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Concerning the creator: For lovers of Russian tradition, folklore, and historical past, Kotar’s work is a treasure. The grandson of White Russian immigrants, the 34-year-old is an creator of epic fantasy novels impressed by Russian fairy tales. You may see his 4 books right here on Amazon.
He’s additionally a deacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, knowledgeable translator, and choir director on the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, the place he lives. Right here is his bio from his weblog, the place he writes about many facets of Russia. We extremely advocate following it and subscribing to his electronic mail listing to get unique materials.
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Stereotypes are a humorous factor. On the one hand, they’re typically not more than caricatures. Alternatively, there’s a shocking quantity of bitter fact to a few of them. Just like the Russians say with their morbid humor, “In each joke, there’s a little bit of a joke.”
That is particularly attention-grabbing once we contemplate outdated Rus. We don’t have a lot to go on, traditionally talking, apart from chronicles, treaties, and some bits of birch bark.
Nonetheless, Russians have preserved some attention-grabbing stereotypes concerning the inhabitants of outdated Russian cities. Whether or not there’s any fact to them or not is nearly irrelevant. They’re fascinating, revealing a window to a world lengthy gone, but nonetheless persisting within the habits and personalities of at present’s Russians. (Right here’s the unique Russian article that I translated)
EVERYONE IN GREAT NOVGOROD IS A REBEL
Novgorod’s rebelliousness is famous. The picture of a brawling Novgorodian is nearly a calling card of town. The rationale this stereotype took place has to do with the outdated chronicles. They had been stuffed with illustrations of the fixed arguments on the Novgorodian Veche, a type of in style meeting that met within the central sq.. (See my translation of “Martha the Mayoress” for a vivid fictionalized instance).
In fact, there have been arguments and even fights through the Veche. Nonetheless, they didn’t continuously devolve into fist-fights, because the legends recommend. Naturally, the chroniclers would select probably the most vivid and bloody examples from historical past as an example their level. In spite of everything, Novgorod was typically an opponent of Kiev and, later, Moscow. However in precise truth, the inhabitants of Nice Novgorod had been fiercely loyal to their authorities and beloved their metropolis. Compromise was the order of the day, not damaged heads. Plus, they had been greater than normally literate.
EVERYONE IN PSKOV IS A THIEF OR A MORON
Even in trendy occasions, Pskovians have needed to endure numerous jokes about their crudeness, stupidity, and their lack of excellent manners. This will or might not be true. As for his or her lack of manners, that’s totally a matter of hats. The inhabitants of Pskov, it doesn’t matter what their social standing, infrequently doffed their cap earlier than anybody (which is extraordinarily unhealthy kind in outdated Rus). Nonetheless, this wasn’t crudity or unhealthy breeding.
It was once {that a} hat symbolized one’s private dignity. In Pskov specifically, to truly take off your hat meant to be shamed. It could be a bastardization of the extra typically accepted rule that if another person took your hat off your head, that was a horrible insult.
EVERYONE IN NIZHNI NOVGOROD IS A DRUNKARD
The painful subject of Russian alcoholism grew to become particularly related in Nizhni Novgorod on the finish of the seventeenth century. A type of epidemic of alcoholism rose up, and it was regular to see girls in addition to males mendacity within the streets in a drunken stupor. International vacationers recounted after their visits to Nizhni Novgorod that “Russians don’t do something however feast.”
In fact, they did greater than feast. However on holidays, Russians have all the time allowed themselves some excesses. It’s not totally honest to single out Nizhni Novgorod, when alcoholism nonetheless is the gravest downside going through Russia at present, as in olden occasions.
EVERYONE IN VLADIMIR IS A CRIMINAL
This stereotype appeared very early. It’s simple to know. Vladimir itself had 5 prisons, together with the well-known “Vladimir Central Jail.” From the start, Vladimirians have been thought of con artists who like a harmful life. It didn’t assist that the trail to Siberia for exiled convicts went by Vladimir. It was even known as the “Vladimirka.”
Exiled convicts stopped in Vladimir to have half their heads shaved (a scene vividly recounted within the wonderful Russian movie The Siberian Barber). Then they’d be branded as exiles or thieves, clapped in irons, and set upon the street to Siberia. In outdated occasions, the trail may take so long as two years, and people two years weren’t counted as a part of their allotted time.
Vladimir itself, for all that, was a typical sufficient provincial city.
EVERYONE IN ROSTOV IS AN ARTISAN
When a Russian hears the phrase “finift’” (enameling), he instantly thinks of Rostov. Nothing may change the outdated stereotype that each inhabitant of historic Rostov labored within the enameling guild. That’s full nonsense, in fact. To begin with, the very best enamellists in outdated Rus had been as a rule in Kiev, the capital metropolis. There have been additionally some well-known artisans in Pskov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, and Nice Novgorod.
The one distinction is that Rostov alone has preserved the standard strategies of enameling since historic occasions. Even at present, there’s a manufacturing facility producing enameled work. Maybe for that reason alone, vacationers nonetheless go to Rostov solely to see enameled packing containers.
THE INDUSTRIOUS YARSOLAVIAN
The industrious muzhik from Yaroslavl is a picture that we even discover in Gogol. From the occasions of Rus, Yaroslavians had been often called individuals who had been by no means apathetic, lazy, or liable to tiredness. As an alternative, they’re identified to be energetic to a manic diploma. This will have one thing to do with the odd custom that Yaroslav is a metropolis of buried treasure.
Apparently, wherever you flip, you see somebody uncovering a jewellery field or making an attempt to interrupt into an historic chest of drawers. Maybe slightly extra critically, Yaroslavians have lengthy been often called “chicks of the cuckoo.” In different phrases, they’re greater than normally able to leaving their homeland with out a lot remorse. This high quality has a transparent historic origin.
Yaroslav was constructed on the crossroads of historic roads—a path utilized by retailers from Scandinavia all the best way to the Arab lands. From the center of the sixteenth century, Yarsolavl grew to become a very powerful middle for commerce in all of Rus. This fixed motion typically impressed younger Yaroslavians to check out their luck in overseas lands.
True or not, such stereotypes make for fascinating tales. For myself, the “fable” of the boisterous Novgorodian involves life in my third novel, The Coronary heart of the World, in a semi-fictionalized setting of the Veche that goes fabulously mistaken for all involved.
Supply: Nicholas Kotar
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