The Volga
1 2020-10-06T14:54:28-04:00 Faith Becker b55d8cd522b9250b63c8ad2f2fba7fc353cb8d0a 8 1 The longest river in Europe, located in Central and Southern Russia. plain 2020-10-06T14:54:28-04:00 Faith Becker b55d8cd522b9250b63c8ad2f2fba7fc353cb8d0aThis page is referenced by:
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1
2020-08-31T12:44:26-04:00
Wings 12-18
13
Mikhail Kuzmin
plain
2020-12-13T14:31:26-05:00
Faith
pg. 12 — Munich
Capital in the city of Bavaria where Stroop resides. Bavaria is, as of today, the second most populace city in Germany. During the time which Stroop would have lived, Munich was becoming a right winged city where people like Adolf Hitler were and Nazism rose to prominence. One of Hitler's infamous art exhibitions, The Degenerate Art Exhibition, was held here.pg. 12 — Foulard
A thin material of silk or cotton.pg. 12 — Stroop -
Stroop is a well off, educated, English Russian adult male. He is like a mentor to young Vanya and encourages Vanya to explore the beauty of languages, love and the world.pg. 12 — The Volga
The longest river in Europe that traverses through Russia. It is commonly viewed as Russia's national river.pg. 12 — Sestroretsk
A town in St. Petersburg, Russia where Vanya is staying with his extended family.pg. 13 — Antediluvian
The time referring to before the biblical great flood.pg. 14 — Chevaux de Frise
A defense consisting typically of a timber or an iron barrel covered with projecting spikes and often strung with barbed wire. It was specifically used for anti-calvary but it often stays up after times of battle and can become a part of the general landscape of community towns.pg. 15 — Fontanka
The Fontanka is the left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is acknowedlged by Vanya when he is traveling past it from the Summer Garden to Gutuyevsky Island.pg. 15 — Parapet
A defensive mini-wall made of earth or stone that was built to protect soldiers on the roof of a fort or a castle. Now it indicates any low wall along the roof of a building, the edge of a balcony, the side of a bridge, or similar structure.pg. 16 — Ivan Petrovich
pg. 17 — pince-nez
Ivan Petrovich is Vanya's Greek teacher and mentor.
It is a style of eye glasses that were mostly worn in the late 18th century to the early 20th century, both by men and women. The name is french with "prince" meaning pinch and "nez" translating to nose. -
1
2020-10-01T11:08:05-04:00
Between Dog & Wolf 1-17
7
Sasha Sokolove
plain
2020-10-18T16:48:36-04:00
pg. 1 — Discords beyond the Itil
The title to the first chapter of the book. The Russian version is “Zaitil’shchina” (Заитил’щина) which is a pun on “Zadonshchina” ( Задонщина), a Russian literary monument of the late 14th century, which tells of the Battle of Kulikovo between the Russians and the Mongols. Here it is referenced to draw parallels between Ilya’s conflict with the gamekeeper along the banks of the Itil (another name for the Volga river), and an epic battle or struggle. The use of the old Tatar name “Itil” and reference to a legendary 14th century battle, also give this story's setting a sort of timeless or mythical air, like nothing changes in the wilderness of provincial Russia.
pg. 1 — citizen Sidor Fomich Pozhilykh
A local crime investigator to whom Ilya (one of several chroniclers in this novel) addresses his account of events.
pg. 1 — Ilya Petrikeich Zynzyrela
The narrator for about a third of the book, he is a poor cripple, living on the banks of the Volga, and making his money as a blade sharpener. His name sets the stage for several of the motifs present in the book; his first name “Ilya” alludes to the biblical character Elijah, the prophet who could control the weather, and who in Russian folklore is associated with wolves. His patronymic “Petrikeich” ties in the fox motif as it sounds similar to “Petrikeyevna”: a name associated with female foxes in Russian folklore. His last name, though the spelling varies, references the story of Cinderella, a story that is paralleled in a darkly humorous way: for example, when Ilya loses his whole foot rather than just a shoe. Some of the variants of the name, such as “Dzyndzyrela”, may be a reference to Ilya’s career of blade sharpening, as “dzyn-dzyn” is an onomatopoeia for the sound metal makes on a grinder.
pg. 1 — A. Sharpenhaur
This is a pun on the german philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and the word “Sharpener”, referencing Ilya’s profession. Schopenhauer does not appear to relate to the plot at all, apart from being an amusing play on words and an odd name for the trash co-op. The original Russian instead made a pun with “Daniel the prisoner” (D. Zatochnik) which is a well known Eastern SLavic piece of literature from the 12th century. It is the story of a prisoner writing to a prince about his unjust imprisonment, which finds parallels in Ilya’s address to the investigator.
pg. 2 — crashbaret
written “kubare” (Кубаре) in the original Russian; a combination of “kubarem” (кубарем)-- to fall head over heels, and the French “cabaret” (кабаре)-- entertainment in a nightclub or restaurant.
pg. 2 — the Itil
An old Tatar name for the Volga river: a river which runs through South and Central Russia, and who’s banks are home to over half of Russia’s largest cities.
pg. 3 — Nikolay “Helper”
Nikolay has a tragic backstory, like many of the thieves and “invaliduals” we meet, he struggles to find work and to hold onto his wife. He is “a sincere loser”, seeming to shoulder his burden mildly, and as a result being bullied. Skating is the only joy in his life, but one day he skates off and never returns. Here we start to see some of the dualisms the ice represents-- it is implied that Nikolay fell through the ice and died-- he broke the thin ice that separated life from death, but he also broke away from suffering to freedom, as Ilya says, Nikolay “went through his transfiguration and flew away”.
pg. 3 — Gorodnishche shelter
A shelter in the fictional city of Gorodnische. The name comes from the word “gorodishche” meaning fortified settlement, and “nishchii” meaning beggars.
pg. 5 — Gury the hunter
A hunter who vainly takes great pride in his ice skating speed, and goes to Ilya to sharpen his blades. Ilya calls “race-skatin” it his career, though it does not appear he actually makes money this way; he is always looking for someone to race with.
pg. 5 — Krylobyl
A character for whom Ilya sharpens.
pg. 5 — Wintry Man
Another character for whom Ilya sharpens. “Wintry” is meant to be a translation for the Russian “Zimar” which is a word coined by Andrei Voznesenskii’s “Song travesty from the spectacle ‘anti-worlds’ ” and meant to refer to all the winter months.
pg. 5 — vertas
An Old Russian unit of length equivalent to about 0.66 miles.
pg. 5 — Sloboda
A sloboda was a kind of settlement in the history of the Old Russian regions. The name is from the early Slavic word for "freedom" and thus can be translated as "free settlement".
pg. 7 — Kulebyakovo
This is the name of a town in Between Dog and Wolf, but it’s also the name of a type of savory Russian pirog.
pg. 8 — Ploski
A village on the Volga.
pg. 8 — the youngster Nikolay
The young NIkolai who “stole” the older NIkolay’s name when he died, or “transfigured” as Ilya says. This is one of the many instances of doubling and shifting names and identities, contributing to this motif of unknowability, this twilight zone where nothing is what it seems.
pg. 9 — the Volga
The longest river in Europe, located in central and southern European Russia.
pg. 10 — Fyodor/ Pyotr/Yegor
A man of many names. He is supposedly an accountant, but ILya says he is actually a “first-rate thief”, as are most characters in Gorodnishche. He falls into despair after an affair with “the dame” and kills himself.
pg. 10 — “this dame”
“The dame” or sometimes “the lady” is a recurring character who is always seeking out new men. She seems to be a temptress of sorts, that leaves her ex-lovers in suicidal distress. This character shares many traits with our other female lead, Orina, so although she is never named, it seems likely that they are the same person.
pg. 11 — Krambambuli
Krambambula is an alcoholic mix drink that typically consists of red wine and various kinds of liquor with a sweet fruit punch base. In Russia it traditionally is made with cloves and cherry pits.
pg. 11 — Valday rot-gut
Rot-gut is a poor-quality and potentially toxic liquor, in this case made in Valday-- a region in northwest Russia and a source of the Volga river.
pg. 12 — Orina
The narrator's beloved who seems to be quite promiscuous and eventually leaves him. She works in a tower at the train station as a dispatcher. She is described as very beautiful, and Ilya pines after her, even after settling down with someone else.
The name Orina is from a poem “Orina, mat’ soldatskaia” (Orina, soldier’s mother) by the Russian poet Nikolay Nekrasov. It is a poem about Orina, narrated by a hunter lodging in her house. This poem’s reference gives a nod to Neskrasov, who’s influence can be seen also in Yakov’s poetry chapters with their predilection towards trochaic and ternary meters like those employed in folklore and Nekrasov’s own work.
pg. 16 — the Bydogoshch cemetery
A fictional cemetery and city that lies across the river from Gorodnishche.
pg. 17 — Maria
Appears to be another name for Orina.