Letters to the Editor

To the Editors:

Kulich is a well known type of Russian bread, particularly in use at Easter time.

Paskha is a well know type of Russian dessert, again, served at Easter time.

In our group discussion, a question has come up that applies to each of the aforementioned.

1. Kulich:  Why is this bread traditionally baked in a high cylinder shape?

2. Paskha: Why is this dessert traditionally made in a pyramid shape?

As long time subscribers to your magazine, Russian Life, we were wondering if you could answer these questions for us, perhaps with some background of origin.  We haven’t been able to find anyone who truly knows.

A reply will be most appreciated.

Sincerely,

Katia Oneschuck Snow

by email

Dear Ms. Snow:

For an answer to this question, we turned to our Food Editor, Darra Goldstein. She provides the following reply:

Both kulich and paskha are lavish in their use of dairy products, and they represent the finest of foods for the important Easter holiday. On a purely culinary level, the kulich bakes into a tall cylinder because it contains many beaten egg whites and is allowed to rise numerous times.  This causes it to mushroom when it bakes and gives it a very fine texture. On a symbolic level, the beautiful, high crown of the kulich shows a sort of spiritual aspiration heavenward.

The pyramidal shape of the traditional wooden paskha mold is meant to symbolize Christ’s coffin.  Each of the four panels of the mold was inscribed, usually with the letters “XB” (for “Christ is Risen”) and the Orthodox cross, but other figures such as a spear, sprouting grains, and flowers might also occur as symbols of Christ’s suffering and resurrection.  These symbols decorated the sides of the paskha when it was unmolded.

— The Editors

To the Editors:

Having read and very much enjoyed Edvard Radzinsky’s The Last Tsar, I was intrigued by your article on Olga Yeliseyeva and her comments on Radzinsky’s selective use of historical sources.  Do you know where I could find her book Russian History in Bits and Pieces available for purchase?

Thank you very much for your wonderful magazine!

Teddi Smith

by email

Dear Teddi:

This book has not been published in English. But if you read Russian, you may be able to find it online at various internet bookstores that feature books in Russian, like: www.kniga.com or www.russia-on-line.com. You can also search the directory on the Russian Life website (www.russian-life.com) for a Russian language bookstore near you. If you cannot find one, your best bet may be to contact a bookseller who sells through mail order. Try, for instance: Kamkin books (800-852-6546), St. Petersburg Publishing (800-531-1037).

— The Editors

To the Editors:

The article “A Duck for Winter’s End,” was printed on page 58 of Vol. 44, No. 2 of Russian Life. In the article you write: “Our beloved poet Sergei Yesenin began a famous love poem with the words, ‘Shto stoish kachayas, tonkaya ryabina?’ (Why are you standing there shaking, you thin rowan tree?).”

The poem never belonged to Sergei Esenin, but was written long before his birth by the Russian poet Ivan Surikov. Obviously, the author of the article confused this poem with another one, which was really written by Sergei Esenin, but devoted to a maple tree, not to the rowan tree (äÎfiÌ Ú˚ ÏÓÈ, ÓÔ‡‚¯ËÈ, ÍÎfiÌ Á‡Ë̉‚ÂÎ˚È ...). I don’t need to tell you how important is being authentic in all your publications.

Romen Yarov

Meadows Place, TX

Mr. Yarov,

You are of course correct. Apparently, this was a case of a poem being so well known and oft-quoted as to be proverbial and the original source became mistaken. Thank you for sending a full copy of the Surikov poem in question, which we gladly reprint below to share with all our readers.

— The Editors

íÓÌ͇fl fl·Ë̇

óÚÓ ÒÚÓ˯¸, ͇˜‡flÒ¸,

íÓÌ͇fl fl·Ë̇,

ÉÓÎÓ‚ÓÈ ÒÍÎÓÌflflÒ¸

—Ó Ò‡ÏÓ„Ó Ú˚̇?

Ä ˜ÂÂÁ ‰ÓÓ„Û,

ᇠÂÍÓÈ ¯ËÓÍÓÈ,

í‡Í  ӉËÌÓÍÓ

—Û· ÒÚÓËÚ ‚˚ÒÓÍËÈ.

—ä‡Í ·˚ ÏÌÂ, fl·ËÌÂ,

ä ‰Û·Û ÔÂ·‡Ú¸Òfl,

ü · ÚÓ„‰‡ Ì Òڇ·

ÉÌÛÚ¸Òfl Ë Í‡˜‡ÚÒfl.

íÓÌÍËÏË ‚ÂÚ‚flÏË

ü · Í ÌÂÏÛ ÔË Ë·Ҹ

à Ò Â„Ó ÎËÒÚ‡ÏË

—ÂÌ Ë ÌÓ˜¸ ¯ÂÔڇ·Ҹ.

— à‚‡Ì ëÛ‚ÓÓ‚

Thin Rowan Tree

Why do you stand there, shaking

You thin rowan tree,

With your head bowing

Toward the fence?

For across the road,

Beyond the wide river,

Just as alone

Stands the high oak.

If it were me, rowan tree

I would rush to the oak

I would not spend time

Bowing and shaking.

With my thin branches

I would take root near him

And into his leaves

Whisper day and night.

— Ivan Suvorov