Circassian Flag Day

Well, my friends, spring has finally sprung. The blossoms on the trees are peeping though, their pinks and reds look very nice amongst a background of green leaves and grass. Returning to Pyatigorsk and to the Caucasus in general is a blessing, the farther north I go, the less comfortable I feel. I returned from Volgograd just in time to see the Russian group, БИ-2 at their concert in Kislovodsk, a small city about a thirty minutes train ride southwest of Pyatigorsk. It is a nice city and it was my first time visiting it. I’ll have to arrange a visit when the weather is warmer and make it day trip. I went to the concert with Alina, Max and Saidat and I also saw some members of my faculty there at the concert too. БИ-2 (or BE-2 in English), was formed in the 80’s in Minsk, Belarus (then apart of the Soviet Union) and is one of the most successful Russian rock groups in the of the past twenty years. They were doing their, “Greatest Hits” tour and it was delightful to see them in person and to see Alina and the other fans dance and sing to their songs. One of the few times I’ve seen ethnic Russians openly expressing emotion in a huge public setting. The group is very popular in both generation X and Y camps, a fusion of late-Communist and post-Communist eras. We all had a very good time and thankfully the weather held up (it had rained all day).

The weather after the concert however, has been warm and the sun has been shining brightly. There have been a few days of clear, blue skies and it is such a relief to have such beautiful weather to match such beautiful country. On one of these crystal clear mornings, I walked down the hallway to wash my clothes and saw Elbrus and the Caucasus range through the window. It was like seeing ivory colored teeth, touching the horizon. The snow has caped the mountains nicely, making it a very impressive view. No matter how many times I look upon these mountains, I always get a feeling of awe and excitement. I really need to make the time to travel and see Elbrus one of these days before I leave. I need to see the mountain up close, to see what Lermontov and the Circassians saw. Anytime I pick up a “Hero of Our Time,” I look at the book cover, the drawing of Grigory Alexandrovich Pechorin (the ultimate “Byronic Hero”) and his companion Maxim Maximyich, standing on a cliff, with Elbrus in the background. A scene I’d love to replicate.

It is no wonder that the flags of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachey-Cherkessia have Elbrus as the center piece of their Republic’s flags. The beauty and majesty of this place is something that I will miss dearly when I leave in June. I’m already preparing to go home, packing a few things here and there, but there is still plenty of time to relish revising old places and enjoy touring new ones. Of course there are classes in-between and it has been very interesting getting back into the swing of a daily schedule of classes, when one is gone for three weeks. Model UN, Astrakhan and Volgograd were nice breaks and it is good to see places in Russia which are outside of the Caucasus, but I feel much better being back. It is better to be surrounded by mountains, green, good food, and lezginka. It is very interesting being a cultural representative for both the United States and Circassia while traveling north of the Caucasus. It was very surprising to know that most Russians north of Stavropol Krai know little to nothing of the region or it’s many peoples.

Being called “American Cherkess” and “dzhigit” (although I still need to perform riding on horse at a gallup, picking up objects from the ground while doing acrobatic-like tasks, or in short, dzhigitovka) by both friends and faculty here at Pyatigorsk and elsewhere, is a treat and it makes one think you’re doing something right. It is it an honor to be trusted in such a way. I got many compliments from people at the Volgograd UN Model for my interest in Circassian culture and for my wanting to participate in cultural activities (especially after dancing lezginka at the dance there). Speaking of culture, the university hosts annually a Day of Nationalities at the end of April. This institution as set up to encourage understanding and knowledge about the various ethnic groups who makeup the community here at Pyatigorsk. During my first year here, it was a marvelous experience. The whole of the lobby at the university was packed full of tables, each one having a group of students representing their ethnic groups cuisine, culture and dance. Every ethnic group, from Cossack to Ukrainian, Chechen to Kabardian, as well as some of the foreign nations including Chinese, German, Polish and Georgian had a table, filled with food, flags on the corners and individuals wearing their national regalia. I was in heaven. I went to every table, eating, talking with and observing each nation. It took around two hours to get through them all and I was so fat afterward from eating all the food. I then needed a rest. Thankfully, after the buffet of nations, there is a Nationalities Concert that allows each nation to perform their traditional dance or dances. It is quite the spectacle.

This time around, I was serving a table. Andrew, his wife, Kristi and I had the opportunity to represent America, specifically the South, as we are all originally Southerns. We spent most of Thursday evening cooking food for the event. We had a lot to cook, but thankfully we also had many helpers (13 people in one kitchen, yikes). A big thanks to Alizee and Florane for helping us. It is wonderful to have Belgians, Russians, Turks and Nigerians help cook an “American feast.” In my opinion, it personifies Americanism and makes me recall my nations motto, E pluribus unum, “Out of Many, One.” The menu as I said above was very Southern. We made separated into groups to make the cooking more manageable. I was responsible for preparing the baked beans. Nothing too fancy, just seven cans of beans, tomato sauce, two onions, garlic, spicy mustard, paprika, a cup of sugar, and a squeeze of hot sauce to literally “spice things up.” The others made: pulled BBQ chicken, potato salad, coleslaw (this is painful trying to explain in Russian), and sweet tea. It all reminds me of humid summer evenings, with the June bugs flying into everything and the cold glasses of sweet tea and lemonade “sweating” it out in the heat. Kristi is also baking a chocolate cake and she made butter cream frosting. Cakes in the rest of the world are a joke compared to a good, old American style cake. I’m apologize to my foreign readers, but for me, American cakes are second to none. The cake itself is so moist and dense, and the frosting is the best, none of that whipped cream or flan shenanigans. I’m not saying that European cakes aren’t tasty or good, I’m just saying I prefer American cakes over them. I had a funny comment to me, while cooking the beans. A Russian girl was watching me and cook and said in English, “Do you eat that?” I responded by saying, “Why would I cook this for Day of Nationalities if you couldn’t eat it?” I guess beans are not a thing in Russia.

Nationalities Day was a lot of fun. It was just and great to serve food and represent my own nation as it is sampling all the food of others. We showed out dress in flannel shirts (in red, white and blue) and jeans. I also had my United States t-shirt that says, “Established in 1776.” We had a lot of turn out for our table. We took turns serving and holding the American flag (as there was no wall or pole to hang it on). I showed a few Russians the tradition of folding the flag and how to hold it when folded. They thought it was cool that America had this tradition of respect for the flag and a unique way to fold it. I know it’s something I love about my own culture. Across from us was the Russian table, so it was nice have so friendly competition. Poland and Germany flanked us, so it was a “NATO zone.” I hope the Russians missed out on the irony. I held the flag at the beginning, taking part in two interviews for the universities student media. I answered questions concerning what we cooked and that it was all traditional Southern style cooking. One the of students commented, that she was, “I’m surprised not to see McDonalds.” I replied by saying that I was, “sorry to disappoint, but there’s one across the street.” Her comment left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I was glad that we we’re living up to stereotypes. It was great to see the Russian students branch out and try new things, but with some encouragement. They loved the BBQ chicken, but at first didn’t know what to make of it, the same thing with the beans. The potato salad was popular, as the Russians have something similar, so the less adventurous individuals ate that. The chocolate cake was by far the most popular and disappeared quickly. Kristi made two of them and still within 45 minutes, both were gone. Our faculty was very happy that we did this, as the our faculty was also in charge of representing Poland and Russia. Marta (the Polish girl, who teaches Polish in our faculty) had a wonderful table and had her students helped serve. I liked the Polish dish with apples, salmon and sour cream, an interesting mix of favors. On my “break” I ventured to other tables and got food from the Georgians, Greeks, Azeris, Kabardians, Chechens, and Polish. I also had a little of the Chinese food, but they wanted people to pay, so that was a disappointment. We gave out food for free, but expected donations. By doing this, the kind nature of the Russians and Caucasians worked in our favor and we received more funds (to pay for the expense for the food). I had a lot of fun, as Nationalities Day is one of my favorites festivals at the university. To my knowledge, this is the first time America has had a table at Nationalities Day, so it was an honor and a new experience to serve food at the event.

On Sunday, Vika and Alina invited me to join them at a church service. As some of you may know, the Orthodox faiths (Russian, Greek, Serbian, etc.) follow the older calendar so the religious holidays are few days or even weeks apart in some cases. Last Sunday as Palm Sunday or in Russian, “Willow Sunday,” as they use the willow branches as opposed to palm furans as palm trees are a rarity in Russia (though there are palm trees on the coasts of Krasnodar Krai, Yalta, Abkhazia, and Georgia). Before we entered the church in downtown Pyatigorsk, the girls bought a few willow branches and candles. We then crossed ourselves and entered, people buzzing about the insides of the church. It seemed very disorganized at the start, as there are no pews. One stands for the whole three hour service. In a typical Russian Orthodox Church, there is an open center, with pillars supporting the structure and the domes or cupolas. On the walls of the church are icons to various Saints, including George, Andrew etc. in front of this hand painted icons are places to put candles. A tradition is to place a candle for the patron Saint and make a prayer. As an example, Saint George (the patron Saint of England, Russia and Georgia) is the patron Saint of soldiers. If one wants to pray for a soldier, one simply puts a candle at Saint George’s stand and pray. I give a candle to Mother Mary and prayed. Very important Saints such as Mary, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are on the Iconostasis or a “the door way between Heaven and Earth,” “the wall separating the divine from the secular.” In the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a wall separating the parish from the parishioners, symboling the divine between God and humanity. It is a sobering symbol, and reflect Russian cultural norms (the collective and authoritative native of Russian society). The priest is the main authority and from what I observed, there is little participation by the parish, only crossing one’s self (similar to the Catholic and Episcopal bowing) and bowing when the priest sings a phrase, praising God. All of the litany is sung in Old Church Slavonic, but I my surprise, I understood a lot. The Nicene Creed is the same as is the blessing of the bread and wine during Communion. It’s nice to see familiar symbols seven thousand miles away. The willow branches were used to sprinkle holy water on the people by the priest (they also wear a kind of papakha, that has a purple cape, I love the Caucasus), it was cool, and it is an interesting difference, as we burn the palm furans on Ash Wednesday.

Continuing this theme of culture, I also had the opportunity to experience and participate in Circassian Flag Day in Nalchik. Annually, the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, hosts a rally to celebrate the national flag of the Circassian Nation on the 25th of April. Circassian Diaspora from all over the world also partake in the celebrations by doing their home rallies, posting photos online of the flag and doing cultural activities such as dancing and cooking traditional foods. The large Circassian communities in Jordan, Israel, and Turkey have made a huge Facebook community for the event, asking people to change their profile pictures or cover photos to the Circassian flag titled, “Make It Green” in English and Arabic. So, I changed my cover photo for the day, and headed with Maddy to Nalchik. Alas, Anna could not attend the event, as she had an exam that afternoon. I know however, she was with us in spirit. Trying to arrange meeting with my friends in Nalchik was a nightmare. Elberd was working as crowd control that morning and from most of the afternoon, but he agreed to meet us at 5 o’clock in the evening at Abkhazia Square. Meeting with Jan and his friends as a little more problematic, as they had classes and wouldn’t be free until in the mid-afternoon. With is disorganization, we “punted” and headed to “Circassian House,” the shop that sells Circassian cultural items and apparel. It was good to see the Nastya, one of the employees that works there. I said hello, with I walked in and she greeted me with a smile and responded in informal speech, which I was taken aback by, but I guess when you visit the shop every time you go to Nalchik, and are I good patron, you can get friendly. I needed to pick up a new kindjhal (a short sword or dagger that is worn on the belt, it mean in Adyghe, “short knife.”), as one can’t wear a cherkesska without the blade. I bought a smaller, ceremonial one when I first visited Dombai, but I left it back in Nebraska, as I feared customs leaving the U.S. or entering Russia would nab it. So, now I have a full, “battle” version of the blade.

Nastya was so excited (maybe more so than I), as she help me put on the cherkesska on, adjusting the belt here and the kindjhal there, making sure I looked my best in the “clothes the fit you.” The scabbard of the blade is the same shade of red as the scabbard of my shashka, making it a perfect match to the red trim of my cherkesska. I looked the part, boots, papakha and all. Nastya then took a few photos of me in forward of the shop, as did Maddy and we then presided to walk the streets of Nalchik. While in “Circassian House,” Maddy got a magnet for our friend, Molly and we also got a PPC pipeline, about a meter and a half in length, which we used as a pole of the flag. I got in free of change, which was very nice and I handed Maddy a white version of a Adige flag t-shirt that I had bought with me. She looked the part as well. Walking through Nalchik was an interesting experience. People who walked by were taking photos and videos of us and asking to take photos with me. I felt a prop, and now I understand how Diogo feels when walking on the streets of any Russian city. People also asked us, “What holiday is it?” or “why are you all dressed up.” We were shocked. The fact that people didn’t know what was going on, after this festival happens every year, (later on, Elberd informed me that the Circassian Flag Day festival as not an official holiday in Kabardino-Balkaria, as opposed to the Anniversary of the Deportations and has only been going on since 2010) and with all the Circassian flags flying around, I would have thought someone would have taken a hint. We wee told by some fellow “flaggers,” that some if the people who asked “What holiday is it?” may have been Balkarians (the Turkic speaking ethnic group that is the minority in Kabardino-Balkaria), who were making fun of us and “pulling our leg.” At any rate, we didn’t let in bother us and we continued walking to “White House Square” and around the “400th Anniversary of the Union Square,” displaying the flag.

The Circassian flag has a rich history and meaning, and as I recall, I’ve mentioned some of the specifics in a pervious blog. The flag is the official flag of the Republic of Adygea (adopted in 1992), but is also used and shared by the all Circassians living in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachey-Cherkessia (as well as by diaspora over seas). The flag isn’t new though, as it was first drafted (allegedly) by Scottish scholar and British statesmen, David Urquhart. The original flag was designed in 1834 and only had seven stars, being flown by the Circassian Nation during the war with the Russian Empire (1763-1864). The golden arrows on this flag are said to represent the political and military union of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the stars then symbolizing the alliance of the Circassian tribes (this is according to French scholar Pierre Charles Lux-Wurm, though I question, this as Azerbaijan during the 1830’s, was not an independent entity, being ruled by the Russians after the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 and formalized during the Treaty of Turkmenchay). The golden color of the twelve stars and third arrows, represents the rich soil and harvests that the Caucasus provide for the Adyghe people. The current flag’s symbolism was developed by the North Caucasian League during the 1940’s and has twelve golden stars, nine of which stand of the aristocratic or feudal roots of the tribes, whereas the bottom three stars stand for the democratic elements within these specific tribes. The three crossed arrow represent peace and strength and the background is green, representing both Islam and the natural beauty of the Caucasus. It should be known that the color of the flag is in fact aquamarine green, a dark bluish green, as opposed to a light or medium green. According to the laws adopted on the flag on March, 31st of 1992, this is the official color. Activists such as Nikolay Khimenkov have spoken out against the making and selling of flags with “incorrect” color schemes and even went so far as to write to the various companies that make said flags to correct their mistakes. My friend Elberd, made a point of these when we were buying my flag from “Circassian House” in Nalchik, back in November. Though I’ve seen many flags of the light or medium green variety fly in both Nalchik and Maikop. Thankfully, my flag is up is snuff.

An interesting note on the flag, historically the various Circassian tribes within the confederation were also made up of other Caucasian ethnicities including Nogay, Ossetians, Balkars, Karachey, Ingush and Chechens. In the 19th century, three of the twelve tribes replaced their feudal systems (many of the tribes ruled themselves in federal, tribal based confederacies that had set territories and were autonomous from one another, functioning together in times of conflict and regional administration) with that of direct democracies (some scholars such as Tony Wood, argue that these tribes borrowed this system from the neighboring Chechens), but this was short lived after the Russians conquered Circassia in 1864, ended their independence. Another fun fact is there is a second flag of Cherkess origin (Circassians living in Karachey-Cherkessia) and that of diaspora. This flag is identical to the Adyghe flag except for a yellow background and orangish-red stars and arrows. In regard to way it is different, I honestly have no idea. Elberd, made the comment that is was “very strange, I think they don’t know what they’re doing.”

At around 12 o’clock in the afternoon, the motor rally started driving around on the main streets on Nalchik. We figured if we followed the cars with the Circassian flags displayed either on, or within them, we’ed find the start of the rally. Just by fate, good timing and luck, we ran into them, an impressive looking Kabardian man, dressing in a red cherkesska, rode on an equally impressive looking Kabard horse. With the reins in one hand a big Circassian flag in the other, he shouted, “Adige Wei Wei (loosely translated, meaning “ to Circassian success,” or “Long live, Circassia”). He galloped down the street, to police cars followed suit, blocking the road from traffic and made 40 to 50 cars followed behind. The cars had three or four people in them, holding Circassian flags outside of the passenger windows, some of the men even sat on the space where the widow would have been, their torso and upper body, sticking out. I quickly crossed the street with in was safe and waved my flag left and right, shouting “Adige Wei Wei,” the men in the cars, honked the horns of their cars, gave thumbs up signs, smiled and yelled in either Russian or Kabardian. Some even took photos of me when their cars stopped at the crosswalk. I was beaming with excitement, as I was participating in the Circassian Flag Day rally. Maddy took a ton of photos of the cars passing by and it was cool to see so many people turn out just for the motor rally. Maddy and I then headed to the park in Nalchik, to see if anything was going now there and to also take advantage of the gorgeous weather. The sun was shinning bright and warm, the wind, a gentle breeze that made the flag I was carrying came to life.

After a nice about the park, we got hungry and head to “Amal`e” restaurant, a nice place the serves traditional Kabardian and Caucasian dishes. Whenever I’m in Nalchik, I order traditional Circassian cuisine, so I had an order of psihekive melt delhu, (Circassian monti or meat dumplings with sour cream) and ligor with ships and p`asta (ligor, is sun dried strips of beef, like jerky, ships is seasoned, white cream sauce, and p`asta is made of husked millet, which is shaped into thick, regular blocks). You traditionally, eat this dish by putting the ligor and the ships on top of the p`asta, softening it and letting the sauce absorb into it. Maddy had khichiney with cheese and a Russian salad of some variety. To my surprise, Maddy had never had it khichiney before, so it was nice to a witness to a “first.” Of course we shared some lakum as well, one can’t go have a meal anywhere in with Republic without having a basket filled to the top with lakum. It was a nice meal, and I now have practice eating food while in full cherkesska. It was interesting, with all the belts and blades on my person, but it is nice that the cherkesska is comfortable, breathes well and isn’t very heavy. We then left the restaurant with full tummies and continued on our marry way to Abkhazia Square. There however, was confusion as who, where and when we were meeting. After talking to several Nalchik natives and playing telephone tag with Elberd, Anna, Jan and friends, we finally managed to get things straight. I was disappointed that in the chaos, we lose time to see Jan and his friends perform at the local university that they study at. It would have been great to see and listen to them play traditional Kabardian instruments, such as the: shik`epshine (a thin, stringed instrument), qamalapsh, (a Circassian, made from dried water reeds), apa phsina (a three stringed lute), pxachach (two sets of wooden blocks that are held by hand and struck together to indicate the beat of the song), drums (dhol, in Kabardian), and the pshina (an accordion). Apparently, Jan’s friends can play this instruments and they both played at the university and at the festival on Abkhazia Square that evening.

When Maddy and I arrived on Abkhazia Square, we were some of the first people there. As we wanted for the festivities to begin at 6 o’clock, I was again asked for photos by at least twenty people, even the police wanted photos with me. It was odd at times because they’ed come up and ask first in Kabardian (a language I’d love to learn, but is very different, with a complex grammar structure and a alphabet of 53 characters, of which exist only three vowels) and then in Russian when I told them what I didn’t speak Kabardian. I probably would have made over a thousand rubles that day, if I changed just a hundred for each photo, but it is a holiday, no need to be greedy. After a little while, Jan and his buddies showed up and we chatted, took photos with each other and the Circassian flag. As the sun started to set, Elberd when walked over to us and we embraced. I was so happy to see him, my Kabardian brother. I told me he was held up at the motor rally, making sure all the cars and horses, had a place to be without interfering with the crowd of over 700 to 800 that slowly gathered in the square. The procession was led by three, brilliantly dressed men in green, red and grey, cherkesska. The horses were very nervous from all the people, whining and stamping their hoofs on the pavement, making a “chip chop” sound. The men on horseback, quickly got the horses out of the square, walking them near where I was standing with Elberd, Jan, Maddy and the others. I was so close to them that I could see their horses wild eyes and the stubble on the riders faces. I moved out of the way, to keep my distance from them. The procession then gathered in a large mass, the master of ceremonies, the musicians, the elders and famous individuals such as the Director of the International Circassian Association (ICA), sat on an elevated set of platforms.

Circassian Flag Day is also celebrated in the Republic of Adygea (and to a lesser extent in Cherkessk, Karachey-Cherkessia), in the capital of Maikop, a city of ancient origins, which is said by some scholars to be the birthplace of Maikop culture (the root of all Greater Circassian cultures, including that of the Kabardians). The events in Maikop are similar to those that are held in Nalchik, with an automobile rally that is sanctioned by the city administration. Dance contests are also held. Last year the famous group “Adyghe Djegu” performed at the celebrations. Some, 1,700 residents of Maikop take part in the festivities each year and the usually Aslan Djarimove, (Adygea’s first president) attends the rallies (according to the news paper Caucasian Knot). He played an important role in the adoption of the flag as the Adygea’s national flag. Other pan-national figures may so attend the event, including Arthur Bagadirov, the chairman of the “Youth Wing” within the “Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament,” as well as Adam Bogus (the chariman of the adult movement). At our festival in Nalchik, we had a few famous singers perform songs in both Russians and Kabardian. I was hoping to see the Kabardian artist, Azamat Bishtov there, singing “Circassian Flag,” but alas he wasn’t to my knowledge there. I stood in the back at the beginning, to talk with Elberd, the others heading to the front for the stage. We discussed a lot of the ceremonies agenda, and switched to politics and our families. We got a lot of catching up done. I then headed to the large circle that was being formed around the master of ceremonies, a tall Kabardian man, wearing red cherkessak and a tall, black papakha (he certainly looked the part). He had in his hand, a wooden stick, about a foot long, which was decorated with red tassels and he would point to a man to indicate that it was his turn to dance Kafa (the opening traditional dance between a pair of men and women, that we started the festival with). The men and the women were separated from one another, a female master of ceremonies, indicating to the women, when they could dance. She wore a beautiful, white traditional dress. Little children of about four to five years of age danced first, they looked so cute. I also had the opportunity to dance and it was a good experience both for practice and to partake in such a traditional and lovely celebration of culture.

Both Nalchik and Maikop, put on a very remarkable show during the celebrations and I wish I had the opportunity to see the festivities in Maikop in person, but alas, it’s a seven hour bus ride from Pyatigorsk. Nalchik is only an hour away, so it is easier to travel back and forth. Having been to Maikop in May of two years ago however, for the Victory Day holiday, I’ve seen the city and it would be nice to see a Circassian celebrations here. Perhaps I’ll go to Maikop for the 151st anniversary of the deportation (or genocide as some scholars and Circassian nationalism write), but we’ll see. I think going to Nalchik will be cheaper and Anna, Jan and Elberd will be there. Well, that’s all folks, I wish you all very well. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for I next blog, about my trip to Georgia. From Russia with regards, Adige Wei Wei.

Model UN 2.0 and Volgograd

Hello dear readers. This blog will detail my travels to the city on the Volga, better known by its Soviet name Stalingrad. Diogo and I were invited to attend Volgograd State University’s Model United Nations conference by their head delegate Angelina Pivovarova (love that her last name means “brewer”). Angelina is a very nice girl and Diogo and I made friends will her very quickly while she was with us in Pyatigorsk for our Model UN. We were so lucky to be invited to their conference. It was interesting to learn that Volgograd State University’s Model UN is totally run by the students, making it a very nice event to both mingle and work. Diogo and I bought a train ticket to Volgograd and “enjoyed” the 18 hour ride to the city from Pyatigorsk (as a side note, I would say that the ride was a mix between the comfort of the sitting in a movie theater and the discomfort of an Amtrak train in the U.S.).

Angelina and I 

When we arrived in Volgograd, we got to see the famous Volgograd Train Station, with it’s “lovely” Soviet Era architecture. To be very honest, Volgograd isn’t the prettiest city. During the War, the city was completely destroyed and thereof needed to be rebuilt. Volgograd personifies post-Modernist and Soviet style building, making it grey and very Communist. This being said, the city has very impressive monuments to the Second World War. The events of the war decided the fate of the city and it is a physical representation of the historical memory that the Russians have concerning the War. It is both a blessing and a curse, a blessing in that it is a way to learn about the history of their nation, the War being a definitive moment for the Russian people (much like the Battle of Borodino). It is a curse because it seems like they can never “move on” from this event. One of my German peers at the conference, recalled while walking in the street, he was accosted by Russians. He was speaking German on his cell phone and passer by’s heard him. They said things, like “We won the War” and “Who’s the boss.” Thankfully, only some of the uneducated Russians would say these things. The students at the University were very accepting and my generation isn’t as “hung up” on the history of the War. This however, will never change as long as there are people who are still live who personally lost loved ones during the conflict. The Russian school system also ingrains the imagines and stories of the War into the youth, but in my opinion as long as people understand Germany isn’t like this now, it is ok. It is important to learn from your history and appreciate the sacrifice that you forebears gave, while planning for the future.

Volgograd’s Train Station

The memory of the War is still very fresh in many Russian’s minds. During my first stay in Russia, the film “Stalingrad” came out in theaters. It was the most expensive film ever made to date in Russia. I remember going to the film with my friend, Elberd. There is a scene in the movie about 15 minutes in, where Soviet troops are running up the west bank of the Volga. The Germans then blow up the oil reserves near the river, setting a blaze the embankment, alone with many of the Soviet soldiers. The surviving soldiers, run through the flames, and in patriotic zeal, overrun the German positions. The Russians in the theater yelled and cheered, “Die Fascists,” and “Go comrades.” IT really gave me a sense of how important this event in history is to Russians, let alone for the inhabits in Volgograd. The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the most famous battles fought during the Second World War or as the Russians call the conflict, the “Great Patriotic War.” It is marked by the constant close quarters combat, unstop air raids, the slaughter of civilians and is said to be by some scholars as the largest (nearly 2.2 million personal) and bloodiest (estimated between 1.7 to 3 million people killed or wounded both military and civilian) battle in human history. The losses inflicted on the German Wehrmacht make it arguably the most strategically decisive battle of the whole war and was the turning point on the Eastern Front as the German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force form the Western Front to replace their horrendous losses. Of the 77,000 German troops sent to fight in Stalingrad, only 3,000 some walked away, most as prisoners of war.

The German offensive to capture Stalingrad began on the late summer of 1942, the German 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army making up the bulk of their forces. The attack was supported by intensive carpet bombing of the city by the Luftwaffe and reduced Stalingrad to little but rubble. The German’s genocidal campaign on Russian civilians was for three purposes: the first to break Russian moral. The second being that Hitler hated the Slavs as much as he hated Jews. The Nazis left a bloody tail through Poland, into Ukraine and in much of Western Russia, looting and burning homes, hanging dissidents, and enslaving thousands of Slavs for “free” labor, many of them dying beside their Jewish peers in the camps. The third reason then being that the Nazi war machine needed the oil from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Hitler is quoted saying that “If I do not get the oil in Maikop and Gronzy then I must liquidate this war.” It is said, that Hitler also wanted to break the Russian spirit through psychological means, by capturing “Stalin’s City” i.e. Stalingrad, the new industrial hub of the Soviet Union. This however, could be a Soviet tale, as German commanders are quoted saying that, “The capture of Stalingrad was subsidiary to the main aim. It was only of importance as a convenient place, in the bottleneck between Don and the Volga, where we could block an attack on our flank by Russian forces coming from the east. At the start, Stalingrad was no more then a name on a map to us.” – from Lloyd Clark’s Kursk: The Greatest Battle: The Eastern Front, 1943, 2011, page 157.

By mid-November of 1942, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back, but at great cost, into narrow zones along of the west bank of the Volga River. On the 19th of November, the Red Army launched what was called Operation Uranus, a two-pronged attack targeting the weaker irregular forces of the German army, notably the Romanian and Hungarian forces protecting the German 6th Army’s flanks. It was interesting to learn at the Panorama Museum that so many ethnicities were recognized on both sides in the battle. The museum has an exhibit displaying the flags of Soviet regiments from the then Kazakh A.S.S.R., Korea, Vietnam (then French Indo-China), China, Japan, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The famous Soviet Field Marshal Georgi Zhukov, was responsible for much of the strategic planning in the Stalingrad region and is honored with many statues and memorials around the city. He is even buried on the grounds of Mamayev Kurgan. Operation Uranus was made in conjunction with Operation Mars, which directed attacks on the German center, engaging their forces on three fronts. The Soviet 1st Guards, the 5th Tank Army and the 21st Army led these assaults with support from the 18th infantry divisions, the 8th tank brigades, and the 6th cavalry. Thinly spread, deployed in exposed positions and poorly equipped for the harsh Russian winter, the Romanian 3rd Army and the German 6th Army was when surrounded and later overrun. The battle lasted for five months, one week and three days.

The fighting in Stalingrad was furious. German military doctrine was based on the idea of “combined-arms teams,” meaning cooperation between tank units, infantry, engineers, artillery and aerial bombardment. The Soviet commanders countered these tactics by always keeping their front-line positions as close to the Germans as possible, making aerial bombardment impossible unless the Germans wished to drop bombs on their own men (which sometimes happened). The Soviets called this “hugging” and it resulted in slowing the advance of German troops and made the infamous blitzkrieg useless. The Red Army held their ground as long as possible (enforcing this by keeping soldiers armed with sub-machines within the doorways of structures to shoot their own peers if they abandoned their posts out of cowardice), converting multi-floored apartment blocks, factories, warehouses, street corner residences and office buildings into a serious of defendable strongpoints of 5 to 10 man units. When a position was lost, an immediate attempt was made to re-take it with fresh forces. Bitter fighting raged for every ruin, street, factory, house, basement and staircase, some men fighting with their hands or bricks. The Germans called this Rattenkrieg or “Rat War,” as urban warfare of this scale was never seen before.

Some major points in the battle were on Mamayev Kurgan (or Mamayev Hill in English), a prominent hill above of the city. The fighting here was particularly brutal and merciless, as soldiers had to charge up the steep terrane and face an onslaught of bullets from machine guns. Ownership of the hill changed many times over the course of the battle. In another part of the city, a Soviet platoon under of command of Sergeant Yakov Pavlov, fortified a four-story building that oversaw a street near the west bank of the Volga River. The remains of this structure would later be called “Pavlov’s House.” The soldiers surrounded the building with mines and set up machine gun positions at the windows and breached the walls in the basement for better communications. The soldiers held their position for two mouths, without significant relief or reinforcement. The Germans called the building Festung or “Fortress.” The building was never taking by Nazi forces and Sergeant Pavlov was awarded the Medal of The Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions in defense of the city. The building still stands to this day, reminding the Russian people of the struggle. It has been labeled by the Russian government was a “Cultural Heritage Site.”

“Pavlov’s House”

The legends of various snipers are also very important to Stalingrad lore and several films (notably, “Enemy at the Gates,” 2001 and “Stalingrad,” 1973) and video games (notably, “Call of Duty” and “Medal of Honor: European Assault”) have retold these various stories, highlighting the importance of the sniper and his or her role in the battle. In the the video game “Call of Duty,” the player fellows the story-line of a female-Soviet sniper during the Stalingrad campaign and personifies snipers such as Lydumila Pavlichenko, who is crediting with 309 kills and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history. Snipers on both sides used the ruins of the city to hind, waiting for the right moment to inflict as many casualties as possible. The most famous Soviet sniper in Stalingrad was Captain Vasily Zaitsev, who is credited with 225 confirmed kills. Rumor has it what he and a German sniper, coined by the name of “Major Erwin König (another name of this same sniper was Heinz Thorvald),” were locked in an epic contest that has been immortalized in numerous novels and films. In his autobiography, “Notes of a Russian Sniper,” Zaitsev describes how he carefully studied the battlefield until he finally baited a trap for König.

“Kulikov fires off a blind shot. We have to arouse the sniper’s interest. We decide to sit out the first half of the day; light reflecting from the scopes could give us away. In the afternoon our rifles are in the shade while the direct light of the sun falls upon the German’s position. Something sparkles by the edge of the sheet. Is this a piece of glass that just happens to be there, or is the telescopic sight of a sniper’s rifle? Very carefully, as only the most experienced sniper would do, Kulikov starts to raise a helmet. The German fires. Kulikov raises himself for a brief moment, shouts loudly and falls. The German sticks half of his head out from under the sheet. I fire. The German’s head sinks, and the optical sight of his rifle sparkles in the sunlight.” – Notes of a Russian Sniper, Vasliy Zaitsev.

Although this is a great story and undoubtably there were snipers fighting during the battle, it is just a legend. According to British historian Frank Ellis in his book, The Stalingrad Cauldron (2013), there is no record of a “master sniper” named König within the German military achieves. Zaitsev did indeed shot a sniper that day, not it is unlikely that this epic dual ever took place. However, this should not diminish the importance of the Soviet snipers as they were used often during the battle and there are many records of such encounters. German records are subsequently, filled with complaints from both soldiers and officers about moving out of their trenches only to risk their lives to sniper fire; Soviet snipers emphasizing the targeting for offices and working their way down the ranks. The various museums in the city display a lot of this information and it was so cool to be in a city that I had read and heard so much about.

After arrived at the train station, we waiting for my friend Pierre to pick us up. Pierre is a friend of mine from my first year in Pyatigorsk. He current lives in Volgograd, working as a teacher of French at one of the smaller universities in the city. It was so good to see him. I had missed our long conversations together about France and America, as well as about political happenings in the world. All of these would happen with glasses of beer. Pierre is from the Britney region in France and they have a huge beer culture there. We visited several bars and pubs while in the city and I tried a few Belgium and French brews that Pierre recommended to me. There as an interesting and taste Belgium brew called “Kwak” and it was served in strange, hour-glass like shape with a narrow neck and a ball-bus bottom. The “Kwak” has a wonderful favorite, with a very strong, fruity finish. I had this beer at “Alyaska Bar,” a popular pub in Volgograd. It was like a “Hipster Bar” in a way, as the bar keeps both had thick, bushy beards, wore thick glasses and bow ties. The beer was good and the prices were reasonable for foreign brews.

Kwak Beer

Pierre also showed us a few monuments in the city, notably Mamayev Kurgan. At the base of the hill (kurgan) there is a series of stairs letting up to a plateau of stone that has a huge sculpture of Soviet soldier, with a defiant expression on this face, holding a PPsh-41 (a Soviet sub-machine gun). He is shirtless and he build personifies the “prefect Soviet-man.” A fountain surrounds him like a moat and would be working when the weather gets warmer. Past our noble soldier, we then headed up a another series of stairs to another sculpture. It was split into two parts, flanking either side of the stairway and depicted Soviet soldiers battling the Germans. The stone walls that the sculptures are curved upon are from the old Nazi fortifications that were built on the hill. I touched the rock, getting a sense of the history that had gone on here 73 years ago. It was an amazing sensation. We then head up yet another stair way and entered the Hall of the Eternal Flame. It was a magnificent sight to see and the atmosphere was that of a church. When you step inside, you see a stark white sculpture of a hand grasping a torch. It must stand at least 20 to 30 feet high. A brilliant flame burns from the torch. The hall is a circular structure and around it’s walls are the names of thousand of Soviet soldiers who gave their lives in defense of Stalingrad. It was a very sobering moment to see all the names. As we exited we saw the statue of Mother Russia standing tall and proud, with a sword in her hand. The memorial was build between 1959 and 1967 and is totally made of concrete, except for the sword blade which is stain-less steel. The statue reminds me of the Greek representations of Nike, with her flowing drapery. The statue stands 52 meters tall (170 feet) and is 82 meters from the feet to the point of the sword (269 feet), making it taller then the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The official title of the monument is The Motherland Calls, and it was designed by Yevgney Vucheitch. Vasily Zaitsev is also buried here. On the grounds of this hollowed place, it is still possible to find fragments of bone and metal still buried throughout the hill. There are also a series of graveyards on the hill, many of which lack names.

Defenders of the Motherland

The Eternal Flame

Diogo and I then shared a few glasses of beer with Pierre after our tour and returned to our hostel. It was convenient that our hostel was located near the Mamayev Kurgan, but inconvenient in that it was very far away from the University. We got a good night sleep and headed to the University at around 9:15 in order to make it in time for registration between 10:30 and 11:00. It takes about an hour to get to there by marshot and it made me appreciate the morning rush and battle to get to work everyday that million of people around the world have to go through while living in big cities (Volgograd is a metropolis of 3 million and is 40 miles wide). It was difficult during some morning to even find a seat on the marshots as many were stuffed with people. The streets in Volgograd and also very muddy and the dust and car exhaust make breathing a difficult. They are also a lot of industrial complex shattered throughout the city and one can imagine all of the pollution that one is breathing from these factories. It made me miss the clean mountain air of the Caucasus very quickly. It took about an hour to get back and forth from the hostel to the University. The the air was so bad that the first day into our stay, I developed a rash on my face that dried out my skin to the point where my cheeks cracked a bled. But, needless to say, the trip was worth it.

Volgograd State University is on the edge of town, on a hill, over looking the Volga. The University itself is not much to look at, but it serves its purpose. We walked up the hill (a task in of itself) and entered the main library where registration was to begin. We then got all of our materials, including our name tags, delegate cards with our countries names on them, and our folder with all of our paper s and notebooks. We met our fellow delegates within our various committees. Diogo was in the International Court of Justice and their topic was the genocide in Rwanda. The working language of his committee was in French, so it was perfect for him to practice his fourth language. His also represented his native country of Brazil. There was also the committee of Economics, in which the working language was Russian and I my committee was the Secuity Council. I represented the nation of Uruguay and our topic was on the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a very relevant topic in regards to the current geopolitical situation. I enjoy that these last two Model UN’s have been very useful when discussing the various happening in the world. The working language of the Secuity Council is English, but to be honest my peers spoke Russian on a daily basis and the working language may as well have been Russo-English. On the first day, we had open committee, just to review the rules and procedures. We also did a mock session, the topic of which was “legalizing prostitution.” This made we laugh and made most of the delegates very uncomfortable. Representing Uruguay, of course my nation was for the legalization of prostitution as Uruguay has legalized almost everything else. The delegate of Ukraine was also for the legalization and I asked him whether or not his government would be willing to put a “premium” on Ukraine women as the world knows they’re very beautiful. The room started laughing the delegate was speechless. One must be on their toes at all times when in these negotiations.

That evening, Angelina and the other heads of the Volgograd International Relations faculty brought us on a bus tour of Volgograd. We stopped by the theater and the train station, as well as one of the city squares. It had an eternal flame memorial. This place is also famous for a tree that is the only surviving tree from battle 73 years ago. It is literally a living witness to history. It also looking the part as its appearance is ancient with its gnarled trunk and finger like limbs. There is also a memorial to all the foreign fighters who fought in defense of the city, notably to Spanish Communists who fled to the Soviet Union after the Spanish Civil War. We then got back on our bus and headed to the western bank of the Volga where we saw “Pavlov’s House,” yet another sobering moment. We of course took a lot of photos and I was introduced to the student journalists who were covering the Model UN. I thought it was very cool that journalism majors were assigned to report on the happenings both inside and outside on committee and it gave a new element of “live reporting,” seeing articles pop up in the Volgograd Model UN’s website and VK page. The networks represented were CNN, Russian Today (RT) and Euronews. It was very similar to the news networks that we established at Hastings during my senior year Global Summit. I loved this idea and it was nice to see it in practice here at Volgograd State University.

The second day was the longest, as we had committee starting a 9 o’clock in the morning. We started by listening to all of our fellow delegates speeches regarding their individual nations stance on the relationships between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It was interesting to hear all the speeches and it think about how consistent they were with the actual positions of their nations. The delegate from Ukraine was one of the most entertaining individuals in the whole committee. It his speech, he got side tracked after and question from the delegate from Spain who asked him if “borscht and salo” were Russian or Ukraine dishes, after he said that Ukraine would counter terrorism and extremism by exporting Ukrainian culture. I then responded by saying, “How are Ukraine export its culture in the Middle East if Muslims can’t eat salo?” Laughter then ensued and it all fell apart, the Presidium calling us all to order (Ukraine also is the “problem child” in this events). Questions were frequent and it was very good to have most delegates actively engage in debate and confront their peers based on policy differences. It was very interesting to see how the coalitions formed. Uruguay is a very neutral nation and I allied myself with regional partners including the Venezuela was it made sense. The hardest challenge was to find ways to maintain my nations trade deals with Iran, while staying buddy, buddy with the global powers and my regional allies.

The second day was a mix of more speeches from the delegates (it took forever to get through all the opinions from each nation) and coalition building. It was very strange to see the United States, the Russian Federation, and China working together in a coalition that including myself, and several of the smaller players including Venezuela and Egypt. The second coalition was ever stranger with Iran and Saudi Arabia working together, along side of France and the UK. It made us all question the situation and what was going on. We then spent most of the time debating back and forth from calling both Iran and Saudi Arabia out on this unrealistic alliance and myself and my fellow delegates from our coalition gave several speeches on the matter. The third day was then spent on framing ideas for a resolution and we started writing. It main points in our working paper were concerning with economic incentives and nonintervention, while maintaining the standards of international law and past resolutions on the subject. We also emphasized the Group 77 of which Iran is a member, could help open a venue for starting dialogue and that Sunni and Shia leaders must work together at the grass roots to route our extremist elements within their communities.

After the resolutions were presented buy both groups, their was more debate on the various points and good work was being done on finding some common ground. It was still very difficult as the UK vetoed our resolution and China, the U.S. and Russia vetoed theirs. After this, we were at a stale mate. The fourth day was the most intense for the debates, were we need to persuade the opposite coalition to agree with ours. I gave a speech on the fact that Iran needed to be checked on its commitment to the international community and that only through mutual cooperation by member of the Secuity Council could goals be made. In the end, France and the UK backed us and Iran even caved, making the whole event a “done deal.” I was very impressed by the commitment and effort that my fellow delegates put into the conference, especially for some of my peers who were at Model UN for the first time. It was also great to learn about them as people. I really got to know more about them at the dinner we had for all the delegates on the third night. There was good food and champagne, the tradition of toasts was alive and well. There was also dancing. I was evening asked to dance lezginka by Angelina, so we dance lezginka together and it was a hit amongst my peers. We had a very good time and I’m so glad that Diogo and I got to met so many people, connections that will serve us well in life.

At the end of the conference, we had an award ceremony. I was awarded the Best Delegate Award again. I honestly was shocked because these things rarely happen twice. I’m so thankful for the experience of both participating in this conference and also to see the famous city on the Volga. Diogo and I returned to Pyatigorsk with a set of new experiences, good memories and we made a lot of people. I can say though that I’m happy now to have a break for conferences and traveling. Well, friends I hope you are all well and doing fine. Chat with you later. From Russian with regards.

Model UN and Astrakhan

It has been a very, very busy last two weeks for me. I apologize to my readers for the delay in a blog, but the time to sit down write was taken away by the negotiation table and by teaching children. I would have to say that the last two weeks has been a major highlight in second semester for me, as it gave me opportunities to practice skills that I worked on during my years at Hastings as an undergrad, meet many new and interesting people, and do the thing that I love that most, which is traveling to different places.

This year, Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University (PSLU) hosted it’s first ever Model United Nations. The Model UN is an annual event, which allows students at the college level to “recreate” the experiences of the real institution. Even delegate is required to write a draft paper on the topic of the conference and also write a paper on the nation they are representing, including that nations stance on the specific subject (the countries that delegates represent are selected at random buy the committee). My first time experiencing this as during my senior year of college, when my political science class and I traveled to Model United Nations in New York. We represented the country of Niger, the topic being the “Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The conference as week long and we gained so much value experience in regards to how the UN works, how to conduct negotiations with our fellow delegates and write resolutions.

At Pyatigorsk we did the same, but on a smaller scale. In New York there were at least over a thousand delegates participating. At Pyatigorsk there were only about 300, six of whom (including Diogo and myself) were international students. I was looking forward to seeing and experiencing the difference between how the Russians run their Model United Nations and how the “West” does theirs. I submitted my paper on the topic of the conference as soon as I was able. The topic was on “Combating Terrorism and Extremism,” a very relevant topic as you can imagine. A week later, I was contacted by the committee on change of the Security Council and I was given the Russian Federation to represent. My mother and I found this very funny, but in any regard to nice to see a Russian student feel that I was “qualified” to represent their country in an official setting. I was honored in fact. Diogo ended up representing the nation of Senegal and my friend Alina was the delegate for Egypt. It was very different then from New York, in that, students individually represented their nation. In other words, I was the individual delegate from PSLU who represented Russia within the Security Council, whereas other students from Moscow, Volgograd etc. represented Russia, but in other committees (notably in the Council on Economics and within the committee on Combating the Social Aspects of Extremism).

The conference started on the 14th of March and lasted until the 18th. A normal day was sitting in committee and negotiating the terms of our goals during most of the morning. It was great to be on the “other side of the table” during this event as I got to defend Russian’s stance the economic and geopolitical issues, such as the Crisis in Syria. I was ally less in the Security Council, only the delegates from China and Venezuela would have anything to do with me during the start. I now understand with it feels like to be a representative of a country and have the whole of the Security Council gang up in you through its monopoly on power within the institution. It was cool that a girl from Georgia was representing the United States, and she played the part well and like a firecracker. I’d never would want to be on her “bad side.” All of my fellow delegates were very kind and informed on their nations and the topic and exchanged a lot of ideas on regards to how our respective nations could improve relations with one another. I met many Russians from Volgograd, Moscow, Krasnodar and the city of Kurgan (in Siberia). It was interesting that most of them thought I was a Caucasian, because of my beard and Caucasian accent. It was also delightful to talk about the Caucasus region. It seems the further north one goes in Russia, the more fearful of the Caucasus people get (though I understand the view of the students living in Volgograd, as they’ve had several terrorist attacks in their city).

After four days of negotiations, we were getting to the period in the process where the most touchy issues had to be tackled. Talking about Syria split the room into the pro-Assad camp and the anti-Assad camp. We all tired to find middle ground on the issue, becoming successful after citing and “rehashing” Resolution 2054 from the real negotiations on the Syrian conflict which happened in September. We managed to make a joint resolution after Russian’s resolution was shot down (I wasn’t surprised). We all tried to stay in our nations character, while managing to ally on regional security issues, on humanitarian aid, on sharing intelligence, and on regional development of regions suffering for terrorism, notably in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. We also get to listen to several speakers from the Russian Foreign Service discuss the various issues within the realm of combating terrorism and extremism. In the end we came up with a resolution that sported 24 clauses. We had several photo ops as well as and coffee breaks between all the talks. At the closing ceremonies, delegates were awarded with certificates for taking part in the event and each of the three committees gave an award for “Best Delegate.” I was chosen for the “Best Delegate Award” within the Security Council. This was an award given through a vote amongst one’s peers. It was a wonder experience that I will never forget.

The biggest things I noticed that were different in regards to the Model UN conference in Pyatigorsk, besides the scale of the event was that most of the efforts within the three committees were organized by the students. Students from Pyatigorsk, Volgograd and Moscow helped arrange the schedule. The time for all of the events was set by the students in conjunction with the university and with the catering service that supplied us ample amount of tea, coffee and sacks during the conference. Another difference was in the time itself. The Model UN in New York was very hectic and we worked within our various committees from the early morning and into the late evening, from 6am to 11pm, sometimes as late as 2am. Here in Pyatigorsk, we worked from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. We also had a lunch break and two coffee breaks everyday. During the late afternoon break, I usually worked on the draft resolution with some of my peers or looked up some more information on the stats from the UN, or from the Russian Federation’s various administrations. Those are some of the biggest differences. In regards to politics, educated Russians who are my age are very out spoken about the issues that their nation faces and are happy to point out when their government “gets it wrong.” I even had the delegate for the United States say to me that she wished by I “was apart of the Russian government” so that relations with the West would “normalize.” I was humbled, though, I won’t let it go to my head.

At Model UN.

After the conference, I was then massaged on Facebook my our faculty sponsor, Nina. She wrote to me in regards to a teaching opportunity in the city of Astrakhan. A friend of hers by the name of Irina Ivanova, runs a private school of English language for young children. She asked Nina if she could spare a few English speakers and Diogo and I were chosen to go. The costs for the trip and the cost of living would be paid from my Irina’s company. We left Pyatigorsk on the 19th and we stayed there for 9 days. We were given an apartment to live in, which was a pleasant surprise after our 12 hour long bus ride. The apartment was also very close to the city center and this made it easier to travel to and from both our place of work and the cities special sites. The school what Diogo and I worked at is called “A-Foward” and was need 15 blocks away from our apartment. It was a very comfortable commute to the school everyday. I was also very glad that the weather was decent during our stay. I was concerned when it snowed while we travel from Pyatigorsk to Astrakhan. The snow looked like dunes of sand from inside the van, darkness obstructing shapes and textures. Traveling at night was both a blessing and a curse as you can sleep on the way, but can’t see the landscape.

Teaching.

Astrakhan is seated on the Volga Delta, overlooking the northern shores of the Caspian Sea (about 20 or so miles from the sea itself). The area is famous for it’s once rich schools of sturgeon, but alas over the last 200 years, the demand for black caviar has almost brought this species of fish to extinction. Today, on the Black Market, a can of 8 oz black caviar can go as high as $100. The region is also home to many exotic plant species, many of whom are found only in the Volga Delta. Astrakhan is first recorded to be mentioned by travelers during the early 13th century as the city of “Xacitarxan.” The famous leader Tamerlane (a powerful and respected leader of the Golden Horde, the massive, mounted army of Mongol/Tatar warriors who conquered the vast steppe lands in the 12th and 13th centuries) burnt the old city to the ground and established amongst it’s ruins the new medieval settlement of Astrakhan in 1395. I can only describe the city was a mix of Saint Petersburg and something Russian/Asian. The architecture of that of neoclassical style with those wonderful pastel colors, which remind me of Easter. It is an interesting contrast from the cities original beginnings.

On the streets of Astrakhan.

The city served as the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate from 1459 to 1556, until Tsar Ivan IV conquered the khanate and built a new fortress or kremlin on the steep hills over looking the Volga. The year 1558 is traditionally considered the “official founding” of the modern city. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1568-1570, Astrakhan was besieged by the Ottoman armies, but were felled by the superior “zeal” of Russian forces. This intern, resulted in the sultan renouncing his claims to Astrakhan, opening the Volga River to Russian economic, cultural and military influence. In the 17th century, the city was developed and promoted as the “Gateway to the Orient,” and many Russian merchants exchanged goods with Armenians, Safavid Persians, the Khiva Khanate, and even as far as Mughal India, building successful trade routes. As a result, Astrakhan has developed as very strong, cosmopolitan character. The kremlin itself is large and dominated by the Cathedral of the Assumption. This towering structure could be seen from our apartment windows and it’s impressive bells from ring on every hour. We toured the kremlin with a bright man named, Maxim. He is a teacher at the school, specialized in English and responsible from many for the older students. He walked and talked with Diogo and I as we toured the kremlin. We also had the opportunity to see an expedition of works by Salvador Dali. It was interesting as I have not seen many for his works. His depictions of horses are very strange, with their huge, volleyball sized testicles. Anyway, the museum also had a galley of restored photographs of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, some as early as 1893 and others as late as that faithful year, 1917. It was very historically satisfying.

The Cathedral of the Assumption in the Astrakhan Kremlin.

We then head to a cafe for our evening meal. Maxim had invited us to an “English club” he was having with some of his friends. Two women soon joined us. One of them is named Polina. She graduated from Saint Petersburg University a few years back and is currently working as translator of Russian and English one in of the international supply rings near Astrakhan. She is also a blogger and journalist. We had great discussions for the everyday “hello name is… and I live in…” to political and social conservation. It was interesting to observe that Maxim and his friends were very open about talking about Russian political and social issues. I’ve never heard Russian on a first meeting be so open when speaking about these topics. I was really taken aback by it. After that we head to a pub called “Kultovey” and sat down to have a few glasses of beer. To quote Maxim, he called it a “hipster bar,” and I understood way as there were many men in the bar with waxed facial hair, vests and regular famed glasses. The bar was very nice and the dark beer was refreshing. We also went to the State Opera and Musical Theater in Astrakhan, in which we heard the famous tunes of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Livin’ in America (from Westside Story),” Star Wars and the other classics of modern Western (American) culture. I was shocked.

To Diogo and I’s surprise, Astrakhan also has a very impressive beer culture. There are several breweries within the city that make very good beer. One such establishment that we visited is called “Beer House.” I very larger and “German” style pub, it must be a great place for all the Russian soccer fans to gather together, watch a game and share a pint or two or three. We when will several of our co-workers at A-Forward, including with Irina and we celebrated by drinking the brew. Diogo and I are huge fans of beer and we wanted to try as many local brews as possible. I had a glass of “Beer House” dark which reminded me a lot of a Guinness and Diogo and I both got a 3 liter glass with a tap on the side of it, the center filled with a tube, stuffed with ice to keep the amber liquid cold. It was very wheaty and unfiltered, making it taster so nice. We also enjoyed the pub food. I love Russian pub food, fried black bread, fried palmeni, baked chicken and every fried cheese sticks. What a wonderful mix of food to have with a good beer. Another great brewery is called “Academia Piva (The Academic’s Beer),” and it is most likely my favorite beer establishment in all of the Astrakhan (well at least the parts we got to visit). It is a very old brewery, built in 1904. It had great a atmosphere, brick walls and wooden fames, with photos of the old brewery. There was also historical artifacts of the brewery stored in display cases which hung on the walls. One of them most interesting prices of stone that must have been on the original floor of the brewery when it was first built. This was also certificate framed on the wall that displayed that the brewery had passed the “Beer Purity Laws” or Reinheitsgebot that the Bavarian Principality established in the 1516, creating a standard of ingredients and regulations to improve quality. It was really cool to see the “Academia Piva” had been recognized for this. I would love to learn more about the brewery, especially how the First and Second World Wars effected the breweries’s production and popularity. My favorite beer there is their red lager. To be honest, lager helps end our stressful days with the children.

At “Beer House,” drink my own 3 liters worth.

One of the display cases in “Academia Piva.”

The history of Astrakhan is also equally as fascinating as the beer. In the past, Astrakhan was held by Astrakhan Cossacks who were relocated by the Tsar from the Volga region in March of 1750. Cossacks have a long history within the city of Astrakhan. In the 1670s, the city was the prize of Stenka Razin and his band of Cossacks and in 1705 by the Cossacks under the leadership of Kondraty Bulavin, who led a rebellion against Tsar Peter the Great. Cossacks have played an important roll as both rebels to and enforcers of the Tsar’s will. This duality is what makes them both fascinating and dangerous. Historically speaking, the Cossacks of Astrakhan have been loyal to the Tsar, but their small numbers have been over shadowed by their Don Cossack kin in the Volga region. Astrakhan Cossacks are unique in that they wear papakha with yellow cloth tops, distinguishing their regional identity (as examples, Don and Kuban Cossacks will wear red cloth tops whereas Terek Cossacks wear blue). Their presence in the city was important, as Astrakhan become a trade and transportation hub in the Russian Empire after Peter the Great commissioned a shipyard, giving the Russians an opening into the Caspian Sea (is monument on the banks of the Volga is very impressive, capturing his raw power and command of authority). This however, was the catalyst for hostilities against Safavid Persia. In 1717, the city become the base for Russia’s expansion within Central Asia. The Persians then plundered the city in 1719, resulting in several fires that burned much of the old city. This city is a health mix of Russian and Central Asian, with splashes of German. On the second day, we took the children out to recess. During that time, they played in the park near the kremlin. Here, Astrakhan has a monument to the Astrakhan Cossacks who served Tsar Alexander I during the Napoleonic Wars (1805-1812). Nearby, there was also a statue to the soldiers who fought in the First World War, a rarity to be sure. Across for that statue was a monument to the Eternal Flame, with several plaques detail the sacrifices of the Soviet Nation, especially from the soldiers of Astrakhan who volunteered 150,000 men, 77,000 of whom never returned.

The Eternal Flame.

On top of a T-34.

Astrakhan is also famous for the Astrakhan papakha. Made of karakul or qaraqul (a breed of sheep), it is very warm and fashionable among the traditional dress of Central Asian men. Qaraqul means “black fur” in Turkic and similar types of hats are common among the Turkic speaking peoples who inhabit the Central Asian steppe. The hat is peaked and folds flat when taken off of the wear’s head, being triangular in shape. Like other papakha, it is made from the fleece of an aborted lamb fetus. The food in Astrakhan also personifies the influence of Central Asia. Tatar, Kazakh and Uzbek cuisine are some of the highlights in Astrakhan. Diogo found a fantastic Uzbek restaurant a few blocks from the apartment we stayed in. We wanted to order the famous Uzbek palov, (one can argue it is their national dish), but to our surprise and disbelief, they were out of the wonderful rice dish with meat. Sadness however, lasted only momentarily as we ordered Uzbek khachapuri (I love that one can find Uzbek versions of Georgian food), chuchpara (Uzbek fried palmeni, made with lamb), chaikhanas (their famous green tea), and a lamb samosa. It was a very filling meal.

Chaikhanas

Inside the “White Mosque.”

Inside the “Red Mosque.”

The “Green Mosque.”

Between our sighting seeing, beer tasting and eating of delicious food, we worked at A- Forward for 5 to 6 hours a day, starting everyday at 9 in the morning. The age group we worked with was from 5 to 11 (the oldest student we had was a 14 years old). It was a wide range in regards to age, so it made it a little difficult to create a lesson plan that could teach the young children while keeping the older one’s interested. Some children had very little experience in speaking English, while others had been speaking for 2 or 3 years. They said that a child’s attention span is as long as their age. So, a 5 year old as 5 minute attention span, whereas a 15 year old has 15 minutes. It is difficult to keep teaching going when the class are an hour and 30 minutes long. It one doesn’t keep this in mind and focuses just on a “traditional lesson,” you lose em very quickly. Every 7 or 10 minutes I’d play “Simon Says” with them to have them stand up and move around. They have so much energy. I’d find myself very tried at 5 o’clock and both Diogo and I would nap when we returned from teaching.

The boys and girls were taught in separate rooms. Diogo and I decided to switch both groups, taking the mornings with the boys, as an example and after the middle morning break, go and teach the girls. I tried to cater the lessons to the students interests and the older students would usually come up with a topic and I’d go over vocabulary with them and give with picture games, while writing a few sentences to see how their grammar progressed. The girls read and wrote in English very well for their levels, but at the beginning were very shy. The boys (at least the older pair, named Igor and Bogdon) spoke more, but needed work on writing and spelling, something that I totally understand. The boys were very interesting in animals and the words for biological parts, such as heart, lungs etc. I would draw a picture of an animal on the white-board and they would label the parts after I gave them a list of words. When teaching the girls we talked about the stars and planets, fashion and food. We also played games with the kids, such as laser tag which was very fun. It was great way to learn about the boys in an unofficial environment.

Laser tag.

Toward the end of our teaching session, the girls and boys preformed songs for their parents in English and we helped them practice. The girls were assigned songs, one group singing “Try Everything,” from the new Disney movie “Zootopia” (which the European and Russian cinemas have called, “Zoopolis”). Another group sang the song “Slow Down,” by Selena Gomez, a song I personally found very inappropriate for 6 and 7 old girls to be singing. With lyrics such “I want to feel your body right next to mind,” and other sexual phrases. It made me feel very uncomfortable. The last song which the oldest girls sang was good, a song called “Milky Way” by the group “One Kids (never heard of them). The youngest group of boys sang, “Strangers Like Me” from Tarzan, something I picked out from them. The older boys did two numbers, “Stole the Show” and “Sugar (both songs were picked up by them as they knew them).” The concert when well over all and the children’s parents were impressed and very happy that Diogo and I were there to teach them.

Sharing beer with our co-workers.

We had a very good time in Astrakhan and I got to see and experience a lot. The city was very kind to us and I’m glad thankful to have been the opportunity to teach a great group if kids and work with a talented group of teachers.