Saratov Embankment Wall Painting – Part 3.

 

The Patriotic War of 1812 was started with the invasion of Russia by Napoleonic armies in the area of Kowno (present Kaunas in Lithuania) at night from 23 to 24 June, 1812. The news reached Saratov residents at the beginning of July. The Russian Emperor manifesto on the beginning of the war was read out on July 28.

On July 20, 1812 the mobilization of people's volunteer corps in Saratov Region was declared. Landowners were required to supply one warrior per every 50 peasant serfs, and to give him food money for six months. As there was no separate militia unit put together in Satatov Region, the mobilized peasants went to Kazan, Simbirsk, Penza, Kostroma, Vyatka, or Nizhniy Novgorod militia formations which made the Third Volga Region Militia District.

At the beginning of the war Saratov Region governor Alexey Panchulidzev called on all classes of society to make contributions "to help the army". Appropriate endowments were provided by the nobility, merchants, petty bourgeois, and craftsmen. The nobles granted 145 thousand rubles to outfit the Second Chasseur Regiment formed in Voronezh, whereas merchants and petty bourgeois – around 15 thousand rubles. All classes of Saratov Region gave 30 thousand rubles to the disabled war veteran fund. In the autumn of 1812 they set up a Ravaged People Assistance Committee in Saratov Region to help those coming from the territory occupied by the enemy. In the very first months of the war more than 8 thousand rubles was raised.

The battle path of the Volga Region Militia Corps started in December 1812 in Ukraine. There it protected the southern regions of Russia. In September 1813 the Volga Region militia detachments were sent to Silesia, then took part in the blockade and capture of the fortress of Dresden where they destroyed and seized the 36 thousand French garrison under the command of Marshal Saint-Cyr. The fortress siege went on for around a month and ended in the victory of militia corps in November 1813. In 1814 the Russian high commanders sent the Volga Region militia men along with the regular forces to liquidate a large enemy garrison surrounded in Hamburg. On January 27 and 28, 1814 they repelled two fierce attacks by soldiers of Marshal Davout's corps who failed to break through the encirclement. Saratov militia fighters heroically fought by the walls of Hamburg till its very surrender on May 18, 1814.

The glorious chronicle of the Patriotic War of 1812 includes the exploits of many soldiers from Saratov. In the vanguard of Uvarov's corps there was a regiment under the command of the General-Adjutant Vasily Orlov-Denisov who was born in Volsky District of Saratov Region. In the battle of Tarutino a cavalry regiment under his command by swift and unexpected maneuver gained the rear of Murat's corps and seized his camp with transports and all canons. The halls of Volsk Museum of Local Lore keep a copy of a famous portrait of Vasily Orlov-Denisov made by an artist Vasiliev from the original by George Dawe stored at the Military Gallery of the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

One of the division commanders who distinguished himself in the battle of Borodino was a Saratov resident, General Alexey Bahmetev noted by Aleksandr Herzen in his work "My Past and Thoughts". Many brave acts and great feats were accomplished by a cavalryman Pyotr Podiyapolsky, a native of Atkarsk District of Saratov Region. For courage shown in the battle of Borodino he was awarded an order, and for the fight near the small town of Krasnoye – the Gold Sword for Bravery.

A commander of the 2nd Guards Light Artillery Company, lieutenant Afanasy Stolypin (a brother of a grandmother of a well-known Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov), particularly distinguished himself. Afanasy was awarded several orders and gold personal arms. He received wounds in battles, later retired and lived in Saratov where he was visited by Mikhail Lermontov in January 1830. Chats with his granduncle that Mikhail addressed just as "uncle", and prolific talking to a hero of the 1812 war Denis Davydov, who stayed in the manor of granduncle during Lermontov's visit, inspired the poet to write a poem "Borodino" whose famous lines "Tell me, uncle, it's for good reason that Moscow scorched by fire was given up to the French?" are addressed namely to Afanasy Stolypin.

Hundreds of Saratov residents – participants of the war with Napoleon were awarded commemorative medals.

Graffiti made by Maxim Moseev (Yekaterinburg, Russia).

 

 

The Volga River in the area of Saratov – and not just there – allures fishermen of all types :) Around 70 kinds of fish live in the river, 40 of which are marketable. The most important of the latter are Caspian roach, bream, zander or pikeperch, carp, sheatfish or European catfish, pike, sturgeon, and sterlet.

By mode of life the Volga fish kingdom consists of anadromous, semi-anadromous, or resident fishes. The anadromous fishes live in the Caspian Sea but come to the Volga River for reproduction – all of them are marketable: beluga or hausen, sturgeon, black-backed shad, Volga herring, starred sturgeon, linoge, Caspian trout, Caspian roach, and others. Resident fishes permanently live in the Volga: roach, perch or bass, pike, ide, dace, chub, zope, white-eye, silver bream, burbot, ruff, and others. The semi-anadromous fishes live both in the Volga River and in the desalinated near-mouth areas of the Caspian Sea from where they come to the Volga for reproduction: sterlet, bream, zander or pikeperch, sheatfish or European catfish, asp, sabrefish, carp, and others.

Graffiti made by Anna Katkova (Murmansk, Russia).

 

 

These are the scenes from a novel by a Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita" as well as the author himself: Margarita and the Master riding through space and time – to eternity, Margarita in all her beauty, the ball at Satan's, the Devil himself, and finally Mikhail Bulgakov looking at his characters.

In the summer of 1908 in Kiev the writer to be meets Tatiana Lappa whose family lived in Saratov. Mikhail Bulgakov first came to Saratov in December 1911 – to pay a visit to Tatiana. Her father was a manager of the regional public finance department, so Tasya's family occupied an apartment in a building of the Ministry of Finance at the corner of Volskaya Street and Bolshaya Kostrizhnaya Street (now Sacco i Vanzetti Street). In 1913 Mikhail and Tatiana got married.

Graffiti made by Fedor Ekimov and others (Samara, Russia).

 

 

Lidia Ruslanova was a Russian and Soviet singer awarded the title of "The Honoured Artist of the RSFSR" (1942). She was born in the settlement of Chernavka in Serdobsk Destrict of Saratov Region in 1900. Lidia took singing lessons by an artist and teacher Mikhail Medvedev who worked in Saratov Conservatory.

The main place in the repertoire of Lidia Ruslanova was occupied by the Russian folk songs. A voice of rare beauty and power as well as a unique style of singing made Lidia Ruslanova incredibly popular in the USSR. The way she performed the Russian folk songs is considered to be the best standard. The most famous of her songs are "Valenki", "Katyusha", "Steppe and steppe around", "The moon is shining", "The century old lime tree", "I walked up the hill", "The golden mountains", "The moon is crimson".

The "Valenki" song was first performed by Lidia Ruslanova at the forefront during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. And when on May 2, 1945 she sang "Valenki" in Berlin on the steps of the Reichstag building just conquered, Marshal Georgy Zhukov deeply touched by her performance took off an order from his military jacket and gave it to Lidia. After the concert the Red Army soldiers asked the singer to sign her name on the column of the Reichstag building – next to the names of those who assaulted and captured Berlin.

Graffiti made by Denis Kandalin (Samara, Russia).

 

 

"Bathing of a Red Horse" is a painting by a Russian artist Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin made in 1912 which brought him the worldwide renown. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin was born in 1878 in the town of Khvalynsk of Saratov Region.

Graffiti made by Maxim Ermolaev and Stanislav Ivanov (Saint Petersburg, Russia).

 

 

Saratov street railway is one of the oldest tramway systems of Russia started in 1908. As of 2012 there were 10 tramline routes in Saratov running 224 trams of different types.

TrolZa is the largest trolleybus works in Russia (a former Uritsky Factory). It is located in the city of Engels in Saratov Region. TrolZa produces trolleybuses from 1951. The total output is more than 60 thousand vehicles.

Tramway and trolleybus are environmentally friendly modes of transport since they use electric power. The development of tram or trolleybus production improves urban ecological situation and protects the natural habitat of plants and animals.

Graffiti made by Alexander Repiev (Murmansk, Russia).

 

 

"Under the blue canopy of Saratov sky there stretch wide fields. The wind blows through the ocean of crops, and the land breathes with fertility. The deep sleep of the vast Russian tillage is woken up by the gentle sunshine. All feel well, the homeless and those at home, when they eat a fresh kalach!".

In 1886 a famous merchant of the baking business Dmitry Filippov whose family enjoyed the status of "a supplier of the court of his Imperial Majesty" opened a bakehouse and a bakery in downtown Saratov where a top quality bread was sold. It is believed that Filippov Bakery was active in research to find the best recipe of kalach (a kind of fancy loaf). Saratovsky kalach was first shown at Nizhny Novgorod Fair in 1896. K. Reineke and Sons Trading House then presented a kalach one sazhen (2.13 meters or 7 feet) high. Visitors could sit or jump on it.

A special variety of wheat was fit for Saratovsky kalach – a famous Saratov beloturka (a variety of spring wheat). It grew in just a few areas of Saratov Region. The main feature of Saratovsky kalach was that it was possible to flatten it to a thickness of a flat cake and the kalach sprang back to its original shape. Merchants checked the quality of kalach supplies by way of sitting on the bread covered with a towel. If kalach regained its initial form after this push a buyer called it a bargain and purchased many poods of kalach (pood is a unit of mass equal to 16.4 kilograms or 36 pounds). Another important characteristic of Saratovsky kalach was its ability not to get stale for a long time: since the 19th century the kalaches were frozen and transported to Paris, where they were wrapped in hot towels and thawed out. Then the kalaches were served as fresh-baked bread – even after a couple months.

Two state enterprises baked Saratovsky kalach in the USSR: Saratov Struzhkin Bakery Complex (successor of Filippov Bread and Pastry Bakery) and Engels Bakery Enterprise. Every kalach weighed 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) and cost 56 kopecks. The total bakery output was a few metric tons a day. Saratovsky kalach was sold in every grocery or bakery as well as sent to Moscow, to the government.

Saratov Struzhkin Bakery Complex still bakes big kalaches 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) each, and small ones – half a kilogram (1.1 pound) each. The latter are baked in small batches (up to 200 kg or 440 pounds a day), whereas the big kalaches are only custom made. In 2002 Saratov Region Duma declared every third Sunday of July (annually) the Day of Saratovsky Kalach.

Graffiti made by Yevgeniy Skobelev and others (Rostov-on-Don, Russia).

 

 

Gavrila Derzhavin was one of the most respected Russian poets before Alexander Pushkin. Gavrila devoted to swallows the whole poem which he simply called "The Swallow". Gavrila Derzhavin came to Saratov land in 1774 in the rank of second Lieutenant in the Life Guards of Preobrazhensky Regiment – to fight a leader of the popular uprising Yemelyan Pugachev who hid himself in the skits of the Irgiz River (skit is a monastic-type community of Old Believers). In Saratov Gavrila took part in a meeting where they discussed the issues of defence of the city. He stayed a few months on the Saratov left bank of the Volga River which substantially influenced his formation as a poet.

Graffiti made by Sergey Fomin (Ivanovo, Russia).

 

 

Fyodor Blinov was a Russian self-taught mechanical engineer and an inventor. He was born in the village of Nikolskoye in Volsk District of Saratov Region. Fyodor worked as a barge hauler, a stoker, the second engineer and the first engineer on a ship.

In 1877 Fyodor returned to his native village of Nikolskoye where he made a crawler-mounted "wagon" with a wooden body. The "endless rail" of the wagon was made of closed iron strips consisting of individual links. The carriage had 4 support wheels and 4 drive sprockets. It was horse driven and eventually was a crawler trailer. In 1878 Fyodor Blinov filed a petition to the Department of Trade and Manufacturies of the Ministry of Finance of Russia to issue a "privilege" (a patent) for this invention which he received in 1879.

In 1881 Fyodor began constructing a crawler-mounted "self propeller" which he finished 7 years later in 1888. The "self propeller" was set up like a tractor wagon fitted with a steam engine of 12 horse power that could develop a speed of 3 versts (3.2 km or 1.7 miles) per hour. Blinov's "self propeller" was shown at various exhibitions including Saratov Agricultural Exhibition of 1889, and Nizhny Novgorod Fair of 1896.

In honor of the tractor inventor Fyodor Blinov they named a street in Leninsky District of Saratov City. In his native village of Nikolskoye a monument bust of Fyodor Blinov was erected.

Speaking of the flight of the Russian creative thought, it is important to note that 80% of the world's inventions belong to the Slavs.

Graffiti made by Yevgeniy Diomchenko (Sevastopol, Russia).

 

 

Saratov Young Spectator's Theatre was the first theatre in the world intended for young audience. It was established on October 4, 1918 in Saratov. Its present full name is Saratov Yuri Kiseliov Academic Youth Theatre.

Graffiti made by Fyodor Ipatov (Samara, Russia).

 

 

"Konduit i Shvambraniya" is a novel by Lev Kassil about the student life in Russia before the Russian Revolution of 1917 written in 1928–1931.

Lev Kassil was a Russian and a Soviet writer, and a script writer. He was born in 1905 in the town of Pokrovskaya Sloboda of Saratov Region (now the city of Engels) where he finished a gymnasium. At the end of 1921 Lev moved to Saratov where he went to the 2d Level Labor School (17, Nekrasova Street). At the same time he attended classes at Practical Art Institute of the Radishchev Art Museum. Lev also cooperated with Pokrovsk Children's Library and Reading Room. There they organized various study groups for the children of the workers and issued a handwritten journal whose editor and artist was Lev Kassil.

In honor of Lev Kassil they named a street in the city of Engels.

Graffiti made by Maria Krikun (Engels, Russia).

 

 

Sometimes you feel like going to space so much! – knowing NOTHING of costs and pricing ))

 

 

Saratov wall painting – the new embankment panorama in the area of roller slides: views to the north.

 

 

Saratov wall painting – the new embankment panorama in the area of roller slides: views to the south.

 

 

Saratov wall painting – the new embankment panorama of the section from rotunda to roller slides.

 

 

CONTINUED – PART 4