CaucasTalk

Top of the morning and happy New Year to you! We’re kicking off the new year with a strong new mini-series: Mount Elbrus!

For being the highest mountain in Europe, Elbrus is little known to the wider world. Today’s discussion long enough, that we decided to split it up and let you enjoy it over two episodes—15A and 15B.

Today you get a “street-level” view of the mountain, with some history and a sprinkling of fairly uninformed geology. But plenty of awe and wonder. We’re loaded with links below, so check them out! Then come on by for a look at one the Seven Summits of the world!

Links for Episode 15

A GoPro view of Elbrus

Elbrus Climb Start to Finish – airport, acclimation, climb

Lermontov Poem

Русский язык – высота

https://stihi-russkih-poetov.ru/tags/elbrus

https://www.volgograd.kp.ru/daily/26145.5/3034736/

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-caucas/

https://stihi-russkih-poetov.ru/tags/stihi-lermontova-o-kavkaze

Mt. Rainier steam vents

“Hitchhiker’s paradise” — Photos from the new documentary

About the documentary itself . . . We sadly JUST discovered that the YouTube links we found  were in violation of copyright and so have been deleted, user and all. Here and here are sites that tell about it, but we’re not sure how to get a hold of it yet. We’ll keep you posted.

Timestamps

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Errata

In this episode, Eli boldly but incorrectly asserted that in Greek mythology, Prometheus was the son of Poseidon, who is the brother of Zeus, and therefore himself Zeus’s nephew. This is incorrect. Prometheus was a Titan, born to Iapetus who took as his wife the “neat-ankled maid Clymene.” To him she bore Prometheus “full of various wiles,” and his three brothers, Atlas, Menoetius, and “scatter-brained Epimetheus.”

SOURCE: Hesiod, Theogony.

Andrew also ventured that our local airport, Mineralnye Vody, is at sea level. This is also false. MRV airport sits at 321 m / 1,053 ft.

Welcome to the end of our mini-series on “The Arts in the Caucasus.”

Have you ever wanted to dip a toe into Russian literature, but didn’t know where to start? Or maybe like some of us you’ve given it a go only to get stymied only a few chapters in. Renew your interest with Russian literature about the Caucasus! There’s lots to choose from.

Today you not only get to hear from a local literature expert—but in Russian. This wonderful interview between Andrew and Lusina, a local literature professor, about the place of the North Caucasus in Russian literature is handily overdubbed with English translation. A second release features the interview without the English overdub, for our Russian-speaking friends. Check out the wealth of suggestions in our links below. Happy reading!

Links for Episode 14

“The Storming of Derbent” by Gavrila Derzhavin (in Russian)

Great Russian Poems App:  FREE

“On Count Zubov’s Return from Persia” by Gavrila Derzhavin

– English

– Russian – НА ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЕ ГРАФА ЗУБОВА ИЗ ПЕРСИИ

“To Voyekov” by Vasily Zhukovs (in Russian)

“Hadji Murad. The Raid. The Cossacks” by Leo Tolstoy (3 books in one)

“The Cutting of the Forest” by Tolstoy

“A Prisoner of the Caucasus” by Tolstoy

– English

“A Prisoner in the Caucasus” by Pushkin (in English)

“The Caucasus” by Pushkin

– English

– Russian

All 9 of Lermontov’s poems about the Caucasus (in Russian)

“A Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov (in English)

“Ismail-Bey” (in Russian)

“Ammalet-Bek” by Alexander Bestuzhev Marlinsky (in Russian)

“Mulla Nur” (in Russian)

Timestamps

0:42 – Interview Intro

1:46 – Channeling Yoda

2:42 – Background on our Guest

4:33 – Caucasus Quiz: Russian Authors

This episode is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It’s a lump on the tip of the iceberg. It’s snow dusting the lump the tip of the iceberg. You get our point: the topic of “Music in the Caucasus” is deep and wide and, much like the iceberg, much of it remains obscured to us outsiders looking in.

Today Eli takes us on a brief audio tour of some of local instruments from Dagestan using ethnographic recordings he took during his summer travels. We reflect on what marks out “folk” music from other kinds, such as classical and pop. And, most special, Andrew sings. Just a bit. But it’s inspirational.

Links for Episode 13

Article: “The Role of Music in Human Culture” – Interview with Moby, Hans Zimmer, Rita Ora, and Rusty Rueff

Ored Recordings – Recordings of authentic music of the North Caucasus, based in Nalchik, founded and directed by Bulat Khalilov

Ored’s, “The Song of the Dog & the Boar”

Ethnomusicological Insights of the North Caucasus –  A treasure trove of ethnomusicology from the whole Caucasus region.

Lezginka – Caucasian War Dance – Lots of video clips of Lezginka in various cultural settings.

Rasul Gamzatov Homepage – Bio, history, and poems.

Timestamps

2:40 – Ethnomusicology

3:20 – Our intro music… what is it??

6:04 – Rusty Rueff quotation on “What is music?”

7:42 – “Arrival”

10:17 – Andrew sings

11:14 – Andrew sings again

19:58 – Sir Robin bravely ran away…

23:38 – Ored Recordings

23:56 – CLIP: “The Story of the Dog & the Boar”

27:29 – Advice on how to listen to foreign music

28:39 – The pandur

31:35 – The kumuz

32:00 – The mandolin

34:17 – The chagana / mountain fiddle

35:13 – The flute

38:36 – The accordion

40:19 – Lezginka

43:25 – News Minute! – Rasul Gamzatov in India

“Censorship in the West is like everywhere else, it forces my colleagues to follow certain rules—the first rule being the box office.”

—Otar Iosseliani

The first in a mini-series on “Arts in the North Caucasus,” today we talk about film. “Talk about film?” It’s true,  This is one episode especially for the show notes. Film has emerged in the last century as one of the most moving art forms known to humankind. In the North Caucasus like in many places film has been harnessed to express  and process the pain, hopes, struggles, and joys of its peoples. Today we highlight films across the spectrum—old and new, comic and documentary—all of which will give you a colorful insight into a different world. So pop some popcorn and enjoy!

Links for Episode 12

“Closeness” by Kantemir Balagov, a Kabardin from Nalchik which won some the Cannes Film Festival awards

“Tangerines” – Modern war-time and inter-ethnic conflict (no link 🙁

“Svani” – Caucasus traditions conflicting w/ Russian traditions (English subtitles)

“Father of a Soldier” – Soviet war film (English subtitles)

“Kidnapping, Caucasus Style” – Classic Soviet comedy (English subtitles)

“Prisoner of the Mountains” – A serious, modern re-make of the classic North Caucasus movie based on Leo Tolstoy’s book, Prisoner of the Mountains

Sergei Paradjanov – Armenian director (1924-1990), maker of 18 films, in Armenian, Georgian, Ukrainian, and Russian.

Otar Iosseliani – Georgian director (b. 1934), maker of 22 films and winner of the Cannes Film Festival and other international film festival awards.

Timestamps

16:39 – Andrew’s film recommendations

25:25 – Amazing film site: MUBI

27:14 – News Minute!! The strongest ____________ in the world. . .

On a stroke of insight, we thought it wise to ask a real live woman to help us out in an episode devoted to discussing women in the Caucasus. We are delighted to host Cristi, Andrew’s wife, on today’s episode. Our question today is, “Who is the Caucasus woman?” The answers are myriad and we explore several. A handful of colorful women from Caucasus history gives us a sense. Enjoy and be sure to leave us a review on iTunes!

Famous Women in the North Caucasus

Veronika Dudarova– Famous Russian Symphony Conductor – 1916 2009

Conductor of Moscow State Symphony Orchestra from 1960-1989

Symphony Orchestra of Russia 1991-2003

According to her son Mikhail, during a concert in Andorra in 1993, due to her intense style of conducting, Dudarova fell from the podium, but went on conducting the orchestra lying on the floor leaning on her right hand and the piece was performed to the end without an interruption

Parandzem– 4th century queen of Armenia

Elmeskhan Khagundokova (Эльмесхан Хагундокова)

She was a famous Circassian, fought in the French Resistance, also was a famous model and fashion icon in France in 1920s)

Tamar – Queen of Georgia (1184 – 1213)

Canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as the Holy Righteous Queen Tamar.

Tuti Bike– Ruled Derbent in late 18th century (Dagestani)

News Minute

Zaza Pachulia

-Rewarded Georgia Order of Honor, first Georgian NBA player to win title

-consistently gets enough votes for All-Star team b/c tons of Georgians vote for him , “Zaza rules 😉 (now 50% of media/players’ vote makes a difference)

-Yao Ming was same way (made 8 all star teams, several as a starter when he was injured all year 🙂 )

http://www.sfchronicle.com/warriors/article/Warriors-Zaza-Pachulia-carries-on-in-11013192.php

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/warriors-center-zaza-pachulia-receives-republic-of-georgias-order-of-honor/

TIMESTAMPS

00:28 – Special Guest!

02:58 – Disclaimers

05:20 – Traditional vs. Modern Societies discussion

12:03 – Women from Caucasus history

16:41 – Female pirates

18:00 – Tuti Bike

19:10 – Interview with Cristi

23:43 – Story from W. Africa

33:32 – Stories of women in the Caucasus

47:15 – News Minute

Down through history and across the entire North Caucasus region, certain characteristics have emerged that idealize what is a “Caucasus Man.” Today we discuss what are these characteristics as described by the cultures around us. We also pull out from the files three colorful exemplars from history celebrated for their manliness. Ever heard of “the devils in bushy hats”? You will today.

Also, for your listening pleasure and convenience, we have included for the first time timestamps for the episode. See what’s coming and when. Helpful? Let us know. Links below.

TIMESTAMPS

1:35  The ideal Caucasus Man

3:23  Shout-outs

4:16  “Jigit”

7:07  Quality 1: Honor

9:00  Honor/shame worldview

16:19  Quality 2: Strength

19:02  Historical figure #1: Imam Shamil

23:27  Historical figure #2: Al-Klych Hasaev

28:50  Historical figure #3: The Savage Division

37:21  News Minute!

42:57  END

Episode 10 Links

Article about Imam Shamil, Dagestani religious and military leader

Article about Al-Klych Hasaev, Dagestani wrestler and strongman

Information about the “Savage Division” of Caucasus soldiers in WWI (a.k.a., “Devils in Bushy Hats”)

Article about Nanu Shouva, oldest person in the world!

Russian article about Nanu Shouva

Welcome to our first non-episode—a brief installment to check in, say hey, and share some details of what’s been happening and what’s to come. We want to share with you some of the feedback we’ve gotten over the last few months and reflect on what we’ve learned. We have an award-winner to announce. And we have some samples of future releases.

We will continue with our bi-weekly releases on the 1st and 15th of every month, so keep your ear to ground. More’s coming.

PS – If you are wondering what a “banya” is and why people are making strange moaning noises in the first set of clips, it’s a Russian sauna. So we’re hanging out in our bathing suits in a small, super-heated room getting thrashed with laurel leaves. Just FYI!

Links

Props and thanks to our man Mike DelGaudio, the “Booth Junkie,” for inspiring Andrew to sit in his parents’ closet for several hours on end. Check out his amusing video below.

The nick-name for today’s episode is “Story Time with Uncle Andrew.” Not only is Andrew actually a good story-teller, but he has good stories to tell. The past few months have furnished us with a wealth of experience in Caucasus friends’ homes and visiting the various republics of the Caucasus. Today Andrew draws out key lessons from three intense weeks over the summer when he visited five homes.

Today we also share a new “Tourism Tip” for those of you considering coming to visit. We hope that is many of you! We have some very exciting news to reveal soon that we hope will inspire many of you to consider coming our way.

Episode 9 Links

Distinct (and endangered) animals “fauna” in the Caucasus

Unique “flora” in the Caucasus

Bylym Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria

Stereotypes . . . we all have them. Biases braid their way into how we interpret our daily experience. They inform our perception of reality, other cultures, and—most significantly—other people. And sometimes, they warp our perception of these things.

Living in the North Caucasus we have experienced stereotypes in many directions, others’ about us as Americans, and ours about our neighbors here. But what happens when we allow our stereotypes to take a backseat to actually getting to know a person? Today we share about the power of focusing on individuals, and humanizing our way out of stereotypes that harm ourselves and others.

Listen to the end for practical tips to apply these principles to your life!

Episode 8 Links

Russia Stereotypes

America Stereotypes

”Where Bias Begins: The truth about stereotypes”

What’s in a barbecue? Have you ever thought about the cultural significance of this seemingly insignificant even? Well, here in the North Caucasus, two foods in particular hold incredible cultural value: barbecue—here called “shashlik,”—and tea—or “chai.” In Episode 7, we walk you through explanation, analysis, and of course stories about these two popular pastimes. We even delve into what cultural meaning lies beneath the surface of our own humble barbecue practices from home. (And talk a little about fufu.)

Episode 7 Links

Shashlik recipe with some great historical insights of its place in Russia and the Caucasus.

The place of chai in Russian culture

Tips on drinking chai in Russia

A Samovar

Fufu Recipe

– Amazing video with background music not to be missed.