February 14 : St. Valentine's Day

[Mariria]

The Valentine's day start to be loved in Russia.

A little bit about love in Russia.

A Russian Valentine's tale.
It is well known that Russians don' t find it easy to talk about such delicate matters as love. So when we call to ask what kind of vegetables to buy on the way home, we are reluctant to add : " I love you, honey." We need a more serious reason to express our affection. And St. Valentine's Day seems to be the perfect excuse to allow ourselves to be that little bit more sensitive and romantic.

by Inga Zemzare, St Petersburg
February,27 2008

The author is a winner of the Andrei Sakharov Award for Journalism as an Act of Conscience

I really love that tale!

http://rbth.ru/articles/2008/02/27/valentine_tale.html

[Mariria]

Here is some more stories for the coming holiday.
It stars to be well recognized in Russia.

Scenic ride on a wintery day.
If icy walks don't light your fire, you can always try a scenic ride on a tram, the oldest form of public transport in Moscow. Tram No. 11, running between Izmailovo and Sokolniki, might provide a suitably romantic journey. Depending on traffic, the tram can take well over an hour to cover its 17-kilometre route, allowing plenty of time for leisurely sightseeing while enjoying each other's company. You can board near Partizanskaya metro station, close to the fairy tale towers of the Izmailovsky craft market and the Serebryano-Vinogradny ("silver grape") Island with the remains of a genuine imperial estate. The tram runs through woods and suburbs, passing several picturesque churches, including the atmospheric Old Believers' monastery and icon-painting studio near Preobrazhenskaya Ploschad and the intricate pink and white wooden Church of the Transfiguration at Bogorodskoye. The route also passes the All Russia Exhibition Centre grounds, with the newly restored Worker and Collective Farm Girl monument glinting in the winter sunshine, and ends by Ostankino tower close to the Sheremetyev Palace.

The story of love

The 18th-century palace at Ostankino is not open in the winter, but it is an appropriate destination all the same. The landscaped park is pretty and fairly well supplied with cafes, and the gardens are steeped in Moscow's most romantic tales.
Count Nikolai Sheremetyev, the richest aristocrat in Catherine the Great's Russia, fell in love with a serf opera singer, Praskovya, and brought her to his lavish theatre in Ostankino, where she sang tragic arias to visiting royalty. After their secret marriage and her untimely death, the count wrote of his "most tender and passionate feelings for her". The Sheremetyev palace at Kuskovo on the other side of town is another beautiful venue associated with this story. The formal gardens and whimsical summerhouses at Kuskovo were the setting for the start of the relationship. The view from the wooded park across the lake to the palace is still one of the finest sights in Moscow.
You can enjoy some moment of love here:
Kuzminki love bench
3 Kuzminskaya Ul., m. Ryzansky Prospekt then marshrutka No. 429

Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve
1 Dolskaya Ul., 322 6843, m. Tsaritsyno or Orekhovo


Ostankino Park
1st Ostankinskaya Ul., m. VDNKh plus tram or monorail

[mariann]

The forgiving power of Russians.
One possible explanation of the forgivinng pwer may be in the tradition of Sunday of Forgiveness. It’s an original Russian celebration, combining both Christian and pagan traditions. It takes place before the beginning of Lent, some time before Easter. On this day people ask each other to forgive them their voluntary or accidental offences and they forgive each other with the words, “God forgives!”
Normally one person greets another and says, “Please, forgive me”, in response they says “God forgives! I forgive too”, then, they can hug each other heartily…
-Isn’t that beautiful?

I believe that this tradition worked out in the collective consciousness of the Russian people a pattern of forgiveness.

This year it happens to be on the Valentines Day.
Some people were giving a heart gifts asking to forgive.


Just forgive and maybe you will understand Russians a little bit more.

[Sennaya]

I hope I will be forgiven! It's a great idea. Kinda like confession in the catholic church without the priest!

[laurentius]

Was there anything like Valentines in Soviet Union or was Valentines regarded a capitalist/burgeoise holiday? was there any other friend commemorative day in SU?