Dede Moroz and Snegurochka… Yep… it’s that time of year again!

This is an official photograph from the one-and-only true house of Dede Moroz (Grandpa Frost) in Veliki Ustiug in the Russian Federation. He can wear blue or red… ah, he has his red suit on today. Hmm… his sidekick, Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden) is with him. As you see, he’s getting ready for the holidays… have YOU sent him your letter yet? There are only 41 more days to prepare for Christmas (and only 28 for those of you on the Gregorian calendar)! It is time to act smartly and get writing to Dede. You’ll feel so much better after you write that letter (I stole that line from the good people at Voice of Russia! It was the tag line of the late great Joe Adamov on Moscow Mailbag.)! After all, don’t you want to hear the troika bells on Christmas Eve outside your house?

He also comes on New Year’s Eve, which means that you have 34 days to get ready for that. Please, bear in mind that Dede is a good Russian… do leave a glass of vodka and some selyodka (smoked herring) on a nice plate out for him… cookies and milk? You’re a maladjusted and ill-bred HERETIC! Even Snegurochka turns up her nose at that (she prefers a nip of Harvey’s followed by a piece of a Cadbury’s Orange, by the way). Trust me, even his helpers want a pivo (beer) and some vobla (dried fish… a VERY Russian thing… it’s even more of a strange taste to most Americans than lutefisk is… REALLY!), at least.

Coat of arms of Yamal-Nenetsia

Let’s also meet Yamal Iri, who’s from the Nenets people of the Far North in Yamal-Nenetsia (it’s on the Siberian mainland a bit to the southeast of Novaya Zemlya. He’s more recent than Dede Moroz (who’s a 19^th century urban Russian adaptation of older rural legends), but, he’s become just as popular with the northern peoples. Two years ago, there was a meeting of Santa, Dede Moroz, and Yamal Iri… a little fun, no? Spread out your bets… it’s the best way to ensure no disappointment!

Yamal Iri, the Dede Moroz of the Far North… now, here’s someone from REALLY near the North Pole!

Good wishes to all of you during this hectic preparation for the Feast! Let’s hope that, this year, on so-called “Black Friday”, demented and money-hungry shoppers don’t trample anyone to death. THAT was sick. Let’s just keep a sane head on our shoulders as the secularists go crazy in the annual “winter holiday”. You can actually have a great deal of fun if you approach it correctly. Don’t wish me, “Happy Holidays”… it’s “Merry Christmas”, and “A Happy New Year”… preferably, both, at their proper times. Tell your near and dear ones that you love them… always a good idea, but, particularly good this time of year.

I’ll even pass you the jug… so, there! ENJOY!

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Friday 27 November 2009

Albany NY

Could this be Chukcha? If not, it’s one of his relatives!

Some of you have asked me about Chukcha, one of my stock characters (every columnist comes up with several to illustrate points, such as the late Mike Royko’s Slats Grobnik). He is a stock-figure in Russian humour, being a simple-wise man. His closest analogue in American pop culture is Jed Clampett of the old sitcom on the telly, The Beverly Hillbillies. Like Jed, Chukcha may be from the back-of-the-beyond (therefore, prone to “cement pond” and “fancy-eatin’ table” malapropisms), being from the Chukchi Republic in the extreme east of the country (above the Arctic, no less), but, he knows which end is up, and don’t try to prove otherwise, by God.

Here is a typical Chukcha story:

“Chukcha has gone to Moscow. There is socialism there. It is impressive. Everything is done for the betterment of man. However… Chukcha even saw this man”.

In short, Chukcha is no one’s fool. He knows the reality behind the showy rhetoric (sounds familiar, huh?). That is, Chukcha has character… he is real. Another figure in the Chukcha stories is the Russian geologist. The geologist plays something of the same role played by Banker Drysdale in the Beverly Hillbillies. For all his education, he is often outwitted by Chukcha, or Chukcha shows his superiority. For instance:

Chukcha and the geologist were out hunting. The geologist sighted a polar bear. Chukcha shouted, “Run!” The geologist ignored Chukcha and shot the polar bear. Chukcha came up, shaking his head. “Russian hunter, bad hunter. Now, we have to drag bear 20 kilometres back to village. However… Russian can drag bear all by himself”. Chukcha stamped off…

Of course, Chukcha and his friends probably showed up after the Russian had been forced to drag the bear long enough to learn a lesson. One of the identifying “tags” of Chukcha is the word “odnako” (“however”). Chuk’s wisdom usually follows.

What would Chukcha think of the Syosset gang in the OCA? For that matter, what would Jed Clampett say? “Oo dawgie… I WOULDN’T do THAT if I were you”. Reflect on the fact that the SVS/Syosset mob is made up of the “educated and sophisticated”, whilst Chukcha and Jed are “ignorant and simple”.

My money is on Chukcha and Jed… what about you?

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Thursday 24 September 2009

Albany NY

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (1952- ) with Aleksandr Zaldostanov (“The Surgeon”), head of the Nochnye Volki (Night Wolves) Motorcycle Club. Leather wings… ease on down the road!

Today, there was an unusual caller at the headquarters of the Nochnye Volki (Night Wolves) Motorcycle Club. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin came to visit the bikers’ club-house. The club-members described to the premier the preparations for a motorcade to Sevastopol where there will be a bike rally dedicated to the Black Sea Fleet. Mr Putin met the President of the Night Wolves M. C., Aleksandr Zaldostanov (better known by his nickname, “The Surgeon”), at the entrance of the club. “The Surgeon” told the premier that the 13th International Bike Show will take place on 10-11 July in Sevastopol. The show is not only dedicated to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, but, also, to the 65^th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the Fascist aggressors.

This year’s show will be attended by bikers not only from Russia, but, also, from neighbouring countries all over Europe. The bulk of the riders, on several thousand motorcycles, have already left Moscow. The Surgeon told Mr Putin that the headliners of the event in Sevastopol will be the rock group Alisa, their song Nebo Slavyan (Slavic Skies) is the theme of the rally. Aleksandr showed the premier on the map the route of the procession, which is to run through Oryol, Kursk, and other Russian and Ukrainian cities. The bikers asked Mr Putin to sign the map, and he did so zestfully. The Night Wolves handed the premier a picture with the logo of club, Mr Putin, in turn, presented them with a big Russian flag. Then, the riders showed off their “iron horses” for the premier. Mr Putin admitted that he tried to ride a motorcycle recently.

Mr Putin:

I tired to ride one of these things recently.

The Surgeon:

Yes, I heard you did.

Mr Putin:

The rear wheel bucked up and it hit another bike. Everything was a mess.

The Surgeon:

I hope that you weren’t “spooked”, as they say. But, you didn’t give up on the bike, and I hope that you don’t just keep it in the garage.

In Sevastopol, the Wolves shall be accompanied by popular Russian musicians. In addition to Konstantin Kinchev and Alisa, the groups Aria, Pilot, Korol i Shut (The King and The Jester), Mongol Shuudan, and Igor Kupriyanov (ex-Chorny Kofe (Black Coffee)). A particularly-honoured guest of the festival shall be the Ukrainian rock-band Bratya Karamazovy (The Brothers Karamazov). (The Brothers were an important part of the missionary rock-tour of the Ukraine by Deacon Andrei Kuraev sponsored by the MP last year: editor’s note)

Fr Vsevolod Chaplin, the Deputy Head of the MP Department of External Church Relations, told Voice of Russia World Service that the MP supports the action of the Night Wolves. “Many of the bikers are faithful Christians, we see quite a bit of them as they are often at services. When the leaders of the Night Wolves M. C. told the Patriarch about their plans to go to Sevastopol, His Holiness listened with great interest and gave them his blessing”.

The rally shall be in anticipation of the visit to Kiev by Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all Russia. The column of bikers shall roll through Russia and the Ukraine, picking up new riders as it goes along. Bikers from Byelorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria are expected to join the cavalcade. In addition to all of this, the bikers have invited several of the veterans of the Battle of Sevastopol to participate in the event, in commemoration of the 65^th anniversary of the liberation of the hero-city.

7 July 2009

Igor Siletsky

Voice of Russia World Service

http://ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=120316&cid=22&p=07.07.2009 (in Russian)

All during this week, Russians celebrate the festival of Maslenitsa (“Butter Week”). This tradition came to us from time immemorial. The celebration of this festival began many centuries ago, to the pagan Slavs, it symbolised the end of the cold days of winter. Therefore, the main food eaten during the festivities is blini (leavened buckwheat pancakes), round and golden as the sun. Maslenitsa was always celebrated, come what may, there was even a saying, “Indeed, no matter what, we swear to observe the Butter Week!” With the advent of Christianity, this tradition took on new meaning. True, at first, the Church struggled against the festivities, but, then, it decided to change its anger at a pagan holdover into an acceptance of a native folk custom.

“Today, the Orthodox Church sees Maslenitsa as a holiday with significance for all mankind”, said Fr Georgy Ryabykh. “Maslenitsa is, first of all, a time of meetings, contact, and rehabilitation of long-sundered relationships. It is a time of reconciliation, it strengthens ties of kinship and friendship, and it overcomes loneliness, old grievances, and differences. The festival is only a form; it is just a means to achieve these goals. Moreover, it would be correct and important to emphasise this facet of the celebration of Maslenitsa, reconciliation, friendship, and harmony”.

Although it was originally pagan, Maslenitsa has a solid place in the calendar, including for those who are deeply religious, for it heralds the beginning of the Great Eater Lent. During Butter Week, or, as it is called in the Orthodox canons, “Cheese Week”, believers abstain from meat, preparing themselves for the 48-day Lent, during which the Church strongly advises against the use of any animal-based food (i.e., animal oils, milk, cheese , eggs and other things, not to mention wine). Maslenitsa became an occasion to have some fun before the rigours of the long weeks of abstinence.

In Moscow, “Great Maslenitsa” is marked in a big way. Vasilievsky Spusk in Red Square beomes the centre of the holiday festivities, and the “Pancake Town” is located here. According to folk tradition, every day of Maslenitsa has its own name and meaning. Therefore, there is a special and distinct programme carried out in the Pancake Town for every day of the feast. For example, on Monday, they glorify the coming of Maslenitsa, singing song and dance round dances, so, the first day is called “the meeting”. The merriest and most fun day, the fourth of the feast, is called “Rowdy Thursday”. This day begins with fun competitions, such as the pancake speed-eating contests.

Maslenitsa ends on March 1, “Forgiveness Sunday”, when, according to Russian custom, we ask forgiveness from everyone for all the sins we committed during the past year, whether we did so wittingly or unwittingly, resulting in offence and distress. On Sunday, a Maslenitsa Parade shall pass on the central streets of the capital with orchestras, drummers, clowns on stilts, circus performers, acrobats and organ-grinders. By the way, the Moscow festival “Great Maslenitsa” officially listed in the catalogue of famous international carnival celebrations. Meanwhile, Maslenitsa is expanding its reach; the first Maslenitsa festivities in London will take place on 1 March (all those who want to eat Russian pancakes and party in the Russian style will be able to do so on to the square in front of the London City Hall). Next year, Maslenitsa will be noted in other European cities, as well.

24 February 2009

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=103470&cid=22&p=24.02.2009 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

Did your parish note “Rowdy Thursday?” If not, shame on you! Orthodoxy is not just canon-quoting, severe fasts, and long faces. Orthodoxy is joyous and FUN! This is why neophytes should stay away from reading for at least a year or two, at the minimum. Live our life; enter into the rhythms of it all. You won’t learn our life and faith by sticking your nose in a book. Attend the services (and leave the service-book at home, please, it shall not help), do good to those about you, help bake the kulichi and make the paskha, and hoover out the church-hall. God shall honour all of that far more than any prideful and arrogant reading of things beyond you.

SMILE! It’s what God expects from you, after all. We are His beloved children; we are not His oppressed prisoners…

Maslenitsa at the Mariinsky is a festival staged every year at the famous Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Today, the musical festival opens on 23 February for the fifth time. The buffet of the theatre offers blini (buckwheat pancakes), whilst a fairy tale about the daughter of Moroz (Frost) and Vesna (Spring), the opera Snegurochka (The Snow Maiden) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is presented on the stage. This is a tradition of at the Mariinsky Theatre at the start of Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week. It reflects the ancient sense of a feast of a send-off to winter and a welcome to spring through the offering pancakes. Indeed, the round pancakes symbolise the sun.

Russian Maslenitsa has always been marked in different ways. It is a mixture of various folkloric and religious traditions. In fact, it is the last week before the rigorous and great Easter Lent, which is observed by many Christians. Concerning the peculiarities of the feast, Valery Gergiev, the head of the Mariinsky Theatre, noted, “We wish to revive and affirm the secular traditions of this holiday, Maslenitsa, with balls, dramas, and moderately-priced concerts”. Maestro Gergiev went on to say, “It seems to me that the Maslenitsa holiday is quite promising and it should be appropriately linked with the musical and theatre panorama of St Petersburg. We plan to celebrate the festival with gusto”.

This tradition, which is being revived by the Mariinsky Theatre, was marked in a grand manner for centuries, especially when St Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire. Some of the secular aspects of Maslenitsa were masked balls at the palaces of the city and the most renowned actors appeared on the stages of all the theatres. At present, the Mariinsky Theatre is capable of satisfying the highest demands for the feast. Amongst these is presenting as many performances as possible during the one week of Maslenitsa! Among the exclusive offerings by Valery Gergiev and his ensemble are 14 presentations and concerts on the stage. One of them is one of the best productions of the theatre, the opera The Magic Flute by Mozart, during which audience sits on the stage and the actors walk in the hall. Another item in the programme is a performance by the world famous violinist Maksim Vengerov and the famous group Virtuosi Moskvy. The festival also includes the revival of the age-old Russian tradition of student balls. The Mariinsky Theatre is staging a ball at St Petersburg University. Its programme includes not only music and dances, but, also food and fireworks at night!

23 February 2009

Olga Bugrova

Larissa Roshchina

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=103287&cid=22&p=23.02.2009 (in Russian)

Maslenitsa isn’t just in Russia anymore! Maslenitsa celebration in Melbourne, Australia in 2006.

Despite the world crisis, Moscow is hosting the traditional Maslenitsa Pancake Week Festival in the week preceding the beginning of the Easter Lent, from 23 February to 1 March. The Pancake Week Festival is a big event in the cultural life of Moscow and the whole of Russia. Grigori Antyufeyev, the Chairman of the Moscow Tourism Committee, spoke at a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. “Pancake Week has become a flamboyant national holiday in recent years and is celebrated with as much glitz as New Year. ‘Pancake Week’ in Moscow has been included in international catalogues of festivals and holidays in Europe and the world, and the holiday is attracting ever more interest abroad. On Shrove Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, and this is 1 March this year, London is hosting a Pancake Festival at the initiative of City Mayor Boris Johnson. The event, to be held with the participation of Moscow government officials, presents a good opportunity for the British public to learn more about Russian cultural traditions, which originated more than one thousand years ago”.

Not only Russian Orthodox celebrate at this time, but, so do our Greek co-religionists! A scene from the closing ceremony of the Patras Festival, which is much like our Russian maslenitsa. Yiasou! Opa!

On the programme of the Pancake Week Festival in Moscow are outdoor festivities, folk and pop concerts, theatrical shows, games, rides on horseback, Pancake rituals, and of course, feasts featuring traditional blini or pancakes and other treats from the Russian cuisine. The Pancake Week Festival originated in pre-Christian Russia as a holiday to say good-bye to winter and to welcome in spring. The symbol of the festival was a straw doll that was in the center of festivities first and was burned in a fire after. Blini or pancakes were a necessary ingredient of the holiday, round-shaped, golden-brown, and hot, they symbolised the sun.

During the Pancake Week, which is just before Lent, believers don’t eat meat, but, on Wednesday and Friday they are allowed to drink milk and eat eggs and cheese. The Orthodox Church warns, however, that merry-making should not be the ultimate aim of Pancake Week, although the feast unites people through warmth and hospitality, according to Fr Georgy, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate. Moscow has always been famous for its openness and hospitality. Any passer-by was welcome to have a treat. Pancake Week is a time to see friends, rebuild ruined relations, and forget old grievances. The festive friendly atmosphere encourages unity and accord, which is so crucial at a time of financial and social downturn.

13 February 2009

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=40426&cid=59&p=13.02.2009 (in English)

Moscow, 13 February 2009 (Interfax):

Orthodox believers should think on how to fill St Valentine’s Day with Christian meaning creatively rather than aimlessly hurl outrage at this holiday, according to Hieromonk Dmitri Pershin, the head of the Information and Publishing Branch of the Synodal Youth Department. “When we disapprove of St Valentine’s Day, we give it away to contraception promoters. As a case in point, sex-education studies were held last year on this day in educational establishments of Pskov and Chelyabinsk”, he told our Interfax-Religion correspondent. In his opinion, missionaries should rejoice, since “public attention is focused precisely on a Christian saint, not Venus, Amour, or some kind of Indian Kama Sutra. It’s our page in the book of world history. This saint really lived. According to Church tradition, Bishop Valentine of Terni led pagan youth keen on philosophy to Christ, and for doing this, he was killed in 258 together with his disciples”, Fr Dmitri pointed up.

He believes it’s nice that children fall in love and exchange Valentine’s cards. “Another thing that we have to show them is how one dissolves earthly love in heavenly joy”, he went on to say. “We need to learn how to see God’s providence in history. The Lord grants us possibilities, windows, and occasions to come to our youth, to talk to young people, to ask about their concerns. We have a subject for talking with children at schools, we know what to say about St Valentine and about love”, Fr Dmitri believed. Commenting on the disputes over St Valentine’s Day, he suggested, “We should change the conversation to another plane. Instead of talks about immorality, we should focus on the theme that when God started to speak with newly-created Adam, he blessed him to love, to conceive, and to give birth to children, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it“.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=28833 (in Russian)

What is Maslanitsa? It is Carnival, Fasching, and Mardi Gras all rolled into one, and more! It is a time of great fun before we settle down to the Easter Lent. So, I decided to post this video of Maslanitsa doings from a Cossack town. This year, Maslanitsa runs from 23 February to 1 March. Then… boiled potatoes and stewed prunes… it’s Lent, yet again!

Don’t forget… God wants us to enjoy the legitimate pleasures of life. Therefore… ENJOY the life He has given you!

President Dmitri Medvedev visited the Vologda Kremlin, which houses a famous collection of lacework. During his examination of the exhibition, the president was astonished at fine craftsmanship of the master lace-makers. “I now understand why these crafts are not common amongst men. They have less patience [than women do]“, Mr Medvedev said after visiting the exhibition. However, Ludmila Korotaeva, the General Director of the Vologda Kremlin, who conducted the tour of the exhibition, said that recently a man competed in a lace-making competition, and he could fabricate lace as well as any woman.

The Vologda Kremlin has a collection of over 3,000 items crafted by Vologda master lace-makers. Amongst the collection is gold lace from the 17^th and 18^th centuries, which are the oldest items on exhibition. One of the halls of the museum showcases Vologda bobbin lacework. Such items are often more than 3 metres (@10 feet) in length. In the shops, such a masterpiece will cost about 30,000 roubles (851 USD. 660 euros. 592 UK pounds).

The Vologda Whitestone Kremlin, which has been named a federal architectural monument, includes buildings that represent the religious and civil architecture of the 16^th through the 19^th centuries. The oldest structure in the Vologda Kremlin is the Cathedral of St Sophia, built in the 16^th century on the orders of Tsar Ivan Grozny. It is modelled on the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin. A bell-tower next to the cathedral rises to a height of over 78 metres (256 feet). The Vologda Kremlin has an area of more than 10,000 square metres (2.5 acres), and it contains natural-science, historical, and art museums, as well as other exhibition halls, which contain more than 400,000 pieces of art, including ancient icons, manuscripts, early printed books, and articles crafted by Vologda silversmiths.

11 February 2009

RIA-Novosti

http://www.rian.ru/society/20090211/161804828.html (in Russian)

A statue of the Canadian “groundhog”, Wiarton Willie, in Wiarton ON. It started as a spoof in the 50s by a bunch of partying Canucks anxious to help a journalist with a story, and it just GREW. Alas, the original Willie died at the ripe old age of 22 in 1999, but, Wee Willie is carrying on the tradition.

In the last few years, Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog has made one wrong forecast after another. The American tradition, which marked its 122^nd anniversary on 2 February, states that if on that day, if the groundhog leaves the burrow where he was hibernating and he sees his shadow, which happens if the sun is shining, spring is still a long way away.

Regardless of the groundhog, the weather in Russia is still colder than in the United States, even in Pennsylvania, a state in the north-east that is the home locale of all the Punxsutawney Phil groundhogs over the years. However, now, the two countries share a problem. The second stage of the economic crisis has set in, when unemployment requires more urgent attention than the banking system. The unemployment rate in the United States is the same as in other countries. In early 2008, it was 4.9 percent in the United States as compared to 7.2 percent today. In the European Union (EU), the figures are 6.8 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively. In the estimate of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Russia also has up to 7 percent unemployed, just like in Europe and America.

The US administration’s measures are becoming increasingly “socialist”. For the time being, everything is concentrated around “Obama’s package”, which is worth almost 900 billion USD (32.641 trillion roubles. 701.46 billion euros. 623.43 billion UK pounds). The package was approved by the House last week, and should be endorsed by the Senate this week. It contains simple, but, smart measures, such as a long-term loan of 1,500 USD (54,454 roubles. 1,170 euros. 1,039 UK pounds) per capita for the purchase of a truck or car. Washington is hoping that even such a small sum will help restore the sales of US cars, which have fallen one-third as compared with these in 2007. Needless to say, this is somewhat different from the prohibitive car import duties that have been introduced in Russia. In effect, this is a reverse action aimed at supporting domestic car-makers, but, it will produce the same effect.

We will see the positive results of Obama’s package at the end of the year or later. However, analysts are already talking about the failure of the previous package by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. At the Davos World Economic Forum It was described as a “failure” by Joseph E. Stiglitz, who won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. His assessments of unexpected crises have been uncannily accurate. He said that the first 700 billion USD (25.412 trillion roubles. 546.21 billion euros. 484.89 billion UK pounds) given over to the banks was wasted, for they did not resume any loans. Professor Stiglitz likes the idea of setting up a special bank for problematic assets by buying them from the banks even less. As a result, they will simply run bankrupt, because banks are kept afloat by the problematic assets for which they may still get something in the future. Once again, we can draw unpleasant parallels with the EU and Russia, where banks are reluctant to issue loans, and nobody knows what to do with bad assets. Should they be written off as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested in Davos? What will happen with the banks in this case? That should be thoroughly analysed.

Professor Stiglitz doesn’t like Obama’s plan either. He explained that it would lead the United States to the third stage of the crisis, an unacceptable internal debt up to 10 trillion USD (363.029 trillion roubles. 7.803 trillion euros. 6.927 trillion UK pounds) and a budget deficit of 1.4 trillion USD (50.824 billion roubles. 1.092 billion euros. 970 million UK pounds). These figures are unprecedented since the end of World War II. Interest rates on this debt that will have to be paid to American creditors are a third problem (in addition to finances and unemployment). In this case, many nations, not only the Americans, will wish they could hibernate together with Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog for a long time to come, because the ideas of how to extricate themselves out of the crisis have been very similar everywhere so far.

2 February 2009

Dmitri Kosyrev

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20090202/119930141.html (in English)