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Moscow Churches: Noticing the Past

I‘m not sure if we, as Muscovites, actually realise how many churches there are in our city centre. Fair enough, there were even more, and we’ve long heard complaints that many of them had been destroyed in the Soviet era. Having lived and travelled around Britain for 7 years, I now cannot help wondering if those churches that were destroyed had decayed to the extent that it was cheaper to destroy them than to repair? On the other hand, for all the beauty of Russian churches, not all of them boast a “civic-friendly” design that would easily allow to convert them into living or business spaces, like they do in the UK. I know that in the eyes of the pious, wherever they live, it is an act of blasphemy to make use of the house of God for any purpose, other than worship. But as the population grows, the question of accommodation rises sharply. “Accommodation” shouldn’t be understood merely as a place to live, but also figuratively, as provision the opportunities for work and leisure. Perhaps in the not so distant future we will have to rethink our attitude to a religious space, and maybe by such means we will also be able to acknowledge the omnipresence of one God across many religious practices.

For now, though, we are left with a number of beautiful ancient churches, cathedrals, and monasteries within the city of Moscow. The church on the photo above is a 17th c. church of St Vladimir at the Old Gardens in Starosadsky Pereulok (Lane) that is separated from the Lutheran church of St Peter and Paul by the State Historical Library in the same street. On the left is the Church of Holy Trinity in Khokhlovsky Pereulok (Lane); and Vysokopetrovsky Monastery in Petrovka St. is on the right.

Moscow: Phantom Buildings

I‘m thinking that it is now, after many years in another country that couldn’t be any further from Russia in very many ways, – it is now that I’m beginning to really discover my hometown, noticing where it is like many others I’ve seen and where it is genuinely different. The city centre fascinates me: Moscow, as you know, stands on seven hills (like Rome), and as you walk, different buildings appear from out of the blue and vanish in the haze, like one of these Stalin-era imposing buildings in Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, seen from Maroseika St.

Moscow: Looking Upwards

Many years ago (before I went to Britain) I haven’t had such passion for photography, as I do now. I guess that in a way this had to do with the fact that digital photocameras have only just been making their way into Russia, and most of my friends were using film to take pictures. It felt daunting to need to process the film before seeing the results…

These days it is much simpler, plus I came to recognise the historic value of photographs in my own life. I don’t feel dependent on the camera, and sometimes I go out without it, safe in knowledge that, should I need it, I always have my mobile phone.

The photo in the post was taken in Maroseika Street in Moscow city centre. I’ve long loved the street; I used to stroll up and down it on my way to the State Historic Library. One of these houses is of sad fame: all those who lived there between 1937 and 1952 had gone and not come back, either during the repressions or during the Great Patriotic War.

Winter!.. The Countryman, Enchanted…

Those who follow my Flickr have already learnt that I fulfilled my long-term dream of going out to ski. Frankly, I don’t think I’d get as much pleasure from skiing indoors at the Trafford Centre, so I’m glad I waited for so long. While skiing, I noted two things. First, I haven’t lost the skill; better yet I never fell! Second, as Paul McKenna teaches (and one would have to fight hard to disagree), we are already richer than we think we are. It seriously doesn’t matter that I fulfilled my dream in my native town and not somewhere in the Alps. The ability to savour the experience has nothing to do with the price of the experience.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Uncanny Coincidences (Domodedovo Airport Ruins)

About the time I was writing the post quoting the passage on where all ruin starts, a terrorist attack was carried out in Domodedovo airport in the south of Moscow. To think about it, between 7th and 11th I visited England briefly, and now this… Apparently, British, German and Bulgarian citizens are among either victims or casualties, and I pass my condolences to them and their families, as well as to Russian and Independent Countries citizens who suffered in the tragedy. Today is the day of St Tatiana, the patron saint of the Moscow State University that I graduated from, however the traditional annual celebrations have been cancelled by the head of the University.

People are asking the usual “what can we do about this?” and, symptomatically, they don’t know the answer. I think the answer lies deep within ourselves. Over the past century, especially its second half, we’ve got so used to the idea that the State is the panacea against every evil that it will probably take another world war to shake us out of this frame of mind. Even for a second, I don’t deny the State its power; but as I wrote before, we expect too many rights for ourselves which we are reluctant to trade for any duties.

The attack was reportedly carried out by someone from the Caucasus region, and this may well result in a worsened attitude to those “foreigners” who come to work in Moscow. Right now in Moscow the sentiment against the so-called Gastarbeitern from the former Soviet republics (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azebaijan) is largely negative. The only problem is, in my district in particular these Gastarbeitern sweep the streets, clean the snow and dirt, and sometimes offer a welcome difference in not drinking alcohol or debauching. Muscovites argue that the State should provide workplaces for its citizens (i.e. Russians), first and foremost. But, looking at my fellow people, I cannot see any single one of them taking a broom in their hands and going to clean the yard. They think the State should provide for this; so the State provides those who are willing to work.

If there is something unnatural or illogical about the above situation, does it have to do with the State who is fulfilling its duty to provide for us; with people who come to Moscow to make money which they cannot do in their countries; or with Muscovites who want to be done to?

Speaking of airports, if the entire police force is sent there, passengers and their friends will complain about the omnipresence of the police. If there is not enough police, they will complain that the State doesn’t care for their safety. And it looks like it will never occur to any single one of them that they could do their bit in protecting themselves and the rest by being vigilant, by reporting unattended luggage and anything suspicious. Yes, we may start hearing funny stories about what people found suspicious, but who cares if it minimises the chances of such tragedies recurring?

Someone said that the price of freedom is a constant vigilance. If we are properly bent on living in a free (and terrorist-free) world, then it’s time we reconsider our responsibilities.

Moscow Churches: After the Sunday Sermon

I strolled up and down several streets in one of my favourite parts of central Moscow; in one of them, Starosadsky Pereulok that also houses the State Historical Library, stands this beautiful Lutheran church erected in the 19th c. While I am planning to tell more about it and show more photos, here is a picture I took of a man who’d just gone out from the church doors. He genuinely didn’t notice me, just stood still and looked forward. I feel there is something metaphoric in this, whatever you leave behind, there is always something to look forward to…

The Entrance to a Moscow Church

Yesterday I had a walk in the centre of my native city; I was walking past the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Pechatniki, a beautiful building that had seen several stages in its development, from 1695 well into the beginning of the 20th c. It is a listed building, but I was impressed by the entrance (which is closed, incidentally, you need to use the one in the main road): the spruces covered with snow, the wooden doors, the whitewashed stone, and the icon above the doors, it is almost everything you would expect a Russian church to look like!

Personal: At Work in My Study

Several years ago I wrote a poem in which I commemorated my studio. I’ve never had a special room, hence I had to use what was available. Available was the kitchen, especially late at night. These days, upon my return to Moscow, I go there to work in daytime, too.

I don’t pay any particular attention to how I’m being photographed at work. I guess this is an indication of my real-life confidence, when I can either pose to the camera or ignore it, but either way not to feel fussy about someone trying to make a photo. And no, I don’t dress up for these pictures, so when you see me wearing bangles and earrings, this is how I do actually dress, even at home.

You will also see me in a picture that dates back to 1998; this one was a bit staged, although I don’t remember, why we wanted to make this photo. I used the top of my piano as the pulpit and did actually write a small poem.

The Manuscript of The Life of Klim Samgin

In the first year of this blog I happened to be anticipating the release of Quiet Flows the Don (2006) whereby I was researching the subject and came across Sholokhov’s 1926 manuscript. It was an amazing coincidence because I wrote the post 80 years after Sholokhov drafted the text.

Not in a dissimilar fashion I have just discovered a photo taken at Gorky’s archive at the State Literary Institute in Moscow. The photo by A. Cheprunov (STF) shows the manuscripts of The Life of Klim Samgin, as well as Gorky’s letter to Anton Chekhov. The photo was taken in 1955, but unfortunately there is no information as to the dates of manuscripts themselves.

 What I find amazing, and so will you surely, is that Gorky’s copies are impressively neat. I’ve never seen his other manuscripts, but what is shown in the picture suggests an amazing clarity of his creative vision.

The image is courtesy of RIA Novosti archives in Moscow.

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