Filipp Moskvitin. The Farewell of Patriarch St Tikhon to America. 1996

The Farewell of Patriarch St Tikhon to America (Filipp Moskvitin, 1996)

This shows St Tikhon Bellavin saying farewell to his beloved Alaska natives before his return to Russia. Sadly enough, the memory of St Tikhon is distorted by the autocepahlists at SVS. He did not approve of ecumenism (his actual position was closer that of St Hilarion Troitsky) nor did he advocate the translation of the Liturgy into modern Russian (Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov debunked that canard convincingly). When JP invoked his memory at the Nashotah House ecumenical lovefeast, he spat on the saint’s memory and legacy. Shame on JP and may God make his reign tolerably short.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. A River Scene. no date (first decades of the 20th century)

A River Scene (Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, no date (first decades of the 20th century)

Dede is On His Way

Hmm… it looks like some of you sent your e-mails to the right place, for it appears that Dede has the troika harnessed up for a run. Dede is a secular Russian figure; he is not Orthodox in provenance (except in the sense that most things Russian are Orthodox as most Russians are Orthodox). Therefore, he can make a run for Catholic Christmas… why not?

Listen for those bells on his horses’ harnesses… he’s on his way!

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. A Girl with Strawberries in Vologda Guberniya. 1909

A Girl with Strawberries in Vologda Guberniya (Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, 1909)

Do You Hear Those Bells Off in the Distance?

No, Dede does not come in a sleigh pulled by tiny reindeer (Yamal Iri, from Nenetsia, does, but, that’s another story). Dede comes in a troika, a traditional Russian coach-sleigh pulled by a team of three horses. This is, perhaps, the epitome of the horse-drawn vehicle, and there is none faster or more comfortable. Don’t forget to have treats for Dede’s horses when he comes… they deserve a holiday too!

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. A Young Woman Beating Flax in Perm Guberniya. 1910

A Young Woman Beating Flax in Perm Guberniya (Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, 1910)

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky. The Monastery of St Nil on Stolobny Island in Tver Guberniya. 1910

The Monastery of St Nil on Stolobny Island in Tver Guberniya (Sergei Peokudin-Gorsky, 1910)

These are actual colour photographs, not hand-coloured black & white images. Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky was part of the intellectual and technical upsurge that occurred in Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The Revolution and Civil War put it to a halt, as many of the people of the educated classes fled Russia. It took another generation for the rodina to recover from that catastrophe.

Such people laid the groundwork for the industrialisation of the 20s and 30s, a development that gave Russia the material necessary for victory in the Second Great Patriotic War.

Boris Zvorykin. Greetings from Our Village! no date (first quarter of the 20th century)

Greetings from Our Village! (Boris Zvorykin, no date (first quarter of the 20th century))

V. Klyonov. Thunder Over the Don. no date (1990s?)

Thunder Over the Don (V. Klyonov, no date (1990s?))

Anton Chirkov. The Herd at the Riverside. 1925

The Herd at the Riverside (Anton Chirkov, 1925)