History Comes to Life

Hello everyone! I hope you’ve been trying your best to stay warm and keep a positive attitude – you’ve made it through the worst of winter – now just hold on a few more months! You can do it.

I know that most hardcore Midwesterners sometimes have to escape the winter blues by going on a tropical vacation right about now. If you’ve got one coming up – great! We’ll enjoy seeing your sun burnt faces and be jealous of your fruity drinks and palm tree pictures on Facebook. If you don’t have a tropical destination lined up, might I suggest somewhere to go? I’m thinking of a place warmer than where you are now, with a rich cultural history to learn about, warm and delicious comfort food, plenty of vodka to make you feel like you’re on spring break, and the added bonus of seeing a two month old kitten and yours truly? Why yes, I’m talking about coming to Russia. In the winter.

Crazy as that may sound, I actually had the privilege of spending the past few weekends with two brave Midwesterners who did just that. And as they pointed out, it truly was warmer here in Russia than in Minnesota. The day after I returned from Germany, my former UWGB professor and her research assistant landed in Moscow for a two and a half week research trip. I would have never imagined that four years ago, sitting in Professor Sherman’s History of Modern Russia course, I would someday be living in Russia and meeting up with her in Moscow. Funny how the world works. Accompanying her was Natasha, a fellow UWGB history major graduate. They were planning to conduct archaeological research at Moscow State University throughout the week, then spend the weekends sightseeing. I was only to happy to tag along on their excursions, not only for the company but also for the invaluable knowledge Professor Sherman provided, as she has spent most of her adult life studying, teaching, researching, and writing about Russia.

So the three of us history nerds (it’s okay, you can say it) met up for dinner the first weekend they arrived, and made plans to visit a very famous monastery in the town of Sergiev Ploschad the next day. I ended up telling some of my friends about our plans and invited them along. We met up at the train station and boarded the electrichka, or commuter train, the next morning, and rode it to our destination, about an hour outside of Moscow. It was the first time I had ever been outside of a Russian city, and I hadn’t realized how nice it was to see fields, trees, and regular houses again. There was a light snow falling as well, which created the perfect atmosphere for a winter day trip.

The crew in front of the monastery.

Entrance to the monastery. 

We received a mini history lesson from Professor Sherman on the ride out to the monastery. St. Sergius, the patron saint of Moscow, started out as a humble monk who decided he wanted to retreat into the forest to live out his life in peace. Ironically, though this act marked his holiness and devotion to his God, he was so good at being holy that he unintentionally created a following. People wanted his wisdom and inspiration, which led to them seeking him out in the forest, where he had built a small wooden church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Eventually his one little church grew to the creation of an enclosed monastery, with many buildings and monks dedicated to Sergius’ followings. In the 14^th century, this monastery became “a dynamic center of spiritual teaching and the greatest religious house in the land.” However, despite all his fame and glory, Sergius himself continued to live humbly and simply. After his passing, his remains stayed at the monastery, thus turning it into a pilgrimage site. The monastery has remained one of the holiest places for the Russian Orthodox Church, and even today the importance of St. Sergius’ legacy continues. The day we were there, the line to pray in front of him was out the door and into the cold, but people still waited.

Trinity Sergius Lavra church. 

The monastery was beautiful, especially in the snow and a little bit of sun that graced us with its presence. Professor Sherman arranged for an English speaking guide to teach us more about what we were seeing. We saw the church where Ivan the Terrible had been baptized, and the areas where the current monks still live today. We were able to enter some of the chapels and buildings with her, where she taught us more about church traditions and iconography. In Russian Orthodoxy, it is not allowed to adorn churches with figures and statues representing holy figures, so instead they have developed a rich tradition of paintings and icons to decorate the church with. Icons are pictures of saints, identified by the golden circle behind their heads, in front of which people pray to for help and guidance. Icons, along with the exotic smell of incense, are the two main characteristics of Russian Orthodox churches. It is also respectful for women to cover their heads with scarves while in a church or monastery. 

Some of the painted icons inside one of the monastery's churches. 

The best wooden toy models in the land. 

It’s always interesting to me to note the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity, as both still follow the same teachings and stories from the Bible, yet they have observed different protocol and traditions ever since the Great Schism of 1054 in Constantinople. Another example of a deviation from Catholicism is the absence of pews or seats in Russian Orthodox churches. Those who are unable to stand through an entire service may stand, but generally they stand, as they believe they will be closer to God throughout worship. As always, I appreciated the opportunity to learn such things firsthand, and we all enjoyed our day together at the monastery very much. We were also approached by a woman as we were leaving Sergiev Ploschad who wanted us to hold some little painted wooden toys she had, then take our picture with them in front of the monastery. We humored her, without really understanding why she was asking us. Perhaps our faces will be plastered all over billboards someday? You never know.

The next weekend was an even bigger adventure. After a week of teaching and researching, respectively, Professor Sherman had organized for me, Natasha, and herself to go on a weekend trip to Tula, a city about 2 hours outside of Moscow by train. We would spend the first day at Yasnaya Polyana to visit Count Leo Tolstoy’s estate and house, then the next day venture further to Kulikovo Polya, the site of the famous medieval Battle of Kulikovo.

The birch-lined path leading up to Tolstoy's house. 

Our day at Yasnaya Polyana was very inspiring. We learned a lot about Tolstoy and his impressive life, which not only included his writing prowess, but also his intense desire for learning and knowledge. He mastered well over six languages, and achieved reading competency in about fifteen languages by the time of his death, and he usually spent about five hours a day reading books and working in his study. His estate has miraculously survived the Soviet period, thanks to an approval from Stalin himself to preserve the land, as well as survived the German invasion, as they used his house briefly for their headquarters instead of destroying it. The original furniture and belongings were sent to Siberia for protection, and upon their return they have been replaced as close to reality as possible, using old photographs and evidence. It was almost eerie to see a picture of Tolstoy sitting at his study, then to look directly in front of you and see the exact place he sat. There were no pictures allowed inside, sorry I can't show you. You'll just have to add it to the itinerary when you come visit me. 

View from Tolstoy's balcony. 

A glimpse of the village on Tolstoy's estate. 

Yasnaya Polyana is also a small village, where Tolstoy’s workers and serfs lived while working on the estate. However, Tolstoy was vehemently opposed to the concept of serfdom, and believed that all men should be free. (Yet, characteristic of his contradictory nature, he also had about 350 serfs at Yasnaya Polyana.) His trips to Western Europe, especially France in the mid 19^th century, had a profound effect on him as he learned more about events such as the French revolution. He returned to Russia and set up a free children’s school for his serfs’ children, where he himself was a teacher for some time, and continued to establish schools throughout his life in the region. He was born into privilege but did not let it affect him as it could have. He loved nature, riding his horses, entertaining, and of course, his studies. Throughout his later life, he was so outspoken and objective against the Russian Orthodox Church that he was excommunicated, therefore buried not in a church cemetery, but out in the woods near his house. It was a fantastic to learn more about this great man while walking on the same grounds he must have set foot on over a century ago.

Marking the grave of Leo Tolstoy, buried in the woods he loved so much.

After a chilly day of walking around the estate we enjoyed a warm, hearty Russian meal and an early bedtime in preparation for the next day. In the morning, after we woke up and had our Russian breakfast – I had blini, which are a crepe-like pancake, and Natasha and Professor Sherman had kasha, which is an oatmeal-like dish made with buckwheat and milk – we were met by Sergei, our guide, and Olga, our translator. Sergei is an archaeologist who has worked on dig sites at Kulikovo Field, and currently works at the local museum in Tula. Olga is a history student studying at the university in Tula who also works as a freelance English translator. So yes, as you may have realized, now we had a whole car full of history nerds. We know how to stick together.

Our excursion for the day would take us beyond Tula, across the forest region, and all the way to the Lower Don River and the edge of the Russian steppe. It was one of the coldest days in Russia I had experienced thus far, with the snow so crisp it crunched underneath our boots. It was a stunningly beautiful winter day, and as we began our drive we were treated with a ‘snow dog,’ or ‘phantom sun.’ It was so impressive that Sergei pulled over so that we could take pictures. Upon doing more research (thanks Wikipedia) I learned that sun dogs are most commonly created from the refraction of light from ice crystals, especially in very cold weather, when these crystals “drift in the air at low levels.” Either way, it was cool. We considered it a good omen for the day.

Our first stop of the day was at a cute little ethnological museum in the tiny village of Epiphan. We toured a former merchant's two story wooden house, learning about traditional Russian ways of life and admiring the well preserved furniture and nineteenth century objects. Then were treated to snacks and tea from a traditional samovar, which is what Russians traditionally used to boil water for tea and cooking. Today there are electric samovars, but the most authentic ones still use coal or other sources of fire to heat the water from the inside. Here we are enjoying our tea with Olga 1 (our translator) and Olga 2 (standing) , our guide at the Epiphan museum. 

The next stop was Kulikovo Polya, or Kulikovo Field. During the drive Sergei and Olga took us back to the times of medieval Russia – think 10^th or 11^th century – when there were nothing but tribes living on the lands we were driving over. We were in the region where the forest met the Steppe, a flat southern lowland that extended hundreds of kilometers across Russia. The Slavic tribes from the south west intermingled with the Baltic tribes from the west, but soon on their way were the Mongol and Tartar tribes, from the east. Sergei explained how the Mongols had been working their way west as fierce warriors in the 12^th and 13^th centuries, establishing a kingdom known as the Golden Horde in the southeastern region of Europe. Though there were many battles and skirmishes, a serious conflict ensued in the late 14^th century, as the Mongols sought to take advantage of the unstable tribal lands in the north, and soon word came that a Mongol army, led by Mamai, was on its way towards Moscow. They headed north, camped out at the edge of the Steppe and the bank of the Don River, and waited. My captions have suddenly decided not to work, so the picture below is the shadow of Professor Sherman and I standing and looking out over the frozen Don River. The Don is one of the most important rivers in Russia, where some of the earliest evidence of life in Russia has been found.  

On the opposing side, Prince Dimitry Donskoi of Moscow, gathered his forces. The army of Moscow “was joined by armies from most of other Russian principalities, including Tver, Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Polotsk, Murom and Beloozero.” Prince Dimitry went to St. Sergius (yes, the same St. Sergius from the previous weekend) for a blessing before the battle. He and the army were blessed, then they rode out and crossed the Don to meet the Mongols. Below: Prince Dimitry receiving the blessing. 

As this point, we were at the museum of the Kulikovo Battle. After admiring archaeologica relics from the battlefield (one relic was even found by Sergei himself) and reconstructions of armor and decor, we ended up in front of a model of the battlefield. Sergei knew his stuff so well that he diagrammed the battle for us using his hands. The entire battle didn’t last much longer than three hours, but it manifested the skill and technique Prince Dimitry and his men had employed, resulting in a victory for Russia. Moscow was saved.

Today, there are many monuments and churches in the area to honor the battle. For our final stop, Sergei took us to a memorial hill from where the Mamai, the Mongol leader, supposedly watched the battle, and where a church dedicated to St. Sergius stands today. After the whole day of learning about it, we could finally view the battle site. It was incredible to me how much the archaeologists have learned and pieced together about the battle, despite it taking place over seven hundred years ago. 

At this point, it was late afternoon and about 10 degrees below zero. We had our moment of silence and respect for the battlefield, then quickly walked our way back to warmth. We returned to Tula and thanked Sergei and Olga for the incredible day, then had a fast dinner before boarding the train home. It had been a great weekend, with Monday coming far too quickly. I was still processing all I had learned and seen the past two days, but I was so grateful for the opportunity to relive the past and understand more about Russia.

Another week passed, and the night before Professor Sherman and Natasha were due to leave I invited them to visit my school. They came and met some of my students, then after coming to my apartment to meet Bazarov the Kitty, we had dinner and said goodbye. It had been such a treat to see and learn more about Russia with them. They both made it back safely and are beginning their respective semesters at school now. As for me, I’m back in action with only four months left of teaching. Every time I learn something new about Russia I’m more intrigued with their rich culture and history, despite the horrors of the 20^th century. We’re all looking forward to watching the Olympics, which unfortunately I will not be able to attend due to the cost and the distance away from Moscow – I’ll be enjoying it just as much from here though, and still cheering for America, of course. We're all praying for a safe and peaceful Olympic Games, so that we can simply focus on the unity of the countries of the world and enjoy watching the best of the best compete for gold. That is what the Olympics is all about, after all, isn't it?    

Best wishes for a great February – take care everybody, and don’t forget about Russia if you’re longing for that warm winter getaway. As you can see, there is an endless amount to do and learn here, and I only have a few more months to take advantage of this intriguing country.