Talalai Mikhail Grigorievich. Mikhail Talalay - Russian Athos

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Part one.
Russian Athos in the XV-XX centuries
(M. Talalay, P. Troitsky)
I. Renewal of ties between Rus' and Athos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1. XV-XVI centuries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2. “Panteleev” monastery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
II. Athos and Russia in the 17th century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1. Alms from Muscovy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2. Correction of the “Moscow” books on the Athos rite. . . . 31
III. Crisis and revival: XVIII - early XIX centuries. . . . . . . . . 35
1. Decline of Russik. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2. Help for Russian Afonites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3. The feat of St. Paisia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4. Transfer of Athonite traditions to Russia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
IV. XIX century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Panteleimon Monastery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
1. Crisis in the first half of the 19th century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2. Greco-Russian Panteleimon trial. . . . . . . . . . 72
3. Abbess Fr. Macaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4. Founding Fathers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
St. Andrew's Skete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
1. Founding Fathers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
2. Second half of the 19th century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
3. Beginning of the twentieth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Elias Skete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
1. The end of the 17th - first half of the 19th century.
The service of the monk-prince Anikita. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
2. Mid-19th century: Paisiy-“Second”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
3. Second half of the 19th century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
4. Rev. Gabriel of Athos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Small Russian monasteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
1. Kelly St. John Chrysostom
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
2. Cell of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
3. Cell of St. John the Evangelist
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
4. Annunciation cell
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
5. Cell of the Holy Trinity
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
6. Kelly St. Nikolai "Belozerka"
(Khilandar Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
7. Kelly St. John Chrysostom
(Iversky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8. Cell of St. Onuphrius of Egypt and Peter of Athos
(Iversky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
9. St. George's cell on Kerashi (Great Lavra). . . . 210
10. Artemyevskaya cell (Great Lavra). . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
11. Holy Cross cell
(Karakal Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
12. Cell of Presentation of the Virgin Mary into the Temple
(Stavronikitsky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
13. Annunciation cell
(Simono-Petrovsky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
14. Cell of St. Stephen
(Panteleimon Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
CONTENTS 7
15. Cell of the Position of the Belt (Iveron Monastery). . . . 222
16. Ascension cell (Filofeevsky monastery). . . . 226
17. Cell of St. Nicholas
(Filofeevsky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
18. Cell of the Great Martyr George
(Filofeevsky Monastery). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
19. Cell of Michael the Archangel
(Cathedral of the Archangels; Stavronikitsky Monastery). . . . . 231
20. Russian cells and kalivas of the Karulsky monastery. . . . . . . . . . 232
21. Brotherhood of Russian monasteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
V. Beginning of the twentieth century. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
1. Attempts at reform on Mount Athos and Russian diplomacy. . . 249
2. Joining Greece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
3. Athos question after the London conference
great powers (A. Parshintsev). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
4. Athonite "Troubles". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
5. First World War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Part two.
Russian Svyatogorsk residents in 1918-2015.
(M. Shkarovsky)
1. Russian Athonite monasticism
in the first post-revolutionary years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
2. Spiritual and economic life
Russian monasteries of Athos in the 1925-1930s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
3. Holy Mountain during the Second World War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
4. The gradual decline of Russian Athonite monasticism
in 1945-1960s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
5. The struggle of the Moscow Patriarchate
for the preservation of Russian monasteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
6. Revival of Russian Athonite monasticism
in the 1990s - 2010s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
List of abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Mikhail Grigorievich Talalay(b. October 30, 1956, Leningrad) - historian, writer, researcher of Russian diaspora. Area of scientific interests: St. Petersburg studies, Italian studies, Russian abroad, Orthodoxy.

Biography

Born in 1956 in Leningrad, in 1973 he graduated from school No. 248 with in-depth study of the English language with a Gold Medal.

In 1979 he graduated from the Technological Institute. Lensovet, worked as an engineer in the field of water treatment of boiler houses, author of a number of inventions (Award sign “Inventor of the USSR”), participant of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements (Gold Medal “For Success in the National Economy of the USSR”). In 1981-1987, after completing courses for guides and translators, he worked in the foreign department of the Leningrad Region of the USSR Academy of Sciences and in the Sputnik Bureau of International Tourism. Since 1985 he has collaborated with Samizdat, since 1986 he has been a participant in the public environmental and cultural movement for saving monuments, and in 1987 he organized protest rallies against the demolition of the city's historical buildings.

In 1988-91 he worked in the Leningrad branch of the Soviet Cultural Foundation (department for the protection of monuments).

Since 1992/93 lives in Italy, in Florence, Milan and Naples.

In 1994-2000 permanent correspondent for the weekly “Russian Thought”, 2000-2010. permanent correspondent for Radio Liberty.

In 1996-2001 he studied in correspondence graduate school at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In May 2002, he defended his candidate’s thesis “The Russian Orthodox Church in Italy from the beginning of the 19th century to 1917.”

Scientific career

Candidate of Historical Sciences;

Senior researcher and representative in Italy of the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences;

In 2012, a scholarship holder of the Hermitage-Italy Foundation;

Laureate of the Makariev Prize 2013;

2013-2014 Associate Professor-teacher of Russian language at the University of Insubria, Como

In 1994-2000 secretary of the parish council of the Russian Church of the Nativity of Christ and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Florence;

From 2002 to the present day, secretary of the community - parish council of the Russian Church of St. ap. Andrew the First-Called (Moscow Patriarchate) in Naples;

Head of cultural initiatives of the Patriarchal Compound in Bari.

Member of the scientific committee of the Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfitanan (Center for Amalfi History and Culture)

Member of the scientific committee of the Association Insieme per l "Athos ("Together for the sake of Mount Athos")

Vice-President of the Association "Russian Apulia - Puglia dei Russi"

Scientific interests

History of the Russian Church abroad, history of Russian emigration, history of St. Petersburg. By order of four large, specialized Italian publishing houses, his works translated dozens of guides to tourist cities in Italy and Europe into Russian.

He focused his research efforts on the topic “Russian presence in Italy.”

He is engaged in research on Russian emigration in Italy, the history of the Orthodox Church in Italy, the Russian necropolis in this country, etc.

Author of numerous articles in Russian and Italian periodicals. He traveled a lot, his travel impressions became material for his journalistic works - in Russian newspapers, on Radio Liberty, and on websites. Published several books.

Awards

Diploma of the House of Russian Abroad named after. A. Solzhenitsyn “For the preservation of Russian culture in Italy” (2013)

Anniversary medal of the Russian Orthodox Church “In memory of the 1000th anniversary of the repose of Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir” (2015)

Research works. Books and brochures

Scientific and popular science publications. Books, brochures, collective monographs

This section contains monographic publications, works created in co-authorship, as well as works published as part of collective monographs.

City names today and yesterday. Leningrad toponymy / S. V. Alekseeva, A. G. Vladimirovich, A. D. Erofeev, M. G. Talalai. - L.: LIK, 1990. - 160 p.
Temples of St. Petersburg. Directory guide / A. V. Bertash, E. I. Zherikhina, M. G. Talalay. - St. Petersburg: LIK, 1992. - 240 p. - ISBN 5-86038-002-X
Day Angel. Reference book on names and birthdays. - St. Petersburg: “TRIAL”, 1992. - 256 p. - ISBN 5-7601-0001-7
Pilgrimage to the North. Russian saints and ascetics.
1. Chapter I: To the White Lake // Twilight, No. 11, 1992
2. Chapter II: Apostle of the Far North (St. Tryphon of Pechenga) // Youth, No. 9, 1992. - ISSN 0132-2036
City names today and yesterday. St. Petersburg toponymy (jointly with S. V. Alekseeva, A. G. Vladimirovich, A. D. Erofeev). - St. Petersburg: LIK, 1997. - 288 p. - ISBN 5-86038-023-2
Russian colony in Merano: To the 100th anniversary of the Russian House named after. Borodina = Die Russische Kolonie in Meran. Hundert Jahre russisches Haus “Borodine” = La colonia russa a Merano. Per i cent’anni della Casa russa “Borodine” / Ed.-comp. B. Marabini-Zöggeler, M. G. Talalay. - Bolzano: Raetia, 1997. - 144 p. - ISBN 88-7283-109-1 - Parallel text. German, Russian Italian
Russian burials at the Zeytinlik military cemetery in Thessaloniki - St. Petersburg: VIRD, 1999. - 16 p. - (Russian Necropolis; issue 4) - ISBN 5-89559-035-7
Lyubov Dostoevskaya: St. Petersburg - Bolzano = Ljubov" Dostoevskaja. S. Pietroburgo - Bolzano = Ljubov" Dostoevskaja. St. Petersburg - Bozen / Ed.-comp. B. Marabini-Zöggeler, M. G. Talalay. - Florence: Assoc. "Rus", 1999. - 152 p. - Parallel text. German, Russian Italian
Testaccio: Non-Catholic cemetery for foreigners in Rome. Alphabetical list of Russian burials. / V. Gasperovich, M. Yu. Katin-Yartsev, M. G. Talalay, A. A. Shumkov. - St. Petersburg: VIRD, 2000. - 160 p. - (Russian Necropolis; issue 6) - ISBN 5-89559-032-2
Children of two worlds = Figli di due mondi. Memories of the Russian-Italian family of Tatiana de Bartolomeo / Comp., trans., ed. M. G. Talalaya. - Milan; St. Petersburg: Aton, 2002. - 64 p. - ISBN 5-89077-072-1 - Parallel. tit. l. Italian
Russian Orthodox Church in Italy from the beginning of the 19th century until 1917. Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of historical sciences. / Institute of General History RAS. - M., 2002. - 14 p. - RSL OD, 61 02-7/710-5
Russian cemetery named after E.K.V. Queen of the Hellenes Olga Konstantinovna in Piraeus (Greece). - St. Petersburg: VIRD, 2002. - 48 p. - (Russian necropolis; issue 12) - ISBN 5-94030-028-6 - Cap. region: Russian cemetery in Piraeus.
Music in exile. Natalya Pravosudovich, student of Schoenberg = Musica in esilio. Natalia Pravosudovic, allieva di Schnberg = DieSchnberg-Schlerin Natalia Prawossudowitsch. / B. Marabini-Zöggeler, M. G. Talalay. - Bolzano: Vienna: Folio Verlag, 2003. - 128 pp. - ISBN 978-3-85256-255-1, 978-8886857437 - Parallel text. Russian, Italian, German
Demidovs, princes of San Donato. Foreign bibliography / N. G. Pavlovsky, M. G. Talalai. - Ekaterinburg: Demidov Institute, 2005. - 128 p. - ISBN 5-87858-009-8
Biblical scenes in stone and bronze. St. Petersburg city decoration. Directory guide / O. Alexander Bertash, M. G. Talalay. - St. Petersburg: LIK, 2005. - 188 p. - ISBN 5-86038-129-8
Ancient and biblical scenes in stone and bronze: St. Petersburg city decoration - extended. reissue / S. O. Androsov, O. Alexander Bertash, M. G. Talalay. - St. Petersburg: LIK, 2006. - 348, p. : ill. - (Three centuries of Northern Palmyra) - ISBN 5-86038-130-1
In fuga dalla storia. Esuli dai totalitarismi del Novecento sulla Costa d’Amalfi [Escape from history. Exiles of the totalitarian systems of the twentieth century. on the Amalfi Coast] / D. Richter, M. Romito, M. G. Talalay. - Amalfi: Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfiana, 2005. - 164 p. - ISBN 978-8888283340
Saint Peacock the Merciful and the first Christian bells / I. V. Romanova, M. G. Talalai. - M.: Bell Center, 2006. - 48 p.
Necropolis of St. Andrew's Skete on Mount Athos. - St. Petersburg: VIRD, 2007. - 104 p. - (Russian Necropolis; issue 15) - ISBN 5-94030-071-5
Under an alien sky / E. Bordato, M. G. Talalay. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2009. - 147 p. - ISBN 978-5-91419-160-0
The last one from San Donato. Princess [Maria Pavlovna] Abamelek-Lazareva, née Demidova / Int. Demid. Fund; Comp., pub., comm. M. G. Talalaya. - M.: Concept-Media, 2010. - 192 p., ill.
Amalfi. Faith, history and art. (translation, addition) - Amalfi: [Archdiocese of Amalfi - Cava dei Tirreni], - 8 pages.
Elias Monastery on Mount Athos / M. G. Talalai, P. Troitsky, N. Fennell. - Comp., scientific. ed. M. G. Talalaya. Photos: A. Kitaev, M. Talalai. - M.: Indrik, 2011. - 400 p. - (Russian Athos; issue 8) - ISBN 978-5-91674-138-4
Russian church life and church building in Italy. - SPb.: Kolo. 2011. - 400 p. - ISBN 978-5-901841-64-8 - [Makaryev Prize ’2013].
Michail Semnov. Un pescatore russo a Positano (a cura di Vladimir Keidan; introduzione e redazione Michail Talalay). - Amalfi: Centro di Cultura Amalfitana, 2011. - 423 pp. - ISBN 978-88-88283-21-0
Count Bobrinskoj: the long journey from the Pamirs to the Dolomites = Il conte Bobrinskoj: Il lungo cammino da Pamir alle Dolomiti = Graf Bobrinskoj: Der lange Weg vom Pamir in die Dolomiten / B. Marabini Zoeggeler, M. G. Talalay, D. Khudonazarov. - Bolzano: Raetia, 2012. - 144 p. - ISBN 978-88-7283-411-4 - Parallel text. Russian, Italian, German
May a foreign land give you rest. Russian necropolis in South Tyrol. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2012. - 144 p., ill. - ISBN 978-5-904043-58-2
Il piccolo ‘Ermitage’ di Vasilij Necitajlov. Tra Amalfi, Positano e Ravello / Mikhail Talalay, Massimo Ricciardi. - Amalfi: CCSA, 2012. - 80 p.
The inspirer of our tranquility. Russian necropolis in Venice. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2013. - 90 p., ill. - ISBN 978-5-904043-5
Dal Caucaso agli Appennini. Gli azerbaigiani nella resistance italiana. - Roma: Sandro Teti, 2013. - 120 p. - ISBN 978-88-88249-24-7
The love of relatives is on guard. Russian necropolis in San Remo. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2014. - 144 p. - ISBN 978-5-906470-15-7
Russian Don Basilio = "Don Basilio" Russo: the fate and legacy of V. N. Nechitailov / Yu. N. Nechitailov, M. G. Talalai. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2014. - 196 p. - ISBN 978-5-906470-27-0
Russian necropolis in Italy. / Ed. and with additional A. A. Shumkova. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2014. - 908 p., LXXX p. ill. - (Russian Necropolis; issue 21) - ISBN 978-5-906470-18-8
St. Petersburg - Meran: Die Russen kommen = Arrivano i russi = The Russians are coming / B. Marabini Zoeggeler, M. Talalay. - Merano: Touriseum - Provincial Museum of Tourism, 2014. - 144 p. - Parallel text. German, Italian, Russian
Saint Aegidius, Byzantine in the West. Life and Veneration / Ed.-comp. M. G. Talalay. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2015. - St. Petersburg: Aletheya, 2015. - 108 p. - ISBN 978-5-906792-09-9
Russian participants in the Italian War 1943-1945: partisans, Cossacks, legionnaires. - M.: Staraya Basmannaya, 2015. - 408 p. - ISBN 978-5-906470-40-9
I Russi ad Amalfi. Suggestioni mediterranee e storie di vita [Russians in Amalfi. Mediterranean charm and life stories] / A.A. Kara-Murza, M. G. Talalay, O.A. ukova. - Amalfi: Centro di Cultura e Storia Amalfitana, 2015. - 240 pp. - ISBN 978-88-88283-55-5
Russian church project in Tuscany // General Zakrevsky, governor of Moscow and resident of Tuscany [collective monograph] / comp. O. G. Pochekina, M. G. Talalay; scientific ed. M. G. Talalay. - M: Staraya Basmannaya, 2015 - (in print)
Russian Church and Holy Mount Athos in the 15th - early 20th centuries. // History of Russian Orthodox diaspora. Volume I. Russian Orthodoxy abroad from ancient times to the beginning of the twentieth century. Book 1. Russian Orthodox presence in the Christian East. X - start XX century Part 2. History of Russian Athos from ancient times to 1917. Chapter II. - M.: Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2015 - ISBN 978-5-88017-???-? - (in print) - pp. 227-318.

A citizen, historian and chronicler of “Russian Italy” answers our questions

Mikhail Grigorievich Talalay born in 1956 in Leningrad. In the 1980s, he was known as a specialist in St. Petersburg toponymy, one of the active figures in the city protection “Salvation Group”. In the 1990s he became one of the main experts on Russian heritage abroad. Since 1993 he has lived in Italy. He is engaged in research on Russian emigration in Italy, the history of the Orthodox Church in Italy, and Russian necropolises in this country. Creator of the website “Russian Italy”. Candidate of Historical Sciences, defended his dissertation on the topic “The Russian Church in Italy” at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Mikhail, “Russian Italy” - a real or speculative concept? Are its components felt (or feel themselves?) to be parts of a single whole?

It exists, but not everyone, even its components, knows about it. The concept of “Russians in Italy” is very clear: our diplomatic structures deal with its components; in the era of Mussolini, they were subject to complete secret surveillance - the Russians were then considered a subversive nation, not loyal to the fascist regime. Now this makes it easier for me to search in old police archives. If we add to this personal list of compatriots of all times the Russian cultural and historical layer that has grown in Italy, we get “Russian Italy”. However, you need to feel this layer and be interested in it.

How does a Russian who has lived in Italy for as many years as you and who is studying Russian there feel like - Russian or Italian?

I knew one Russian lady who was born in Florence before the revolution; she first came to Russia when she was already a pensioner, but she stubbornly considered herself Russian, refusing the epithet “emigrant”: it was Russia, they say, that emigrated from me, not me. So the years are secondary. The main thing is your own attitude. “Russianness” is generally difficult to remove, and even those who, wittingly or unwittingly, try to do it, succeed poorly. Rather, we can talk about some kind of merging of identities: at first I used this term cautiously, but now more and more willingly - for example, the Russian-Italian sculptor Paolo (Pavel Petrovich) Trubetskoy and so on. And “Italianness” is a nice thing, I willingly and voluntarily merged with it. So instead of the technical “Russian historian living in Italy,” over the years I began to respond to the “Russian-Italian historian.”

"Russian Italy" through the eyes of emigrant artist Ivan Zagoruiko. 1958

Do Italians notice the Russian heritage - against the background of their own, so rich and famous? Do they value it, do they study it, are there any special programs, tourist routes associated with “Russian Italy”?

If we talk about the material part of our heritage, there is not much of it. However, in contrast to this, there is a lot of, let’s say, memorial, ideological, “noospheric”. And the Italians know and appreciate this: first of all, this is creativity of any kind, including political, of our compatriots. Memorial plaques and monuments mark the places where Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Mechnikov, and Tarkovsky lived. This year it is planned to erect a monument to Maxim Gorky in Sorrento. A stele in honor of Lenin, sculpted by the sculptor Manzu, who worked a lot in the Vatican, has long been erected in Capri. Now representatives of labor migration gather at her place, and without any intention at all - the place is convenient. If we return to the material part, then first of all these are Russian churches. But there are not many of them; Imperial Russia arranged only five of them: in San Remo, Merano, Florence, Rome, Bari. Our church in Florence is especially famous, and deservedly so. Its builders were aware of their responsibility for working in the “cradle of the arts” - I came across this expression in a letter from the initiator of the construction, priest Vladimir Levitsky. They value the temple and allocate funds for its restoration. For comparison, both church buildings of the author of the project, architect Mikhail Preobrazhensky, carried out in his homeland, in St. Petersburg, were barbarically broken. In terms of heritage, Italian mansions, villas, and palaces furnished by Russian people should be added to the temples. Some private owners of former Russian places let people in by agreement: this is the Gorchakovs’ villa in Sorrento, the Trubetskoys’ villa on Lago Maggiore, the Li Galli islands, where Nureyev lived, and so on. But as far as special tourist routes around “Russian Italy” are concerned, there are not so many visible ones. There are lectures, conferences, meetings on this topic - yes, there are a lot of them. I would also include here traditional events dedicated to the Soviet partisans of World War II, who were always called Russians here.

- Are our tourists and travelers interested in them? After all, that’s not what people usually go to Italy for?

I know from personal experience that they are interested. For example, in Naples, near the Royal Palace there are two “Horse Tamers” by Klodt. They are often inaccurately called copies, but these are the originals, which spent two years on the Anichkov Bridge and which were removed from their native place and sent to Italy as a royal gift. And our travelers, when they see the “Tamers,” are filled with pleasant excitement and just pride. I observed the same reaction in Venice among compatriots who saw memorial plaques in honor of Tchaikovsky and Brodsky. By the way, in Venice we can talk about a special route through “Russian Italy”: it can even be called a pilgrimage. These are visits to the island of San Michele for the graves of Diaghilev, Stravinsky, Brodsky.

What is the point in searching for your country, traces of your culture in a foreign land? Nostalgia? Method of adaptation? Something else?

Search is always exciting, even if you go to Italy for the sake of your future spouse or new taste sensations. My search led me to a whole “crowd” of wonderful Russian people who lived and worked in Italy, undeservedly forgotten. This alone makes sense to me. As a historian, I established myself in Italy, or more precisely, in “Russian Italy”. In general, the Russian trace abroad is one of the keys to understanding another culture. I went on my first trip abroad in 1988, to Sweden. There was no talk of nostalgia, but even then I found the grandson of Leo Tolstoy near Stockholm, examined the collection of Russian icons in the National Museum, and attended a meeting of the emigrant club “Green Lamp”. I admit that some Swedes I know were kindly surprised and urged me to watch only their “condo”. I watched both. It was more difficult with these interests in Greece, on Mount Athos, where the Hellenes treated me with suspicion, branding me as a Pan-Slavist. In Italy, thank God, I have complete mutual understanding with the local people. This country has attracted foreigners for centuries, and there is already a tradition of exploring the heritage of French, English, German and more. It is important and pleasant that Italians are traditional Russophiles. They like us a priori.

Has your understanding of your own country, its history, its culture changed after what you saw and learned in “Russian Italy”?

Oh yes, it has changed quite a lot. And here, of course, we must first name the understanding of Italy itself. I started my scientific career as a local historian, a historian of St. Petersburg. And for me, world history began in 1703, with the “desert waves.” Before St. Petersburg, everything was foggy and incomprehensible. Now the ideas have been clarified. I remember how surprised my Italian colleagues were when I spoke about the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, because for them even Florence is a young city, “only” two thousand years old. St. Petersburg has not lost its charm, and now for me it is the most Italian of Russian cities. But his classicism has now become neoclassicism, as the Italians call this style, because true classicism is antiquity, which we did not have. As for “Russian Italy”, here too much has gone deeper and broader. I had to deal with the 15th century, and the history of Moscow, and all of Europe.

“Horse Tamers” by the sculptor Klodt at the Royal Palace in Naples once stood on the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg

If you try to describe “Russian Italy” as a special country, where is its capital, borders, main cities and localities?

To determine the boundaries, it is easier to exclude from the Apennine Peninsula regions that have not been developed by the Russians. There are quite a few of them, I will name two southern Italian regions: Calabria and Basilicata. The remaining edges have different intensities, different shades. When I was preparing the book “Russian Tuscany”, I looked on the RuNet: someone writes that there, near Arkhangelsk, they have a real Russian Tuscany - soft hills, spiritual nature. Then I sat down to read the book “Russian Sicily” - Runet writes: “here in Rostov we have Russian Sicily, every evening there are a dozen murders.” But in the end, I decided to turn the situation around and overcome the prevailing stereotype. Sicily is not only about the mafia. Of the cities of “Russian Italy”, the main one is, of course, the one where all roads lead. However, Venice can compete with Rome in importance. There is a whole research literature on the “Russian Venetian”: this phenomenon is unusually bright and holistic.

What is the chronology of “Russian Italy”? It is clear that the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries are included in it. What about earlier times? We count from the 15th century, from Aristotle Fioravanti - or not?

Yes, it’s not for nothing that I already mentioned the 15th century, the Italians call it Quattrocento. After all, Fioravanti’s call to Rus' was preceded by intensive diplomatic missions. And the stay in Venice of the future Russian Grand Duchess Zoe-Sophia Paleologue is part of “Russian Italy”. And don’t forget the great march of Russians to the Florence Cathedral in 1438-1439 - the first of our European travels. Metropolitan Isidore, who signed the union, later fled from Moscow, of course, to Rome, where he was buried in the Basilica of San Pietro. The grave, unfortunately, has long disappeared.

- Is it possible to trace periods of rise, prosperity, and decline in this chronology? By what criteria?

Many lines intersect and overlap here. This is the alternating openness and closedness of Russia in relation to the West: moments of interest changed to something opposite. The diplomatic activity of Catherine II, who flooded the peninsula with our emissaries and diplomats, and the knightly, not without excesses, belligerence of Paul, who sent the army and navy to Italy, with Suvorov and Ushakov, gave way to the lethargy of subsequent cabinets. This is about the big story. However, cultural needs always remained. Their culmination should be attributed to the era of Nicholas I, who decided to send future masters of Russian art for training not to politically and morally suspicious France, but to good, conservative Italy. Thus was born the grandiose project of Russian boarding in Rome. However, the development of art took its toll, and by the end of the 19th century our artistic elite was already heading to Paris. The post-revolutionary outcome brought many new features to “Russian Italy”, with a unique criterion: this is an amazing continuity - mainly those who remained here who had property, connections, etc. even before the revolution. In general, few refugees settled here after 1917 - the country emerged from the First World War with problems, with unemployment, Mussolini did not trust white emigration, Catholics considered the Orthodox then schismatics, etc.

Villa San Donato by Nikolai Demidov near Florence before and after the “renovation” of the 2010s.

- Is there a list of monuments of “Russian Italy”, what are its main attractions?

It still needs to be created. There are few large monuments, I have already mentioned them. The churches stand out for their exoticism; besides, Italians are very fond of Russian icons, and are even surprised that icons are painted in other countries. Some Russian villas and mansions have become state property, such as the Demidov Villa near Florence, and are accessible to the public. In the 1990s, the first list of monuments to “Russian Italy” appeared in the Italian press, but with a special intent: at that moment the Russian government was trying to carry out a series of restitutions, and local journalists compiled a list of possible such objects. The Demidov Villa, bought by the Province of Florence at an auction from the heirs of the last Demidova, Princess Maria Pavlovna, also ended up there. Nobody, of course, was going to restitute it, but the frightened administration of the Province tried to rename the villa, removing the “Russianness”. The Florentines call it, of course, in the old fashioned way. In addition to these prominent landmarks, there is an extensive list of Russian addresses that should be expanded and clarified. For example, the Neapolitan address of the remarkable artist Sylvester Shchedrin has not yet been clarified. There is also a Russian necropolis, which I described as a researcher. Some of the tombstones have recently been restored, but there is a lot of work to do. There are works of Russian art in museums and private collections. There are book collections...

- Do you have any favorite story that characterizes the spirit and meaning of “Russian Italy”?

A lot of them. I’ll tell you the last one - it is set out in a book about Nikolai Lokhov, published last year, co-authored with Tatyana Veresova, a Pskov local historian. A Pskovite of titanic energy, at first a revolutionary, almost an associate of Lenin, but even before the revolution he decided that the Russian people must first be enlightened and civilized, and then... How to cultivate? Through acquaintance with the highest achievements of civilization, with the Italian Renaissance. Lokhov goes to Florence and becomes a brilliant copyist, preparing the paints himself. The timing of copying must correspond to the timing of creation, and he calls copies reproductions. The first batch goes to Moscow, to the museum on Volkhonka, to Tsvetaev, who found the necessary funds. War, revolution... Lokhov lives hand to mouth in Italy, but persistently makes his reproductions for Russia - with Giotto, Beato Angelico, Botticelli. After his death, dozens of paintings remain, but due to the refusal of the USSR, America buys them.

Russian Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bari. 1913-1915. Project A.V. Shchuseva

-What discoveries could you name in the history of this country? What are you proud of as a researcher?

I discovered a previously unknown Orthodox layer of “Russian Italy”. They had not done this before me: the emigrants here did not have their own scientific strength, Italian Russianists were almost all from the left camp and considered the Church a reactionary phenomenon. It helped me that in St. Petersburg I was studying the church history of the city, and knew how to approach it. In Italy I found parish archives in good condition, as well as emigrants still touched in the first wave. The priests treated me favorably. The result was a dissertation and a book, for which I was awarded the Makaryev Prize. At the same time, I compiled the “Russian Necropolis”, first using parish registers, then visiting the main cemeteries in the country. I think I’ve been doing this for about a quarter of a century. In Rome, colleague Wanda Gasperovich helped, there in the Testaccio cemetery alone there are a thousand Russian graves. This book has also been published.

Does the Italian understanding of cultural heritage differ from the Russian one? What examples best illustrate the difference?

Italians have a more organic and calm attitude to life, to the world, to history, without the extremes inherent in us. They, for example, respect Mussolini’s architecture - after all, the best architects worked for the Duce. Aware of the ideological sins of post-war leftist artists, they appreciate their art. In the cultural heritage of the Italians, their national trait is obvious: continuity. The new generation cherishes the cultural baggage of the previous one. The Renaissance arose from an environment of skilled artisans. Modern Italian design and fashion are based on a refined taste and understanding of beauty formed over centuries. And one more thing: deep respect for the creators, for the “maestro”. I will add the valuable local quality of valorizzare - we don’t even have the corresponding verb: these are purposeful actions to give fame, value, weight to a particular cultural event, which otherwise may remain in vain.

Influence of Italian culture, architecture, etc. into Russian is well known. Is there (has there been in history) a reverse influence? Do Italians notice him? And we?

Yes, there is the influence of Russian art of the 20th century: classical music, choreography, cinematography, literature. After the fall of the Soviet system, we began to attack Soviet art; many had understandable allergies and nausea. For Italians, “Potemkin” remains a cinematic standard, Mayakovsky’s poetry excites hearts, and workaholics here today are called Stakhanovites.

Russian Church RNativity of Christ and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Florence. 1899-1903.

Project M.T. Preobrazhensky

If there is a “Russian Italy”, why is there no concept of “Italian Russia”? Or do we just not know about it? Are there any of your counterparts in Russia - people studying traces and monuments of Italian culture in Russian space?

Many of my colleagues study “Italians in Russia.” Together with the Moscow Italian historian E. Tokareva, we prepared a large collection “Italians in Russia from Ancient Rus' to the present day.” There are about forty authors under one cover. However, my counterpart is not among them: my colleagues are dealing with some issues, problems, phenomena where the Italians have left a significant mark. Someone, for example, is interested in cannon and bell makers of the 15th century, and there the Italians set the tone. For a leap to “Italian Russia” we need a dense Italian emigration to us, and it has always been not even dotted, but spotty. And this is unlikely to change.

- What is “Russian Italy” in the 21st century? Do you like its new inhabitants? What do they bring with them?

I arrived in Italy a little earlier than the new wave of emigration and participated in printed discussions on the topic of the “fourth wave” of emigration and opposed this term. Life has shown that the scientific community did not accept it, although someone uses it. The previous three waves occurred when the door from our country opened and closed. Now a normal situation has arisen that existed with other diasporas - with “English Italy” or with some other. If a foreigner wants to live in Italy, he has such an opportunity - please. I wanted to return to my homeland - for God’s sake, good riddance. I knew one priest who asked, together with his family, to go on a business trip to Italy, practically for permanent residence, but he did not like the very peculiar Naples, and he returned to Moscow. According to my observations, Russians are reluctant to become guest workers, and there are enough of them here even without Russians, and therefore now various types of our professionals, people of creative pursuits, and wealthy pensioners are settling in Italy. And - a lot of “Russian wives”, most often blondes, driving Italians crazy. In general, they are all cultured people, because Italy sets the bar. I have made friends with many people and collaborate with them. I am confident that their work will take its rightful place in the overall national treasure. In particular, a number of artists have already received recognition. One paints temples, the other paints portraits... Russian fine art has preserved, thanks to the Soviet system, academic skills that were lost during the aggressive onset of non-objectivity. And our icon painters founded entire schools in Italy.

Interviewed by Konstantin Mikhailov

Illustrations: courtesy of Mikhail Talalay; WikimediaCommons

The legacy of Maria Olsufieva

Soviet literature became known and popular in Italy largely thanks to the titanic translation work of the “White emigrant” Maria Vasilyevna Olsufieva (1907-1988).

With the Soviet system, however, most of the authors she translated (Bulgakov, Pasternak, Okudzhava, etc.) had only passport relations, but still Countess Olsufieva, the daughter of a colonel of the Volunteer Army and the head of the Russian church in Florence, had a lot of time to communicate with the “system”, to get to know her momentary affection and subsequent anger. The reason for her “collaboration” was, of course, nostalgia, coupled with a love for the book and faith in the possibility of liberal reforms in her homeland. Her entire translation career was imbued with this faith and love. And this brilliant career began with the “thaw” and with its first literary swallow, Vladimir Dudintsev’s book “Not by Bread Alone.”

It was 1957, and the West looked with curiosity at the East, which was taking on humane contours. Florence publisher Bruno Nardini, chairman of the International Book Center, said he was ready to publish Dudintsev if the translator submitted the text in 25 days. “I finished translating at two in the morning, and at six in the morning Nardini arrived and took me to the printing house,” Maria Vasilievna later said, “where the typesetters grumbled that they don’t even print newspapers in such a hurry” 1). The publisher was in a hurry for good reason, reaping commercial success; Olsufieva’s translation talent was also appreciated. From then on, the Russian Florentine almost every year prepared one or two books for publication, going against publishing practice: she chose the authors herself, translated them, and then offered them for publication. Its performance is amazing 2).

...Alas, I did not have the chance to get to know Maria Vasilievna personally. The first time I arrived in Florence was just a year after her death: everything here still breathed with her presence. A few years later, having begun, on behalf of the Russian community, compiling a brochure about the local Orthodox Church 3) and studying its archive, I was amazed at the organizational and research talents of the late elder. Parish books, minutes of meetings, correspondence with various kinds of persons and authorities - all this was in exemplary order. Moreover, Maria Vasilievna wrote a book about the church in Italian (which greatly facilitated my own work), helped inventory the parish property and collected a card index of Russian burials in local cemeteries.

The love for the history of the fatherland was even more clearly imprinted in the translator’s archive, which I got acquainted with in her home, where her daughter Elizabeth lived. This Russian corner, exotic for Florence, was like a museum, with a lot of relics, icons, photographs, and rare books. The archive consisted of systematized correspondence with writers and publishing houses (it was this correspondence that the daughter subsequently gave to the Viesse Library, where the main parts of it were translated into Italian and published 4) and from a large collection of materials about “Russian Italy”, about the Olsufievs themselves, the Demidovs, the Buturlins and other families who, by the will of fate, found themselves in the Apennines.

In the dossier about the Buturlins, an almost finished translation of Count Mikhail Dmitrievich’s memoirs about Italy in the years 1820-1840 was discovered. It was accompanied by family trees, illustrations, comments: thanks to such high-quality work of the translator, I was able to almost immediately find an Italian publisher - so thirteen years after the death of Maria Vasilievna, her new book was published 5).

Communicating with her family and friends, with members of the Orthodox parish, it was not difficult to recreate Olsufieva’s life path.

She left her homeland with her parents when she was 11 years old. However, Italy was in many ways her homeland, for she was born here. The fact is that her parents, Vasily Alekseevich Olsufiev and Olga Pavlovna (nee Countess Shuvalova), being passionate Italophiles, spent a lot of time in the Apennines, and in addition, Olga Pavlovna acquired a trusted midwife in Florence and therefore went here to give birth.

At the age of four months, Masha was brought from Florence to Moscow, to the old family nest of the Olsufievs on Povarskaya Street. Her grandfather, Count Alexei Vasilyevich, an old dignitary who devoted his leisure time to translations of ancient Russian poets (wasn’t the gift from him?) still alive. In addition to Latin, my grandfather loved Church Slavonic, and Masha took lessons from him in this language, which came in handy while serving as the warden of a Florentine church. The children generally grew up in a multilingual environment: the mother preferred to read and write in French (she also served as a “mademoiselle” in the house); beloved Lithuanian nanny Keta spoke German, having to switch to Russian after August 1914; a special teacher taught English; the grandfather explained Old Church Slavonic, and during the annual parental trips to Florence the whole family was immersed in the Italian element. Such linguistic wealth did not remain hidden.

Already an emigrant, in 1936, Maria Vasilievna began to describe her Russian childhood, but, alas, something prevented her from continuing it, and only a few pages came out of her planned memories 6). These are notes about dacha life in Ershovo (the Olsufiev estate near Zvenigorod), about the coachman Sergei, about the German gardener Ernst, about the sisters Alexander, Daria, Olga and brother Alexei, about nannies and governesses, about the “dark and huge” house on Povarskaya with its more cheerful stables and cellars, about the funeral of his grandfather at the Novodevichy cemetery, about books hidden in bed in order to read in the morning (the first was “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain), about the first literary experiments, about anti-German demonstrations in Moscow , about captured Austrians. The notes end in 1915, when the Olsufievs left for Tiflis, to join their father, who was fighting on the Turkish front...

Maria Vasilievna's parents are Count Vasily Alekseevich Olsufiev and Olga Pavlovna, née Countess Shuvalova

The translator’s archive also preserved another unpublished document, a memoir essay by her mother Olga Pavlovna, in French, under the title “Scattered Leaves.” In an amazing way, the mother's story continues the daughter's broken story, written years later.

...Count Vasily Alekseevich, a retired colonel of the imperial army, volunteered at the very beginning of the First World War. He is sent to the Caucasus, followed by his wife, accompanied by an assigned Cossack, and a little later - all five children. The revolution overtakes the family in Kislovodsk, where representatives of “old Russia” take refuge in the hope of anti-communist Cossacks and mountaineers. Soviet power, very moderate at first, comes to this resort town. Gradually, power strengthens and expropriations begin. In the summer of 1918, Vasily Alekseevich, together with other officers, went to the mountains, to the detachments of the Volunteer Army. In the autumn of the same year, the “whites” and Cossacks occupied Kislovodsk, but not for long. When the “Reds” approach, the Olsufievs run to the Black Sea coast, and with the help of one Tatar woman they get to Batumi. It is the spring of 1919, and the “red” ring is shrinking. One fine day, an English warship landed in Batumi. Desperate Olga Pavlovna climbs aboard and begs to take her family to Italy, “where there is its own corner.” To her amazement, the British captain immediately invites the whole family to come on board the ship. In March 1919, the Olsufievs landed in the port city of Taranto...

Olga Pavlovna’s French text ends with lines in English, where she warmly thanks the British nation for its faithful and sincere support for all those persecuted.”

Unlike many refugees, the Olsufievs lived comfortably in exile. Even before the revolution, they wisely kept their capital in German banks, and, having lost all their real estate in Russia, they retained at least the “Florentine corner.”

Four girls, having received an excellent education, were famous in Tuscany for their talents and beauty: among bride-seekers, even the collective expression “sorelle Olsoufieff”, “Olsoufieff sisters” arose. In fact, brilliant matches were not long in coming: on November 28, 1929, on the very day of her 22nd birthday, Maria, a philology student, married a Florentine of Swiss origin, Marco Michaellis, later a famous university agronomist; his brother married the youngest of the sisters, Olga. Two older sisters became related to the Roman aristocracy: Asya, a talented artist, began to bear the surname Busiri-Vici, and Daria - the surname Borghese, along with the princely crown (Daria wrote two interesting Italian books, “Gogol in Rome” and “Old Rome”) .

The elder Olsufievs passed away into another world: the count died in 1925, his wife in 1939. However, a new, numerous generation has been born: Maria Vasilievna alone has four children!

During World War II, in 1941, Alexei died, drafted into the Royal Navy as an Italian subject. His ship was sunk by the British - the same nation that saved him in the Caucasus.

After the war, in the 1950s, when the children grew up, Olsufieva turned to translation work, which we talked about at the very beginning. The apogee of her translations came in the 1960s. Brilliant, sensational publications, success with the public and publishers, teaching at the School of Translators. I note that in Italy in those years the so-called “leftist culture” dominated, and therefore the successes of “Soviet” literature were perceived here with particular enthusiasm.

After almost half a century of exile - again trips to Moscow. One circumstance in the “first” homeland turned out to be especially piquant - the board of the Union of Soviet Writers was located in the Olsufievs’ mansion on Povarskaya. It was in her former home, which became the House of Writers, that the translator met with friends and even celebrated New Year's holidays with them, and her old friend Shklovsky toasted “to the hostess.” And representatives of the apparatus then took liberties, often calling her a countess.

Everything changed with the change in the political climate in the USSR. The country was frozen again, and when Solzhenitsyn asked Maria Vasilievna to become the translator of his “Archipelago”, the doors to her homeland that had been slightly opened for her slammed shut - now forever. Olsufieva, however, believed that the absurd regime could not last long, and in addition to translations of Soviet human rights activists, she began to provide them with direct assistance.

In those years, emigrants from the USSR who found themselves in Italy knew that they could be significantly supported in Florence. In fact, in the local press, Lev Tenth Street, on which the Russian church stands, was nicknamed the emigrant trail: in total, about three hundred families found temporary shelter here. Maria Vasilyevna even started a special notebook for the reviews of those special guests, which today has turned into a unique document of the “third wave” of emigration. Particularly close to the circles of Academician Sakharov, she tried to attract the attention of Western public opinion to his dramatic fate, and took care of Elena Bonner during her trips to Europe.

In 1988, Maria Vasilievna died. I am sure that if she had time to travel to Russia, which was being reconstructed, an honorable reception would have awaited her there.

Now she cannot “return” to her homeland with her books, like most emigrant writers, because all her works were translations, and she did not write her own texts, although, without a doubt, she could. My friends and I have repeatedly asked the question: why only translations? I recently found a possible answer in those modest autobiographical notes that she began but never finished. Maria Vasilievna recalls that since childhood she suffered from particular shyness. Also, since childhood, she wanted to write, and she composed poems and stories, hid them, but adults found them, and, to her horror and shame, read aloud what she had written... Isn’t it really better to translate what someone else wrote?

Be that as it may, Olsufieva’s literary gift is fully realized. He served Russia, albeit outside its borders. And it will still serve, because the books translated by her are read and will continue to be read by Italians 7).

Notes

1) Costa M. Traduttrice dell’anno, una nobildonna russa [Translator of the year, Russian aristocrat]//II Giorno, 01/17/1968. P. 7.

2) For a general list of her works published in Italy, see: Talalay M.G. Olsufievs in exile//From the depths of time. No. 10, 1998. P. 280; see also bibliographic dictionary Scandura C. Letteratura russa in Italia. Un secolo di traduzioni [Russian literature in Italy. A Century of Translations]. Roma, Bilzoni editore, 2002.

3) See: Talalay M.G. Church of the Nativity in Florence. Florence, 1993 (2nd ed.: Florence, 2000).

4) Pavan S. Le carte di Marija Olsufdva [Papers of Maria Olsufdva]. Roma, 2002.

5) Boutourline M. Ricordi [Memoirs of Count M.D. Buturlina, ed. V. Gasperovich and M. Talalaya]. Lucca, 2001.

6) Memoirs of M.V. Olsufieva, written in Italian and entitled “Ai miei figli” [To my children], are kept in the family of her son Francesco.

7) In the archive of the Russian scholar Oretta Michaellis, daughter-in-law of Maria Vasilievna, the last unpublished titanic work, Karamzin’s “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” made by two translators jointly, has been preserved. Let's hope that this book will be published, as well as reprints of those already published.

Mikhail Talalay

Russian Athos. A Guide to Historical Essays

Prologue. Why "Russian Athos"?

My prayerful gratitude to the Holy Mountain people who, knowingly and unknown, contributed to the appearance of this book - Fathers Paul, Maxim, Vitaly, Ephraim, Isidore, Gerasim, Kukta and many others.

There are many mountains in the world called Saints.

However, when the conversation turns to the Holy Mountain, it becomes clear to everyone that what is meant is the one hovering over the northern waters of the Aegean Sea. Moreover, this does not even mean the geographical object itself with a height of 2033 meters - the Athonites simply call it a spire - but the entire long and narrow peninsula, as if striving to break away from the sinful European continent and freezing in this effort to take off.

There are higher and more majestic mountains in the world. But there is no one more significant in the history of mankind than this Saint. For at its foot for more than a thousand years special people, unlike us, have been living. They live as if far from the world, but at the same time influence it (however, they do not say about themselves that they inhabit or live, they are saved). Their main task is to draw closer to God for the sake of saving themselves and the world.

In Slavic, such people are called monks, that is, different, different. And everything in the history and appearance of Athos is different, mysterious to the uninitiated. Everything here is full of miracles. How did such an ardent collective faith survive in our enlightened Europe? What is this: a monastic republic or a monarchy with the Queen of Heaven on the throne? Is it necessary to so diligently reject technological progress and live in a medieval way? Why aren't women allowed here? Does no one here ever eat meat? Why do they take the remains of the dead out of their graves and put their skulls on shelves?

It is clear that there cannot be one, comprehensive book that answers all questions. Perhaps someday there will be a kind of Athonite encyclopedia, which will include articles about the political structure of this other region, its economy, avaton (the ban on women visiting the peninsula), architecture, local nature, chants, monastic menu, daily routine, funeral traditions.

At the same time, a significant question arises: is it possible to talk about the Russian Athos? And isn’t there a temptation here for so-called phyletism, that is, the predominance of the national over the Christian? After all, the Holy Mountain is the treasury of the entire Orthodox world (and all of humanity, if we talk not only about faith, but also about culture). For a thousand years, here, on the indigenous Byzantine soil, the prayerful feats of the most diverse peoples were fused together: Greeks, Slavs, Georgians, Romanians and others (until the 13th century, for example, even one Italian monastery existed here). And canonically, all brotherhoods belong to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Local monks, although according to the rules they are required to obtain Greek passports, tend to believe that they are losing their nationality along with their worldly name and surname.

And yet, having made such reservations, it is both possible and necessary to talk about Russian Athos: our people had their own, and unusually rich, history of relations with this place.

To begin with, the very first Russian monk, who entered our Saints as the Venerable Anthony of Kiev-Pechersk, took monastic vows precisely on this peninsula. He and his disciples after him introduced reverent love for Mount Athos into the very soul of Ancient Rus': thus the beginning of our Christian life received a blessing from the Holy Mountain.

The Svyatogorsk blessing is remembered not only in Russia, but also in modern, very Hellenized Athos: in the Esphigmensky monastery, a stronghold of the Zealots, the founder of Russian monasticism is proudly called none other than the Venerable Anthony of Esphigmen.

From the Anthony Cave, the path along Mount Athos can be continued by sea. Then the next stop will be the beautiful Vatopedi Monastery. The Greek youth Mikhail Trivolis took monastic vows there, who later became the Russian spiritual writer, the Venerable Maxim the Greek (on Athos he is called Maxim of Vatopedi). In 1997, a remarkable event took place here: the Russian Church sent Vatopedi as a gift an ark containing a particle of the saint’s relics: “Maxim has returned home,” said the touched monks.

The Moscow Metropolitan Saint Cyprian (1395–1406) also began his ministry on Mount Athos. In difficult times - both for Rus' and Byzantium - he did an extraordinary amount to strengthen Orthodoxy.

It is impossible to overestimate the significance of the spiritual experience of Elder Nil of Sorsky, which he acquired in 1460–1480 on Mount Athos and served as the basis for his teaching on non-covetousness.

In the 18th century, a similar feat was accomplished by Elder Paisiy (Velichkovsky), the founder of the Elias monastery and a tireless collector of the patristic heritage. The translation of Greek manuscripts organized by him became fundamental for the monastic revival in Russia. And there are a great many such episodes of our country’s special relationship with the Holy Mountain.

…Sometimes a visitor to the present-day Russian Athos is overcome by an inevitable bitterness: for various historical reasons, which will be discussed below, Russian monasticism has lost many of its institutions, and its number of five thousand monks at the beginning of the 20th century decreased to fifty at the beginning of the 21st century. It is impossible not to think about this after visiting the great, once Russian, monasteries, St. Andrew's and Ilyinsky, which have now become Greek.

But statistics on Mount Athos are not the main thing. Let us give just one example: precisely at the time when the Russian monasteries were experiencing a visible decline, the spiritual exploits of Elder Silouan Panteleimonovsky occurred - exploits that amazed the Christian world.

Russian Athos continues to live.

The key to this is the following remarkable event: in 2000, here, in one cell of the Kutlumush Monastery, Russian Athos residents consecrated a church in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the first with such a dedication on the Holy Mountain. Once this elder was called the radiation of Mount Athos. Now this light, as if reflected, returns to the original source, to Athos, where from the depths of Russia the love of Saint Seraphim himself rushed, as well as the love of thousands of other Russian people who had never set foot on these roads, but who knew them perfectly in their hearts.

Holy Mountain at the beginning of the 21st century

Blessed is Hellas, which has such a treasure as Athos!

Of course, it belongs to the entire Orthodox world, but it is still more convenient for the Greeks: you can go to the Holy Mountain at least every weekend (the Hellenes, by the way, in the fight against Americanization, decided to call it Savatokyryaki, i.e. Saturday-Sunday).