Leo Tolstoy and His Twitts

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If Leo Tolstoy lived today, he would probably sue Twitter for limiting his ability to express his ideas in their full length and beauty… or maybe he would not because, believe it or not, Tolstoy has written hundreds of short, yet astoundingly wise sayings, for which Twitter gurus must envy him. Here are a few of them:

  • Power of one person over another kills the powerful one first. (Власть одного человека над другим губит прежде всего властвующего.)
  • Patriotism is slavery. (Патриотизм есть рабство.)
  • Live your life so that you don’t have to be afraid of death or desire it. (Надо жить так, чтобы не бояться смерти и не желать её.)
  • I am positive that the world is being ruled by insane people. (Я серьезно убежден, что миром правят совсем сумасшедшие.)
  • Do not be afraid of lack of knowledge; be afraid of false knowledge. In it is the root of the world’s evil. (Не бойся незнания, бойся ложного знания. От него все зло.)

I will gladly share more in my future posts. I would not want to overload every poist with information, and these five short statements by the great thinker can “load” one’s mind for all day! Do you agree with me?

Relationship Tips: How to make your woman think warmly about you all day?

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Well, the answer to this one seems simple: comfort her, physically and emotionally.

If you want her to remember you again and again during the day, it makes sense to impress her with something in the morning, so she can carry her good memory of the morning with her, wherever she goes during the day. It would be a good idea to let her have something that she can keep with her to remind about you during the day.

Here are a few ideas:

– Set her favorite melody on her phone so she can hear it when she receives calls or messages (I hope it goes without saying that in some cases this would not be a good idea, if, for example, she dislikes speaking on the phone at all).

– if she usually takes lunches to work, make it for her, put in a short note for her, pack it nicely, and let her take it to her office (again, if you have been in a relationship for a while, you know her particular do’s and don’ts, so you won’t make a mistake with that lunch!).

– make her a little gift – a trinket, a small figurine to put on her working table, a pen holder – whatever you can think of, and give it to her at a very nice, tender moment, so she can associate it with your intimate relationship. Then, every time her eye falls on this little gift, she will remember you.

– buy her a pass for a beauty salon (a gym, a master class which she’d mentioned – think of anything that had been discussing or mentioned) or just get her a gift card to her favorite store and put it into her bag in an envelope which would also have a short love note from you). It will be especially pleasant to her if you do this in the morning after a great night together, or simply if you do it without a special reason, when she absolutely does not expect any gifts. She will be thrilled, I promise.

– another good idea of a present is a shawl or a kerchief – some item which she can take to her office and keep it there in case she needs to cover her shoulders.

– You can, of course, make her a bigger present – a good phone, a tablet, a laptop, or any other gadget which she will need to use every day, so it will always be with her. Remember, though, that if you want this item to associate with you in her mind, you need to build that mind connection for her. Think over the moment of giving her this gift and make sure this moment is romantic, tender, and causes her only pleasant emotions.

All these ideas go down to thinking over and preparing a nice surprise for her. If you know your woman well enough, you will come up with the right idea, no doubt. Surprise her with your tenderness, attention, and care, not the money. Women adore this. She will appreciate this, I am sure.

Fun Facts: Men VS Women

In this and a few future articles we’ll try to find out what differs men and women. To be as short and precise as possible, I’ll simply list some facts and statistics, and we can discuss them, if you like, in comments below.

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1. From the very first days of life, boys continuously move their arms and legs in cradle, while girls prefer to carefully study the world around them just with their eyes.

2. Statistically, girls start speaking at earlier age than boys.

3. Due to the work of hormones in a woman’s body, her sense of smell is about 20% sharper than that of the man. Still, nearly 80% of experts working in the industry of exquisite perfumes are men.

4. Women suffer depressions two times more often than men, and again – hormones are to be blamed for this.

5. Man’s brain is 200-350 grams heavier than the woman’s. This parameter has nothing to do with intellect, though.

Alright, these are a few little facts to think over. We’ll list more in our next posts.

How To Melt Her Heart… and Spend No Money?

If this title made you smile, it means you know what I am talking about: while a man’s heart can easily be conquered by a tasty meal and a bit of flirting, the woman’s affinity has to be earned by numerous elaborate steps, which may be quite pricey sometimes. Is there a way for a man to touch his woman’s heart without having to hack into his budget?

It seems there is a way. Try doing the following things every day during a week or so, and I am sure you will see changes in her behavior toward you, because no woman (no matter how much she likes getting presents) can remain indifferent to these signs of care and respect:

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1. Create continuous feeling of togetherness with your woman by staying in touch with her during the day (text, call, or skype her during the day to ask how her day is going). Display sincere interest in matters which are important to her, and she will be very thankful to you.

2. Find a reason to praise her for something (good cooking, a nice outfit, smart communication with a neighbor – anything) and do this once a day to let her feel she just did something really well.

3. Touch, embrace, or kiss her when she does not expect this – do it tenderly, let her feel your warmth, show her that you sincerely treasure her. You don’t have to look for any reasons to do this: just come up quietly, right when she is cooking or washing dishes, touch her by her shoulders, and kiss her hair or neck – no need to say anything, no need for a response – let her see that you do this just because being around her is a pleasure for you. Repeat it daily, and by the end of the first week you will see a big change in your communication.

4. Do something nice to her when she does not expect it. It can be anything that she traditionally does by herself. Just be there before her and do it. No words needed. (As you can see, I am not talking about bringing home flowers or putting presents on her pillow. Believe me, your simple act of doing the bed or cleaning the kitchen table after breakfast will be more appreciated than the flowers.)

5. Talk. Talk about anything that you have learned during the day. Just discuss things. Casually. Share your thoughts and listen to hers. Make her feel that her thoughts and emotions are important to you.

6. Use body language. Communicate by all extra-linguistic means you can think of. Sometimes, eyes can say a lot more than words, so do your hands and your bodies. Little by little, you will develop common body language, unless you have already done so. Develop it, make it more meaningful every day, because common body language is a way to build complete trust in each other.

These simple “exercises” are directed at developing the three basic components of every strong, long-lasting relationship: mutual respect, trust, and honest communication, which we will discuss in the future articles.

Romantic Relationship Howto: The Very First Steps

By this article I am opening a series of posts about relationships – the topic which I have been studying for decades now. Having spent many years assisting the westerners in their trips to the Russian speaking world, I have seen hundreds of couples set up and develop romantic relationships. Some of those stories were so captivating that I still keep rolling them over in my memory now and then. Now, I am glad to share my observations, they might be beneficial to the new venturers, whose tribe does not seem to dry out with time.

Alright, to begin with, let us see what precedes a relationship and what are the first steps one should take before plunging into the world of soul-mate search.

1. Prepare yourself. This sounds a bit too indubitable to even mention it here, but in practical life many people behave impulsively, without bothering themselves to decide what they really want to achieve in the end. The word “romantic”, however, does not mean “spontaneous” or “completely out of control”, so you will need to focus even here. To prepare yourself for a romantic relationship, you need to simply open a beer and (slowly and honestly) go down the following checklist:

  • Define in one word what you want to obtain from your romantic relationship (Just one word! No paltering with yourself, okay? Just one word: is it “tenderness”, or “sex”, or “togetherness”, “time-killing”, or “adventure”? Don’t hurry, think well, your beer bottle is still nearly full);
  • Make sure you are entering the relationship with open mind and clear heart, you are not doing this as a revenge to your ex; you are not doing this because all of your friends are doing this; you are doing this for yourself. You should be very independent in your commitment this time;
  • Decide how much time you will need every day (every week) to proceed with your “relationship project”. It is good not to change your time habits in favor of the relationship. This is important because if it suddenly takes too much of your time, the situation will sooner or later go out of your control and the whole “project” will fail. (Yes, it is absolutely right to be business-like even in such thing as romance, not to mention that your women will love it);
  • Select an approach. Would you like an online romance or a real-time one? How will you do it in the very beginning? Are you about to try some previously developed first meeting “tricks” or would you rather try something new? Just think it over, slowly and calmly. Take another beer, if needed.
  • Make sure you understand yourself, sexually and emotionally. Just sort it out in your mind before you begin meeting someone.
  • Try to avoid any labels and avoid comparing. There is no need to compare the new relationship with any of your past experiences, it will anyway be different from anything you have known before.

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2. You’ll need to be bold. As a Russian saying goes, Лучше сделать и жалеть, чем не сделать и жалеть (You’d better do something and regret it than not do it and regret it anyway.) Whatever you do, be yourself and never compromise your values and opinions.

3. You’ll need to be careful with such a thing as compromise. They say, compromising is good, but if you start to give in on issues early on, it sets a bad precedent for future dealings, so you’d better stay alert.

4. Also, it is good to find out about your romantic partner’s boundaries and let her know yours. During one of the first meetings, share casually about your likes and dislikes. I mean, if she or you are uncomfortable with hand-holding, public touching or anything else that may create an upsetting moment, just make sure that you are both aware of this.

5. Try to be objective with yourself and your partner; there is no need in pretending that your relationship is something more than it really is.

Well, these are very simple, general and seemingly obvious tips, but I have seen so many people who ignored them, and this caused complications at the early stages of relationships. Well, anyway, a bit of planning is not going to harm you. I hope these little tips will help.

What Distinguishes the Russian Lifestyle?

These are a few of really many specific features of Russian lifestyle, which make it so unusual for the eyes of a westerner. We will discuss more in the future articles. The illustrations you’ll see here are scenes of Russian authentic life from V.Vasnetsov’s artwork.

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1. Russians consider themselves a well-educated nation. They will be very surprised if you tell them you have not read Pushkin or Tolstoy, though, like everywhere in the world, the young generation tends to read less and devote more time to watching movies and killing time at computer screens.

2. The basic primary and secondary education programs in Russian public schools are unified by the Ministry of Education all over the country, so all kids of secondary and high school ages seem to have pretty similar knowledge about every subject they study at schools.

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3. Every Russian (Ukrainian) city has at least one theater and a concert hall. Russians are very fond of live performances. In many cases, tickets are affordable (the prices in cinemas and theaters are comparable), so, once in Russia, you should certainly try attending an opera, or a symphony concert, or a musical, a ballet, a drama, etc. If you are lucky, you can see an amazing ballet or an opera with live orchestra music for as little as $5-$10. It will certainly be worth the time and expense.

4. Since the Soviet times, Russians have an unwavering community spirit, which sometimes goes a bit beyond the limits acceptable by the westerners, but if you would like to experience it, ask your Russian friends to take you to a big party, a picnic, or a celebration.

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5. Russian culture is non-individualistic. The power of an individual in Russia is much less than in the west and most deals are pushed through family, friends and acquaintances. A famous Russian saying is, “One is not a soldier in the battlefield.”

6. To make things work in Russia, one needs to be acquainted with some people in power. This is why Russians tend to maintain more friendships than an average westerner. If you know the right people, you can arrange to have the most difficult tasks/situations resolved.

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7. The majority of Russians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Religion, however, is not a real part of their life; many attend church once in a while just to “light a candle”, which is a way to ask God for something to happen (a business deal, an exam) or to remember a deceased person, but in fact, many Russians would rather pay attention to horoscopes than to the Bible.

8. A church marriage is not official in Russia. A couple has to register their marriage with local government authorities before they are allowed to have a church ceremony performed.

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9. Health care and secondary education are free in Russia, though Russians joke that education becomes less and less free with every year. It is still possible to get a university education for free by passing the entrance exams, but the universities are decreasing the number of students who study on a free basis because of poor state financing.

10. The majority of Russians don’t have what the westerners call “good manners.” Most of the people in the streets and in offices look gloomy, and it is not common to smile to everyone who makes eye contact with you. In conversation, Russians do not hesitate to say what they think in a way that doesn’t leave room for any misunderstandings. Quite often , they do not mean to be rude, it’s just their way of doing things.

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11. Russians are used to situations where everything is unpredictable and unstable. They have to adapt to new rules and laws quickly. So do not be surprised if you plan a dozen of meetings throughout a week, and only one or two of them will really happen. It is quite common for Russians to cancel a meeting in the very last moment under the pressure of some unexpected circumstances.

12. Nowadays, the majority of Russian people do not really understand the huge difference between life in Russia and in the West. Very few Russians have ever been abroad, so their image of the western world is quite different from what it is really like.

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13. Russians love to complain about having a very difficult life, but still they do not consider their life miserable; many believe that things are changing for the better and “everything’s starting to work out” for their country.

14. Russians like to emphasize their different attitude towards material values and consider themselves as sincere, cordial, understanding, and unselfish. Do not be surprised if they ask you right in the face whether you like the Russians and how much you like them (expecting, of course, to hear some nice response). They like talking about the “specifics of Russian soul” or the “mysterious Russian soul,” and will certainly mention the famous phrase of a Russian poet, “You can’t understand Russia with your mind.”

15. Russians believe in the great mission of the Russian nation in this world. Even if you hear them criticize their country and life, you are not supposed to do the same, or they will start defending it furiously. They blindly believe that they are citizens of the largest county in the world, which has a very rich history, and they are proud of it.

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A Legendary Marshal and His… Women

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Semyon Budyonny (1883 – 1973) was a legendary cavalryman in Russian army, who became famous for his bravery during World War I, then defected to the Bolsheviks, continued his glorious military career to become an iconic figure of revolutionary Red Army, and later, he became a friend of Joseph Stalin and was promoted to the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1935. In World War II, he took the blame for many of Stalin’s misjudgements, but was retained in high command because of his bravery and popularity. He was a notable horse-breeder, who declared that the tank could never replace the horse as an instrument of war. However, Budyonny’s brilliant military career did not fit with his love for the family hearth, so he managed to find family happiness only on the third attempt.

The Kossak

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He married for the first time in 1903, at the age of twenty. His wife Nadezhda, a kossak’s daughter from a neighboring village was the first beauty throughout the district. They married in winter, and in autumn of the same year Budyonny joined the army. His military career progressed rapidly. The best rider of the regiment quickly earned the respect of superiors and was promoted to an officer rank. During World War I, Budyonny was awarded St. George Cross four times. But real fame came to Budyonny with the Bolsheviks. When the Civil War broke out in 1918, Budyonny organized a Red Cavalry force in the Don region, which eventually became the 1st Cavalry Army. This Army played an important role in winning the Civil War for the Bolsheviks, driving the White General Anton Denikin back from Moscow. Budyonny joined the Bolshevik party in 1919 and formed close relationships with Joseph Stalin and Klim Voroshilov. «I decided that it was better to be a marshal if the Red Army than an officer in the White Army», he used to joke later.

During the Civil War, his wife Nadezhda was always with him. Since 1917, she was in charge of the infirmary in his squad, helping to produce food and medicines for the soldiers. After the war they settled up in Moscow, in an elite multi-apartment house where only government families resided. Some rumors of that time said that “first class” life in Moscow did not work in favor of Semyon and Nadezhda’s relationship. Surrounded by the glitter of Moscow elite Nadezhda looked a bit too rustic. But the real reason was the fact that the young family did not have children, and Semyon passionately wanted tohave kids. Nadezhda used to accuse her husband of having some health problem, and finally both started having little affairs on the side and became quite indiferent to each other. An absurd tragic accident put an end to their relationship. In 1924, during a home party, Nadezhda accidentally shot herself from her husband’s gun. The tragedy occurred in the presence of several witnesses. Budyonny was deeply shocked by the death of his wife.

The Actress

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A few months after the death of his wife, a new mistress turned up in Budyonny’s home – an opera singer (at that time a student of the Conservatory), Olga Mikhailova, a beautiful, elegant young woman who knew very well what she wanted from her life. She wanted to become a famous actress, to shine and conquer all around her. She reasonably decided that a famous husband was exactly what she needed, and very soon she became a prima at the Bolshoi Theatre. But this was not Budyonny’s dream of a family life: he wanted a cozy, friendly home, with quiet evenings and, of course, children. To Olga, however, kids were a catastrophy, which would men a long break in her singing and acting career, she could not even think about turning into a housewife. And again, Budyonny was accused of inability to have kids, and the old story repeated itself. They lived together for almost 14 years, though. They would probably live longer, but suddenly, politics intervened in the case.
In the winter of 1937, Stalin called for Budyonny. He told that Olga was not behaving appropriately, compromising Budyonny and the Revolution itself. Stalin recommended Budyonny to meet with the NKVD (former name of KGB) Head, Nikolai Yezhov. Yezhov announced that, to his knowledge, Olga Mikhailova was having an intimate relationship with the artist of the Bolshoi Theatre Alexeyev; she had also been frequently seen around in the foreign embassies of Moscow, and noticed gambling at the races. Yezhov insisted that it was necessary to arrest her, interrogate and find out the details of her relationships with foreigners. Budyonny tried to intercede for his wife by saying that it was not a political case, but rather a relationship issue, but the KGB officers decided otherwise. In August of 1937, while Budyonny was away from Moscow inspecting military districts, Olga was arrested.

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She was sentenced to eight years in labor camps. Budyonny did not try to get her out of prison anymore: what he had learned about his wife from NKVD officers must have been really bewildering. During the whole time in imprisonment, Olga was treated very badly. She was hated by both, the administration and the other prisoners. In their eyes, she was a traitor, who deceived people’s hero and even more: attempted to slander him. In 1945, they added three more years to her imprisonment, and in 1948 she was sent to Krasnoyarsk region (Siberia), where the former prima of the Bolshoi worked as a cleaner in a local school.

In 1955 (after Stalin’s death in 1953), Budyonny sent a letter to KGB requesting to review the case of his second wife. Olga was released, and in 1956 she finally returned to Moscow. But after 19 years of prison she was not the same person anymore – she was old, very ill, weak, and mentally unhealthy. Her stories about how she had been raped by whole groups of NKVD officers due to the accusations of attempting to poison Marshal Budyonny, Semen always felt very uncomfortable. Olga rarely visited his house after her return to Moscow.

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The marshal himself was lucky to escape Stalin’s repressions. Once, there was an attempt to arrest him, but the brave commander opened fire, shot the officers who came to arrest him, and immediately dialed Stalin’s number. “Josef, there’s the counter-revolution taking place here! Some people just came to arrest me! I am not giving up alive!”. After this, Stalin ordered to leave Budyonny alone. He said, “This old fool is of no danger to us.”

Semyon Budyonny had never been a fool, though. He was smart and inventive enough to get along with colleagues who hated each other. He was smart enough to pretend being a fool when facing Stalin, because he needed to take care of himself and his family.

The True Love

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Right after Olga’s arrest in 1937, Budyonny took her mother Varvara Ivanovna to Moscow. It was probably the feeling of guilt for Olga which made him settle his mother-in-law to live under the same roof with him. Now and then, Varvara Ivanobvna had a guest – her young niece, Maria, who was a medical student then. From time to time, she used to help her aunt with housework. Semyon was enchanted by the girl and soon, despite the shocking difference in age (34 years), proposed to Maria.

Their marriage turned out to be surprisingly happy. At fifty, Budyonny finally got what he had always wanted: the quiet family happiness and a friendly, cozy home. When a year later, Maria gave him a gift of the first son, Semyon was literally going crazy of happiness; having been accused of inability to have children by two previous wives, he had stopped dreaming about ever having kids at all.

Another year passed, and a girl, Nina, was born. By Semyon’s 60-th birthday, Maria made him another wonderful gift – the second child, Mikhail.

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Budyonny literally dotted his wife and kids. He took all possible care to protect them, and never took Maria to the Kremlin receptions and parties. The happy family life made him youthful again. Till the end of his life he remained resilient, energetic, and healthy. At sixty, he could go down a stairs on his hands and he always remained an excellent rider. The legendary Red Army Marshal lived a long life, he died at 90 of a brain hemmorage.

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You Recognize a Good Artist by the Eyes of His Characters

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Take a look in the eyes of these women and girls in the paintings, and you will see a real master behind the canvas. Khariton Platonov has never become worldly famous, but his paintings certainly deserve the highest evaluation.

Platonov was born into a peasant family in a Russian province. All we know about his life is that he studied at the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg (1859-1870), participated in exhibitions in Kharkov, Odessa and Ekaterinoslav, then (in 1887-1888) in Odessa, Riga, Kiev and Kazan. In 1879, he moved from St. Petersburg to Kiev, where he taught at Murashko School of Drawing (1880-1900) and assisted in the organization of the Kiev Art School, where he taught until his death.

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The people in his paintings are mostly young children or beautiful women who he used to know though his life. Most of them were simple people, but every painting has its mood and is so masterfully painted!

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Some Facts from the Life of Fedor Shalyapin

Opera Singer, born Feb. 13, 1873 in Kazan, Russia. Died April 12, 1938 of kidney complications in Paris, France.

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Feodor Shalyapin (or: Chaliapin) was born into a peasant family in Kazan in 1873. At the age of 9 the boy, who had admired choir singing in a local church, was accepted into the choir and immediately displayed a wonderful voice and a perfect ear for music. The boy studied passionately and was given a scholarship for singing in the church. Later, he was sent to continue musical education in a private school of Vedernikova, but was excluded for kissing his class-mate.

His family did not see Fedor’s future as a singer, though. His father wanted him to become a shoemaker and young Shalyapin had to apprentice in his older brother’s shop for a few years, until he finally escaped to the capital and started building a career in singing and theatre acting.

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At the age of 17, in Russian Ufa, while performing his role in the opera “Halka”, Shalyapin accidentally missed the chair and fell on the stage. Since then, all his life long, he kept a sharp eye on every object on the stage, wherever he performed. After a few years of circuitous search of his own artistic personality, he finally acquired success in the Russian capital.

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Shalyapin’s personal life was quite complicated. He was married twice. He met his first wife, Italian ballerina Iola Tornagi (1873–1965), in Nizhny Novgorod. They married in Russia in 1898 and had six children. While married to Tornagi, Shalyapin lived with Marina Petsold (1882–1964), a widow who already had two children from her first marriage. She had three daughters with Shalyapin. His two families lived separately, one in Moscow and the other in Saint Petersburg, and did not interact. Shalyapin married Petsold in 1927 in Paris.

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Shalyapin was a very tall and strong man. Many of the singer’s contemporaries also noted the unprecedented power of voice. Once, after a performance, Leo Tolstoy shared his impressions about Shalyapin’s singing: “His singing is too loud.” Semyon Budyonny (the bolshevik cavalry commander and later and Soviet General in World War II), who met Shaliapin in a train once and had a bottle of champagne with him, remembered: “The car shuddered from his mighty bass.”

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In 1918, soon after the Bolshevik revolution, Shalyapin took the position of artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre (do do this, he had to refuse a similar position at the Bolshoi Theatre) and received the first and the highest Soviet-time title of “People’s Artist of the Republic”. Though in his young years Shalyapin sympathized with the revolution, the bolsheviks were not very supportive of his unique talent. The new revolutionary authorities confiscated his house, his car, and his bank savings; there were numerous attempts to accuse his theater colleagues and his family members of not being loyal to revolution. Trying to protect the family and colleagues, Shalyapin met the highest leaders of the country, including Lenin and Stalin, but those meetings only brought a temporary relief. Finally, in 1922 the family decided to immigrate. Shalyapin with family left Russia and took a number of highly successful projects in Europe and America. In 1927, the Soviet authorities deprived him of the title of People’s Artist and of the right to return home.

Shalyapin was known as a very good painter and sculptor, as well. Many of his drawings were preserved to our time, including his self-portrait.

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Shalyapin used to collect old weapons – pistols, rifles, spears. Many of them were presented to him by his friend A.Gorky (famous Russian – Soviet writer), who was a highly respected figure among the Soviet authorities. This friendship helped Shaliapin to keep his collection through a few attempts of local housing office to confiscate it.

In memory of his talent, a star with his name was installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

A recording of Shalyapin’s singing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66eAMzQv8A

Sources:

http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/feodor-chaliapin/

http://www.aif.ru/culture/person/istoriya_lyubvi_fedor_shalyapin_i_iola_tornagi

http://bibliotekar.ru/shalyapin/index.htm

and Wikipedia

Brief History of Russian Tea

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Tea has been the most popular drink in Russia for nearly five centuries now. Due in part to Russia’s cold northern climate, it is today considered the de facto national beverage, and is closely associated with traditional Russian culture. Centuries ago, it was drunk at afternoon tea, but has since spread as an all day drink, especially at the end of meals served with dessert. An important aspect of the Russian tea culture is the ubiquitous Russian tea brewing device known as a samovar, which has become a symbol of hospitality and comfort.

Tea in Russia was introduced in 1638, when a Mongolian ruler donated to Tsar Michael I four poods (65–70kg) of tea. Around 1636, Russian merchant Vassili Starkov was sent as envoy to Altyn Khan. The Khan offered him a to take 250 pounds of tea as a gift for the Russian tsar. Seeing no use for a load of dead leaves, Starkov was about to refuse, but the Khan insisted. Thus was tea introduced to Russia.

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In 1679, Russia concluded a treaty on regular tea supplies from China via camel caravan in exchange for furs. The Chinese ambassador to Moscow made a gift of several chests of tea to Alexis I. However, the difficult trade route made the cost of tea extremely high, so that the beverage became available only to royalty and the very wealthy of Russia.

In 1689, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed that formalized Russia’s sovereignty over Siberia, and also marked the creation of the Tea Road that traders used between Russia and China.

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Between the Treaty of Nerchinsk and the Treaty of Kyakhta (1727), Russia would increase its caravans going to China for tea, but only through state dealers. In 1706, Peter the Great made it illegal for any merchants to trade in Beijing. Only by 1736, Catherine the Great established regular imports of tea. By the time of Catherine’s death in 1796, Russia was importing more than 3 million pounds by camel caravan in the form of loose tea and tea bricks, enough tea to considerably lower the price so that middle and lower class Russians could afford the beverage.

The peak year for the Kiakhta tea trade was in 1824, and the peak year for the tea caravans was 1860. From then, they started to decline when the first leg of the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed in 1880. Faster train service allowed for tea to be imported from nearly a year and a half to eventually just over a week.

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In the mid 19th century the decline in Chinese tea production made it difficult to satisfy Russia’s demand in tea, so it began to import more tea from Odessa, and London. By 1905, horse drawn tea transport had ended, and by 1925 caravan as the sole means of transport for tea had ended, too.

In 2002, Russia imported some 162,000 metric tons of tea.

ru_tea-party

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Shelf Love

live mines and duds: the reading life