Learn Russian in the Russian North (Arkhangelsk and villages)

We were driving from Arkhangelsk to Moscow just on the road when we spotted some tall You can see how Archangel looked long ago Let's try going into the administrative section That's a rather interesting little nose isn't it Hard to say Hi friends Welcome to the channel Russian with Max Today we're learning Russian on the shores Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina is this northern cold navigable river And it is It flows into the White Sea Literally 40 kilometers in that direction and there it is—the White Sea Where are we right now We're in the Arkhangelsk Oblast And of course in the city of Arkhangelsk This is the city I’d like to talk about today Let’s begin Let's begin our walk through Arkhangelsk And first let's talk about why this city is called Arkhangelsk The whole secret in fact lies within this cathedral Previously a monastery stood on the site of this cathedral Archangel's cities did not yet exist but there was a monastery—on the Northern Dvina River And thus the city and the region came to be known as Arkhangelsk in honor of the monastery Of course this monastery was dedicated to the Archangel Michael You can even look at the coat of arms of the city of Arkhangelsk Here the Archangel Michael wields his sword It overwhelms the devil That is such a symbol a symbol of good's struggle against evil a symbol of good's victory The monastery that was located here He had endured so much—fires wars—but he couldn't survive the communists Because when the communists arrived here in the 20th century then This monastery was destroyed in the 1930s as were many others monasteries and churches And so today right where this monastery once stood a cathedral of this kind is being built also named Michael the Archangel cathedral yes dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel It's nearly complete just a little bit left It will soon be open to visitors Now friends you'll see a map ahead where you'll see Arkhangelsk and its location— situated at the mouth of the Northern Dvina River which flows into In the White Sea In other words one could say it's a maritime city a city of the sea located by the White Sea This city is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast and has a population of approximately 350 000 people We're heading to Pedestrian Street right now Here's a fantastic pedestrian street with with their old beautiful houses that I’d love to show you and we’ll delve deeper into the city and the city of Arkhangelsk itself Here take a look—these are pre-revolutionary houses There are quite a few of them here old wooden houses Unfortunately many of them are in poor condition but some are in Quite impressive indeed and I hope we'll get a chance to take a look at them For instance this house here—just look at how beautiful it is Here it is And here is the pedestrian street By the way they're laying new asphalt here—feel free to take a look Apparently it's summer now which is the season for construction and repairs—road repairs for instance Here is the pedestrian street Absolutely a wonderful place in Arkhangelsk Here Numerous old pre-revolutionary houses remain You can see how Arkhangelsk looked long ago Here stands a monument to the Guardian Angels With such a splendid cat And she holds a spinning wheel in her hands and will spin the wool The child is sitting here A traditional activity women when winter comes You don't need to work in the fields so you're just sitting around—what should you do Naturally you should tend to household chores That is to say Spin yes make yarn create clothing and so on Here we are walking down this street together and I'd like to talk about How Arkhangelsk came to be We discussed the name but it's fascinating how the city itself emerged appeared and one could say he appeared thanks to our Western partners What's the current trendy term for it the English The point is tha In the fifteenth in the sixteenth century I said there was a monastery here but there was no city And at that time English King Edward the Sixth sent out an expedition He dispatched the expedition to find routes to India and China via the northern seas And one of these ships happened to be In the White Sea near Arkhangelsk here And I don’t know whether Richard Chenslor was captain or whatever the top rank was on this ship And Richard Chenslor realized—yes he had arrived in Russia—and decided to declare that he was an ambassador from the English king Chenslor was summoned to Ivan the Terrible and Ivan the Terrible He didn't kill him nor did he lock Chenslor in a barrel of gunpowder—he struck a deal with him I had one just like that too I built the wings Oh oh What's all this "oh" I set him on a barrel of gunpowder—let him fly So trading began precisely betwee London But in reality it was not only between England and Russia but also between the Netherlands and Denmark France and other countries Here they're mowing the grass Trading began and this city Arkhangelsk essentially came into existence because of that trade By the way take a look at this Here stands a monument to the renowned writer Boris Viktorovich Shergin As you can see he was writing just about the seas about ships about some religious on religious topics You see there are churches here Such Russian ones orthern wooden churches And of course the trees northern ones That is he was writing about the North He wrote about the north And so trading began Trading began The city emerged and quickly grew The city began trading simply For enormous sums Everything was going extremely well Even Peter the Great came here himself To think By the way look here—this is Lomonosov and he was born not far from here Not far from here is a settlement now called Lomonosov named after the famous scientist who was born there—Lomonosov himself also came from the north So this is what active trading looks like Peter the Great came here learned to sail ships and later shipbuilding began here But the city's glory so to speak ended precisely with Peter the First When Peter the First founded Another northern port another northern city called Saint Petersburg then Arkhangelsk had already become practically unnecessary Or rather it had become necessary again but Peter had forbidden it rade through the port of Arkhangelsk because Peter wanted Saint Petersburg to grow and thus gradually the city lost its meaning Well then it regained meaning again only to lose it once more But probably the very last The strike on Arkhangelsk targeted the city of Murmansk which as I recall was built In 1916 the thing was that in Murmans The port never freezes even in winter Murmansk is also located on a river and doesn't freeze over That's why this is better for navigation Therefore Arkhangelsk has virtually lost its significance as a seaport Nevertheless Arkhangelsk is not just the main city in Arkhangelsk Oblast—it is also the capital e Russian North What exactly is the Russian North I went into detail about it in my podcast—give episode 200 a listen In short it's a certain historical and cultural region—not just northern Russia but specifically a historically defined one storical and cultural region with its own history and culture yes as evident from its name And Arkhangelsk was the center of this region It is also known as Pomorye or the Russian North The point is that much of this Russian north lay adjacent to the sea specifically the White Sea and thus the people who lived here Those who engaged in hunting and fishing here were known as Pomors and they developed their own distinct way of life a unique culture well one we won't be discussing today But nonetheless They were already building very beautiful old wooden churches and ships long before Peter the Great Look in the north houses were always connected to outbuildings because it's cold and to avoid having to run back and forth from the house to e barn to the area where the livestock was kept in short to the farm buildings—everything was done in such a unified manner just a place where you wouldn't have to go outside Let's try going to the utility building and see if it's connected to the house Yes connected Hello Can we shoot here right Great Here's the connection Oops And we're already inside the house Cool That's what the house looked like Those were the walls There by the corner was the wardrobe Here of course is the Russian stove which is heated from that side And over there is the red corner the place where the icons are kept A long bench running the length of the family area and along the edge of the seating platform where people sat Let's go down to the first floor and see what's inside this wooden house Hello Is video recording not prohibited here What about it No You need to right I understand Alright In short just admire the beautiful dress And here's the front of the house—the spot where People are entering the house Right from here We came in from there and that's where went upstairs People are actually coming here you know See how beautifully everything is done Wood carving these patterns right Everything looks so beautiful And here is a layout plan of the village Notice the church is located in the center From the church these roads extend outward As in rays yes radial lines—these are streets Funny enough it's quite similar to Moscow isn't it In Moscow the Kremlin is also in the center with streets radiating out from it just like this Avenues and the like—basically this layout Another house And here's the livestock yard Let's take a look at the interior of the livestock yard Interior of a farmyard What's inside here There's a woman somewhere Hello Wow What a cool thing Wow I wonder what this is for Is it for watering or Some interesting little nose huh Hard to say That's what it looks like here—this is hay for livestock So the animals can eat This is clearly a livestock pen—meaning animals are driven in there and stay They stand eat sleep and so on And here are also these separate ones dividual spots well how should I put it I'm not sure for the animals You see they're insulated So in a way there's an additional small area inside the house Like a home right I mean so the warmth stays in better And here's a little calf And in this house wealthier people lived Look they already have a sofa It's like this: a sofa instead of a bench And this is the kind of cabinet you get Even the chairs—wow And here was a chest or trunk or small cabinet filled with various women's clothing jewelry and the like We were with you friends right there That's the livestock area for the animals And over there on the second floor The storage shed was also where the hay was kept and they brought the hay here using a horse and cart right A horse and cart would go in hay was unloaded and then the horse and cart would descend back down again Well here friends I wanted to show you another street in the north The village What do the houses look like We've already seen the houses in the museum Now take a look at how these houses actually appear the actual village Here One house is simply made of logs while over here for example another is clad with boards That's what it looks like Look at that lovely little balcony up there—there should be a red-haired girl sitting there and wait for their hero These are the kind of houses found in the north You see this house was once home to a man who Knight of St George hero of the First World War Wow Friends we've been in the museum together—I showed you various architectural styles and now I'd like to show you The same architecture but in an actual village This is a real village We were driving from Arkhangelsk to Moscow just passing through when we spotted tall tall domes Wooden See this dome here—there's no cross on it because the church is currently being restored Let's take a look I have no idea when it was built Honestly I know nothing about the church's history but look here this woode church in the village residential That is it's not a museum nor a museum exhibit Most likely they'll restore it and it'll be it'll be it'll be a church It's still operational I don't know if we can make it up there but let's try People are clearly walking here I don't think this is It's scary Oh the steps are so old Look here take a look at this view Stunning view Yes but of course we won't be looking there I don't know if anything would be visible like that but no But everything inside is made of wood naturally But there's another church here that moves me She was amazed by its architecture completely different from any other Look here's this church This of course is a later church And here it says that one priest served here and in In 1919 they executed him by firing squad Well because the communists were fighting with the church they saw a threat in the priests as the priests held great power Moreover the first Russian revolution was carried out with the help of Father George Gapon That's why of course the Bolsheviks were afraid They didn't want to share power with them Look here this is what it looks like Absolutely stunning building Moreover you can even step inside this church— it's truly something extraordinary Moreover you can even go inside directly That's how it works This is what the church looks like There are even frescoes still left here See how the icons are decorated adorning this very vault You see right here you can still spot the image It's not a Kolsky church so I see an image of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker there Incredibly insanely beautiful As I always like to say it's very important to just take a turn off the beaten path well-trodden paths and you'll always find something interesting Because were traveling along the main road decided to take a small path and came upon something beautiful And I think that's true not just for roads but for life in general When you you take a turn somewhere and try to peek into where not everyone dares to go Peek in and something interesting will surely be waiting for you By the way besides the priest look here —there's an old stone pre-revolutionary It states here that the body of God's servant the wife of the priest Popov is buried here The priest's wife Popova about whom I told you and—well this is the tombstone Here are a few more tombstones And here's another one Just history history right there right there on the street That's how it is Thus ends the pre- revolutionary architecture and we move into the city's Soviet era As you can see the building was already constructed during the Soviet Union Now we are Let's move over there to the square and take a look at the legacy of the Soviet Union This skyscraper a massive business center is currently a business center It was built back in Soviet times But take a look here—see how fierce northern frosts twist these slabs Just take a look yeah There are actually lots of such spots throughout the city where these little hills just pop up on the roads and it's just asphalt It rises like this I think this is all due to the fact that ere it's still cold Yes this is the north it 's not as cold here as it is in the Far North It's not as cold here as it is in Siberia because the climate here is different Moderate maritime near the sea the influence of those maritime elements—whatever they are winds currents Overall the city isn't that cold even though it's located far up in the north Here's a typical example of a Soviet-era building city center A typical Soviet city center Look that's where the avenue leads What was characteristic of the Soviet Union Well first of all wide avenues Monumentality that is such Grandeur I'd even say—yes everything is so vast so monumental Wide streets wide squares Giant Lenin Just look at this statue It's truly enormous A massive statue of Lenin Incidentally up here in the north There was after the First World War and the October Revolutio The civil war began between the Whites and the Reds—that is the communists—and this was precisely a White base This was also a base foreign intervention These are the foreigners who ose who came to Russia to fight communists to fight the Reds on the side of the whites Yes this entire center of the opposition was here well here At a certain point he was here in the north in the Russian north Well here you go Grandfather Lenin is right here Huge And right here are various government buildings This is where the assembly of deputies meets It's something like a local parliament Here The government building is located there Here as you can see is the sickle hammer and star The main symbols so to speak of communism e communist era And so this square it is like that Common to many cities it's not always as large as this but generally such a space exists in nearly every city—every single one And anyway let's take a little walk over that way and make our way to the waterfront We'll take a look at Soviet architecture In fact it's great I understand of course that in the buildings you see here They were tough people yes Ordinary people lived in houses much much simpler Yet nevertheless everything as it appears I like it I really like it This Soviet style It's incredibly beautiful Let's go there and take a look at those buildings Here let's walk this way That house you see here is already a house Built perhaps in the seventies or eighties—I don't know exactly And right here people actually lived It's a residential building—basically it's quite simple Honorary citizens of the city Yes This is a honor board—a popular feature in the Soviet Union where names of various individuals were posted people who have done something for the city or for Countries Here let's take a look This is the medal you see—Honorary Citizen Arkhangelsk Here is the honorary citizen And here you can see who has been awarded this title onorary citizen That is who did much good for the city And right here is the coat of arms Arkhangelsk the one I told you about See Archangel Michael strikes down the devil with his sword In many cities there were honor boards like this one known as an honor board—essentially a place where notable achievements were commemorated You can see who the honorary citizens are—those who've done something good for the city Here And this is a perfect example of Stalinist architecture architecture Here's an example of something I really like There are also many such houses in various cities but look how great they look I don't know friends whether you like them or not but I absolutely love houses like this because at some po The Soviet Union realized it didn't need to build too beautifully—just simply And so they began constructing homes like these Here What does it matter really But yes okay Let's move on and let's head over to The waterfront Let's take a look at the waterfront Another interesting fact is that it was through the ports of Arkhangelsk that supplies reached the Soviet Union during the years of World War II Supplies were delivered from allied nations And this is the eternal flame o the northerners who fell in the Great Patriotic War This monument honors those who died During World War II We've come down to the waterfront and here is the city beach A vast sandy beach You wouldn’t even get the sense that you’re in the north— it feels more like you’re somewhere in the south The sun shines a wide river resembling a stretch of sea and a sandy beach It's incredibly beautiful and Some fairly northern landscape Here's the waterfront friends It's quite long stretching on for many kilometers but of course we won't walk the entire waterfront Incidentally there's a seal monument here—let's take a look at it Here this is a monument to the seal Oh how many people you've saved from hunger and cold Well it seems to be a reference to how during tough times—such as wartime— Seals were hunted and eaten for food In general Seals are the animals that people have hunted here for thousands of years which is why they are so important to this region Well then friends that's all from me for now I highly recommend that you absolutely come to Arkhangelsk and see everything here with your own eyes Be sure to listen to the podcast I recorded about the Russian North See you in the next video Bye for now