What the aliens talked about Moscow in the old days
Aggressive makeup and a ring in his mouth, swearing children and obscenity in the bath. “Газета.Ru” continues a series of articles dedicated to the memories of foreigners about Russia — this time in the XVII century.
Because of the alienation between Western Europe and Russia Western society remained almost in perfect ignorance on the situation and the fate of Russia.
The result among the Europeans has spread and established itself strange ideas about our country.
Even in the beginning of the XVIII century Russian resident in one of the Western courtyards, looking for business people for Peter, complained that these people are afraid to go to Russia
They thought that to go there means to go “to the edge” that this country “with the Indies borders”.
The most extensive descriptions of Russia in the XVIII century gave the German scholar Adam Olearius. It is for his life visited Moscow four times, and in 1657 published his essay “the New augmented description of the journey to Muscovy and Persia”, in which he described his observations, supported by illustrations.
The first thing OLeary noticed in Moscow is almost entirely wooden city, where brick buildings lived only nobles, rich merchants and the Germans
“So often occurring wildfires. We are in the time at night sometimes seen in 3-4 places at once flames rise. The streets are wide, but autumn rain is very dirty and sticky, so most with round logs, placed side by side, and it go like on the catwalk,” wrote he about unaccustomed to European travelling.
Put this on immediately
Another interesting observation of steel for Olearius dealers near St. Basil’s Cathedral. In particular, he described women standing, holding in the mouth turquoise rings, selling jewelry. “I am puzzled asked what it means. Muscovites responded that it is a sign of the corruption of the broads”. It was what would now be called “women with low social responsibility”, and ring in the mouth — an attribute that indicates their profession.
However, not only representatives of the profession were then readily available. The French Ambassador Foy de La Neuville wrote: “Russian women are very susceptible to foreigners and is very easy to solve the proximity”.
Much has been written on the exterior of the genitals. German traveler Hans Moritz Airman they liked it more than the native Germans
“They face so beautiful that surpass many of the nation. They are slender body and high, so long, reaching from the top to the bottom, clothing sit on them very nicely. My hair, being girls, braided in a braid and decorated with pearls and gold, so it looks wonderful. This maskovica the woman knows how to present himself as a serious and pleasant behavior. Never see a lady laughing, and still less with those ridiculous Cutesy smiles, with which women of our country are trying to Express their secularism and pleasure. They don’t change facial expressions or twitching of the head, or biting lips and rolling his eyes, as do German women”.
But OLeary remained dissatisfied: in his opinion, women were using too much makeup
“Women of medium height, in General, beautifully composed, delicate face and body. But in the cities they rumanetsa and bulatsa, and so much rude and that it seems as if someone a handful of flour held in the face of their and brush painted cheeks in red paint. They are black, and sometimes painted in brown color eyebrows and eyelashes”, — it shared impressions.
In Moscow women, he wrote, especially girls, were shoes with very high heels. Lived a noble woman’s reclusive life, unlike the ordinary girls: “the idle young women very rarely appear among the people.”
Outside the great lady is one not come out never did it unless accompanied by husband, father or elder brother, and main places visited were the churches, monasteries, trips to guests
Moscow — the battlefield
Another novelty for foreigners is Russian bath. In Europe in those days steam was not accepted.
Hans Moritz Airman very positive about this game: “Simple people who together build a bath in running water, only they are more warmed up, go as their God created in cool running water and sit in it for a long time, no matter whether in summer or winter. In the summer we go down to the water like a ladder from two long logs, between them, they in turn hang in the water. And winter breaks in the ice large hole and rush into the icy water. They consider it very healthy. Since we have the custom to wash the unknown, and I myself often took part and I loved it, I wanted to talk about it.”
OLeary also a Russian tradition, was not impressed. “We are seen several times in Moscow, as men and women came out to chill from simple baths and naked, as God created, came up to us and spoke to our youth in broken German immoral speeches. Men and women bathed together, and it was considered normal.”
He did not like the fact that the Muscovites in the conversation screw the strong language, as he also mentioned in his notes: “they used a shameful, vile words and taunts, which if I didn’t ask them, the historical narrative, I never said chaste ears. Pronounce them not only adults and old and small children, who can not be called neither God nor father nor mother. Already have it on the mouth and tell children parents, and parents children.”
Detailed description of the architecture and life in Moscow can be found in the writings of Paul of Aleppo, archdeacon of Antioch Orthodox Church. Especially the traveler have delighted the Kremlin.
“These towers, we have not seen in the walls of Antioch or of Constantinople, or Aleppo, or other fortified cities, where the loopholes are going smoothly, serving to fire over the earth along. But of these towers can shoot at anything that comes near to the bottom of the wall, and this for two reasons: the wall is not like the city walls, in our country, from top to bottom smooth, easily destroyed, but with the slope, and the loopholes are equally inclined to the bottom of the wall.”
“On the river Moscow several bridges, most of them approved on wooden stilts,’ he continued. A bridge near the Kremlin, in front of the gates of the second city wall, excites great surprise: it is flat, made of large wooden beams, fitted to each other and connected by thick cords of Linden bark, the ends of which are attached to the towers and to the opposite Bank of the river. All city maids, servants and the commoner come to the bridge to wash the dress in the river, because the water here is high, level with the bridge.”
“All their food up cucumbers and watermelons”
A separate issue is Russian cuisine.
The French diplomat Neville quite succinctly said about our food: “In Moscow, eat and drink very badly. All their food up cucumbers and watermelons from Astrakhan, which they urinate in the summer, as well as flour and salt”
OLeary tried to describe the situation at greater length: “the Daily food of the common people consists of cereals, turnips, cabbage, cucumbers, fish fresh or salt. They have a very ordinary food, which they call caviar. She prepared from the eggs of large fish, especially sturgeon or whitefish. This is a good dish”.
Hiking in pubs — employment is not modern. Barhopping interested in the XVII century. That’s what impressions the member of the Swedish Embassy in Moscow Johann Philip Kilburger: “All the pubs, wine, beer and vodka centres, in a lengthy Russian state belongs exclusively to the king. This pub, really good beer, and then sold expensive, although barley, malt and hops are cheap. But Kabakov in Moscow and in other towns and villages not too much. Can Russian praise for not only in taverns, but also in any house in the city there are glaciers to prohladniy drinks in the summer. This is done as follows: every year in the month of March the glaciers stuffed with ice, and then the place where you should be drinking, dig in two, and pour water that freezes in the night, and the place is sleek and smooth. Then on the ice trail straw, from which he summer not soon melts, and drums do not so much deteriorate from moisture”.
A real discovery was to Kilburger usual brew
“Almost everyone, especially the peasants, there is a liquid drink called kvas. Drink this, as far as I know, do not boil, and stir only rye malt with hot water; it always holds in an open pan, and in the evening pour into it as much as drinking a day. But when he finally start to become too thin and weak, do it again and thus continue forever. This brew is sold in all the streets.”
A neighbor with a hammer from the XVII century
Not new, as it turned out, and the eternal Russian theme of repair.
Dutch politician Nikolaas, Witsen complained in his memoirs: “When we arrived there the 25th of January, it was found that the large Embassy courtyard where we stayed, was really started, the repair was just beginning. For the Ambassador was allotted four rooms, and the nobles, officers and other members of the entourage had to stay in the cubicles, standing around the yard.”
A significant trouble in those days was endless looting. During your stay in Moscow already known to us OLeary managed to get acquainted with the flip side of life in the city: “Without a good gun and satellites it is impossible to avoid the attack. It happened with us: some when during the feast was a good friend until late at night, and one on the way back went far forward, he was attacked by two street robbers, screamed and pointed to its dangers. He hurried to help. One of the thieves hid himself, the other was beaten. Does not pass and the night to the next morning there was found on the streets of different persons were killed”.
In General, the severity of Muscovites celebrated by many. So, Arapski, describing market trade, wrote: “Trade Muscovites despotic, this trade fed the people, because they are not required costs are not charged them with any taxes, nor any levies. They say a little like the Franks. One Jew — by birth from fathers and ancestors, but converted to Christianity, a native of Thessaloniki, translator with the Greek and Turkish languages at the doctors of the king, told us that the Jews are superior to all Nations with cunning and resourcefulness, but that the Muscovites outnumber them and take over them the upper hand in stealth and agility”.