It is not often that a city celebrates a millennial birthday. Founded as a fortress in 1010 by Yaroslav the Wise, Yaroslavl soon rose to prominence as a commercial center. Six centuries later, in 1612, it was the center of resistance to the Polish occupation. And just 40 years prior to that, Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) took refuge here when the Mongols threatened the capital. Just 250 kilometers from Moscow, this city of 615,000 sits astride the Volga and Kotorosl rivers, and was home to Russia’s first public theater, first rubber factory, and Northern Russia’s first university. The city will officially celebrate its anniversary in early September, but we at Russian Life decided to get a jump on things and offer a colorful portrait of multifaceted Yaroslavl this spring.
City of Legends
The truth of Yaroslavl’s founding has been lost in the mists of time.
There is one legend of a fearsome beast that terrorized local residents. It would attack travelers and hunters in the forest, steal children from their cradles, and scare off young girls who went to collect water in the Kotorosl and Volga Rivers. The story has it that this huge beast (a bear) had been sent by the pagan god Veles, as punishment for the locals’ acceptance of Christianity in the 10th century. The locals suffered long and begged for mercy, but dared not return to their old pagan faith. Instead, they asked the young prince from Rostov to come to their aid.
According to the legend, Yaroslav arrived, fought Veles’ terrible emissary and killed him with a battle axe. Then, as he stood on the high banks of the river, he looked around and saw thick forests full of game, rivers teeming with fish, and wide pastures. He ordered the founding of a city and bestowed upon it his name and seal, which depicted the defeated bear carrying a poleaxe on his shoulder.
Yet this is just one of the founding legends of Yaroslavl. According to another, the residents of a village known as Medvezhy Ugol (literally, “Bear’s Den”; figuratively: “Godforsaken Hole”) were pagans who worshipped the god Veles and who made their living thieving from trade caravans. Learning of this, Yaroslav the Wise decided to baptize the heathen and defend the traders. He arrived with troops and a priest. The locals unleashed upon them a huge bear and a pack of wild dogs. Scarcely taking time to think, Yaroslav dispatched the bear himself, and the dogs left him alone. The pagan villagers fell to their knees, accepting Yaroslav’s superior power.
This was reputedly on August 2, the name day of the Prophet Elijah, so the prince ordered that a church be built in honor of Elijah, and in memory of his miraculous victory over the bear. Thus was founded the first Christian city on the Volga.
City of Churches
It is difficult to find a place in Yaroslavl from where you cannot see a church. One seems constantly surrounded by the gold, green and black cupolas of Orthodox churches, particularly in the city center.
One might think the Church of the Prophet Elijah (Церковь Ильи Пророка, pictured on the opposite page, top) was the city’s oldest, but the church founded by Yaroslav has not been preserved in its original state. The current stone church with green cupolas was built in the middle of the 17th century by local artisans, who used painting and metal working techniques known only to craftsmen in Yaroslavl.
In restoring the church this century and last, scientists sought out comparable, ancient models. The paintings on the external walls have not survived the passage of time, yet the internal decorations have been completely restored. Interestingly, the frescoes of this church were never painted over, as was the case in most other Russian churches over the centuries, but merely cleaned. In addition, when depicting the life of Elijah in the frescoes, the icon painters transferred to the walls images of everyday 17th century life, making it a valuable source of historical information. One can even see images of a harvest, which is unusual, because such wealthy churches did not normally serve as canvasses on which to depict simple peasant labors. Today the Church of the Prophet Elijah is a working church.
Church construction really took off in Yaroslavl in the 1600s, such that, by the start of the 1700s, the city had over 50 churches. Not all have survived to the present day, of course, but there are enough to spark serious debate over which is the city’s most beautiful.
For some it is the ensemble of churches at Korovniki, which is incredible when seen from the Volga. Rent a rowboat or ask the captain of a tourist ship to slowly pass by here at dawn, and hold your breath as the sun rises and illuminates the two red brick churches and belltower. Construction of the ensemble spanned several decades, yet the generations of artisans nonetheless managed to create a surprisingly harmonious whole. This is largely due to the symmetry of the composition. The first church, named for John Chrysostom (Ioann Zlatoust), was a summer church, while the second, smaller Church of the Vladimir Virgin was conceived as a winter church. Yet it had to be built on two floors, since it proved too difficult to heat such a tall structure. The 37-meter bell tower was built last, and it stands equidistant from the two churches. When the first light of day falls upon its imposing profile, it is easy to see why it gained the nickname “The Candle of Yaroslavl.” Unfortunately, during the Soviet era the ensemble was used as a salt warehouse, and many of its unique frescoes were forever lost. The churches are in need of extensive restoration, yet their beauty is apparent even in their current, reduced condition.
Similarly, one cannot but be amazed by the tallest of Yaroslavl’s churches, the Church of John the Baptist, which has an interesting history. This was once where pagan believers gathered at dawn on the summer solstice to bathe in the Kotorosl River. With time, the pagan customs were replaced with Orthodox ones and the river ablutions were tied to the day of remembrance for John the Baptist (now celebrated as Ivan Kupalo Day).
The 17th century spurt in church construction came about because Yaroslavl had begun to get rather rich off trade along the Volga River, so local merchants started investing large sums in the construction of churches. Each sloboda — a region of the city or its suburbs that focused on a specific trade or craft — competed with all the rest, seeking to build the wealthiest and most beautiful church. When the residents of Tolchkovaya sloboda decided to build a church after having lost several in successive fires, they resolved to build something unusual, the likes of which had never been seen in Yaroslavl.* By special permission of the tsar, two brick factories were built, in order that the hopes of the merchants, builders and simple residents could be realized.
The uniquely Yaroslavlian style of stone architecture was fully realized in the Church of John the Baptist, which, along with its belltower, rises to a height of 45 meters. The walls of the church are decorated with distinctive Yaroslavl tiles, and the use of a variety of sizes and shapes of bricks gives the stone walls the appearance of lace. Inside, the walls are decorated with the most complete collection of biblical images of any Orthodox church in Russia. Many were lost during the Soviet era, but the restoration continues. An ancient tradition was similarly lost during the Soviet century. Time was, local residents and peasants from the surrounding regions would gather at this church on holidays. Whole families would arrive, bearing baskets of food for a day of picnicking and swimming.
City of Celebrations
The annual celebration at the Church of John the Baptist may not have survived, but Yaroslavlians’ love of celebration certainly did. Holidays are heartily welcomed here. Everyone takes part in maslenitsa — the ancient Russian holiday bidding farewell to winter. In the central square about the Church of the Prophet Elijah they cook blini for any and all comers, have sack races, compete to bite baranki (bagel-shaped rolls) off strings, ride horses, dance, and do everything to create a sense of celebration. In the evening, in the very center of the Volga River, they set fire to the scarecrow Zima, who is departing to make way for Vesna (zima is the Russian word for winter; vesna is the word for spring).
Maslenitsa takes place on the last day before the Great Lent, which (40 days later) is followed by Orthodox Easter — yet another example of the melding of pagan and Orthodox traditions. (Similarly do communities around the world associated with the Catholic Church celebrate Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Carnival just before Lent.)
One of the main Orthodox holidays widely celebrated in Yaroslavl is Epiphany.* Each year, during the night between the 18th and 19th of January, Orthodox citizens gather on the banks of the Volga and Kotorosl in order to take part in the ritual of cleansing and blessing of the waters. Traditionally, the fiercest frosts arrive in Russia on Epiphany; if it was but -5º C before January 18, then odds are that on the eve of January 19 it will drop to minus 20º. But this does not stop anyone. They make holes in the ice in the shape of crosses, into which wooden ladders are lowered. By tradition, one must fully dunk underwater three times, and also cross oneself three times.
In the churches, priests hand out holy water gathered on this night — it is believed to have special properties, and will not become stale; it is believed that, if you sprinkle this water into the corners of your home, your family will not be visited by illness. Whole families come to jump into the waters — which are considered holy through the entire following day – in order to alleviate spiritual and physical illnesses; the strength of the waters is believed to give one a reserve of health and vigor to last the whole year.
City of Sport
Yaroslavl’s northern climate means that it gets a full dose of winter as well as summer. So it is not surprising that the favorite sports here have long been hockey and the biathlon. In the city’s School for Olympic Reserve Athletes, they train for short-track speed skating, yet it is the rifle-wielding cross-country biathletes who are held in highest regard amongst Yaroslavlians. In fact, the city has approved the construction of a world-class biathlon training center, which should allow Russian athletes to once again train on their native soil.
The city’s Lokomotiv hockey club has thrice won the Russian championship, twice back-to-back (2001-2 and 2002-3), something no other Russian superleague squad has achieved.
City of Petrochemicals
From soon after its founding until 1937, when the Moscow-Volga Canal was completed and the city’s influence waned, Yaroslavl was a crucial trading hub. In the Soviet era, it became an important manufacturing center as well.
If you enter Yaroslavl from the South at night, the first thing you will likely see is the fires of Slavneft’s oil refinery. The refinery receives some 14 million tons of Siberian oil and gas each year from tankers floated up the Volga, then transforms them into over 100 different petrochemicals.
There is also a large tire factory (which, by the way, sponsors a well-known soccer club, Yaroslavl Tire – Ярославский шинник) in the city. The factory was built in the early 1930s with the help of American specialists. In 1933 it was the first place in Russia to output synthetic rubber, meaning the expensive resource no longer had to be imported from abroad. Today the factory employs about 4000 and is one of Russia’s largest tire producers.
City of Rivers and Bridges
It is impossible to conceive of Yaroslavl without reference to water. Wide embankments, tourist cruise ships, huge oil tankers and delicate sailboats are all common sites here. For a thousand years, floating caravans, trading ships and passenger vessels have passed the city from north to south and back again.
Summer is the best time in Yaroslavl. The heat forces locals out of their apartments and onto the rivers’ beaches… the sun glints off golden cupolas… vacationers arrive in yachts… people swim in the cool waters or rent boats or water bikes to ply the river… after all, some of the best views of the city are from its rivers…
The main part of the city stands on the higher right bank of the Volga River. The newer regions and the ancient Tolga Monastery are on the left bank. There is a legend about the latter’s founding — about an appearance of the Virgin and a miraculous bridge of light.
This was at the very beginning of the 14th century. Trifon, the Bishop of Rostov, was returning home on the Volga via Yaroslavl. One August, Trifon stopped for the night several kilometers from the city, on the right bank of the river. That night he was awoken by a bright light from the opposite bank of the Volga. Taking his staff, the bishop went to the river and saw a pillar of light rising up from the left bank. A bridge of light spanned the river and the bishop walked across it. As he crossed, he saw, in the middle of the pillar of light, the Mother of God holding the Christ Child in her arms. The bishop fell to his knees and prayed. He then returned across the bridge of light, forgetting that he had left his staff on the other shore.
The next morning, people rowed to the site of the phenomenon, and found an icon with an image of the Mother of God near the bishop’s staff. According to the legend, a church was raised on the site within a day, and later became the main church of the Tolga Convent, located eight kilometers from ancient Yaroslavl.
The Tolga Icon of the Mother of God has always been considered a wonder working icon. According to tradition, Ivan the Terrible came to Yaroslavl and was conveyed in a wooden chair, because he was unable to walk due to an inexplicable disease. After praying to the icon, he stood up, completely cured. And, in the 17th century, when a mass plague struck Yaroslavl, the icon was taken to the city, where the disease lifted after the icon led a procession of the cross.
To this day, the icon is the city’s most sacred religious artifact. The convent itself has been restored and is once again active.
The other monastery in the city, the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior, (Спасо-Преображенский монастырь) was the fortress that dated the city’s founding. Throughout Russia’s middle ages, monasteries were defensive outposts. This walled fortress at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl was intended to fend off attack from the water.
City of History
When the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior was founded in the 12th century, it enjoyed the natural protection of the Volga’s and Kotorosl’s high banks, surviving countless fires and raids. Today, the complex of churches, belltowers and other monastery buildings is part of the Yaroslavl Architectural and Artistic Museum. The main structure is the Transfiguration of the Savior Church, which dates to the 16th century (the original 12th century church burned down) and is the city’s oldest stone church.
A belfry stands alongside the church. From its viewing platform (page 29) there is a spectacular panorama that takes in Yaroslavl’s historic district (which in 2005 was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List). If by chance you find yourself here when a storm is brewing, don’t rush back down the stairs to hide from the rain. Instead, stay to savor the moment.
The stormclouds will rapidly fill the sky, first darkening it, then turning it a dull white. And when the downpour begins, its shroud will hide the tourist buses on the embankment, the tankers on the Volga, and the modern restaurants with their neon lights. There will remain only the living history that resides in the stone walls under the ancient bells. Of course, the monastery’s original bells were lost long ago. But in 1991 the museum brought 18 ancient bells out of storage and mounted them in the tower, and today they again signal the calls to worship and celebration. RL
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Yaroslavl has been the home to many Russian firsts: first public theater, first synthetic rubber factory, first diesel engine, first trolley, first woman in space, first Christian town on the Volga, first provincial newspaper. It was also one of the first Russian cities with a masonic lodge.
Once famous across Russia for its 15 cupolas and lace-like stonework, the Church of John the Baptist has been somewhat forgotten. It is far from the city center and butts up against a rather unappealing factory. Yet it lives on as a symbol of ancient Russia, insofar as its image graces the 1000 ruble note.
* The region is nammed Tolchkovaya because local craftsmen treated skins with bark to improve the quality of the leather. They milled and pounded oak bark in wooden pounders (to pound = toloch in Russian).
* Epiphany is Крещение in Russian. It occurs 12 days after the traditional celebration of Orthodox Christmas (January 7). In Russia, Epiphany is a celebration of the divinity taking flesh in Christ; it is the oldest Orthodox feast, but for Easter.
Yaroslavl’s well-preserved historic center and its proximity to Moscow has made it a natural site for Russian filmmakers. Many famous films, including Kin-Dza-Dza, Afonya, The Thief, The Big Change (Bolshaya Peremena) and Doctor Zhivago (Russian version) were shot here. Academy award winning animator Alexander Petrov also calls Yaroslavl home.
Burlington, Vermont (32 miles from Russian Life’s headquarters in Montpelier) is Yaroslavl’s singular U.S. Sister-City. Begun in 1988, the relationship has for over two decades led to the exchange of mayors and musicians, medical students and muralists, students and firefighters.
The First Millennium
1010 Town founded by Yaroslav the Wise
1071 First mentioned in Chronicle
1215 First stone building constructed
1463 Yaroslavl becomes part of Muscovy
1612 Town becomes temporary capital of Russia during Polish occupation
1750 Fyodor Volkov puts on first play
1870 First train from Yaroslavl to Moscow
1900 First electric light from local power station; First tram put into service
1912 Train bridge across Volga completed
Locals are fond of recounting the legend of how one of the oldest bridges spanning the Volga came to be built. During construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, it was decided that the railroad would pass through Yaroslavl. Toward the end of the 19th century, a rumor started making the rounds that the tsar wanted to build a bridge across the Volga, in order to shorten the rail route. Merchants rushed to buy up every possible parcel of land where the bridge might cross the river. And when the crown came asking to buy land for the railway’s construction, the merchants demanded such a high price that it was decided to move the bridge’s path. Today the railway bridge (completed in 1912) makes a large jog, circumventing the merchants’ overvalued property. In times past, Russians would take off their hats in respect toward the Mother Volga River as they crossed her by train — the river is a full kilometer wide at this point.
Birthday Celebrations
The city is taking advantage of the jubilee to tap into state coffers and make improvements to every sphere of life in the city. Reportedly, the state is spending over R28 billion on renovations and new construction related to the anniversary, including everything from a new concert hall, to reinforcing river embankments, to a monument to locally born hero and first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova, to creating film documentaries, and building a new church. The main festivities for the jubilee will take place in early September.
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