Russian city

On the Volzhskaya Embankment, near the steep slope down to the river, where we began our tour о Yaroslavl, there is a monument to the Russian poet Nikolai Nekrasov who dedicated his whole life to the service of the people. He called them to the struggle against their oppressors and believed that the time would come when they would be free.

Nekrasov loved the Yaroslavl countryside. His heart belonged here, and it was here that he found the subject; of his poetry. The Nekrasov Museum-Estate was opened in the Yaroslavl suburb of Karabikha in 1947. When the museum was set up, the atmosphere of the poet's life was reproduced down to the last detail. It was in Karabikha that he wrote Red-Nosed Frost, Grandfather, Russian Women, and many fine lyrics. There is a big and shady garden round the house in which the poet lived and worked. In the vicinity of Karabikha, Nekrasov, a keen hunter, used to wander with a gun, admire the local scenery and observe the life of the people. It was hen that inspiration came to him.

All Soviet people get to know Nekrasov's poetry as children. Typical of the nation-wide love for his creative heritage are the Annual Nekrasov Readings at Karabikha, attended by representatives of all the Soviet republics. The poetry festival in Karabikha is an example of the efflorescence of socialist culture and of the friendship оf the peoples. If you have the opportunity, be sure to come to this national festival at Karabikha.

Zagorsk

Of Russia's small and ancient towns it would be hard to find one more famous than Zagorsk. Travellers are undoubtedly attracted mainly by the Trinity-St. Sergius Laura (Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra), a historical and architectural ensemble of world importance. Many tourists coming to Zagorsk find within the walls of the Laura a unique, emphatically local museum which is nevertheless extremely well stocked with collections. It was founded during the first years of Soviet power in accordance with a decree by Lenin. The spacious museum has rooms devoted to ancient Russian painting, folk art, embroidery and jewellery. We begin our tour of Zagorsk at the square in front of the Laura, Tourists' cars and coaches, kiosks and booths selling ice-cream and buns, the colorful dress of travellers from many countries and the black klobuki (tall hats) of the monks make a colorful spectacle, the square, like the Laura itself, is situated on a hilltop that gives a view of the ancient settlements graced here and there by the cupolas of churches and cathedrals, and of the road with its unending stream of traffic. As you stand on the square, you appreciate the size, impregnability and majestic beauty of the monastery's fortress walls. Every Russian monastery used to be built in this way primarily as a fortress. Building work began on the walls in 1540 under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Later they were raised to a height of 10-14 metres. They are three-tiered, with loopholes for cannon and small arms. The key defence points were the towers. Octagonal in plan, the corner towers -Pyatnitskaya, Vodyanaya, Plotnichya and Utichya - facing south-east, south-west, north-west and north-east respectively - were set well forward to give good fire-cover along the walls. The most beautiful is the Utichya (Duck) Tower. It is on the right if you stand facing the Main, or Holy, Gates. The tower received its name from the small stone duck surmounting the spire, made, according to the legend, to commemorate the hunting expeditions of Peter the Great who stayed at the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius a number of times. The towers along the plan. They are the Lukovaya on the south side, the Pivnaya and Kelarskaya on the west side, the Kalichya and Zvonkovaya on the north side, and the Sushilnaya and Krasnaya on the east side.

The tour of the monastery usually begins in the shade of the Main Gates, where wall paintings illustrate the life of Sergius Radonezhsky.

The Troitse-Sergiyev Monastery (Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius) came into being during a difficult period in Russian history. Ancient Russia was under the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Moscow and its great princes were uniting the forces of the people for the struggle with the conquerors and for the recovery of national independence. Under these conditions Sergius Radonezhsky, a monk of outstanding intelligence and great spiritual strength, founded the Trinity Monastery in the 1340s. He immediately came forward as the active proponent of a united Russia. He propagated this idea through his pupils who in a short space of time founded 23 monasteries in North-East Russia. He pronounced anathema against the princes who opposed unification under the hand of Moscow. Sergius's authority was not to be contradicted. With-his help the great Prince Dmitry Donskoi was able to muster under Moscow's banners the regiments of all the Russian lands and smash Khan Mamai's horde in 1380 at the famous Battle of Kulikovo.

A number of ancient portraits of Sergius Radonezhsky have come down to us: book miniatures, icons, frescoes and embroidered palls. The general consensus of opinion holds that the most authentic likeness is the one on the embroidered pall that originally covered Sergius's wooden coffin in the Trinity Cathedral. This remarkable work of Russian portrait embroidery is preserved in the Zagorsk Museum. It was executed at the beginning of the 15th century. There is no doubt that the design was supplied to the seamstresses by someone who knew Sergius extremely well. The portrait is impressive in its calm, its inner concentration and its strength of character.

The most remarkable work of art associated with Sergius is The Holy Trinity icon by his pupil and ward Andrei Rublev. Lenin referred to him as the first of the artists worthy to be commemorated. A bewitching power seems to emanate from this fine work. Peace and calm are radiated by the three inclined figures. The painter had the genius to express the predominant idea of his time--the call to peace. Since then five centuries have passed, but not a single line of the artist's appeal has lost its power. The works of Andrei Rublev have become world achievements of abiding importance to mankind.

As we continue our tour of the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, we gradually get to know the architecture, the interiors of the monastery cathedrals, and the exhibition in the Zagorsk History and Art Museum.

The present ensemble in the monastery comprises the white-stone Trinity Cathedral (1422-3) built over the grave of Sergius Radonezhsky; the Holy Ghost Church built by Pskov craftsmen (1476)--the monastery's first brick building and a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture; the Cathedral of the Dormition (1559-85) decorated by Yaroslavl artists in 1684; the beautiful Hospital Wards built of red brick with elegant whitestone details, and the tent-roofed Church of St. Zosima and Savvaty (1635-8); the tsar's Chertogi Palace and the Refectory (1686-92) painted in chequerboard pattern with friezes of coloured relief tiles on the facades. The artistic image of the monastery is crowned by the many-storeyed bell tower (1740-70) built to the design of the brilliant Russian architect Dmitry Ukhtomsky. It is a graceful structure, 80 metres high, and surmounted by a dome in the shape of a crown. The twin columns, the rounded corners and the airy, open spaces of the tiers gradually diminishing in size towards the top give the tower an unusual lightness, a striving upwards. The bell tower, the focal point of an architectural complex that took centuries to form, gives finish to its outlines.

For many centuries the Moscow tsars and boyars considered it their duty to make valuable donations to the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. Thanks to these gifts and also to the industrial and economic activity of Russia's wealthiest monastery which owned many thousands of serfs, priceless art treasures were accumulated here. Everything that thrills us in the monastery - whether it be a monument of architecture, painting, sculpture or applied art - was created by the labour and skills of the Russian people. The Zagorsk Museum - Preserve houses one of the world's biggest collections of ancient Russian masterpieces. Works by outstanding painters, needlewomen and miniaturists, and also hundreds of unknown craftsmen are all worthily represented m the exhibition.

The icons by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny on the iconostasis m the monastery's Trinity Cathedral are national property of world importance. They were painted in 1425-7.

Ancient Russian art, especially painting, has long absorbed the attention of many people. We know that Goethe was deeply interested in it and made it a subject of careful study. According to the famous French artist, Henri Matisse, who came to Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian art and his journey to Moscow in general gave him more than Italy. Studying the ancient Russian icons and discovering for himself their uncommon emotive, decorative and image possibilities - local color and expressive outline - Matisse hit on a brilliant way of applying the methods of the ancient Russian masters to his own art.

A synthesis of form and content, an understanding of silhouette, line and especially color-all were brought in the best examples of the ancient icons to a consummate perfection which will enthrall the enlightened world for all time.

The icons and wall paintings in the Trinity and Dormition cathedrals and the other churches in the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius are under the constant supervision of restoration experts. During the years of Soviet power these works have all without exception been cleaned of their centuries-old soot, and the paint layer has been reinforced. The restorers have literally given a second lease of life to a great many icons, since they had been over-painted many times during the centuries. The reason is that after about 80 years the linseed oil used to cover the icons was darkened by soot and grime, and the icon was renovated, that is, overpainted. Some icons had been subjected to this treatment five or six times. Soviet restoration experts were the first in the world to remove the paint layer by layer and transfer it to specially prepared new backings. A no less highly scientific method has been evolved for the restoration of frescoes, pictures, embroidery, silver and gold brocades, etc. For the examination and restoration of monuments of art the state annually allots the necessary funds for the use of the most advanced techniques, instruments and chemicals.

The chief organization of the Russian restoration experts is the Academician Grabar Research Centre, the head organization of Soviet restoration science. The centre is in Moscow, but its expeditions work everywhere. The specialists at the Grabar Centre have many thousands of artistic and cultural rescue operations to their credit.

In the Soviet Union the church is separate from the state. The Museum-Preserve and the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius of the Russian Orthodox Church are situated on the grounds of the Laura. The monastery has extraterritorial rights. There are also the Theological Academy and the Seminary. The Patriarch of All Russia is the monastery's much-revered Father Superior.

We leave the ancient monastery walls. It is lunch-time. A new restaurant, the Zolotoye Koltso (Golden Ring), a conspicuous building with its sumptuous decor by Zagorsk artists, is now at the service of tourists. It is a comfortable five-minute walk away across what is known as the Podol - the low-lying ground under the monastery walls.

Zagorsk is probably the most popular town on the Golden Ring route. From morning to night you can see crowds of tourists on the square in front of the monastery; impressions are exchanged, photos are taken, and souvenirs are bought at the Beriozka Shop which stands conveniently opposite the monastery gates. Peak hour begins towards lunch-time, when more and more coachloads of tourists arrive. However, it would be unfair to say that they are attracted solely by the monastery and the museum-preserve.

After seeing the golden-domed monastery and its beautiful museum for the first time, visitors begin to notice people of various ages with folios, clipboards or sometimes just sketch-pads in the streets, in the town squares, or in the picturesque corners of the park by the Kelarskiye Ponds. The local .inhabitants walk by without taking any notice of them. An artist here is a common and everyday sight.

There is no town in the USSR where the profession of artist is as popular as in Zagorsk. There are often families of which all the members are artists--hereditary, what's more, and able to trace their origins back to the 17th century.

The craft of carving and painting wooden toys has long thrived here. There was also a papier-mache toy industry in the 19th century. The humour of the people is noticeable in the cunning figures and in the portrayal of scenes from everyday life: an old man and an old woman quarrelling, or a muzhik dancing in a goat's head, or a merchants' tea party.

The famous Troitsky toys were sent to all the cities in Russia, and huge consignments were exported for foreign markets. The situation has not changed in our own times. The demand for toys from Zagorsk is high everywhere, and the arts industry is being developed further as a result. All the necessary conditions have been created for this purpose.

There is no regional town that can point to so many art-production and educational establishments and museums: two factories making elegant nested Matryoshka dolls and other colorful articles which will never gather dust on the shelves; Europe's, perhaps the world's, only Scientific Research Institute of Toys, with experimental production; a Museum of Toys, the Museum-Preserve in the monastery, a children's music and art school, a trades and technical arts college and the workshop of the local branch of the Artists' Union of the USSR. To this should be added the very ancient craft industries of the Bogorodskoye and Khotkovo bone- and wood-carvers with their workshops and training establishments.

Under Article 20 of the Constitution of the USSR, the state pursues the aim of giving citizens more and more real opportunities to apply their creative energies, abilities and talents, and to develop their personalities in every way.

For the practical implementation of this article of the Fundamental Law, the state provides the necessary material conditions and gives every possible kind of support to creative workers.

The best works, after being shown at republican and all-Union exhibitions, are bought by Union and Republican ministries of culture and by art commissions for museums and permanent mobile travelling exhibitions.

In this way the meaning and essence of Article 27 of the Constitution is being implemented, which states that in the USSR development of the professional, amateur and folk arts is encouraged in every way.

This article of the Constitution is particularly appreciated by the people of Zagorsk: : there are hundreds of artists in the town-- painters of nested dolls, potters, weavers, wood- and bone carvers, craftsmen in otherfolk industries, and also painters, graphic artists, sculptors, and monumentalists.

In the centre of Zagorsk, next to the monastery, is the biggest creative collective in the Moscow Region--the Zagorsk Art Production Workshop. Let us take a look inside. There is a special souvenirs section manufacturing figurines of fabulous bogatyrs, nested dolls, caskets, cups, powder boxes and bracelets. These goods are known all over the world and go to Britain, Japan, France, the USA, Brazil and the German Federal Republic.

Zagorsk is becoming a major tourist centre. The city is being improved and beautified. New housing estates and hotels are now in the course of construction.

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