BOLGHAR

By Andrei Ptashnikov

Today we’ll talk about the ancient city of Bolghar — a Muslim shrine.

Let me clarify it right away. The Balkan country of Bulgaria and its residents Bulgarians are not directly linked to the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria and its capital city Bolghar.

The first historical records of the state date back to the 9th century A.D. Back then Volga Bulgaria was one of the largest and most advanced states in Eastern Europe. Bulgars learned to manufacture pig iron some 200 years ahead of Western European nations. The advanced level of urban development in Volga Bulgaria was quite amazing. Its capital city boasted running water, pavements, and a drainage system.

Bath houses were especially popular. There were at least 15 of them in the city. We know what they looked like even today. Archeologists have excavated and restored two of them. Surprisingly, the bath houses had a heating system, hot and cold running water, swimming pools, sewage, and even heated floors. Imagine all that almost a thousand years ago!

But it was not the bath houses alone that put Bulgars on the map. Volga Bulgaria adopted Islam as its official religion as far back as the early 10th century, and became the first Muslim state in Eastern Europe.

Legend has it that one of the followers of Prophet Mohammed came to Volga Bulgaria. When he learnt that the daughter of the local Khan was taken seriously ill, he plunged his staff into the ground, and a medicinal spring appeared there. Its water quickly healed the girl. The grateful residents of Bolghar and their Khan, astonished by the miracle, adopted Islam. The spring is there still. Today it is inside a well, and its water is still considered health-giving and rejuvenating.

At the beginning of the 13th century the Tatar-Mongol armies, having conquered Middle Asia, seized Volga Bulgaria as well. A few years later Bolghar became one of the major cities of their vast empire — the Golden Horde. Moreover, it, too, adopted Islam. Today, a thousand years later, most Tatars are Muslims, the ancient Volga Bulgars being their direct ancestors.

Three hundred years ago Bolghar was part of the Golden Horde. Mosques, minarets, crypts and mausoleums, unsurpassed in their beauty, were built on its territory. The city continued to grow and prosper. Located close to the confluence of the two great rivers the Volga and the Kama, it became a major center of trade between Europe and Central Asia.


But sooner or later everything comes to an end. Discord among the leaders of the Golden Horde led to the gradual weakening and disintegration of the once great and powerful empire. Bolghar, too, eventually declined. In the 16th century Russian princes took advantage of the situation, seized Bolghar and integrated the entire territory of the former Volga Bulgaria into Russia.

In the early 18th century Russian tsar Peter the Great visited Bolghar and saw the lamentable state it was in. He ordered large-scale restoration work on the city’s architectural monuments. The Tsar’s ukase, or decree, was the first state document on preservation of historical monuments in Russia.

Regrettably, the Tsar’s decree didn’t help much. It was not the restorers or the scientists who rushed in and made themselves busy in Bolghar, but the treasure hunters. In search of treasures they dug through well-nigh the entire city. There is no information about any valuable finds. However, their diligent efforts caused the collapse of the main minaret of Bolghar as well as other stone buildings in the city.

It wasn’t until the middle of last century that Bolghar was in the limelight again. Its entire territory was declared a state reserve. Full-scale restoration and archeological work began in earnest, which produced some fascinating discoveries as well as mysteries — many of them still unsolved…

The most enigmatic of them all is the so-called Bal-Bal. It is a human head made of stone with clearly mongoloid facial features. It was found in one of the khan’s crypts. Scientists estimate it was sculpted as early as the 13th or the 14th century. That is at the time when Islam had already been officially adopted in Bolghar. But Islamic laws forbade depicting faces of people, let alone those of saints.

Who then does Bal-Bal personify? Could it be one of the pagan idols of the tribes who inhabited those parts long before the foundation of Bolghar?

Archeologists have also found over a hundred tombstones engraved with special signs, symbols and inscriptions. Many of them have never been deciphered. Whose graves those tombstones were on remains a mystery…

Today Bolghar is a museum under the open sky. The main minaret that collapsed long ago has been rebuilt. Crypts and mausoleums that have miraculously survived have been restored. Little by little other buildings are being restored too, the famous bath-houses, for one, that we spoke of above.


This historic spot of stunning beauty keeps attracting thousands of tourists, who come here in droves, especially in the summer season. They come not only from Tatarstan, but from Central Russia, Western Siberia, and many foreign countries. Almost every one of them will walk around the remnants of a column that mark the place of the magnificent mosque that used to stand there a long time ago. Walking around that column several times is a ritual that is believed to fulfill one’s innermost desires.

Today Bolghar is also a place of pilgrimage for many Russian Muslims. They come here to perform the so-called “little hajj”. Mostly, these are the believers who haven’t had a chance to take part in the big hajj in Saudi Arabia.

And so it is, that after centuries of oblivion, Bolghar has regained its former glory of a shrine, the place where Islam first appeared within the territory of modern Russia. This ancient city still guards its many mysteries and riddles. Will people ever solve them? It depends on them and them alone…

Source:The Voice of Russia

Russia and the Black August syndrome

MOSCOW, July 31 (Marc Bennetts for RIA Novosti) - April is the cruellest month according to T.S. Eliot, but for modern Russia it is undoubtedly August, a time of catastrophe, crisis and political upheaval.

For almost two decades, Russians have learned to expect the worst from the eighth month of the year, with 1991 seeing a coup and 2008 war in the Caucasus.

The litany of August chaos and woe reads like this:

August 19, 1991 - Communist hardliners disgruntled at Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms launch an unsuccessful coup attempt that leads to the break-up of the Soviet Union.

August 14, 1992 - The Georgian-Abkhazian war begins, with the conflict involving large numbers of Russian citizens.

Early August 1994 - The notorious MMM pyramid scheme collapses, leaving millions of Russians without their life-savings, a sum believed to be up to $1.5 billion.

August 24, 1995 - The Russian interbank credit system breaks down, leading to the ruin of 28 Russian banks.

August 29, 1996 - A Russian Tupolev TU-154 crashes over the Arctic Ocean, all 141 people on board die.

August 17, 1998 - The Russian government defaults on its foreign and domestic debt and the ruble loses two-thirds of its value in the next four weeks.

August 7, 1999 - Chechen fighters invade Dagestan, signaling the start of the second Chechen war.

August 8, 2000 - A bomb explodes in a pedestrian underpass in central Moscow killing 13 people.

August 12, 2000 - The Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea; all 118 sailors on board die.

August 8, 2002 - Floods and strong winds kill 59 people in the Russian Black sea city of Novorossiisk.

August 19, 2002 - A military Mi-26 helicopter is shot down over Chechnya, 126 servicemen die.

August 1, 2003 - A suicide bomber attacks a military hospital in the Russian North Ossetia town of Mozdok, killing over 50.

August 24, 2004 - Two Russian passenger planes are blown up by Chechen terrorists, over 90 people die.

August 31, 2004 - A Chechen suicide bomber blows herself up outside Moscow's Rizhskaya metro station, killing 10. The next day, September 1, sees the start of the Beslan school siege.

August 21, 2006 - Nationalists explode a bomb at Moscow's Cherkizovo market, killing 13.

August 22, 2006 - A Russian Tu-154 plane crashes in Ukraine, 170 lose their lives.

August 8-12, 2008 - Russia and Georgia fight a war over South Ossetia after Georgian forces attempt to bring the republic back under central control.

Russia to use force if Georgian shelling continues

Russia says it is prepared to use force to protect its troops and civilians in South Ossetia if Georgia continues its military provocations, according to Russian officials.

Earlier on Saturday, the South Ossetian Defence Ministry claimed one of its lookouts in the border zone was fired upon, although no casualties were reported.

Although South Ossetian authorities do not report any casualties in these alleged attacks, and Georgian officials deny all allegations of launching them, Russia’s Defense Ministry has called the incident a provocation.

"Events in August 2008 developed in line with a similar scenario, which led to Georgia undertaking military aggression against South Ossetia and attacking the Russian peacekeeping contingent," the Ministry officials said, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

According to Russian officials, this was not the first provocation in the last four days. The Defense Ministry says it intends to use all its resources to protect South Ossetian and Russian citizens in the region, including the peacekeepers.

"In case of further provocations threatening the republic's population and the Russian military contingent deployed in South Ossetia, the ministry retains the right to use all available means and forces to defend the nationals of South Ossetia and Russian servicemen," Russia’s Defense Ministry has warned.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry, in turn, named the Russian statements on Tbilisi's actions on South Ossetia "absolutely groundless" and said they are "an undisguised threat to Georgia".

The Georgian side said this position "is aimed at destabilizing the situation in the region and is leading to a dangerous scenario".

Georgia urged the international community to give an assessment of the Russian representatives’ comments.

Since recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states and signing documents on co-operation and defense, nearly 4,000 Russian troops have been stationed in both territories for defense purposes.

Even now, almost a year since the conflict ended, the local population continues to suffer from the trauma of the short war and these latest incidents, therefore, only aggravate the situation.

Russia and CIS expert, Leonid Gusev, explains:

“First of all, President Saakashvili is thinking about the promises he made when he was elected for his first and second terms in office, when he said that Abkhazia and South Ossetia would become part of Georgia's territory. So, his actions are addressed to Georgians and he wants to show the west that he is the person who can control the situation.”

It has been just under one year since the conflict in South Ossetia erupted. It ended with a ceasefire agreement, or with the so-called Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, and Russia has been fulfilling its obligations under this plan.

In the case the allegations of Georgian mortar shots on the South Ossetian territory are true, then it would be a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Source:RT

Patriarch Kirill visits orthodox shrine in Khersones

Thousands of Orthodox believers came to the St. Vladimir Cathedral overlooking the ruins of the ancient Greek town of Khersones near the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Sunday to attend a liturgy led by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. Khersones is a sacred place for Russia. Legend has it that St. Prince Vladimir, who converted Kievan Rus to Christianity, got baptized there according to a Byzantine ritual. St. Cyril, the equal-to-the-Apostle Greek enlightener from Macedonia and the heavenly patron of Patriarch Kirill, once came to Khersones on a missionary visit and delivered a sermon which, in the patriarch’s opinion, determined the Orthodox future of Kievan Rus.

After that sermon, Prince Ascold, the then ruler of Kyiv, adopted Christianity. That happened nearly 120 years before Prince Vladimir got christened. It’s here, in Crimea, that Russian Orthodoxy made its first steps. That alone turns Crimea into a spiritual center for all our people. It’s important for people to understand that apart from being a place for beach rest and holiday-making, Crimea is also a place for pilgrimage. I pray that the rebirth of faith among our people will boost pilgrimage to Crimea, to the roots of Orthodoxy.

Earlier, the patriarch made a stop in Simferopol, the first city on his tour of Crimea where he arrived from eastern Ukraine as part of his 10-day trip to the country. He visited the St. Trinity monastery and consecrated the dome cross of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, an exact replica of the old church that was torn down after the 1917 revolution. Later, a monument to World War II heroes was erected there and it took a long time and effort to obtain permission for the cathedral’s reconstruction. A compromise was eventually reached, and in a few years the cathedral will open its doors to believers. Patriarch Kirill hailed the project’s significance for Russia:

Reflected in this church as in a drop of water is the entire modern history of our fatherland – glory, downfall and recovery. Today, we should learn to understand the symbols and mysterious signs that God sends us. We should learn to hear God’s voice and distinguish His will in those mysterious signs. I pray that this bright and vivid symbol of rebirth – the Cathedral of St. Prince Alexander Nevsky – will teach us many things and will give all of us rebirth and hope.

From Crimea, Patriarch Kirill will go to western Ukraine.

Milena Faustova

02.08.2009

Source:The Voice of Russia

Film-"You Wouldn't Even Dream It"- the best russian teenagers love story

Based on the book by Galina Shcherbakova. A famous 1980s film with a wonderful music by Alexei Rybnikov tells of a first love that was not understood and appreciated by adults. A story of Romeo and Juliet revisiting our worldThe high-school teenagers Roman and Katya experience a beautiful, tender feeling. The boys mother, unwilling to understand the young lovers, resorts to deception in order to separate them. Despite all the obstacles, Roma and Katya are striving to be together. The misunderstanding of their feelings leads to a tragedy.
Following the films release, its main theme song The Last Poem (to lyrics by Rabindranath Tagore) had become widely popular. The song is still being performed today...
==================
Crew:
Director: Ilya Frez
Script: Galina Shcherbakova, Ilya Frez
Camera: Gasan Tutunov
Music by: Alexei Rybnikov

Cast:
Tatyana Aksyuta as Katya Shevchenko
Nikita Mikhajlovsky as Roman Lavochkin
Yelena Solovey as Tanechka, the literature teacher
Irina Miroshnichenko as Lyudmila Sergeevna, Katya's mother
Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina as Vera, Roman's mother
Albert Filozov as Kostya, Roman's father
Tatyana Pelttser as Roman's grandmother
Rufina Nifontova as Tanechka's mother
Yevgeni Gerasimov as Volodya, Katya's stepfather
Yekaterina Vasilyeva as Alena
Leonid Filatov as Mihail, Tanechka's friend
Vadim Kurkov as Sashka
Lyubov Sokolova as Postman
Yelena Majorova as Katya's neighbour

© Gorky Film Studio, 1980.

English subtitles by T.Kameneva
(from original DVD, RUSCICO).


1/9.

2/9.

3/9.

4/9.

5/9.

6/9.

7/9.

8/9.

9/9.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

"Acquire the Spirit of Peace and a Thousand Souls Around You Shall Be Saved"


Our father among the saints Seraphim of Sarov was a Russian ascetic who lived at the Sarov Monastery in the 18th century, and is considered a wonder-worker. The Church commemorates St. Seraphim on January 2, and the opening of his relics on July 19.

St. Seraphim of Sarov is one of the most beloved Orthodox saints of recent times (1759–1833). He is credited with acquiring in a most full way, the grace and the Spirit of God. He spent 1,000 days and nights on a rock praying to God for forgiveness. He was a hermit, spiritual guide and priest. He led many christian souls along the path in of apostolic Christianity in Russia during the 19th-century. Born on July 19, 1754, at Kursk, Russia.

His parents, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, lived in Kursk, Russia; Isidore was a merchant. At the age of 10, Seraphim became seriously ill. During the course of his illness, he saw the Mother of God in his sleep, who promised to heal him. Several days later there was a religious procession in Kursk with the locally revered miracle-working icon of the Mother of God. Due to bad weather, the procession took an abbreviated route past the house of the Moshnin family. After his mother put Seraphim up to the miracle-working image, he recovered rapidly. While at a young age, he needed to help his parents with their shop, but business had little appeal for him. Young Seraphim loved to read the lives of the saints, to attend church, and to withdraw into seclusion for prayer.

He started as meek and labor-loving monk but later on as a ascetic recluse and finally a spiritual guide to thousands of souls in Russia, St. Seraphim remains one of the most beloved saints in his own land , and is known universally as a miracle-worker and a glorious bearer of God's grace.

Orthodox spirituality has produced many holy and famous men, but none in recent centuries to compare with Seraphim of Sarov. He started as a monk working with people and then he was led to become a hermit. He lived deep in the forest and was all alone with only his pet bear, Misha, to keep him company. But, his solitude was interrupted when he was attacked by bandits. So he returned to the community and in 1825, after fifteen years in silence, he began to receive visitors again and to spend his energies in their spiritual direction. By means of his faith and asceticism he performed a number of miracles. His fame and humility brought a steady stream of visitors, religious and royalty alike, to him for advice. Tsar Nicholas wanted to appoint Seraphim as the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg. This was not to the austere monk's taste. He remained a private meditative counselor until his death. The church proclaimed him a saint in 1903. His humility and concern for people made Sarov a center of pilgrimage until the events of the 1917 revolution.

For 45 years he led the life of a contemplative, first in the monastery and then in an isolated hut. Eight years before his death he opened his cell to visitors so that they might seek his advice. It was said he could supply answers before visitors had time to ask their questions. He counseled tough cases of conscience and reportedly worked miracles, healing the sick. Gentle but firm with others, he was very severe with himself. He spent many nights in continual prayer. Depth in spiritual prayer was open, he said, to all Christians. Through his teaching and his life, he revived monasticism as a helpful force to common believers in the Russian Orthodox church.

For St. Seraphim emphasized that the whole purpose of life was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Doing good in Christ's name was but a means to this end. He saw contemplation, self-denial and meditation as means of bringing oneself to ecstatic prayer.

Once while discussing the topic with his disciple Motovilov, he became so shining that Motovilov could not at first look at him. His eyes were flashing like lightning, and his face shone like the sun. When finally able to lift his eyes to gaze upon his master, Motovilov was filled with peace and joy. This peace and joy, said Seraphim, was the peace and joy Christ promised the disciples at the last supper when he said, "My peace I give unto you," and "your sorrow will be turned to joy."



Saint Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim was loved by all, but he was especially loved by children and heal so loved them a lot. When adults came to St. Seraph while he was living in his hermitage, there were times when he did not respond, so they sent their children out to call him, and he then would appear, spreading sunshine in all their hearts.

A visionary, he saw the Virgin Mary and groups of saints several times during his life. As a prophet, he foretold the future and read men's hearts. As an ascetic, he felled trees with his axe, and when moved into the main monastery late in life through obedience, he hauled rocks from one place to the other to avoid being idle

St. Seraphim was , healed as a boy by the wonder-working Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, and he entered the monastery of Sarov when he was nineteen years of age. His mother blessed him with a large copper crucifix, which he wore over his clothing all his life. After this, he entered the Sarov monastery as a novice.

From day one in the monastery, exceptional abstinence from food and slumber were the distinguishing features of his life. He ate once a day, and little. On Wednesdays and Fridays he ate nothing. He spent many years in monastic service, bearing all manner and types physical brutality with unfailing love, patience, and humility. As his fame as a prophet and spiritual light spread throughout Russia, thousands of pilgrims flocked to his wilderness retreat to receive healing's and spiritual consulting.

In obedience to his superiors, he became the spiritual father for nearby nuns and inspired and instructed many. Since he departed this life in l833, his sound has gone forth into all the earth, so much so that many consider him to be the greatest force behind the revival of Orthodox mysticism in the l9th century Russia and indeed throughout the world today. 80 verified instances of miraculous healing worked by Seraphim.

Sarov is a town in the southern Russia in the Nizhny Novgorod region. By the middle of the 18th century the Sarov hermitage had become a well-known spiritual center. The history of Sarov is connected with the pride of the Sarov and Diveyevo monasteries. This place became known due to good deeds and spiritual achievements of the monk Seraphim, it is the last place of St Seraphim lived. In 1903, Sarvo was visited by Emperor of All Russia Nicholas II who with his family and court attended the ceremony of canonization of St Seraphim of Sarov. The uncovering of the holy relics of Saint Seraphim of Sarov on July 19, 1903 was attended by many thousands, among them the foremost of the clergy and Christians. After 1917 the hermitage was destroyed. The Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov is being successfully restored in the town of Sarov (the Nizhny Novgorod region). The town opened a monument to St Seraphim, one of the most revered saints in Russia, the 100th anniversary.



QUOTES from St. Seraphim of Sarov:


Maintain a spirit of peace and you will save a thousand souls.

"The reading of the word of God should be performed in solitude, in order that the whole mind of the reader might be plunged into the truths of the Holy Scripture, and that from this he might receive warmth, which in solitude produces tears; from these a man is wholly warmed and is filled with spiritual gifts, which rejoice the mind and heart more than any word."

God is a fire that warms and kindles the heart and inward parts. Hence, if we feel in our hearts the cold which comes from the devil—for the devil is cold—let us call on the Lord. He will come to warm our hearts with perfect love, not only for Him but also for our neighbor, and the cold of him who hates the good will flee before the heat of His countenance.

The body is a slave, the soul a sovereign, and therefore it is due to Divine mercy when the body is worn out by illness: for thereby the passions are weakened, and a man comes to himself; indeed, bodily illness itself is sometimes caused by the passions.

Without sorrows there is no salvation. On the other hand, the Kingdom of God awaits those who have patiently endured. And all the glory of the world is nothing in comparison.

Those who have truly decided to serve the Lord God should practice the remembrance of God and uninterrupted prayer to Jesus Christ, mentally saying: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

When despondency seizes us, let us not give in to it. Rather, fortified and protected by the light of faith, let us with great courage say to the spirit of evil: "What are you to us, you who are cut off from God, a fugitive for Heaven, and a slave of evil? You dare not do anything to us: Christ, the Son of God, has dominion over us and over all. Leave us, you thing of bane. We are made steadfast by the uprightness of His Cross. Serpent, we trample on your head."

"It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us,"

"Prayer, fasting, vigil and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end. The true aim of our Christian life consists in the [increasing] acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, and vigils, and prayer, and almsgiving, and every good deed done for Christ's sake, they are only means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God."

"…the people who, in spite of the bonds of sin which fetter them and hinder them (by constraint and by inciting them to new sins), come to Him, our Savior, with perfect repentance for tormenting Him, who despise all the strength of the fetters of sin and force themselves to break their bonds – such people at last actually appear before the face of God made whiter than snow by His grace. 'Come, says the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them whiter than snow' (Isa. 1:18)."

"Every success in anything we should refer to the Lord and with the Prophet say: 'Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory' (Ps. 113:9)."

"The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God… But… only the good deeds done for Christ’s sake bring us the fruits of the Holy Spirit."

"…only the good deed done for Christ’s sake brings us the fruits of the Holy Spirit. All that is not done for Christ’s sake, even though it be good, brings neither reward in the future life nor the grace of God in this life. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ said: 'He who gathers not with Me scatters' (Lk. 11:23)."

Source:www.kurskroot.com

Additional russian military forces to be deployed in Kyrgyzstan

A supplementary Russian military contingent will be deployed on the territory of Kyrgyzstan according to a memorandum that’s been signed by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

The Russian and Kyrgyz leaders are meeting to discuss military cooperation between the two countries in the resort town of Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan, where a two-day informal summit between the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) members is taking place.

The memorandum signed by the two sides regulates the legal aspect of the presence of the Russian armed forces in the Central Asian state.

According to the document, a Russian military contingent – up to a battalion – will be deployed on Kyrgyz territory. Also, a joint military training centre will be created.

In addition, an agreement over the creation and status of a Russian military base in southern Kyrgyzstan will be signed by November 1 this year. The document will be valid for 49 years.

The memorandum has become the only document to come out of the meeting between Medvedev and Bakiyev.

It was expected that many issues concerning military cooperation between the two countries – both bilateral and within the framework of the CSTO – would be discussed. Among them – a collective CSTO fast-response base to counter any outside threat.

However, these issues were not on the agenda since – as many believe – it was an informal meeting and such important questions should be left to a more formal gathering.
The US operated Manas base in Kyrgyzstan was not discussed by Medvedev and Bakiyev. It was previously an air force base, but is now a transit base, used by American and coalition forces to support their troops in Afghanistan.

According to the Russian side as long as Manas remains only a transit point, Russia has no problem with the base’s activities.

Moscow already has military links with Kyrgyzstan – the Russian Kant air base is located to the east of the capital Bishkek.

It’s believed the second base could be considered for a joint use of the CSTO members.

The decision to set up a collective rapid response security stronghold in Kyrgyzstan was made at the CSTO summit in February this year. It is expected that forces from all CSTO member states – Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – will be assigned to the unit.

Source:RT