A day in a Cossack town

During the 1990s, books from two Soviet-era publications, named Progoti and Raduga, were available in Dhaka. I grew up reading beautiful story books published from those two publishing houses.
The books were published in Bangla, as I later came to know that both Progoti (Progree) and Raduga were part of Foreign Language Publishing House of Moscow that translated books from the Soviet Union into different language to let the world know about them.
One such book which I read during my early school days was ‘Cossack der Upokotha’ (The tales of Cossacks). Aside from the wonderfully told tales (mostly fairy tales), the book had beautiful artwork and illustrations. For the larger part of my childhood, I considered that book as one of the most prized possessions in my library.
So, when on the second day (December 2) of the Russian winter this year, we were  told that we would be taken on a guided tour to one of the most meticulously preserved historic Cossack towns, the first thing that came to my mind was that particular book which I grew up with.  
I told Kate, the guide plus translator of our team, about the book and she was kind of surprised that I knew about the Cossack at all. Tuhin Bhai, one of the members of the media team from Bangladesh (we were invited by Rosatom for a weeklong trip to Russia) told her that books from Soviet era were very well read in Bangladesh because of those two publication houses.
I asked Kate whether an angry Cossack man really leaves his wife in the middle of a gathering in the village by saying that he can no longer stand her, thus, she is no longer his wife. Kate smiled and said, “It’s written in the history and yes, that was a part of Cossack culture”.
She also told me a Cossack man is called ‘drunk’ only if he is found lying face down on the mud.

Starocherkassk and Cossack Museum
The name of the small town where we were taken was Starocherkassk. It is a rural locality (a stanitsa) in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, with origins dating back to the late 16th century.
The small town is located on the right bank of the Don River, approximately 35 kilometres upstream from the major Russian port city of Rostov-on-Don, where we were staying during our trip to Russia.
Upon entering the town, we were taken to the Atman estate fortress, which has been transferred into a museum. Lyubof Mazor, the museum guide, told us that the town was famous for having been the centre of Don Cossack (Cossacks who live near River Don) culture and politics for nearly two centuries -- 16th and 17th.
Being on an island, the city’s position was very convenient for a fortress and military camp, but inconvenient for an administrative and trade centre — in spring, the island was flooded by the Don River and the crowded wooden city was subject to devastating fires.
In 1805, Don Voisko Province’s ataman (leader), Matvei Platov, moved the capital to the newly built city of Novocherkassk which was on a hill, about 40 km from Cherkassk.
Most of the residents of Cherkassk moved to the new capital. Now, the old city is a site of an important museum, tourist centre and an Orthodox male convent. “The world Staro means old, so the word Starocherkassak means Old Cherkassk and Novo means new, so the word Novocherkassak means New Cherkassk,” Kate explained.
She told us that the fortress was built before 1570, although it was first mentioned in chronicles from 1593. After fifty years, it became the capital of the Don Cossacks, first as an independent entity in between Russia, Turkey and Poland, then as a vassal of the Russian tzars (emperors), then as an administrative region, then as the Don Voisko Province of the Russian Empire.
Showing off the architecture of the museum building, Mazor told us that traditionally the rich Cossacks used to build two storied houses like that mansion. “The ground floor had a lower ceiling, whereas the top floor had higher ceiling. The windows on the ground floor were protected with iron bars so to stave off any invaders’ attack,” he said.
The ground floor of the museum displays various artifacts, maps, weapons, dresses and other important things of the Cossack culture. On the top floor, the royal court and the bedrooms were located. The museum has recreated the ambience of the royal court and the bedrooms.

Resurrection Cathedral and Cossack Restaurant
The main attraction in Starocherkassak is the Resurrection Cathedral. Like all other Russian Orthodox cathedrals, it has the prominent Russian feature of onion-shaped domes on the top.
From the museum, we were taken to the cathedral. The sun was setting down and amid the backdrop of a foggy Russian winter’s day, the cathedral with the onion domes looked like a palace from some fairy tale. I got goose bumps because I had seen drawings of such a cathedral in my favourite book of Cossack fairy tales.
The cathedral was more beautiful inside. It has one of the most intricately crafted iconostases of the world. An iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings in Orthodox Christian churches, and the one inside the resurrection cathedral is completely made of wood. The cathedral is still used for weddings and weekly prayers.
“Interestingly, no one knows the name of the artists,” Kate told me.
After visiting the wonderful cathedral, we were taken to a Cossack restaurant where we enjoyed the delicious local cuisine, including traditional dishes like borscht (soup), sea fish fillets and apple bread.
The winds of the Russian winter were getting chillier outside, but the ambience inside the restaurant was suddenly lightened up with the appearance of a local group of singers, clad in traditional Cossack costumes. It was apparently a surprise arranged by our Russian hosts. The group played a total of four songs, all related with folklores and at one point, we started dancing to the tunes. Such was the melody of the music.
On a personal note, I had an epiphany: I was again transported back to the pages of the wonderfully illustrated book named ‘Cossack der Upokotha’.  I had seen a similar picture of such a group of folk singers in traditional costumes, dancing in that book!

A day in a Cossack town

During the 1990s, books from two Soviet-era publications, named Progoti and Raduga, were available in Dhaka. I grew up reading beautiful story books published from those two publishing houses. The books were published in Bangla, as I later came to know that both Progoti (Progree) and Raduga were part of Foreign Language Publishing House of Moscow that translated books from the Soviet Union into different language to let the world know about them. One such book which I read during my early school days was Cossack der Upokotha (The tales of Cossacks). Aside from the wonderfully told tales (mostly fairy tales), the book had beautiful artwork and illustrations. For the larger part of my childhood, I considered that book as one of the most prized possessions in my library. So, when on the second day (December 2) of the Russian winter this year, we were told that we would be taken on a guided tour to one of the most meticulously preserved historic Cossack towns, the first thing that came to my mind was that particular book which I grew up with. I told Kate, the guide plus translator of our team, about the book and she was kind of surprised that I knew about the Cossack at all. Tuhin Bhai, one of the members of the media team from Bangladesh (we were invited by Rosatom for a weeklong trip to Russia) told her that books from Soviet era were very well read in Bangladesh because of those two publication houses. I asked Kate whether an angry Cossack man really leaves his wife in the middle of a gathering in the village by saying that he can no longer stand her, thus, she is no longer his wife. Kate smiled and said, Its written in the history and yes, that was a part of Cossack culture. She also told me a Cossack man is called drunk only if he is found lying face down on the mud. Starocherkassk and Cossack Museum The name of the small town where we were taken was Starocherkassk. It is a rural locality (a stanitsa) in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia, with origins dating back to the late 16th century. The small town is located on the right bank of the Don River, approximately 35 kilometres upstream from the major Russian port city of Rostov-on-Don, where we were staying during our trip to Russia. Upon entering the town, we were taken to the Atman estate fortress, which has been transferred into a museum. Lyubof Mazor, the museum guide, told us that the town was famous for having been the centre of Don Cossack (Cossacks who live near River Don) culture and politics for nearly two centuries -- 16th and 17th. Being on an island, the citys position was very convenient for a fortress and military camp, but inconvenient for an administrative and trade centre in spring, the island was flooded by the Don River and the crowded wooden city was subject to devastating fires. In 1805, Don Voisko Provinces ataman (leader), Matvei Platov, moved the capital to the newly built city of Novocherkassk which was on a hill, about 40 km from Cherkassk. Most of the residents of Cherkassk moved to the new capital. Now, the old city is a site of an important museum, tourist centre and an Orthodox male convent. The world Staro means old, so the word Starocherkassak means Old Cherkassk and Novo means new, so the word Novocherkassak means New Cherkassk, Kate explained. She told us that the fortress was built before 1570, although it was first mentioned in chronicles from 1593. After fifty years, it became the capital of the Don Cossacks, first as an independent entity in between Russia, Turkey and Poland, then as a vassal of the Russian tzars (emperors), then as an administrative region, then as the Don Voisko Province of the Russian Empire. Showing off the architecture of the museum building, Mazor told us that traditionally the rich Cossacks used to build two storied houses like that mansion. The ground floor had a lower ceiling, whereas the top floor had higher ceiling. The windows on the ground floor were protected with iron bars so to stave off any invaders attack, he said. The ground floor of the museum displays various artifacts, maps, weapons, dresses and other important things of the Cossack culture. On the top floor, the royal court and the bedrooms were located. The museum has recreated the ambience of the royal court and the bedrooms. Resurrection Cathedral and Cossack Restaurant The main attraction in Starocherkassak is the Resurrection Cathedral. Like all other Russian Orthodox cathedrals, it has the prominent Russian feature of onion-shaped domes on the top. From the museum, we were taken to the cathedral. The sun was setting down and amid the backdrop of a foggy Russian winters day, the cathedral with the onion domes looked like a palace from some fairy tale. I got goose bumps because I had seen drawings of such a cathedral in my favourite book of Cossack fairy tales. The cathedral was more beautiful inside. It has one of the most intricately crafted iconostases of the world. An iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings in Orthodox Christian churches, and the one inside the resurrection cathedral is completely made of wood. The cathedral is still used for weddings and weekly prayers. Interestingly, no one knows the name of the artists, Kate told me. After visiting the wonderful cathedral, we were taken to a Cossack restaurant where we enjoyed the delicious local cuisine, including traditional dishes like borscht (soup), sea fish fillets and apple bread. The winds of the Russian winter were getting chillier outside, but the ambience inside the restaurant was suddenly lightened up with the appearance of a local group of singers, clad in traditional Cossack costumes. It was apparently a surprise arranged by our Russian hosts. The group played a total of four songs, all related with folklores and at one point, we started dancing to the tunes. Such was the melody of the music. On a personal note, I had an epiphany: I was again transported back to the pages of the wonderfully illustrated book named Cossack der Upokotha. I had seen a similar picture of such a group of folk singers in traditional costumes, dancing in that book!