Korchma en 09 16 preview

W e h a ve o n l y fre s h a n d s a vo r y n e w s!

September 2016 | № 9 (156)

More news and photos at www.tarasbulba.ru korchma@tarasbulba.ru

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Project manager – Yuri Beloyvan

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Where there’s a cow in the yard, there’s food on the table!

Artistic Genius: Ilya Repin: a Russian Rembrandt with Ukrainian Roots

The Globe in Your Pocket: Promenades in the City on the Neva – 2

Delicious Season: Wi-Fi in all restaurants

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness: Ripe Melons and Watermelons

24/7 food delivery and hotline:

8 (495) 780-77-44 www.tarasbulba.ru

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2 | interview

Where there’s a cow in the yard, there’s food on the table!

Korchma launches its own dairy processing factory Green meadows with lush grass, cool spring water, and fresh air – it is in the midst of this virgin nature that Korchma Taras Bulba has been producing its own dairy products for the past couple of months. A lot of careful preparation went into the launch of the small factory and now all the efforts have paid off. From now on, our patrons can buy fresh milk, sour cream, butter, and all kinds of cheese. Everything is delicious, fresh, and most important organic, as the factory is located in a pollution-free area – the village of Kamorino, Riazan Region.

We talked to the factory’s General Manager about the prospects of this industry, about their product range, and their plans for the future.

– A few months ago Korchma launched its own cheese factory and a dairy shop. We know that the production facilities are located on the territory of the Kazachye Farm. It is basically any businessman’s dream come true – it is a closed production cycle, in other words, from the cow to the table. What is the current factory’s capacity? What is your primary focus? Is it milk, sour cream, cheese?

– You are very right to notice that our Kazachye Farm launched its own small milk processing factory. For a month in spring we tested the processing equipment and on June 1 we started to manufacture five types of products: fresh milk, sour cream, brine cheese, cottage cheese, and butter. All our products were tested at different laboratories in Riazan and we can assure you that they all comply with the national standards.

– The Korchma Taras Bulba brand markets itself as a restaurant chain serving home-style meals prepared from natural ingredients. Do you keep to the same standards in cheese-making and in your diary shop? Do you guarantee that all your products are fresh and contain no harmful additives?

– O u r brand is also Taras Bulba, our founder is the same person. Under his guidance we perform all our processing and develop our enterprise. All our products are natural and organic. In summertime the cattle graze on our own meadows.

In winter they eat the feed we harvested during the summer from our meadows and grasslands.

Our principles forbid us to use any types of additives or growth hormones, and that’s why our products are organic, compliant with the national standards and are better than imported counterparts.

– Cheese-making is a difficult thing. In order to start producing cheese on a regular basis you need to spend lots of time learning and experimenting with recipes. Can you share your secret with us: What kinds of cheese have you started producing or plan to produce in the future? What country’s experience are you going to borrow?

interview | 3

– Back in 2014, at the end of July – early August, our founder and I went to Italy. We had a chance to see the production process. Bear in mind that the Italians pass their cheese-making technology down from grandfather to grandson, and grandchildren to their own grandchildren. That’s why they are in no hurry to reveal their recipes. But I need to say that here in Russia, in Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Orel regions, there are still artisans whose cheeses are on a par with any Italian cheese. At the same time our people willingly share their recipes, they don’t keep them secret. We use their recipes, and today we produce Adygei cheese, Sulguni, and bryndza. In September we plan to start producing mozzarella. I’m sure we will succeed in it.

– Are all of your cheeses made exclusively of cow’s milk or also of sheep’s milk?

– All the cheeses are exclusively made of cow’s milk. We also keep sheep and goats but not for producing dairy products. As of today we have about 20 goats and as many sheep, but we plan to increase their number.

– For your dairy processing factory today you only use milk from the Kazachye Farm. If the demand for your products grows, will you be ready to increase the number of cattle? Do you have sufficient capacities to do that?

– Right now we are using only our own milk, we don’t buy any milk from elsewhere, we have enough cattle to supply all the restaurants and the Deli. Of course, if the demand grows, we will need to look for other options.

One way would be to improve the feed base, provide more hay, increase the amount of mixed feeds, such as barley, oats, natural feeds, for our cows to feel satiation. Another option is to focus more on the young cows and letting more of the young cows to calve. The next step is to get them to the level of bovine cattle. Subsequently, the cows will be selected according to

the quality of their milk and the amount. I should probably point out that we increase our stock by 30 percent each year. And we plan to increase it according to demand. We expect it to reach 50 percent a year.

– Where can we buy you products now?

– Our fans can buy them in any restaurant of our chain and in the two functioning delis open at the restaurants. You also need to remember that we also sell our own honey and spelt wheat. Buy away! And don’t forget that we offer only organic products, which is the most important factor today. I wish lots of health to you and your children. Enjoy it!

4 | culinary

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness: Ripe Melons and Watermelons

September is high season for melons and watermelons; it is the time they ripen naturally and acquire a full spectrum of taste and healthy effect. These sweet fruit can be eaten fresh or as part of desserts, drinks, snacks, salads, jams, and even pickled.

September 17 – INTERNATIONAL JUICE DAY IN RUSSIA. Korchma’s offer of the month: Melon and Watermelon Fresh-Squeezed Juice Watermelons and melons are admired around the world. In the Canadian town of Chinchilla a watermelon festival is head every year. In Turkmenistan, every year the second Sunday of August is celebrated as the Day of the Turkmen Melon: melon farmers organize conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions and concerts.

These fruits are used not only in cooking but also in folk medicine and the beauty industry.

Watermelon contains vitamins B and A, E, C and PP. It is also rich in iron, sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus. Watermelon can be consume by people with diabetes as it contains no easily digestible fructose and sugar which require insulin. This fruit is rich in lycopene – a powerful antioxidant.

Watermelon is especially admired because of its content of folic acid (vitamin B9). It participates in important metabolic processes in the body, promotes healthy skin, improves digestion, reduces the risk of cancer. It is indispensable for pregnant women for the proper formation of the fetus’s nervous system and to nursing mothers to i n -

crease the amount of breast milk.

Another “diamond” in the collection of the watermelon’s treasures is magnesium.

Sixty percent of the daily requirement can be obtained from only 100 g of sweet pulp. Magnesium improves the absorption of vitamins and minerals: potassium, calcium and others. It also prevents the formation of kidney stones and salt deposits in the body. Magnesium supports muscle health, heart, blood vessels, nervous system (considered a good anti-depressant).

Imagine only: a watermelon can easily lift your spirits!

Watermelon is an effective diuretic and choleretic.

It is often used for weight loss and cleansing.

In addition to that, you can make a nourishing and refreshing facial mask from watermelon slices or mush pulp. Put it on your face for 10-15 minutes. Then rinse with warm water and put on a nourishing cream.

To get the maximum benefit from watermelons, you need to know how to choose it well. There are few secrets: • The watermelon should be clean and free of white crust, without cracks, dents, rotten stains or cuts.

• The “tail” should be yellowish and dried, but not spoiled or broken.

• If there is a small yellow stain in the place where the watermelon touched the ground in the garden, it means that it ripened on its own.

But if a spot is larger it suggests that the fruit did not have enough sun and heat, which means that it will taste bitter and watery.

• A ripe watermelon will buzz loudly when it’s

culinary | 5

patted and crackle when you try to squeeze it you’re your hands.

A ripe and fresh watermelon is not only a delicious treat, but can also improve your health.

A fragrant melon has just as many health benefits as a watermelon. It is especially rich in vitamin C, and A, PP, B1 and B2. It contains folic acid (vitamin B9). Melons also contain a lot of potassium, which is good for the heart. It’s rich in iron and, therefore, is recommended for anemia and exhaustion. Its other components are sodium, calcium, and chlorine.

Melon increases the effectiveness of antibiotics and reduces their toxicity, it is useful for cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney diseases, and it calms the nervous system. Due to the content of enzymes and fibers that help the bowels processes (if consumed separately from other products). The silicon in its structure improves skin and hair. Melon seeds are used in folk medicine to strengthen men’s health.

Just like the watermelon, the melon is used in the beauty industry for the production of facial, body, and hair masks.

To choose a good melon, you need to remember a few tricks: • Look at the stem – it should be thick.

• Press the crust from the opposite top of the stem – it should be a bit springy.

• Smell the melon – if it is sweet with notes of fruit and honey, the melon is ripe. If there is no smell or if it stinks – the fruit is unripe or spoiled.

• Pat the melon – if it is ripe, the sound will be dull rather than loud.

A ripe fragrant melon is good to eat on its own. But you can also combine it with other products and surprise you family or guests. You can make delicious desserts, and light exquisite snacks and salads. A classic Mediterranean dish – melon with

Parma ham, prosciutto, or jamon. In salads it is best when combined with poultry – chicken, turkey, or duck, and seafood – mussels, shrimp, scallops, etc. For example, a light salad of melon and chicken is perfect for a family dinner and for a festive meal.

And it is very easy to prepare.

Melon salad with chicken and nuts Ingredients: • Melon – 500 g • Chicken fillets – 1 pc • Lettuce – 300 g • Nuts (almond flakes, pine nuts or other nuts) – a handful • Salt to taste • Sunflower oil for frying For the dressing:

• Olive oil – 3 tbsp • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp • Sour cream – 1 tbsp • Onion – 1 pc.

• Salt, sugar, pepper, herbs – to taste Cut the chicken fillet into small strips and fry in sunflower oil until it becomes golden brown, add salt and pepper. Tear the washed and dried lettuce into pieces and put on a large flat dish. Peel the melon and chop it into cubes. Mix the chicken, melon, and lettuce. Let the nuts dry on a pan without oil.

In the meantime, you can prepare the dressing.

Chop the onions. Add olive oil, lemon juice, and cream. Add sugar, salt, pepper, dried herbs, and onions. Mix well. Pour the ready dressing over the salad. Sprinkle with nuts. A delicious, easy and healthy dish is ready to serve!

Text: Olga SINYUGINA

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6 | History

September 1st Knowledge Day Gogol’s Day in the Korchma September 3rd Children’s Day in the Korchma September 4th Father’s Day in Korchma September 5th Cheese Day in the Korchma September 6th Saint Peter’s Day September 9th Victory Day in the Korchma September 10th Day of the City of Moscow Borscht Day in the Korchma September 11th Beheading of Saint John the Baptist Friends’ Day in the Korchma September 14th

SUV VAZ-2121 Niva: Living Legend of the Soviet Car Industry

Varenyky Day in the Korchma September 16th Cossack’s Day in the Korchma September 20th Cake Day in the Korchma September 21st The Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God Pancake Day in the Korchma September 22nd

In 1977 Soviet engineers managed to build a vehicle like no other in the world. Due to its uniqueness, the car was mostly unaffordable to regular people in the USSR. It could be explained by the fact that 80 percent of all SUVs were exported and what was left was in great deficit.

Niva gained world recognition and broke a few records. It won in a ParisDakar rally and conquered the North Pole, it even climbed to the Everest base camp. This issue’s rubric Made in the USSR is dedicated to the most interesting trivia about this car.

Water Day

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september

Salo Day in the Korchma September 23rd Men’s Day in the Korchma September 24th Mother’s Day in the Korchma September 26th Happy Monday September 27th Exaltation of the Holy Cross September 29th Salo Day in the Korchma

Technical specifications: Maximum power 75 PS or 65 kW Engine size 1569 cм3 Max speed 132 km/h Acceleration 0 to 100 km/h 23 s

Lenght Width Hight Curb weight

3720 mm 1680 mm 1640 mm 1150 kg

History | 7

Work on the creation of the Soviet offroader started back in 1970. The development of the “country vehicle” was initiated by the Head of the USSR Council of Ministers Alexei Kosygin. He put forward a task before the research team of the VAZ factory according to which they had to design a vehicle with high off-road performance and great comfort. One of the designers remembered showing to a high official a deluxe version of Zhyguli and him responding: “We stopped our cooperation with Fiat at this point and now have only ourselves to rely on. Your first independent step will be a high off-road performance vehicle on the basis of Zhyguli aimed at our villagers. Because unintentionally they were deprived: we gave millions of our city residents a modern passenger car, but it is useless on the country roads.”

To be fair, the task was a difficult one because the combination of off-road performance and comfort at that time was something unimaginable. Almost all jeeps manufactured abroad had front drive, a rigid frame construction, and a bare interior. They were designed for bad roads and had no comfort in mind. The VAZ engineers, however, outdid themselves.

The first serial prototype was released in April 1977 and caused an immediate sensation. The Russians literally turned everything upside down: Niva had a spiral spring suspension, four-wheel drive, an integral body, and a comfortable interior. At the same time, VAZ-2121 looked like a regular passenger car, no hint whatsoever of its high off-road performance. Back then these parameters could only be offered by Range Rover. That car, however, had a different size, weight, and cost. Thus, there is no evidence of copying on the part of the VAZ people.

In the first years after its release, VAZ2121 cost nine thousand rubles. It was slightly cheaper than the prestigious Volga and slightly more expensive than Kopeyka.

Farmers and villagers, the expected target clientele of the new vehicle, were in no hurry to buy Niva because it was quite pricey. The situation on the foreign market was quite the opposite. It won the gold medal at the auto salon in Brno and a few other prestigious awards in other countries.

After that Niva was commis-

sioned several times by different countries of the world. If we look at the statistics, we will discover that VAZ-2121 was the most popular Soviet model abroad. Rumor had it that it was sold for pennies abroad while the Soviet people had to pay an arm and a leg, but it is not quite true. For example, in the early 1980s the petrol Niva cost 22 thousand marks in Germany, while a diesel model cost 26 thousand. Even in 1996 to buy it in the UK you had to pay 7,999 pounds (equivalent to 12,078 US dollars). It should be noted though that Niva was never sold abroad in the same configuration as on the domestic market. The exported model had a higher roof, wider wheel rims, special tires, panoramic mirrors, and so on.

As a result, the Soviet SUV can still be seen on the roads of Latin America, Africa, and even Australia. It was the sole Soviet make to have ever been exported to Japan.

Incidentally, there were two special versions of Niva designed exclusively for foreign customers. For countries with high fuel prices and high engine capacity taxes, a special 1.3 l engine vehicle was manufactured.

The factory also produced cars with a rightside steering wheel. Lots of foreign tuning companies used the basis of VAZ-2121 to create convertible and pick-up versions, as well as sports and racing versions.

Naturally, the ingenious development of the VAZ engineers has long lost its former glory but it continues to have many fan clubs all around the world.

We cannot forget to mention the records and achievements of this vehicle. For example, in 1981, when for the first time competing in the super marathon Paris-Dakar, the Soviet SUV led in seven stages and won third place overall in the SUV category. In the same year of 1981, Niva also won two prestigious races – the Tunisia Rally and Algiers Rally. It continued to win in the following years.

In April 1998, VAZ-2121 was parachuted to the North Pole and drove to the top of the Earth, and in 1999, Niva cleared the height of 5,726 meters above sea level on the Tibetan plateau in the Himalayas.

Text: Stepan HRYTSIUK

BE-6: The Legendary Soviet Amphibian Aircraft

It had various names: an amphibian plane, a flying boat, and a Soviet scientific miracle. Be it as it may, but the new invention of Russian engineers at the time was a genuine technological breakthrough and has become legendary ever since. The first trial of the twin-engine hydroplane was performed in July 1948 in the Soviet Union. The name BE-6 came from its designer Georgiy Beriev, who at the time was heading the Central Bureau for Naval Aircraft Construction in Taganrog. From the outset, the inventor set several goals before his brainchild. These were naval reconnaissance, coast patrol, bomb dropping and torpedo launch, assault landing (up to forty soldiers), and cargo shipment. All the goals were successfully achieved: the hydroplane immediately acquired the nickname of “a flying boat” because it was adapted to all kinds of operation conditions. For example, the aircraft didn’t require an airfield or a runway – the plane was able to take off and land on any relatively flat surface, as well as on water.

Other technical specifications were also impressive.

BE-6 could reach the speed of 400 km per hour with maximum flying range up to five thousand kilometers!

If needed, the plane could fly at a height of six thousand meters! It carried special oxygen tanks specifically for that purpose.

It’s no wonder that the inventor received a Stalin Prize for his invention, and in the following five years 19 different versions of the plane were created. Unfortunately, today there are only three planes of this model in the world. One of them is exhibited in the Museum of Russia’s Northern Fleet Air Force, another one in Ukraine’s State Aviation Museum, and the last one in China.

8 | Travelling

Petrograd. Part Two The Peter-Paul Fortress. It started Saint Petersburg. It was at the heart of it. The angel on its spire protects the residents from all evils. Some might think that the town got its name from Peter the Great. In fact, it was from the Apostle Peter. And yet the fortress served as a prison for many long years. It hosted the Decembrists, Dostoyevsky, I think. And so many others.

The Globe in Your Pocket The church yard is a resting place for all Russian emperors, starting with Peter the Great. But it doesn’t look like a church very much, it reminds more (architecture-wise) of a Polish kosciol or a German kirche.

During Peter the Great’s reign, they started using sculptures to decorate the church. Together with the bells recast into canons, I think it explains why this particular tsar was considered an antichrist. He left a rich legacy.

There is a monument to Peter the Great authored by Shemiakin in the fortress. The tsar has a small, almost tiny like an apple, head and large long hands with long fingers on them.

The tiny head seems to be unaware of the hands’ doings. The tsar is sitting in a chair. Not on a throne, but in a chair. It is as if he’s not a master in his own kingdom. “The job of tsars in Russia is a difficult one, they should be supplied with milk for harmful work conditions,” a popular movie character once said.

The fortress is surrounded by a beach. It is a favorite spot for Petersburg’s sunbathing fans; they seem to hang out there on the sand imported by the Soviet power even in winter.

Right next to them is a sand sculpture exhibition. The tickets were quite expensive. Some Russian tourists forget to take the change and the cashiers, following the famous Russian tradition, loudly swear at them: “Hey dude! Take your damn change!”

The guy, with a look of a schoolboy caught spying on girls, shrugged his shoulders and guiltily extended his hand. It was a meeting point of the Soviet and the capitalist systems. It was the cultural capital at its best: the locals and the Asian cheap labor newcomers.

We finished our day with a boat tour. The route was interesting: it started at the Admiralty pier and we saw everything we could possibly see from the water, except for the Aurora cruiser, which was currently under repair.

To the monotonous sound of the engine and the even more monotonous voice of our guide, we looked at Saint Petersburg from the water. There was a house and a quay where Raskolnikov would walk to meet the old creditor lady. The loudspeakers explained: “To perform his double murder he killed both the creditor and her innocent sister.” The voice in the loudspeakers was apparently sure that the old creditor was killed for a good reason. It serves them right, those capitalists.

There was Suvorov’s house, where the Generalissimo, who could not walk on his own, would ask to be brought closer to the window to be able to see the cathedral and the monastery. The

cathedral kept holding its services even during the blockade. They always pray for the souls of lost sailors there.

Kazan Cathedral sailed by on the left. The Emperor ordered its construction after returning from the Vatican.

The Church of the Spilled Blood was to our right. Here I finally learned who was Sofia Perovskaya and other people whose names were given to the streets in my Kyiv.

We see the Winter Palace again, now from the water. The Summer Garden and the Engineer’s Castle. The Moyka Quay and the house where Pushkin, after a duel wound from Dantes, was dying. They say Dantes broke the duel code. He fired without reaching the barrier and without aiming, thus wounding Pushkin in the liver. But what if he did aim? Would he have shot in the head? Nobody really cares now…

I got up at 6 a.m. the next day.

Recently, I think the hours before breakfast is the most important time in contemporary cities. Especially on a Sunday. Everyone was still sleeping.

The sun was shining as if it never went

down. The streets were empty: no pedestrians, no cars. I put on my running gear. It was about 15 degrees Celsius.

I ran out to Italian Street and then turned left to the Church of the Spilled Blood. I ran along the canal toward the Winter Palace, to the porch where granite atlantes are holding a balcony on their shoulders. Then I ran along the Neva quay and along all the palaces.

This was an entrance to the Summer Garden, where Pushkin as a child used to take long walks with his French governor. The park was closed. Around it – high gates and fences with alternating urns and chalices on the posts. It is an impregnable fortress. Yet in one spot, next to the canal, the fence ends and you can jump over the granite rampart and the frightening spires.

I had already run for a mile, but I couldn’t resist running in the Garden with no visitors in it. I jumped over the barrier and in no time found myself inside. Small gravel squeaked under my feet. Everything was fresh green. No tourist mobs, no intrusive peddlers.

I felt like I traveled a hundred years back.

Travelling | 9

But then I discovered that there were security guards in the park after all. They were fat old guys. They noticed me and I noticed them. What followed can’t really be called a chase.

They could hardly walk, let alone run.

They shouted something to me and tried to block my path. But there were clearly more paths than guards. For another ten minutes I enjoyed the speed and my run. I felt like a schoolboy who ran away from a school guard or someone else trying to put a limit on his freedom. The park guards didn’t even try to block the only exit I knew.

I jumped over the fence again and found myself on the Martian Field. I heard a police siren behind me. They must have called the cops. I turned around and ran up to them. A sergeant demanded through a rolled-down window: “What were you doing in the park?”

“Running,” I replied.

“But it is closed!” he said.

“Well, I have a special note,” I said and handed him a 500-ruble roll. We make this gesture so easily. The sergeant’s partners didn’t even notice it.

He accepted the note, it was indeed a bank note. To alleviate the situation, he offered: “Do you need a ride anywhere?”

“No, thank you,” I responded and ran back through the Parade Field to Michael’s Castle and back to the Spilled Blood and my Italian street. Only one hour passed, and so much happened already.

We went down for breakfast. Everything was very proper, it’s the Europa Hotel, everything looks European.

Breakfast was accompanied by a piano. The piano player was a woman in

10-centimeter red heels, her hair down.

She was not young, but she was still hoping. I started to wonder: how is it possible to wear such high heels and to step on the piano pedals. But then they could also step on the accelerator and brake pedals, sometimes nothing good comes out of it.

We were late. We checked out of our room. We left our baggage in storage until 9 p.m., when our flight back was scheduled.

We planned the Hermitage for today and for the rest of the day our plans were flexible. I won’t waste your time describing the Winter Palace and its collections. They say, if you spend one minute at each exhibit, you will need 3 to 8 years to see it all. We decided to tour the living quarters. It was easier to convince 9-year-old Sasha to go look at the interiors. But he timed us and two hours later he said: “Dad, it’s enough!

We agreed on two hours!” That’s children for you.

I didn’t want to torment him. There is no harsher punishment for a boy than to walk around in silence and without touching anything for hours. I figured that since we won’t be able to see what takes eight years to see, we should finish with our Winter Palace visit.

After an early dinner, we went to Kazan Cathedral in time for the service.

Then we walked to St. Isaak’s Cathedral. I once heard that the cost of its construction was equal to the amount Russia received from selling Alaska. I heard that the Cathedral never had a chance to serve as a religious building.

I might have forgotten, I’m not sure. It is miraculously beautiful and rich. Like a dream of a great Russia.

We arrived on time to the Pulkovo

Airport. The loudspeaker was pontificating on the damage from bribing state officials and on the actions to be taken to counteract the corrupted officials. In simple words and in great detail. Maybe, that was the reason why I retained nothing from that announcement.

Our flight was delayed by three hours. It turned out not to be Aeroflot by the company Russia. Judging by the seats in the cabin, the plane was the same age as Saint Petersburg. But it all went well. With a little delay we arrived home. Trains are better, but very often

the tickets sell out.

Overall, despite Ivanna’s chicken pox, bad weather forecasts, and a flight delay, we had two wonderful days.

Such days stick in your memory and you want to do it again. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way.

Text and photographs by Yuriy Beloyvan To read more about this journey and to find many more interesting stories visit the author’s blog www.beloyvan.ru

10 | ART

Ilya Repin: a Russian Rembrandt with Ukrainian Roots A few of his paintings received a worldwide recognition, and the artist himself is thought to be the best Russian portrait painter of the 19th century. Yet Repin was pretty skeptical about his work. He called himself “a hardworking mediocrity” and was rarely satisfied with his paintings. But he nevertheless continued to working passionately, putting all his efforts into his favorite work.

A striking example of this can be found in the legendary Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks! which took Ilya Repin twelve years to complete.

He consulted historians, and scrupulously studied Cossacks’ clothes and weapons. The result was stunning, and Emperor Alexander III paid a ginormous price for it – 35 thousand rubles. Today, the masterpiece is virtually priceless.

Even though Ilya Repin is usually called a Russian painter, it’s not exactly true, because he was

born in Kharkiv Governorate and he lived for twenty years on Ukrainian land. It was there that he mastered the basics of water paints, and later joined a local icon painting school.

It is said that the boy’s life choice was influenced by a relative. Somebody once brought him paints as a present. The future artist colored a pumpkin in a children’s ABC. When the drawing turned colorful instead of a boring black and white, the child thought it was a kind of magic: “Since then I was in love with paints. I was glued to my table, they could barely draw me away for dinner and reproached me for getting all sweaty from the strain and being obsessed with my paints.”

The young man’s talent was obvious. And so the family decided to send him to a famous Arts Academy in Petersburg.

In 1863, after receiving 100 rubles for decorating a church, 19-year-old Repin set off to Petersburg to improve his artistic skills. “I thought my savings would allow me to conquer the entire capital,” he remembered the trip much later. But the money ran out pretty fast in the big city. In order to make a living he had to paint roofs and take up odd jobs.

His earnings improved only a few years later when Repin started painting portraits at order. Yet his dire conditions were not an obstacle for his plans. The young provincial man became the best graduate of the Academy and was awarded two gold medals.

In 1870, he set off on a voyage on the Volga and made a few sketches on the way. It was then that he came up with an idea for his Barge Haulers on the Volga. When he finished paining it, the picture caused quite a sensation. A German art historian Norbert Wolf said: “Each of the painting’s characters is highly individual, at the same time, the entire group of characters, placed in an ‘existential and primordial’ landscape, reminds one of Dante’s procession of the damned from his Divine Comedy.”

ART | 11

Three years later Repin went abroad. He traveled in Italy, Venice, France. In a letter to a friend he wrote that he admired Veronese and Michelangelo, while he found Rafael mediocre, “boring and outdated.” Little did he know that he would be quoted in a newspaper and his words would horrify the “academics” because his criticism was practically undermining the sacred.

The artist then moved to his hometown of Chuguyiv in Ukraine. He painted many peasants’ portraits there and made sketches for his future works.

Later in his career he kept coming back to Ukrainian motives. He was influenced by the singing nights, the Ukrainian women, the Cossacks’ epoch. It’s not surprising since his paternal grandfather was a real Cossack. Eventually, his painting Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks will become one of the most renowned.

In 1878 he first heard a story about Cossacks who, when faced with Sultan Mahmoud IV’s demands to surrender, replied with a defiant letter. One of his friends told it at dinner. Repin imagined the scene so vividly that he immediately decided to translate it into a painting. He made a pencil sketch and showed it to his friends the next year. It took him twelve years to finish the painting. During that time Repin intentionally went to Zaporizhya and saw all Cossacks’ historic places: Hrushivka, Tomakivka, Kapulivka, Staryi Nikopol. He studied Cossacks’ lifestyle and customs. He consulted with historian Dmytro Yavornytskyi whom he later depicted in the paining as a central character – the yeoman.

The artist’s older daughter remembers that for quite a long time the Repin family was living exclusively on the Cossacks. Every night their father would read aloud stories and poems about them, the children knew all the heroes, they used to play Taras Bulba, his sons Ostap and Andriy. They sculpted their figures from clay and were able to recite any part of the Cossacks’ letter to the Sultan.

Repin looked for Cossack’s features in all of his friends. In addition to Yavornytskyi he also depicted General Dragomyrov as Otaman Ivan Sirko, and writer Volodymyr Gilarovsky as the man who laughs holding his belly.

His other iconic and renowned painting is Ivan the Terible and his son Ivan. When it was first exhibited at Tretyakov’s Gallery many visitors would burst into tears while others would stand fascinated. The researchers explain it by the extreme realism of the painting. Even blood, which dominates the painting, is perceived as a real thing.

How did Repin behave in his daily life? Despite his huge fees he was a modest man with numerous oddities. At the entrance to his house there was a sign: “No servants. Please take off your coats and galoshes yourself.” In older age, he planted a kitchen garden, and kept and milked a goat. Whatever the weather, Repin always slept with his windows wide open. At the time of heavy colds he would wake up with frost on his blanket, but then he brushed it away and got to his work.

Text: Stepan HRYTSIUK

12 | news from korchma

Dancing and Singing in Komorino When put before a choice where to hold our annual flash mob competition, Korchma Taras Bulba selected the village of Komorino, the site of our farm and dairy processing factory. The event was dedicated to the summer festival of Ivana Kupala. The dancing and games lasted

Come and join us at Myasnitskaya!

long into the night. The competition ended, but the songs kept flowing above the river. We have selected our winners. The first prize went to the Korchma on Profsoyuznaya Street, the second prize to the restaurant on Mokhovaya Street, and the third to the Korchma on Pyatnitskaya Street.

Birthday of the Korchma on Smolenka On September 19 at 6 p.m. we invite you to the 16th birthday party for our restaurant on Smolenskiy Boulevard.

We will greet you with salo, moonshine, and Cossacks. On September 13 the Korchma on Myasnitskaya will celebrate its eighth birthday. It may not be a jubilee, but we promise you quite a party. Our guests will get to taste our fruit liqueurs and homemade moonshine vodka, watch a performance from Cossacks, and participate in a festive lottery and trivia game.

The doors open at 6 p.m. Come and enjoy yourselves!

We invite you to join us at the party. We have prepared a lot of entertainment, contests, and an exclusive cake like no other you have even tried, a performance, lottery, and special surprise from our staff.

Korchma Taras Bulba on Smolenskiy Boulevard is one of the capital’s most successful thematic restaurants – it opened in 2000 and since then has welcomed guests with its hospitable and joyful ambiance and delicious home-style cuisine.

Come and try the best varenyky, shashlik, and borscht in town, the biggest servings, all natural ingredients, and the best service!

news from korchma | 13

prizes: 1st prize:

5,000 rubles 2nd prize:

3,000 rubles 3rd prize:

2,000 rubles

From now on in our restaurants, you can not only eat or have fun with friends, but also win prizes. We started organizing a monthly photo contest for visitors. The conditions are quite simple. You just have to take an interesting picture in any of our restaurants and send it to us at konkurs@tarasbulba.ru, upload it to a special section on our website www.konkurs.tarasbulba.ru, or post in social media with the hashtag #fotokonkurstarasbulba. Winners will be selected every month. Participants who gather the most votes will win prizes.

July Winners:

1st prize: Elena Grigoriyeva

2nd prize: Anna Urusova

3rd prize: Anastasiya Loboda

14 | menu

menu | 15

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