believers want acknowledged .

A Christian evangelical's perspective from the '90s.

Hmm. 1 million people in Kazan, 2 million in the Tatarstan region. Thats about twice as large as Grand Rapids, Michigan and its county.

New Guestbook

2005-12-20T10:36:00.000-05:00

New Guestbook is at left

Stalin's Super Warriors

2005-12-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Scotsman reports the whaked news of the day(year?):

Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding
scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal
work to the quest for a super-warrior.
According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new
invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the
quality of food they eat."

Russian History News

2005-12-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

Restoring the Kremlin to pre-revolutionary status means getting rid of Stalin's concrete structures using water jets.

What was going on 21 years ago this week- presaging changes to come.

Author Catherine Merrindale has collected stories of Red Army fighters in the Great Patriotic War for her book Ivan's war: The red army 1939-1945- a review.

12 years since a new Russian constitution: will it survive?

MosNews reports:

Six Russian organizations have addressed the local parliament of the Far
Northern Taymyr Autonomous District asking it to return the name of the last
Russian tsar, Nicholas II, to the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago that was renamed
in Soviet times, RIA Novosti reported.

Per TimesOnline, Mikhail Bugakov's The Master and the Margarita is eagerly anticipated on Russian television tonight:

The Master and Margarita, which revolves around a visit by the Devil to
Moscow, is not only one of Russia’s best-loved literary works, it is also
shrouded in superstition. Some believe that the work has been cursed ever since
Bulgakov, a former doctor and journalist, completed it on his deathbed in 1940.

It was instantly banned — not least because the character of the Devil,
who is called Woland, was apparently inspired by the Soviet leader Josef
Stalin.

However, several mishaps delayed the movie's making- delays encouraging superstitous belief.
More.

Trinity-Sergius Lavra Monastery

2005-12-18T14:11:00.000-05:00

“To understand Russia”, wrote Philosopher Pavel Florensky, “one must understand the Lavra; to fathom the Lavra one must take a close look at its founder”.

That would be St. Sergius of Radonezh(patron saint of Russia).

A view of the monastery and its history from a NewTimes article:

I look at the hole in the southern door of the Trinity Cathedral: it was made on November 8, 1608 by a Polish cannon-ball. The yawning hole in the dark metal surface takes the visitor back to the Time of Trouble and the sixteen months of that cruel siege the Trinity-Sergius Lavra endured. Indeed, every time I see it I can hardly look away: the mark of time seems to so significantly and quaintly bring together the two centuries, remote as they are from each other.

However, wikipedia gives a good century-by-century overview of the monastery's history. Another history site.

Birds-eye drawing of the grounds- with geographic links. Only a few years ago they restored the monastary's blagovest bells. Some very good photos.

A video tour of the monastery is available.
The official site of the monastary (much like an online book) and museum.

Note: Lavra means monastary of the highest rank (1 of 3).

The Moscow Metro: pics and articles

2005-12-17T00:30:00.000-05:00

The Moscow Times noted the Metro's 70th birthday earlier this year.

The Metro is full of glorious artwork. Here is an excellent picture gallery of the Moscow metro stations with wide angle lens (also a stations map). Also a more pedestrian view (with photos).

The actual Moscow Metro website has many interesting photos as well, though I would use Worldlingo (see previous post) to translate the entire page. For those too lazy to cut and paste, here are some sites with pictures:

3D cutaway of Metro entrance
Art posters of the Metro
Russian stamps of the Metro throughout the decades
matchbox art
station photos (click on links)
metro cars (click on links)
early drawings of the Metro
building the Metro

Extra: Subway art/architecture throughout the world
Nationmaster lists some interesting stats:
Top 10 Busiest Metro Stations (annual passenger rides):
- Moscow 3.2 billion
- Tokyo 2.7 billion
- Seoul 1.6 billion
- Mexico City 1.3 billion
- New York City 1.3 billion
- Paris 1.2 billion
- Osaka 957 million
- London 886 million (4.6 billion miles)
- Hong Kong 798 million
- St. Petersburg 784 million

Top 5 Largest Metro Stations (number of stations):
- New York 468
- Paris 368
- London 270
- Tokyo 217
- Moscow 140

Extra Extra: a Dacha seen through wide angle lens

Cantonists and the Pale of Settlement

2005-12-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

For me, a crash course in Russian Jewish History:
Here is a NewTimes article on why Jewish children were forcibly inducted into the Russian army as Cantonists during Nicholas I reign:

Why would Nicholas I drive Jewish children into those schools? Not for a
stronger Russian army, not at all: Jews were considered too weak for army
service, cowardly and generally unreliable. It was just one of Nicholas’
extravagant ideas. He saw it as the simplest way to assimilation, more
accurately, christianization of the Jews. To make an adult Jew change his faith
seemed an absolutely impractical idea; but a child was a different matter.

That was Nicholas I for you- accordingly, "half of the twelve thousand anti-Jewish laws passed between 1649-1881 originated in his reign" (here).

Incidentally, The Jewish Magazine on why Russian Jews referred to Nicholas I as Haman the Second (after Haman of Purim).

I'm also learning more about how Nicholas I created the Pale of Settlement. As a Jew, you needed a passport (pic) to travel outside the area. Of course, Jews weren't the only ethnic group resettled by Russian authorities within the past two centuries. However,

Tsar Nicholas I created the Pale of Jewish Settlement in April 1835 ("The Pale
of...") --- a limited geographical area where Jews were mandated to live. The
Pale included Lithuania, Poland, the south-western provinces, and White Russia
with a few variations until its end in 1917 (Ritter). "The Pale was the single
most destructive legal burden borne by Russian Jewry, and one of the most
enduring," said Klier (5). Within the Pale, Jews were banned from most rural
areas and some cities (Ritter); they were prohibited from building synagogues
near churches and using Hebrew in official documents; barred from agriculture,
they earned a living as petty traders, middlemen, shopkeepers, peddlers, and
artisans, often working with women and children (Kniesmeyer and Brecher). After
1861, "the Pale became choked by a huge, pauperized mass of unskilled or
semiskilled Jewish laborers, whose economic condition steadily worsened," said
Klier (6). "Often repeated," said historian Shlomo Lambroza, "the official view
was that Jews were a parasitic element in the Russian Empire who lived off the
hard earned wages of the narod [people]" (219). (here)

This map is enlarged here. However, I like this clearer map showing relocation movements.

As a Jew, what a pogrom under Nicholas I (pic) might look like from a London newspaper.

A Jewish Virtual History Tour of Russia is worthwhile.

Look whose reading about Alexander II...

2005-12-15T17:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, I was surprised to read a Mosnews article that President Bush read Edvard Radzinsky's book Alexander II: The Last Great Czar. Apparently, he found Alexander II's interest in fighting terrorism relevant. Radzinsky is somewhat circumspect to this news:

"Being a president is a profession, and when an American starts familiarizing himself with it, he tries to do his best,” Radzinsky pointed out. “And of course when he (Bush) learned that there is a book about terrorism, hewanted to read it, because for one thing, it is about terrorism and,secondly, he could find out that the war against terrorism was declared before his time.”

Accordingly, Radzinsky assumes Bush has

..drawn the connection to the terrorists of today. “Very noble young people who dreamed about the future of Russia became killers, because blood destroys souls,” Radzinsky said. “That for me is the most important lesson.” (here)

Finally, gotta love the intro to this Washington Times Book Review:

There are several good reasons for calling Alexander II the last great czar, a reformer in the tradition of Peter the Great. A young Queen Victoria fell in love with Alexander, but to no avail. Alexander eventually married his long time mistress and legitimated their children which was more than his great-grandmother, Catherine the Great, with 13 official lovers, ever did.

The Luzhin Defence / Russian History of Chess

2005-12-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

My brother will visit in a few days and we can play chess again- a favorite pastime. The last time we played, my almost 2-year son tipped the chessboard over in the middle of an intense game- well, better to laugh than cry. Thinking about chess reminded me of an interesting movie I saw, The Luzhin Defense . The plot:

Set in the late 1920s, The Luzhin Defence tells the story of a shambling, unworldly chess Grand Master who arrives in the Italian Lakes to play the match of his life and unexpectedly finds the love of his life. Discovering his prodigious talent in boyhood overshadowed by his parents' failing marriage, Luzhin's lyrical passion for chess has become his refuge and rendered the real world a phantom. Already matched up by her family to the very suitable Comte de Stassard, when Natalia meets Luzhin, she is drawn to the erratic genius and offers him a glimpse outside of his chess obsession. But it is a world he is not equipped to deal with and his two worlds collide to tragic effect. (amazon.com).

As the ending neared, my wife said something like "I can't watch this unhappy ending. I should have known that anything based on a Russian novel would end in tragedy." However, looking over the comments, I'm not sure that the movie is faithful to Nabokov's book. An excellent review of the ending chess moves (the movie's climax) can be found here. A physician who blogs muses on how Nabokov depicts the mentally-ill main character here.

As for Russian chess itself, some Russian chessplayers have found worldwide fame- such as Spassky and Kasparov (who by the way I admire for acting on his political convictions- more on that here).

Indeed, I was not aware that

Russia (or the former Soviet Union) first competed in a (chess) Olympiad in 1952 and has won all but two since then. Only for three years since 1948 has there been a non-Russian (Soviet) champion. Bobby Fischer (USA) won crushingly in 1972 but did not defend in 1975 when the title went to Anatoly Karpov by default. In 1985 Karpov lost the title to 22-year old Garry Kasparov in a marathon struggle lasting 72 games, starting in September 1984. (here).

Though recent news does not look so good.

Mark Weeks briefly details Russia's history with chess in this article. Or you can read a quick timeline if you're familar with the chessmasters.

A really interesting page on chess pieces created to corresponded to early Russian history. Finally, if you're into chess battle pieces, Russian Legacy sells three Russian battle chess sets (Borodino, Poltova, Battle on Ice) -ad on left hand side.

Russia's Tocqueville: Astolphe de Custine

2005-12-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

Custine Quote: "Nations have always good reasons for being what they are, and the best of all is that they cannot be otherwise."

The Russian Dilettante Weblog compares a French Aristocrat to Tocqueville:

Back in 1831, a young French gentleman took a boat to New York,
planning to study American penal institutions. He spent nine months in the
States of North America, met people from various walks of life and in due course
published two volumes of what an encyclopedia of American life. Several years
after Tocqueville's American journey, an older French aristocrat stayed in
Russia for two months and produced another influential book. I am talking about
Astolphe de Custine and his Russia in 1839. George Kennan found
it prophetic; Theodore Dalrymple based a book on it; Alexandr Sokurov (the film
director) centered The Russian Ark around a Custine-like figure.

However, for the Marquis de Custine, the Russians can't win:

...don't reproach the Russians for being what they are; what I
blame them for is their desire to appear to be what we [Europeans] are . . .
They are much less interested in being civilized then in making us believe them
so . . . They would be quite content to be in effect more awful and barbaric
then they actually are, if only others could thereby be made to believe them
better and more civilized. (wikipedia)

Perhaps Custine's attitude toward Russia is merely a reflection of his French aristocratic background- or simply a common attitude toward Russia among Europeans. I wonder what Pushkin would have thought- though he died before the decade (1830s) was out.

A new blog entry by The Russian Dilettante has some relevant observations about Custine's visit (scroll down). Amazon currently features Journey For Our Time: The Journals of the Marquis de Custine Russia 1839

Update: Given his observations above, I can imagine Custine sneering at The Bronze Horsemen -(picture). Why?

It has frequently been noted that Peter gestures to the West, the
source and inspiration for his ideas of transforming Old Russia. Peter's horse
tramples on a serpent, generally interpreted to stand for the backwardness of
Old Russia. (here).

American Relief for Russia's Famine 1920-21

2005-12-14T10:22:00.000-05:00

Still reading The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921.

The book is long but a good read - to get a brief overview, I recommend this Hoover-Digest site (with pics). Stanford's Hoover Institution also has an online exhibit based upon the book (includes pics).

A review of the book found on H-Net.

Fourteen Months In Siberia during the Revolution

2005-12-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

The Alexander Palace website has an interesting online book entitled Fourteen Months In Siberia during the Revolution.

The author, Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, speaks on her travels through Tobolsk, Ekaterinburg, and Omsk and her exile in Siberia- though she eventually reaches England . So if you have a few minutes, or if you want to simply print it off and read later, it seems as if a good read.

About the Baroness:
Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden became one of 200 honorary ladies-in-waiting to the Empress Alexandra and first served at court in November 1904. Later in 1913 as a mark of confidence and special honor she became an official lady-in-waiting and served at the side of the Tsaritsa and her family until their removal from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg in 1918. During these five years she enjoyed a degree of intimacy and trust from Alexandra that was only matched by two other women...(here).

The Commissar Vanishes

2005-12-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

The Commissar Vanishes illustrates Stalin's terror in practical terms- in essense, seemingly determining a person's very existence though photographic retouching. Many before/after pictures shown.

Then I found the Commissar Vanishes website by accident. Look carefully-

Solzhenitzyn Background

2005-12-13T08:41:00.000-05:00

Brother's Judd has Solzhenitsyn's Harvard Speech from a few years ago. He turned 87 yesterday. Excerpt:

It has been pointed out by various thinkers many times (and I quote here the
words of the 20th century Russian philosopher Nikolai Lossky): If a personality
is not directed at values higher than the self, corruption and decay inevitably
take hold. Or, if you will permit me to share a personal observation: We can
only experience true spiritual satisfaction not in seizing, but in refusing to
seize. In other words: in self-limitation.

For those that don't know, Solzhenitsyn famously wrote The Gulag Archipelago, detailing life in the Soviet Union's famous gulags. For this work..

...Solzhenitsyn collected excerpts from documents, oral
testimonies, eyewitness reports, and other material, which all was inflammable.
The detailed account of the network of prison and labor camps - scattered like
islands in a sea - in Stalin's Russia angered the Soviet authorities and
Solzhenitsyn was arrested and charged with treason. In 1974 the author was
exiled from the Soviet Union. (in worthwhile article here).

Solzhenitsyn's other works include Cancer Ward, The Red Wheel, First Circle, & One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

The Boston Globe's 1984 interview with him. Another site. Famous quotes here and here. A BBC report on his 1994 return to Moscow. In 1974, he was arrested for penning this essay- that passed around Moscow's dissident community.

MosNews reported on his meeting with Putin last summer.

Tools to explore Russian Archival Sites

2005-12-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

When I come across a Russian-only page that I know will interest me I go to
Worldlingo Machine Translation Page. Here its simply a matter of cutting and pasting a URL (website address) or text for that matter. The translation is necessarily rough but often just good-enough.

I used it to explore these Russian archival links (listed in English)- takes a minute but worth exploring.

Early Russian History Pictures

2005-12-12T15:49:00.000-05:00

Early Russian history pictures by Ivanov, Biblibin, Vasnetsov

Extra: Leo Tolstoy's house

Vladimir: Capital of Kievan Rus

2005-12-12T11:24:00.000-05:00

Ancient Vladimir, part of Russia's Golden Ring around Moscow, is a frequent stop for tourists. The city (pop. 315,000) will be celebrating the 900th anniversary in 2008 (though perhaps somewhat older than even this).

Vladimir is best known for being the capital of Kievan Rus (12th-14th c.), and the seat of the Russian metropolitan then as well - explaining why so many stone churches were built. In the 12th century, it was "one of Europe's largest and most beautiful cities, enjoying immense growth and prosperity" (Wikipedia).

An interesting article on what happened to this great city (pop 315,000) - still industrial, part tourist -aside from the Mongols destructive pillage in 1238 (putting Vladimir in permanent decline). My favorite line: There are more monuments of pre-Mongolian architecture per a square kilometre than McDonald's restaurants in Moscow. Incidentally, I couldn't find a single McDonald's in Vladimir.

Vladimir is also known for the Ikon of the Theotokos.

Photo Gallery: here (historic sights) and here (life).

In memory of Soviet dissidents

2005-12-11T19:41:00.000-05:00

...A rally in Moscow to commemorate the first Soviet demonstration:
On Dec. 5, 1965, several dozen activists demanded that the trial of two Soviet writers, Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel, charged with anti-Soviet activity in their yet-unpublished writings, be open to the public. The rally, triggered by a series of arrests of intellectuals who spoke out against the Soviet regime, was regarded as the start of the Soviet dissident movement.

Evotional on what dissidents can achieve.

The article states that yesterday's rally in St. Petersburg attracted twice as many demonstrators (100+ people) as in Moscow's Pushkin Square. hmmm

Russian Antiques

2005-12-11T12:42:00.000-05:00

The Russian antiques market has exploded in value the last few years- especially Russian icons. And of course forgeries come with that territory.

BTW, the best short essay I ever read on icons was Sergei Averinsev's "Visions of the Invisible: The Dual Nature of the Icon" in Gates of Mystery: The Art of Holy Russia.

More on this late Russian scholar, invited by Pope John Paul II to pray with him before the Kazan icon.

Update: A New Times article on a Kazan icon's return from the Vatican.

Ukrainian Genocide

2005-12-10T23:47:00.000-05:00

The Internernational Herald Tribune reports on Ukraine commemoriating the Great Famine (1932-33) as a result of Stalin's collectivization and terror. In the last few weeks, Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko has been terming these actions "crimes against humanity" (I had read the word 'genocide' elsewhere). The article presents some background as well as how this tragic past fits into national identity.

On the flip side, I really have very little patience for Stalinophilia.

The Adventuress writes on the type of protests occuring in Kiev, Politics and Religion talks about the Terror in practical terms

Update: then-New York Times reporter Walter Duranty, infamous for his deceptive reporting on the famine, still retains his 1932 Pulitzer Prize:
On Friday, the Pulitzer Prize Board said it would not revoke a prize awarded in 1932 to Walter Duranty, a reporter for The New York Times who was accused of ignoring the famine in Ukraine to preserve his access to Stalin. The board said there was not clear evidence of deliberate deception (here).

Why am I not surprised.
An old post from Catallarchy or Duranty (for background/specifics).

Reenacting Napoleon's triumph over Russia

2005-12-10T15:46:00.000-05:00

Having fun in Europe:
Thousands of men in 19th century uniforms, on horseback and on foot, battled on a snow-covered field in the Czech Republic on Saturday, re-enacting the Emperor Napoleon's triumph over Russia and Austria 200 years ago.

Although some history buffs may be getting a little too carried away.

At least they're not reenacting Moscow's burning

New book about Alexander II

2005-12-10T13:39:00.000-05:00

From the Moscow Times: a new book about Alexander II by Edvard Radzinsky

What Russia has wrought - in Photographic Art

2005-12-10T00:20:00.000-05:00

A really excellent website, though perhaps painting Russian a bit more bleaker than it is.

Though much of Russia seems frozen in time (the '30s? the '50s?), its not uniformly that way. I found the pastel buildings & strolling along the Volga in Yaroslavl quite charming- a very decent city to live in, if you don't mind living in an apartment. -a great tonic to living in an overhyped, attention-seeking society: A visual vacation for the mind.

The hotels are favorably quaint- and I had no complaints at all about them (outside of some touristy Moscow hotels that is).

About the Moscow megastructures: when I arrived, I was totally overwhelmed at row upon row of white, high-rise apartment buildings in Moscow (of which 80% of Russians live in). Apparently, no one had much thought what to do if they starting needing repairs all at once (which seems to be the case from looking at them). However, the commercial district is finally helping offset concrete drab with more color- with all the lights and advertisements- a big surprise.

Russian people: well, hardly no one smiles except in private (& where they're very generous as well). I was surprised that almost no one is overweight and most are very well-dressed (albeit in black, dark colors). Women especially take exceptional pride in their appearance.

Dachas (here and here)- which a majority of Russians own.

I really didn't like the heavy hotel food in Moscow, though The Baltic (restaurant) in Yaroslavl was quite good.

Other pages.

The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow

2005-12-09T19:17:00.000-05:00

I was in high school (or rather on my summer break) when the 1980 Olympics took place in Moscow. Unfortunately, Brezhnev had invaded Afghanistan several months earlier and President Carter (along with 61 other nations) wanted painful consequences - a boycott- to follow. In return, the Soviets boycotted the LA Olympics in 1984 (though it perhaps backfired, with many more American athletes winning olympic medals).

Feature: The Moscow Olympics are featured in this photo gallery found at the IOC website (scroll down to bottom)

Other athletic competition pics. Finally, really cool old postcards relating to the 1980 Olympics says alot about how the Soviet Union viewed itself. Also, 1980 Olympic gold coins (depicting the Lenin Stadium) and Olympic posters (Misha, the 1980 Olympic mascot pictured, is still a very popular teddy bear).

Some British athletes went anyway, Canada's CBC News broadcast that the CBC would abandon plans for televising the Moscow Olympics. I was unaware that President Carter was trying to move the 1980 summer Olympics to the Ivory Coast.

Today, others would like to boycott the 2008 Olympics taking place in Beijing, China

Amazon Recommendation:The Political Olympics : Moscow, Afghanistan, and the 1980 U.S. Boycott

Armand Hammer: More than baking soda

2005-12-08T00:34:00.000-05:00

CEO of Occidental Petroleum
goto US businessman for the Soviets
Famous Quote: Regrets and recriminations only hurt your soul
(1898-1990)

In the '70s and '80s, I remember Armand Hammer as an enigmatic figure who always seemed to surface when things got tough for the Soviets. When I saw the movie Gorky Park, I right away associated Lee Marvin's 'American businessman' character with Armand Hammer- a man who could easily rationalize his actions.

Many anti-communists in the US did not trust him, considering him an open spy. And quite understandably- Arnold Hammer helped launder money for the Soviets and his name was often employed for propaganda purposes.

Of course, most people simply want to know if he had any connection to Arm & Hammer baking soda- well, sort of. Others are suspicious of his dealings with Al Gore Sr (In 1961, J. Edgar Hoover noted that Hammer was 'protected' by the late senator).

A enlightening timeline of his life

His FBI files (658 pages!- from 1919 onward) , anecdotes about his bad manners, and a letter he sent to the Soviets.

His art collection is housed at the UCLA Hammer Museum (impressionist and post-impressionist work)

Recommended Reading:Dossier: The Secret History of Armand Hammer

The Kornilov Revolt: Straw that Broke the....

2005-12-07T15:02:00.001-05:00

...Camel's Back?

In1917, then Russian Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, head of Russia's Provisional Government, put General Lavr Kornilov in charge of the Red Army (then engaged in the Eastern Front). As riots and disorder became commonplace in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Kornilov demanded that Kerensky step down. When Kerensky dismissed Kornilov from his duties, Kornilov attempted to carry out a coup by marching on Petrograd and restoring order. However, Kerensky called on opposition Bolshevik organizations (the Red Guards & Soviet councils) to help defend the city. In the face of 25,000 armed Bolshevik recruits, Kornilov's 7000 troops eventually backed down.

Question: Could Lenin have succeeded otherwise? Sometimes coups have a magnificent way of backfiring (witness 1991 coup against Gorbachev) and this maybe the case here (or is it just counterevolutionary coups?).

Indeed,
“Kornilov had all chances of seizing power in the country,” historian Pyotr Deinichenko insists. “The officers and a major part of the Cossacks, entrepreneurs and intellectual elite were on his side. Kornilov could also rely on the support of the allies in Antanta, who nurtured hopes he wouldn’t allow Russia to step out of the war. (Voice of Russia..)

However, I'm inclined to believe that the ever-increasing famine (as a result of a food glut brought on by a wartime blockade, resulting in destructive price controls) left Russian peasants thinking they had nothing to lose.

Nonetheless, Kornilov's failure as a counterevolutionary meant that,
The Bolsheviks derived maximum benefit from their participation in the anti-Kornilov movement. Jailed Bolsheviks were released from custody. They cashed in not only on the failure of the Kornilov coup but also on the vacillation and indecision of revolutionary democracy that had brought the country and the Revolution to the point of "Kornilovism"
(The Moscow News...)

Immediately,
“Radical leftist sentiments... started to spread among the workers and soldiers. On September 1st, the day when General Kornilov was arrested, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies adopted a bolshevist resolution calling for a transfer of power to the revolutionary proletariat and peasants, and the proclamation of a democratic republic. The resolution also contained a call to confiscate the lands from the landowners and for nationalization of leading branches of industry.
(Voice of Russia..)

Likewise,
“After the Kornilov uprising the officers had lost all authority,” historian Pyotr Deinichenko writes. “The soldiers refused to obey orders and left the front, homeward bound. Only the massive advance of the allies on the Western front saved Russia from a military catastrophe.
(Voice of Russia..).

Kornilov certainly affected the course of events. Was he courageous or stupid? (his chief of staff once called him "a man with a lion's heart and the brain of a sheep")

More
---Incidentally, "The fall of communism has elevated remembrance of White commanders. In the Cossack town of Krasnodar, a statue of General Lavr Kornilov was erected in 1994." (here)
---Large Anti-Bolshevik photos (soldiers of the White Movement)
--- a research paper: An Analysis of Alexander Kerensky's Handling of General Lavr Kornilov (in pdf) published in the Concord Review (interesting).
---if you have a full-text periodical database, you maybe able to find a Sept. 3, 1932 Saturday Evening Post article, "Kerensky and Kornilov" by Leon Trotsky that is highly detailed.
---Amazon offers a book, The prelude to bolshevism,: The Kornilov rebellion (not reviewed)

American troops in Russia

2005-12-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

Perhaps few Americans realize that an American Expeditionary Force (AEF) landed in northern Russia and Siberia from 1918-1919.

Brief background on the conflict can be found here or here. Pictured at right: AEF soldiers standing over dead Bolsheviks.

Why were they in northern Russia? (Murmansk & Archangel)
A) to help the White armies fight the Reds in Russia's Civil War
B) to intercept war munitions (>$1 billion) shipped to pre-Bolshevik Russia from falling into German hands
C) Eventually both- with over 400 Americans dying from various causes
Answer is C

Why were they in Siberia?
A) to deter German POWs inside Russia from stirring up trouble on the eastern front
B) to help a Czechoslovak Legion of 35,000 troops cut off from the eastern front escape Siberia (Czechoslovakia had just been 'created' with President Wilson's help).
C) to deter the Japanese from extending their influence into Russia's far east
D) to lend support to White Admiral Kolchack against the Bolsheviks
E) All of the above (initially B, though culminating in D)
The Answer is E

However, more interesting sites include
----this photo album of the US Army in Archangel
----how northern Russian residents viewed the Allied invasion
----A site with photos of the Siberian expedition
----A University of Michigan site with maps showing how the intervention proceeded

Recommended Reading:
The Decision to Intervene: Soviet-American Relations 1917-1920, Vol. 2

Mitrokhin II: Other revelations

2005-12-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

The History News Network interviews Christopher Andrew (co-author of The Mitrokhin Archives - see below).

Blog sampling re: Mitrokhin...
Cuban-American Pundits asserts that American travelers helped KGB agents obtain identity documents in the late 60's (though Castro was not too keen on having gay and lesbian allies).

The Jawa Report wonders if Cubans were responsible for killing Socialist Chilean President Salvadore Allende in 1973. Asserting the same, Swimming Against the Red Tide promotes a new book about to be published in France,"Cuba Nostra - Les Secrets D'Etat de Fidel Castro" by Alain Ammar.

Civil Defense League notes that the KGB considered releasing radioactive material in Tokyo Bay in the late 1960s.

Finally, Sepia Mutiny on how the KGB fully infiltrated Indira Gandhi's government in the 1970s with suitcases of money.

The Mitrokhin Archives

2005-12-06T12:51:00.000-05:00

Anyone who does not know about Vasili Mitrokhin's 1992 defection as a KGB archivist is missing an excellent story. In the late '50s, aAfter failing to succeed in KGB field work, Mr. Mitrokhin was relegated to working in the the KGB archives. His growing disillusionment with the Soviet regime led him to privately stash away historical documents during the 70's and early '80's, when KGB archives were in the process of moving from Lubyanka prison to its new HQ.

Shortly after the Soviet Union fell in 1991, he traveled to Latvia and walked into the U.S. embassy to pass along such documents. To the United States lasting regret, embassy personnel failed to taked him seriously, believing such documents were fakes. Fortunately, British embassy staffers were more trusting, allowing them to retrieve more than 25,000 pages of files hidden under house floorboards (some documents going as far back as the 1930s).

Of course, he escaped to Great Britain and wrote The Mitrokhin Archive with Cambridge historian Chrisopher Andrews. Other books written by Mitrokhin and Andrew include The World Was Going Our Wayand the Sword and the Shield.

The archives revealed that
-half of Soviet weapons were based on designs stolen from the United States.
-that the KGB had tapped Henry Kissinger's telephone (and other American officials as well).
-KGB spies were employed in almost all the country's big defence contractors.

Other sites of interest:
--how a little old lady became a very successful Soviet spy in Britain (revealed by the archives)
--The Mitrokhin Inquiry Report by the UK
--How Canada fit into the picture, from the Mackenzie Institute's blog
--A Moscow Times report detailing from the archives how the KGB, rather than the Politburo, heavily influenced Soviet foreign policy
--How the Mitrokhin Archives are currently embarrasing some leftwing PMs from India
(esp here, here and here)
--More Mitrokhin stories from The Guardian

Valentin Serov: Anniversary of his death

2005-12-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the anniversary of famous Russian portraitist Valentin Serov (1865-1911).

His portraits became known for exhibiting juxtaposition of light and shadow, quickly becoming masterpieces (DavidBerryArt.com details Serov's artistic skill with lighting). ArtRoots notes his "psychological perceptiveness, his ability to see and show the spirit of the person sitting in front of him." Olga's Gallery features several of his paintings.

Question for viewers.

2005-12-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Do blog viewers want to see commentary/links regarding current Russian politics as well (1 of 2 posts a day)? Use Comments feature to let me know.

American relief efforts in the early Soviet Union

2005-12-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've started a new, rather thick book entitled The Big Show in Bololand: The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921 As you might surmise, the book has many interesting anecdotes about how (roughly 200) Americans viewed Soviet authorities and the local peasants.

The book was a co-winner of the 2003 Marshall Shulman Book Prize, awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. Their take..

...a compelling analysis of American efforts to mitigate the impact of the
devastating famine that killed millions of Soviet citizens in the early 1920s.
Along with vivid portraits of many of the relief workers and graphic descriptions of their activities to combat famine, Patenaude also explores the encounter between rescue workers and communist officials intent on exercising control over the Americans' operations. Yet The Big Show in Bololand is more than a detailed narrative of the famine relief effort. It offers invaluable insights into the first sustained cultural and political encounter between the United States and the fledgling Soviet Union and explores the underpinnings of the rivalry between the capitalist and communist systems. The book is an outstanding example of lively and engaging prose, impressive historical research, and persuasive analysis of the diplomatic underpinnings and consequences of the rescue mission. (from Amazon reviewer).

One interesting snippet just read is how the Americans were highly impressed with the (highly educated) Tatars rather than the Russians. Apparently, the Tatars have long struggled to keep their cultural focus alive amidst the Russians- an attitude that served them well during early Soviet era.

Modest Mussorgsky

2005-12-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I'll be watching Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov (based on Pushkin's play of the same title) on DVD. So I thought it best to research this most famous 19th century Russian composer (there is even a discussion forum dedicated to him).

Modest Mussorgsky was a thorough Russophile in mid-19th century Russia, when fervent nationalism was at its peak. Eventually, he joined The Mighty Handful, a group of composers dedicated towards promoting distinctly Russian style music. Many of his compositions are based upon Russian folk songs he learned as a child.

Unfortunately, he left the group after becoming bitter that Boris Godunov was withdrawn from the Imperial Opera (the censor heard choruses critical of the czar). Perhaps not incidentally, the Simpleton character cries "Weep, soul of Russia" at the end of the opera. Much of Mussorgsky's music seems to have a depressed, fatalistic, or pessismistic undertone (generally characteristic of Russian music?). (More on the score....).

Not much is known about his later private life except that he was a serious alchoholic (eventually dying from alcoholism in 1881). However, he may have been fortunate to have Rimsky-Korsakov, with whom he lodged, re-orchestrate his work after death.

Finally, he produced the well-liked Pictures at an Exhibition, based on watercolors painted by his good friend Victor Hartman. The watercolors are gone but we can imagine how they once may have appeared. A brief synopsis of the pictures here.

A review of pianist Norika Ogawa's Pictures at an Exhibition. Audio Clips of same.

UPDATE: I failed to realize how hard it is to sit through 4 hours of anything, let alone even an opera with subtitles. I'll get the music CD instead.

Konstantin Chernenko: Paper Pusher

2005-12-02T11:13:00.000-05:00

Picture: Chernenko: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1984-85.
Quote: "Every Communist Party member a propagandist"

Well, yes, paper pushing is basically what he did - signing papers as Brezhnev's assistant most of his life (alongside propagandizing and monitoring wiretaps). He would have succeeded Brezhnev except for losing to Andropov, a favorite of the Red Army and KGB. Nevertheless, his moment in the sun came after Andropov's death- and I can't say he made the most of it.

Like Brezhnev, he was a compromise candidate between reformers and hard-liners (partially rehabilitating Stalin & increasing KGB repression yet being more sensitive to public opinion and the need for more consumer goods). An interesting essay about him and his succession from the Moscow News.

He best represented the Soviet gerontocracy at the time, terminally ill (with lung disease) amidst power-hungry potential successors. I'll never forget this moment on the tv news (a month before he died):

(Soviet television) showed (an) obviously half-dead Chernenko on TV
voting on election day in a room next to his hospital ward made to look like a
polling station. Which caused a general moan of loathing. Then, after the
"elections," Grishin (a politburo member) put on an even more gruesome ceremony, a real danse macabre, handing a ghastly-looking Chernenko his credentials - and the man, who could barely stand upright or articulate sounds, with his terminal emphysema of the lungs, had to rasp out a few sentences by way of an acceptance speech. That episode, which shocked even the least interested, not to mention the politicos, took place on February 28. And on March 10, Chernenko died.
(Read more...)

Gorbachev succeeded Chernenko- but some question whether the timing was purely accidental (Gorbachev's rival Grigory Romanov was on vacation). Indeed, Gorbachev had already done his own manuevering.

Russian Astronaut Yuri Gagarin

2005-12-01T13:26:00.000-05:00

How mad would you be if your camera jammed when meeting a famous person? A Swede reports on his frustration above when he meets famous Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin.

After making mankind's first space flight, Gagarin's enthusiasm and gregarious personality helped spur international excitement about the event. Reading about his preparation, apprehension, and determination makes the cold war almost seem abstract. At a press conference before his flight, he remarked "To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage single handed in an unprecedented duel with nature - how could anyone dream of anything greater than that?" How cool is that?

To get a better sense of the man, you can read and view his life in pictures at this site. With all that he faced, his comrades nonetheless reported that, "During the days of preparation for the launch, when everyone had more than his share of concerns, apprehensions, and anxieties, he alone seemed to keep calm. More than that: he was full of good spirits and beamed like the sun."

His personality is displayed at his flight liftoff description as well. Apparently, he was well liked by all and remembered as a "fit comrade, (who) never loses heart, a man of principles, bold and steadfast, modest and simple, decisive, a leader." Of course it was not unexpected that Yuri would play a part in Soviet propaganda, as in this booklet.

Unfortunately, he would die at age 34(!) (obituary from the NYTimes)

Wikipedia Sidenote:
Khrushchev saw Gagarin's achievement as a vindication of his policy of strengthening the Soviet Union's missile forces at the expense of conventional arms. This policy antagonised the Soviet military establishment and contributed to Khrushchev's eventual downfall.

History has a strange way about it

The Winter War

2005-11-30T10:36:00.000-05:00

65 years ago today, the Russo-Finnish War (otherwise known as The Winter War) began. During the 1939-40 winter, the Finns held off an invasion by the poorly prepared Soviet Army for 105 days. The Soviets apparently wanted a buffer zone for Leningrad against Nazi Germany (though not the last buffer zone the Soviets sought). After more than 126,875 Soviets troops were killed- vs less than 50,000 Finns- the Soviets were forced to negotiate a peace.

In a war where both sides suffered serious privation, the Finn's advantage came through cleverness- such as producing nighttime raids that forced the Soviets into a firefight with themselves or bypassing forward Soviet tanks to attack unprotected Soviet troops. Of course, in such a snowy climate, having a hardy Finnish horse was a valuable asset as well.

Photos typically depict Finnish Soldiers, though several Soviet soldiers are shown in this joint Russo-Finnish electronic Winter War Monument- a collaboration by historians with reenactment photos to boot. However, this reenactment site has over 300 photos.

Other Sites: An interesting (though text-intensive) geocities site about the war. Lessons Learned by the Finns from the war is quite good. To see what Finland had to cede - scroll down for demands and land ceded on map.

Finally, The Frozen Hell appears to be the best book on the subject, being well-researched and liked.

Update: During the "Continuation War" (in which the Finns switched sides to help the Nazis, leading them to fight the Soviets again), the Finns had their own territorial ambitions:

...a top Finnish officer outlined... the main aims of the war that Finland waged alongside Germany. "These included, in addition to the return of areas lost to the Soviet Union in the Winter War, taking part in the attack on Leningrad and the conquest of a considerable portion of Soviet Karelia."
From an article on Finnish War Criminals...

More about the Cossacks

2005-11-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

A site on historical conflicts provides an interesting webpage about the long time defenders of Russia, the Russian Cossacks. The site explains their sad history, provides a map as to where they once lived, and gives pics on their changing appearance (from the 16th-17th century to World War II).

Russian authorities have long pushed to revive the Cossack's traditional roles. Last week, Putin proposed giving them legal status to help "keep law and order." From the Washington Post:

President Vladimir Putin has proposed a law that would allow Cossacks to serve in special units in the military, assist the police and work in border control, counterterrorism and counter-drug operations...
The Cossacks' reemergence is part of a broader revival of vestiges of the Russian past, both czarist and Soviet, that for many people invoke national greatness and patriotism, a goal of the Kremlin. The trend began under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and has continued under Putin.

Putin has however rejected a demand by the Don Cossacks to have their own oblast (territorial autonomous region).

Pugachev's Revolt

2005-11-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

Last night I finished a short story by Aleksandr Pushkin entitled The Captain's Daughter, a romance set amidst Pugachev's Revolt in 1773 Russia. Emelian Ivanovich Pugachev, an illiterate Don Cossack pretending to be long-dead Tsar Peter III (forced to abdicate to Catherine, died in custody), found a loyal following throughout eastern European Russia. Pugachev played upon his likeness to Peter III (though I don't see it) and the peasant's longstanding belief that Peter III was never actually killed.

Accordingly, Pugachev was smart enough to employ longstanding greviences against Catherine, gaining followers not only among serfs but Ural factory workers, cossacks, Old Believers, Tatars, Bashkirs, and other minority peoples.

Immediately successful, he soon put forth his own personal ukaz (proclamation having force of law). These proclamations sought to assure the peasantry that he would restore ancient freedoms (though, at the end of the 18th century, hundreds of rebellious outbreaks occurred). Likewise, he became adept at engaging in propaganda, promoting territorial elections, and producing a regular army.

Pugachev's contingent traveled north and south, burning Kazan to ashes and capturing Orenburg (route map). Peasants were immediately hanged if they did not acknowledge him as the Tsar. As he advanced upon cities, his flag likely gave panic and flight to loyal subjects.

However, the military's quick success against armed peasants quickly vanquished the revolt. Shortly afterward, Pugachev was betrayed, captured, and caged- as he was sent to Moscow for torture and execution.

Of what consequence Pugachev? The revolt perhaps encouraged Catherine to strengthen her alliance with landowners and the gentry, the same interests who had supported her palace coup in the firtst place.

A Russian film by Alexander Proshkin, The Russian Revolt, is based upon Pushkin's
The Captain's Daughter along with his other work, The History of Pugachev . Like Pushkin, Proshkin visited the sites of Pugachev's revolt and interviewed locals who had age-old stories they had passed down over several generations.

Rediscovering Pushkin

2005-11-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

A few days ago my wife came home from the library with Martha Fienne's adaptation of Pushkin's Onegin. I so enjoyed watching it last night that I will be reading some of Pushkin's short stories as well. Watching the DVD was helpful- allowing me to listen to some interesting story commentary.

The story may also serve as a social commentary about bored/spoiled aristocratic Russia- showing why the roots of the 1917 Revolution were likely sown at least a century earlier.

The movie takes place in 1830's St.Petersburg (shortly before Pushkin was killed in a duel- not unlike in the story). And I remember that the Decembrist Revolt (pictured above), instigated by restless imperial soldiers wanting political reform, occurred in St. Petersburg perhaps less than a decade earlier. Not incidentally, imperial soldier from St. Petersburg play an important periphery part in Eugene Onegin. Indeed, suspicion fell on Aleksandr Pushkin for being on friendly terms with several Decembrist leaders.

What was happening in 1620-21

2005-11-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

What was happening within the Russian empire in 1621 (when the Pilgrims and local Indian tribes were celebrating the first Thanksgiving)?

- Sweden captured Riga in Latvia (though the Russians take possession in 1710). The Swedes entrance was marked by Riga's "Swedish Gate", constructed in 1698

-Russia's Time of Troubles had ended only a few years ao, Tsar Mikhail Romanoff was consolidating power. In 1620, he was constructing earthen ramparts around Moscow to protect the city from the Polish wars (later replaced by the sadovaya- grand Garden Avenues).

-a helmet was being made for the Tsar, later to be used by Alexander Nevsky. The helmet had three inscriptions: Help from God, An imminent victory, And grant this to true believers

-in the western Ukraine, the Polish army repelled the Turks from advancing further westward at the Battle of the Khotyn (Khotyn's castle -above- was saved from obscurity by the Soviet film industry's version of 'The Three Musketeers')

Blogging for Hits

2005-11-23T21:34:00.000-05:00

Note: I'm still trying to get my other blog off the ground- so if anyone is interested in Classical Music, please feel free to explore.

What about Kosygin

2005-11-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

Alexey Kosygin (premier 1964-1980) always appears to be the man behind the scenes- negotiating on behalf of the Soviet leadership but not really a household name as Brezhnev. So I wanted to learn more.

Archontology reports that he

"introduced reforms targeted at modernizing the Soviet economy...(and) placed emphasis on the production of consumer goods, but the reforms were not accomplished (because) Brezhnev did not favor expanding light industry at the expense of heavy industry, which served for the arms race in 1970s. (However), Kosygin helped preserve efficiency and discipline in the Soviet economy (at the time).

He is perhaps better remembered for his involvement in foriegn policy, helping establish Ostpoltik (a nonaggression declaration) with Germany's Willy Brandt. The policy divided Germany's leadership and helped Kosygin achieve certain foreign policy objectives several months down the line...

Kosygin appealed to the West European nations to seek independence
from the United States.” The Soviets had achieved their initial goal and were following through. On the chessboard of Europe, they had played masterfully and received recognition of Soviet control over East Europe and legitimacy for the East German regime. A secondary goal of “full recognition of the GDR” was well on its way to fruition, for by late 1972 several Scandinavian states and India were planning initial diplomatic relations with the G.D.R. Additionally, membership in the United Nations for both the G.D.R. and the Bonn government was being actively discussed. (Not to mention new trade markets for West Germany).

In addition, he was also involved in mediating a 1966 Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan and trying to restrain Israel's actions during the 1967 6-day war.
Some insight into his approach to foreign policy problems can be found in this 1979 transcript between him and then-Afghan President Taraki (nine months before the Soviets invaded)

More on the Mariinsky Opera House

2005-11-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

An earlier post spoke about the Catherine the Great's decree about opera and subsequent opening of the Mariinsky Opera House, shortly after the Bolshoi began. A Russia Profile article details their competitive rivalry and new developments for both.

Soviet Aviation Losses in Afghanistan

2005-11-21T22:20:00.000-05:00

Like the Vietnam War, the Soviet war in Afghanistan revealed the extent guerilla warfare (with the help of Stinger missles) can take down expensive aircraft and alter the balance of power (without high-tech countermeasures in place). Simply put, without air support, Soviet land troops became highly vulnerable. The above link's timeline of downed aircraft clearly reveals war's course.

Also, a 1985 comprehensive essay on lessons learned from the Soviet experience (to date) from a US military site, including this excerpt:

Evidence from Afghanistan indicates that the Soviet military has become increasingly reliant on its helicopter force. Most likely, this dependency will remain a part of the Soviet military system after the Afghan issue is resolved.

In the end, 333 armed Soviet helicopters would be downed before the Soviets fully retreated in 1989. For a pictorial view of the Afghan War, visit this Veteran's site in English & Russian.

Missing Socialist Realism

2005-11-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

Soviet worker posters (or socialist realism - portraying/encouraging man's struggle toward socialist progress for a better life) depict the Soviet government's public attitude toward society as just about anything else. The International Poster Gallery summarizes how such posters were deployed during the early Soviet era (displaying a visual progression as well). More can be found here.
An essay on what Socialist Realism was to achieve.

Old Believers: Far and away

2005-11-19T22:58:00.000-05:00

Old Believers: religious community that broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century to protest patriarch Nikon's (more Byzantine-minded) reforms. Today they live in isolated communities throughout Alaska and Russia.

I've always been fascinated by how isolated Old Believer's communities have been. I remember reading a few years ago that an Old Believer settlement in Siberia was only discovered in the '60s after a Soviet helicopter pilot inadvertently flew over their clearing in the woods. Even today, these religious communities prefer to be left alone, as this one reporter can attest:

I felt at ease in the company of my fellow outcasts, who seemed to accept my ‘Western’ attire, my ‘modernised’ Russian language, my shaven beard-less face, even my camera (the Old Believers are notoriously camera-shy). There was only one thing about me that they could not come to grips with: smoking.

"In Voznesenka, they would attack you with an axe, if they saw you with a cigarette in your mouth," Iona told me with a grimace of disapproval on his face. I made a mental note never to come close to the village of Voznesenka, which had a reputation of being even more reclusive and more conservative than Nikolaevsk.

A great many live in Russia's Altai mountains bordering Mongolia, locating there to avoid past state persecution (pics included). Another account of their life in Alaska. Kudos to their sacrifice and devotion.

Update: The Clone Fact blogs on meeting Old Believers and smallpox in Siberia

Catherine's Necklace- not lunch money

2005-11-19T13:03:00.001-05:00

Looks like Catherine the Great's necklace just sold for $1.5 million- "the most important historical neckalce Sothebys has sold in 30 years" reportedly. The necklace includes a 10.5 ounce pearl.

Update: DiamondVue has more on specs and background

Like her predecessor Elizabeth- "who was a woman of exceeding beauty, she loved dancing, jewelry and expensive dresses", Catherine the Great was no slouch. She helped instigate the Hermitage and introduced opera into Russia (stating with a decree that “Russian Theater should be not merely for comedies and tragedies, but also for operas", perhaps the impetus for St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre to open shortly afterward).

Recently, her statue has been returned to Moscow (having been spirited away in the '50s "for safety"). This may be the same statue pictured above.

BTW, whereas Putin used to have Peter the Great's portrait hanging in his KGB office, perhaps its not surprising that Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel has a framed picture of German-born Catherine the Great on her desk ("an example of a strong woman.")

Battle of Kulikovo

2005-11-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

625 years since the Battle of Kulikovo, where the Russians finally repelled the Mongols back to the east. How the Russians came about the battle and won. Also: a stamp and coins comemmorating the event, , and the battle scheme, and local musuem website

Not surprisingly, earlier this year Tatar officials let it be known they had no use for celebrating the battle. Even revisionist history maybe employed to temper ethnic tensions in this case.

Before the battle, grand prince of Vladimir and Moscow Dmitry Donskoy (shown charging above), famously noted that “If we win , we shall save ourselves. If we die , we shall all take a common death, a prince and an ordinary warrior alike.”

How the battle location looks today.

Who New? Peter the Great's biggest fan

2005-11-18T10:06:00.000-05:00

Looks like Putin maybe a fan of Peter the Great, of all people.

Children's Books of the Early Soviet Era

2005-11-17T19:09:00.000-05:00

My wife used to be a Children's librarian - and learned to speak Russian in Kaliningrad. I think she would find Children's Books of the Early Soviet Era kinda cool.

Gorbachev's Dacha in the Crimea

2005-11-17T14:49:00.000-05:00

A tour of Yelagin Palace in St. Petersburg, the Imperial Summer Palace of the Russian Tsars. Given how cold it is in St. Petersburg most of the year, I would have taken the Crimea. After all, they have beautiful weather and dachas- for instance, the dacha Gorbachev vacationed at during the 1991 coup

Stalin's paranoia

2005-11-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

If I were a Russian, perhaps I would take my summer vacation in the Valdai Hills (near Novgorod). While researching Valdai's famous bells, I came across a small but telling sample of Stalin's paranoia (scroll down). In 1940, Stalin was angry that he had gone to a retreat in Valdai that was on a Peninsula- near the Finnish front.

Russian Coinage

2005-11-16T16:30:00.000-05:00

Several pics and a brief history on how Russian coins were struck during the latter part of Alexander II's reign.

Criticism of Zhukov

2005-11-16T15:20:00.000-05:00

Interestingly enough, the Atlantic recently revealed that Victor Suvorov has a book (I Take My Words Back- not yet translated) critical of Zhukov and the Red Army that is #1 on Moscow's reading list. Suvorov, author of Inside the Red Army has another book, Shadow of Victory also critical Zhukov (most notably citing his art looting of Nazi Germany -train loads full). And, given the Russian troop's reputation for raping and pillaging in World War II, I'm sure there is plenty more to be critical about.

Every reformer has a trusted ally.

2005-11-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

Last night, reading about Alexander II's man Prime Minister Peter Stolypin (perhaps the only man to blunt the Czar's reactionary attitudes before being killed in 1911), I wondered how many reformist Russian leaders have had a trusted adviser/reformer that has threatened to resign (as Stolypin did) when reactionary forces begin to gain the day?

I remember when Edvard Shevardnaze resigned- warning Gorbachev (December, 1990) that he would regret allowing rightist forces to gain the upper hand (and he was).

More recently, Alexander Voloshin, Putin's Chief of Staff, trusted adviser and Yeltsin holdover, resigned over the Khodorkovsky affair (and perhaps Putin's growing reliance on (conservative) ex-security members for his staff- or siloviki-as well). However, to Putin's credit, he appointed Dmitry Medvedev, a St. Petersburg reformer, to become Chief-of-Staff- and is currently rumored as Putin's hand-picked successor.

Finally, I reviewed the Khrushchev era to find out that Marshall Zhukov (pictured above) was a trusted adviser as well- one whose popularity induced jealosy from both Khrushchev and Brezhnev. A real military hero, Zhukov tempted fate by prancing ceremoniously on a horse to wide applause during a 1945 Victory Day parade- Stalin was not pleased (demoted, not killed).

Zhukov supported Khrushchev against his enemies- Beria and Molotov- and bravely denounced
neo-Stalinists within the Party at the time. But his popular appeal was too much a threat to Khruschev- and he was expelled from his Central Committee Chair. Incidentally, I was surprised to find A MUSEUM dedicated to him (though I should not- I get the impression that state museums are everywhere in the Soviet Union).

How does Zhukov (for those that remember) fare today. Moscow News reports that a survey in 2001 by the Russian Civil Service Academy shows the following approval ratings:

32.9% Joseph Stalin
90.2% Peter the Great
39.9% Vladimir Lenin
80.8% Georgy Zhukov

2005-11-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

The Life of Tsar Alexander II, in some ways Russia's Lincoln, continues to generate interest in Moscow. Edward Radzinsky, a playwright and recent author of Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar, recently spoke about his book at a packed (1500-seat) Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. His appearance was recorded and replayed on TV for several days.

Tsar Alexander II ushered in many historical reforms for the Russian state. Most notably, he reenergized the economy by abolishing serfdom, introduced universal military training, created local councils (zemstvos) , and redirected foreign policy away from expansionism. However, he faced many assassination attempts and in April 1881, after safely escaping a bomb thrown at his carriage, was mortally wounded after attending to injuries suffered by his security detail by a previous bomb. Ironically, Alexander's assassins ruined any chance for deliberation on a liberal constitution, for which Alexander II was studiously attempting to deliver.

In June of this year, a monument to Alexander II was dedicated in Moscow near the cathedral of Christ the Savior. This article disparages Putin's negative reaction to the event, explaining how his repressive policies compare quite unfavorably with Alexander II (and Yeltsins as well). Very interesting. Of course, I learned in my graduate studies that repression in Russian history tends to zigzag- yes thats the term.

Perhaps the reason the Alexander's statue was dedicated has to do with the immediate return of Felix Dzerzhinsky's statue (despotic founder, KGB) to Moscow (among the first statues to be pulled down when the Soviet Union collapsed). Moscow Mayor Luzhkov can be credited with this kindly gesture. An interview with the Alfred Kokh, funding & idea originator for this statue explaining how why Alexander's statue is important today.

Life in 1900 St.Petersburg

2005-11-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

A photographic travelogue of 1900 St.Petersburg gives a much better feel for historians than dry text. In the picture at right, carriages await customers strolling in the Summer Garden. In the distance is a small chapel commemorating the attempted assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1866.

Jews in Russia

2005-11-14T20:50:00.000-05:00

An excellent site with pics on the History of Jews in Russia. Russia and other post-Soviet countries still remain particularly vulnerable to anti-semitism.

The Palace of the Soviets

2005-11-14T14:18:00.000-05:00

Unrealized Moscow details unfinished architectural plans from the thirties to the fifties. These fascinating pictures look as if they're stage project drawings for a sci-fi fantasy set. Of course, many were simply unworkable monuments to Stalin's ego. In fits and starts, work continued on them with the expectation that they would eventually be completed (Ceauscescu completed once such building, a People's Palace in Bucharest that remains mostly vacant) . Concept drawing for The Palace of the Soviets (noted in the previous post) is illustrated at right.

Kudos to the above site, especially well-designed as a slide show with a minimalist feel.

Moscow's Temple of Christ the Savior: Destruction and Rebirth

2005-11-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

Ryszard Kapuscinski's Imperium describes in detail how Stalin schemed to destroy Moscow's venerable Temple of Christ the Savior in 1931. Dedicated in 1883, the building required 45 years to complete (40 million bricks), was more than 30 stories tall and had walls of marble 3.2 meters thick. Stalin had decided to replace the building (after robbing it) with a Palace of the Soviets -a building larger than the Empire State Building (150 floors, 415 meters) with a 100 meter statue of Lenin on top (think 3x higher than the Statue of Liberty).

To Kapuscinski, this scenario is comparable to a French leader deciding secretly raze the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Yet, the city's inhabitants passively continue on with daily business. Fortunately, Stalin's paranoia, attendance to purges, and distraction with annexation and war leaves the project on the back burner. After his death, the remaining base of the cathedral is used as a swimming pool. The author does not yet realize that in 2 years after publishing his book the Patriarch will begin to reconstruct the Cathedral to look much like it once did. Byzantines.net(the above link) does an excellent job detailing the Temple's history.

Vladimir Soloviev's comments

2005-11-12T13:09:00.000-05:00

An interesting comment from the late 19th century Russian Philosopher Vladimir Soloviev: "The opposition between the two cultures-the eastern and the western- was already sharply delineated at the dawn of human history. If the East built the foundations of its culture on the ruthless subordination of man to a higher power, the supernatural, then in the West it was the opposite, man was left to his own invention, which allowed for a broad, self-generated creativity"

While I cannot really speak to his concept of 'Santa Sophia', he appears to write frequently about the Orthodox Church's development (and in relation with the Western Church as well)

Russia's Ethnic Groups

2005-11-11T15:36:00.000-05:00

For ethnic group scholars, The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire can readily serve online reference needs. The online text details over 80 ethnic habitat, population, origin, language, writing, & anthropological characteristics. Very impressive for online. Keep clicking map to get to the text.

New National Holiday?

2005-11-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

Not sure that Putin's Unity Day, a new national holiday (Nov 4) will really catch on. The date marks liberation from Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612, but I would guess its a poor substitute to replace Nov 7, the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution holiday. Some interesting comments on Putin's attachment to statism and (Russian Orthodox) Patriarch Alexei II's negative view of 17th century 'elites' as treasonous. The author asserts that Putin maybe reemphasizing stability and patriotism to ward off any emerging 'color revolutions'.

Bury the man

2005-11-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

In the news today- What To Do With Lenin, from Voice of America. Shall he forever remain unburied?-the question seems so symbolic for Russia- shall they go forward or be held captive by their past (or is this simply 'patriotism'). Another article by the International Herald Tribune speaks about this and other posthumous moves (Denikin, Ivan Ilyin, and Maria Feodorovna - Czar Nicholas's mother).

Catherine Merridale's book Night of Stone: Death and Memory in Twentieth-Century Russia appears to have much to say on Russian bereavement and perceptions of death.

Wasn't this Condi's Major?

2005-11-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

Not terribly surprising but unfortunate that Slavic Studies face an Uncertain Future. Indeed, I had intended to finish my Ph.D in this field. I remember how intrigued I was to see Perestroika progress in the late 80s. Certainly, for those younger than 30, they may find it hard to comprehend how the Soviet Union was once perceived.

The Russian Imperial Navy

2005-11-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

For naval buffs, the Imperial Russian Navy site is quite interesting (despite the awful backgrounds). Lots of small b & w pics and brief summaries on how Russia's navy played out Russo-Japanese war, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Crimean War. Also biographies of Russian Naval Commanders and a good summary of how actions the pacific (Korea, Japan, and China) affected Russia's foreign policy in general (see Associated and Related Documents) .

I was not aware that in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia "was the first country in modern times to attempt to utilize submarines in an offensive role". Apparently, Russia purchased American-built Holland submersibles back then. How interesting also that debate over the Kuril Islands has not ceased for nearly 200 years.

Ryszard Kapuscinski's Imperium

2005-11-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

Currently reading Imperium (1994) by Ryszard Kapuscinski. The first few chapters focus on his perspective as a child growing up during Stalin's purges near the current Polish border. The commentary is chilling though not surprising (a more complete view of Stalin's purges is found in Anne Applebaum's Gulag: A History). Even his observations on the asiatic republics are interesting (esp as to how the locals relate to their Russian residents).

What's also interesting is just how much has changed in the last 16 years.