Maslenitsa came to Yaroslavl. The First Maslenitsa events took place on Wednesday, February 10, in Museum-Reserve. A lot of pupils took part in it.
Maslenitsa events started in The Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve. The First participants of a Maslenitsa cortege were pupils. Many customs of this holiday have been forgotten after thousands of years. For example, forefathers didn’t make only the main Maslenitsa scarecrow, but there were some baby-dolls made with tree branches, haulm and rags to throw in a general fire. Earlier all families had such experience.
They are personal Maslenitsa dolls. They could be made in the first Maslenitsa day to be burned in the last one. Or they could be carried for the whole year to be burned next Maslenitsa on the Forgiven Sunday.
— Lydmila Krasnikova, a folk craftsman
After tea with pancakes the participants went out to carry the winter out. The main celebration happened on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They were consist of travelling theatres, dolls actions, bears appearance, slide skating and, of course, Maslenitsa songs.
The main character of the ceremony is Maslenitsa scarecrow. At old times the haulm doll could be female, as well as male. Its clothes were collected from all of the houses. The main idea was that the suit should be old, rattletrap and lacerated. It was thought, that all of the troubles, ill lucks and diseases are burned out together with the scarecrow, and also a wish made at this time will realized for sure.
The Maslenitsa scarecrow have been used to be burned on the Forgiven Sunday. But according to the organizer’s opinion, this ceremony can appear on weekdays, also. Because the point is to tell younger generation about Russian traditions.
A record tall snowman was built by a man from Zavolzhsky district. The hight of the main symbol of Russian winter is 4 meters!
Sergey Martsenko has decided to create a handmade gladness and share it with children. Now the author of the snowman is the local celebrity. All neighborhood kids are coming to his house (and even from kindergarten). Some of them helped him to build the snowman.
Sergey suddenly got upon an idea to create the hugest snowman of the city. Sergey didn’t want to stay at home all holiday. That is why he took a spade and began to build a sculpture.
Initially I heaped up snow, than created a framework, the second snow heap. I created the bucket all day!
— Sergey Martsenko
The snowman is always being watered that not to tumble down. Kids believe that the snowman can bring luck.
The performance “Woe from Wit” of our Volkov Theater was nominated in the famous Russian theatrical award Golden Mask in the following nominations:
Best Large Scale Production
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Designer
and Best Light Designer
The Golden Mask is a National Theatre Award which was founded in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia and is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, operetta and musical, and puppet theatre. The Golden Mask is also an All-Russian Theatre Festival that, in the spring of each year, presents to the capital the most significant performances from all over Russia. The participants are selected by the Boards of Experts that include reputed theatre critics. The Jury of the Golden Mask Festival is composed of well-known actors, directors, conductors, choreographers, and theatre artists. The culmination of the Golden Mask is the Award Ceremony, which takes place on one of Moscow’s most famous stages and is broadcast by the national television channel. The authority of the Golden Mask Award and its special role are recognized by professionals, the public, and the mass media alike.
There will be a new trollybus line on Bolshaya Oktyabrskaya Street. Now this line, which will be from Main Railway Station to Bogoyavleniya Square, is putting on trial. The first passenger transportation will begin in two days. According to the mayor of Yaroslavl, the work with bus stops and traffic signs is needed to be finished.
Now everybody can appreciate new noiseless trolleybuses. Before that locals of Bolshaya Oktyabrskaya suffered from tram noises. New trolleybuses turned out to be less noisy and more comfortable as well as cheap for the city budget.
There will be six trolleybuses on the line and the traffic interval will be 5 minutes. And now people can get to the city center two ways: #1 and #6 lines of trolleybuses. In the future (after the reconstruction of Moskovskiy prospekt) #6 line will be longer: from the Railway Station to Neftestroy.
I think the winter is in Yaroslavl now. Everybody felt it today morning when has known about the weather and the degree. It was -25 degrees below zero.
Some bus lines didn’t work and people had to wait. For example, buses on line #43 haven’t been working all morning. Nonetheless, we are used to suffering fro such weather and sometimes it is enjoyable.
Today a new ship was launched to the Volga river. The experienced sailors didn’t conn the ship. Young sailors did that. There were a dress uniform, an orchestra and invited guests. There has not been such solemn event in Children’s Sea Center after Ushakov yet. And only because the young sailors were presented with a ship.
Parks, parks and parks. There are lots of parks in Yaroslavl which are very green and beautiful either in summer and winter. You can just talk a walk or run in a circle. But there are more interesting things which have been realised by Architecture of Movement organisers.
Three times during this September — 6th, 13th and 27th — there were great performances directly in parks.
Dancing, music and light show with some hand-made activity were in Yaroslavl when citizens have gone to the parks. We know that in Europe and US it is common to be in a green park and just sit on grass. But for us it is very uncommon and a new experience. That is why we want to change parks and make them better for leisure.
Time will show and now you can see photographs from these events: 6th, 13th and 27th of September.
The name of the quite amazing performance was “Jazz na Svobode” (either Free Jazz and Jazz at Large, a Russian pun). The main idea was to play jazz on the balcony and in the same time passersby can’t see an orchestra. They only should listen to free music, jazz music, street music.
As if the music was from air.
People heard the music but could not understand where it came from. It was city filled with beautiful sounds.
The modern state and Global security is the name of the greatest conference ever which took place in Yaroslavl yesterday.
September 14, 2009 International Conference “The Modern State and Global Security” organized and held under the aegis of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev will take place in Yaroslavl, Russia. The Key topic of the Conference is what the modern state should be like, how should it act and progress in order to make the world a safer and more sustainable place.
There were lots of topics:
In which degree does social policy of one state become a factor of global stability;
Though which international institutions should states develop standards of their behavior and guarantee security of other countries;
Upon which principles is it possible to build a mutual loyalty of states toward a distinct pattern of a political system;
What actions should the modern state take against terrorism, separatism and xenophobia, present threats to the common good.
There were more than 550 participants including our president Medvedev, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
There is an interesting connection between Mr. Medvedev and Yaroslavl. I’ve found it on Russia Today website.
President Dmitry Medvedev, who celebrated his birthday Monday, explained to the audience the significance of choosing the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl, which turns a youthful 1,000 years old next year, as the venue site.
“Yaroslavl received its namesake from ‘Yaroslav the Wise,’ a grand prince who was responsible for transforming early Russia into a cultural and military powerhouse,” the president explained.
He then reminded the audience that it was “Yaroslav who was responsible for publishing Russia’s first code of laws, which became the basis of Russian statehood.” This little history lesson courtesy of the Russian president, by the way, was probably meant as a dig at those who chastise Russia’s home-grown brand of democracy. After all, should Russians stop drinking kvass just because Coca-Cola is widely available? Probably not.
Medvedev also mentioned Yarolslavl’s coat of arms, which just happens to be the bear, an animal that behaves with “force and prudence.” Medvedev said that it is exactly these two qualities that will help the world escape from the clutches of global financial crisis (Incidentally, the Russian word for bear is “medved”).
Stilyagi (Russian: стиляги, the plural of стиляга, literally “stylish”, “style hunter”) were members of a youth subculture that existed from the late 1940s until the early 1960s in the USSR. Stilyagi generally opposed the mainstream Soviet ideology of that time and were primarily distinguished by their snappy or unfashionate clothing, considered politically incorrect and contrasting the communist-socialist realities.
Our Stilyagi event was near Railway Station. Girls and boys were in colourful clothes which looks as real as last century. Dancing and a little bit of those 50’s mood.
