Letters to the Editors

To the Editors:

Am I the umpteenth reader to point out that the Ulyanov home was in Simbirsk, not Samara? (RL, May/June, p. 14) Less forgivable is the error of omission in the “Berlin Blockade” chronicle (pp. 22-25), the failure to point out that “cosmopolitans” and “cosmopolitanism” were widely understood at the time to be coded references to Jews.

Otherwise, good issue, especially when Putinovshchina is the subject, as in the Editorial and elsewhere.

Cheers,

Louis Menashe

Professor Emeritus of History,

Polytechnic Institute of NYU

Louis:

Actually, while Lenin was born in Simbirsk (later renamed Ulyanovsk), the family lived for a few years in Samara (1890-3), and there is a family home/museum maintained there, the one referred to in the photo.

As to “cosmopolitanism,” we are often torn between repeatedly defining Russian terms (how long is an arshin?) and concepts, and assuming a certain knowledge on the part of our readers. In this case, it probably would have been good to point out the reference. Thank you.

The Editors

To the Editors:

It never ceases to amaze me that when Westerners, or the more uninformed, write about the Orthodox Church, they never seriously perform any research. Two articles in your Russian Life July/August 2014 edition is proof of these errors and the lack of proper research. “The Holy Spring of Lozhok” by Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby (page 58) uses the term “mass” instead of the correct term “liturgy”. The Orthodox Church does not celebrate a “mass”. “Final Months of Peace” by Anna Mazanik (page 31) uses the more Western term “Easter” instead of the more Orthodox one “Pascha”. In both cases these terms, like many other terms in Orthodoxy, have a much deeper meaning in Orthodox dogmatic theology. It is a shame that individuals take it for granted that the Orthodox Church is something like the Roman Catholic Church, when in reality they are apples and oranges.

Sincerely,

Vasily

Westwood, NJ