Saratov

Daily Living in Winter

Source: 2016 MKB-DESKKART and SerialInternet  https://www.welt-atlas.de/map_of_russia_5-720

Since Saratov is a sizeable city of 820,000 inhabitants, one can expect excellent public transportation in the city and surrounding areas. The city does not disappoint--an inexpensive bus, electric bus, minibus and streetcar network system does exist. Some of the buses held a surprise for me--they were equipped with German signs. It turns out that the city has bought some buses that were used in Germany prior to here as was explained to me. There is also an interesting minibus system in place--vans equipped with seats that connect areas with fewer people to the city center. I was assured, however, that sometimes these vans can hold an awful lot of people. When I was on board of such a van, the population density within the van was fine, actually much better than in the buses that were often quite crowded.

Getting around is not all that easy in the winter. The sidewalks are usually quite icy, but not always. It is particularly hard to get around when there is fresh snow on the ground and one cannot distinguish between snow (which does give traction) and ice underneath the snow--all the traction in the world won't save you from that inevitable fall! Live and learn and watch the people...so my eyes have been more on the pavement than on the city sights since I usually choose to walk the 40 minutes to work. During snowfall that walk can get long. I have seen a snow plow in action on sidewalks but it made things worse, not better. There is no sand or, God forbid, salt. I do have to say people are very adapt at driving on the roads in all conditions--not sure what their secret is but it's got something to do with good tires, I am sure.  Often, the city also experiences thawing temperatures like today which adds slush to the mix. I am sure in the Washington D.C. area this would all be happy snow days.

Much of the city's population lives more along the outskirts in 5-floor (no elevators) and 9-floor Soviet-style housing but probably just as many people live in more modern highrises, between 10 to 25 floors high--and, yes, these have all elevators.

Many of those new high rises contain apartments that are sold as condominiums. Often, one locks in / buys such a condominium about 2 years before the building's completion. Apart from weight-bearing walls, the owners can create their own space including the position of the walls. One family might want a large living space, another three instead of two bedrooms etc. These apartments are quite spacious; on the upper floors one also has a great view of the city and its surrounding hills. Can you tell I was in such an apartment?

The original, old downtown area of Saratov consists of buildings with fewer floors (3-5) (as seen in photo in the foreground) which is pretty much the reverse from the typical North American city with its CBD in the center consisting of high rises and  stretched out suburban areas with its low-rise houses. Here we have a mix of older buildings with newer ones (see photos).







There is a pedestrian street (inofficially called Nemetzkaya Ulitza-'German Street'; the official name on the sign says something totally different) in the heart of the city showcasing many interesting shops, also a  conservatory.

An old sweets shop from Soviet times

Inside the sweets shop

Sitting -- bundled up -- on the 'German Stre

Teas

A large food market with fresh goods from
various Russian regions is located at the beginning of this pedestrian zone.

Inside the food marke

Typical regional food

Food from the Caucasus provinces

General, Mostly Geographic Observations

While on a photo tour Saratov - Volgograd

I boarded a minivan with destination Volgograd on a dreary, semi-foggy early Saturday morning.  This was a photo tour going to Volgograd with stops at pre-determined sites which weren't known to me. The tour guide spoke relatively good English, everyone else pretty much not till they realized on day two that their English really was much better than my Russian. It was a bunch of young people, young women and one man and a married couple. I am afraid I was the babuschka in this van but I kept up with this quite exhausting itinerary (8am till 12 am--really). 

Breakfast at -9 C and strong winds.

We traversed ice-free highways, a variation of pothole-free well maintained roads and smaller pothole-containg icey roads, and real icy roads that I found hard to walk on. Our driver's speed was actually reasonable, also his passing maneuvers were survivable. No evidence of crazy Russian drivers.  Weather-wise it got somewhat colder, so about -9 C in Saratov outside on the plains several degrees lower plus strong winds. I quickly learned to bundle up  making the most of my wide kashmere shawl (4- fold on top of head plus hood). 

Most of the area between Saratov and Volgograd is agricultural, wheat and rye. All covered by snow turned to ice ---seemingly unending plains.  On the eastern side of the Volga farmers grow potatoes and other tubers.

Somewhere between Saratov and Volgograd starts the steppe, the Russian equivalent to North American prairies. The minibus stopped for a photo opp which pleased me to no end. It turns out the other six clients are for the most part  taking this trip to hone their skills as photographers--what a great idea!  Below are my best photos-there was only one tree close by.

Another photo opportunity came about when a bay of the Volga appeared which really was quite beautiful. Here the water was iced over and one could make out ice-fishing activities. It was a joy spending the day with people who actually appreciate the beauty of the land and don't mind walking under pretty harsh conditions just for the photo. I received some lessons on 'seeing' art as well--all in Russian mixed in with just enough English to get the point across.

After lunch in a typical Russian steppe restaurant (see photo) it appears I am not the only one who falls asleep looking out onto the endless steppe while sitting in the minibus.

As we kept on driving to the south, the snow -ice heaps  along the road and on the grass lessened--an hour before Volgograd they were all gone. Within Volgograd's vicinity, however, the slalom drivers as a result of circumventing potholes kept everybody awake. 

German Heritage in Russia

Impressions and historic insights from a trip Saratov -Volgograd

Our first destination was a Lutheran church (see photos) or rather its remains, the second a Catholic church closer to Volgograd. 

To the latter location (photos below), settlers came from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Luxemburg-- Katherine II asked for residents from many different countries. Our guide's ancestors came to Russia at the time from Poland. He explained that this area was the frontier then.

A village close by is called Zuerich--toponyms rock.

The trips' ultimate destination was 'Staraya Sarepta', 'Old Sarepta', an open air museum for history, folklore and architecture.It used to be located 15 km outside of Volgograd but it has since been incorporated into the city. The museum is a rather large complex of 28 buildings, most restored, some in dilapidated condition, from the 18th and 19th centuries.  In essence, they are arranged around a large square. 

Originally, this house was meant for females and males after age 14.
They all had to leave their parents and move into this building. 
Obviously, there were strict separation rules in place. 
Nowadays this building serves as hostel-this is where we stayed overnight.

These buildings form the core of one of the oldest German colonies (1765) along the Volga region the existence of which is unique in Russia. Five brethren from the Herrenhut community- a Protestant splinter group - first colonized the area here to serve as self-appointed missionaries to the Kalmucks, a nomadic people of Buddhist belief. (As a side note, south of Volgograd is a region where the way of life of the Kalmuck including their belief  in Tibetan Buddhism survived to this day.) These brethren believed in learning the language of the Kalmucks and succeeded in translating the Bible.

The original church was in quite dilapidated condition
and restored in the 1990s.
The church received an organ in 2005 from Lutherans in Germany.

The center of the settlement was the church as depicted. It was built in 1772 and served the Herrenhuter Protestant religion till 1892. At this point the community became Lutheran. Over time, more brethren joined the original group, many from Germany but Swiss and Danish settlers also. For a long time they obeyed the strict rules of their particular religion such as strictly regulating marriage -- it depended on available housing. Partners were selected by a sort of lottery; a young girl would pick a strip of paper with a name from a bowl in the church. This way God had chosen. Some of these settlers became quite successful farmers, but also merchants, scientists and pharmacists.

Of these, three activities stand out. The most remarkable success came with the importation of mustard seeds from Germany. Mustard grows well on the semi-fertile soils of the northern latitudes such as can be found in Germany and its introduction into the Russian steppe had extraordinary consequences.

Orange shows today's distribution of the Russian/Germain mustard seed,
the brown color depicts a different strain

Soon one of the brethren owned a mustard factory (model below)-- the major product was mustard oil, also mustard of course. Sarepta mustard was the first to be produced in Russia and stood for great quality. 

The mustard seed plant is shown on top; bags that held the seeds in cart

The Czar promoted the growth of mustard by having mustard seeds distributed to whoever desired them. 

Model of factory

Bottle in which the water was sold

Another activity that brought money to the settlement was the sale of water mixed with certain herbs and mustard plant promising healing powers similar to today's spas. This water lost its importance with the discovery of healing springs in the nearby Caucasus areas. The water was sold in the apothecary shop (pharmacy) depicted.

Apothecary

Original cellar.

Wine-making was also a major enterprise by some colonizers. Like their counterparts elsewhere vineyard entrepreneurs kept the wine in large wooden barrels in their cellars; the latter were kept cool by cutting ice from the frozen rivers in the spring so that the temperatures could be kept the same temperature throughout the year. 

With the money that became available people bought fine China,good long-lasting furniture and music instruments. Women not only spent their time spinning wool, but they crocheted little doilies. All in all, the effect was that many households really resembled German ones (compare photos taken at the museum below).

German-Russian Heritage - Stories

While discussing all kinds of ethnic heritages present in the Saratov region of Russia in Maksim and Anna's cozy apartment, Anna revealed that she has German heritage. Her great grandfather came from Germany--so definitely much later than the people making up the colonies--and lived in the region here. Her grandparents moved to live and work in Usbekistan in the 1920s because there was very little food available and there were almost famine-like conditions. Anna was born in Uzbekistan and lived 12 years there. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990 and Uzbekistan's independence Anna's parents left Uzbekistan on very short notice because Russians were quite unwelcome there at the time. 

The Volga-Germans Die Wolgadeutschen

I grew up with a vague notion that 'Volga Germans' existed, my parents mentioned them at times but I never knew anything definite.  So, when I looked up Saratov on a map to see where I might be headed I made the connection of Saratov being located on the 'Volga' and 'Volga Germans' only because another place close by with the name of 'Engels' made me wonder. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Saratov was once the heartland of the quite numerous Volga Germans that called Russia their home.

While musing about the fate of those people who were mostly employed in agriculture and husbandry and who came upon the bidding of Katherine II from southwestern Germany (Pfalz, Elsass and Lothringen) at the end of the 18. century, I stumbled upon the maps shown below which were all published by the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University (who knew?).

The first map shows German settlements in general and the Volga German settlements (called colonies) in particular. German settlements followed a logical pattern from the west to the east and it appears that the Volga formed a natural obstacle because Germans didn't move much further east when looking at these maps. The Caucasus mountains and the Caspian Sea were natural borders as well. Maybe that explains the relatively large settlement in Saratov. According to my friend Natalia the soil is not very fertile around Saratov so it is amazing that these people were able to eke out a living (they were initially required to work in agriculture). Later some of them became very successful merchants and entrepreneurs; some of the architecture of the city of Saratov still pays tribute to that (see photo below map).

These maps are published by the Center for Volga German Studies at
http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/archives/maps/russia.cfm

This building is the house of a German merchant who left the area in the 1940s. His son, a professor in Heidelberg, came to Saratov to look for traces of his family and was apparently totally surprised to not only find their family's former house but also find it in such great condition. It is used as a clinic now.

Overall, these Germans founded about 100 colonies to the left and right of the Volga River--Grimm, Blumenfeld, Katharinenstadt and Untere and Obere Dobrinka.

According to a pamphlet published by the museum covering the local history and geography of the Saratov region (Saratov, 1994) Aus der Geschichte der Wolgadeutschen the housewives were proud of their down bedding and numerous pillows--some things just never, ever change. Natalia also pointed out that there was a longish tool hanging next to the bed that was used to keep the sheets neat and tidy. Wow, how German is that?

Photo taken at the Museum for local history and geography.
Flat linen and many, many pillows. All white and clean.

Photo taken at the Museum for local history and geography.
The long board in the back was used to flatten linens.

Below please check out the map which I consider my greatest find. Areas marked in black denote German settlements before 1939 but became extinct; areas marked with white boxes show population numbers of 1926; and areas with red boxes show the numbers of settlers between 1986 and 1999.

I can only speculate on the basis of this map but I assume that Germans in Siberia and Kazakhstan might be the descendants of Germans that were deported from Saratov and surrounding areas after Hitler's unlawful invasion into Russia in 1941. From 1924 up to 1941,  roughly 600,000 Germans in the Saratov region enjoyed living in an autonomous republic, making up about 66% of the entire population. The common language was German.

Russia's Vastness

Russia

Where to begin? Russia is a vast country, larger than Canada. In fact Russia's territory is roughly 2/3 larger than Canada--17 million square km vs 10 million. Depending on one's viewpoint these two gigantic countries are followed either by the United States or by China. If one just looks at landmass it is China that follows Canada; if one counts coastal and territorial waters, it is the United States--both claim roughly 9.5 square km of landmass. So much for Wikipedia wisdom.

So, people measure their distances in a manner that make sense to them. In Russia, people measure distance in hours spent on the train, in the U.S. in hours spent in a car. So, if one is in Saratov and asks how far St. Petersburg is, the answer would be "23 hours on the train". This would count as relatively short.  Moscow a mere 15 hours. Vladivostok, the furthest city in Russia's East is about 24x5 hours = 120 hours away from Saratov. Obviously, this would count as long.

European Russia

The European portion of Russia is all the territory located to the west of the Ural mountains. While all of Europe w/out Russia counts roughly 6 million square miles as its territory, Russia has a little less than 4 million square miles making 2/5th of Europe Russia.

I am in Saratov, 15 train hours away from Moscow or 90 minutes by plane due south, then a little east. As can be seen in the map below the city of Saratov is located on the Volga River in the southern, very fertile plain. The Volga River--often described as the 'Russia's soul'. None of the Russians that I talked to disputed that, so there must be some truth to that.

Watershed of the Volga River. Notice the Volga ends in the Caspian Sea but at Volgograd there is a canal that connects the river with the Don River which flows into the Sea of Asov and ultimately into the Black Sea.