RUSSIA
Southern Russia: Cossacks, Kalmyks & the Caucasus June 15–30, 2021 from £4295 per person | with Alex Koller
View of Ascension Cathedral, Novocherkassk
• Journey from Taman to the Russian Caucasus, via the architecturally important towns of Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd and the spa towns of Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk • Discover the history of southern Russia, from classical Greek colonisation to 19th century literature • Take in the awe-inspiring scenery of Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Elbrus This brand new tour explores a part of Russia that was a relatively late addition to the Tsarist Empire. As we journey from Taman, close to the coast of the Black Sea, to Azau and Nalchik, near the border with Georgia, we will take in a series of historically important towns and cities, their art and architecture, as well as a wealth of stunning natural scenery. Taman, located on the site of the two ancient cities of Hermonassa and Tmutarakan, is of great archaeological significance. As well as being home to a fascinating archaeological museum, it contains museums devoted to Cossack history and to Mikhail Lermontov, providing an introduction to the various cultural threads that will weave throughout our tour. Sometimes called ‘the poet of the Caucasus’, Lermontov is considered one of the greatest figures in Russian Romanticism, and we will explore his 52
This tour will be led by Alex Koller, PhD, an expert in art and architectural history and accomplished linguist who has been leading tours since 1998. His experience ranges from Russia and Eastern Europe to the Himalayas and Southeast Asia. Alex has studied in Vienna, Salzburg and Cambridge, gaining his PhD in History of Art from Magdalene College, where he has also lectured and supervised. Alex developed this new tour following a recce to southern Russia in summer 2019, and looks forward to introducing an ACE group to this fascinating area. contribution to Russia’s literary history in Pyatigorsk with a visit to the house where he spent his last months, now a museum. Southern Russia also boasts connections with other great writers, including Tolstoy, and also Sholokhov, winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Literature and known for his writing on the lives of the Don Cossacks during the Russian Revolution. The history of the Don Cossacks of southern Russia will form an important theme of our tour. The towns of Starocherkassk and Novocherkassk were both former capitals of the Don Cossacks, and contain exhibitions dedicated to them. Starocherkassk is also home to the Cossack Military Cathedral, which, along with the Buddhist khuruls
(temples) in Elista, is one of the most important religious sites in our itinerary. Outstanding architecture can be seen in the towns and cities of Rostov-onDon and Azov, and the spa towns of Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. We will see the generously planned neoclassical layouts, featuring avenues and parks. Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, will be a particular highlight of the tour. Its monuments and museums offer one of the most poignant experiences of the magnitude of the war in the Soviet Union to be found in Russia. It is also home to a marvellous collection of Soviet art and architecture in its most exuberant incarnation. In addition to visiting the towns and cities of southern Russia, we will journey to more rural areas to meet local people, including the Oyrat nomadic people, who speak the Kalmyk language and little or no Russian. They live in tent carts and herd Bactrian camels and sheep. We will have the opportunity to learn about their lifestyle and traditions, and taste traditional tea, pastries and milk vodka. Later in the tour, we will be privileged to meet a master of Kabardian martial arts, and a musician and blacksmith who makes traditional Kabardian instruments. The natural landscape of southern Russia is one of the area’s greatest attractions: from the steppe landscape of Kalmykia, to the great rivers of Don and Volga,
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