Month: March 2014

On one wonderful spring day of mid-March we met with the Kalesnikoffs-husband and wife, Alexander and Larisa.  The Russian lady with the Canadian who was known to be fond of the Russian culture since his Doukhobor childhood when he was born in the province of Saskatchewan long ago, and now he is of  the third generation.

On the 25th of February this year there was the Radio program Calgary-Toronto with Igor Tutchinsky dedicated to Russian tradition. For those who are interested here is the link:

http://voiceofalberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Voice_of_Alberta_February_25_2014_web.mp3

The couple of the Kalesnikoffs not only talked, they even sang together, united in one common spiritual mood. This is another link:  The Kalesnikoffs’re Singing

To-night they are sitting in our Mucha salon around the samovar table, helping themselves with the stuffed fresh peppers and drinking coffee. The photo is here in the post.

We are conversing in a quiet, very respectful manner.

Janko (1): How is life treating you, Larisa, here, in Canada?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Larisa (2): Pretty good, pretty good. People are friendly, welcoming everywhere we travelled with Sasha: all around British Columbia, Castlegar, Vancouver and many other places.

Val (3): And you, Alexander, how do you feel nowadays, what’s new among the Doukhobors?

Alexander (4): There are many events to be held in Castlegar, the Russian Museum, caffe is opened. The Festivals attract, as usual, big crowds of people. But in general the old people of the Doukhobors are dying out and not many young people are interested in these traditions, unfortunately.

Having known about my coming birthday, they’ve sent me a card with the following words:

“We wish your eyes be sparkling,

With love, tenderness and passion,

To soul of yours we wish to sing,

Songs in unison with the happiness.

We wish you to get along with inner self,

To smile together with your friends,

To give-and-take the love, itself,

And become eager from the tiniest spark,

By fire of hopes and the daring dreams,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

We wish you to be saved by the destiny,

And as plenty of brightest candles,

Let Her help Your dreams come true.”

Look at this B-day Card to the right.

Thanks a lot to all our friends, loved ones who have sent me the warmest wishes and congratulations on my Birthday.

From the day 1 up to the closing day in Sochi were used nearly 4500 Olympic ceremony bouquets. I thought that they usually incorporate meaning and significance by choosing flowers according to some tradition and culture of the host country. Russia as all the nations is one of the largest importers of cut flowers. Domestically produced flowers only make up 2-3% of their flower sales with nearly all of the annual 1 billion worth of flowers coming in from Columbia, Ecuador, and Kenya. The Sochi award bouquets incorporated the language of color to enhance the meaning along with certain varieties tailored to Russian symbols and environments.

There is today, a rose crop being grown in Leningrad region, but unfortuanately not enough for 1000’s of bouquets. How wonderful that would have been.

The purple statice represented the colours of the resort city of Sochi and, perhaps, the light blue ribbons represented the crisp Russian sky.

The yellow Solidago ( a cultivated goldenrod type ) stood for both the goldenrod’s healing properties and the wealth of the Krasnodar region.

The green and white button chrysanthemums represented the contrast of the valleys, meadows, and mountains along the long Black Sea coast.

The laurel signified the warmth and hospitality of the Caucasus peoples and, of course, the symbol of winners. The eucalyptus was the surprise as they included for the historical reference to its planting in Sochi to drain the wetlands. The bouquet was rounded out with Salal or “lemon”  leaf.

Obviously, much thought went into the reasons behind each flower used but sadly or not, all the flowers were imported from South America.

Since the distance factor effects the longevity the same as the imports in other countries, hardiness, I guess, was another factor in the choices. All of the flowers are known resilient grown with various chemicals to survive long periods without water, temperature gaps, and all the jostling they endure on the long journey.

“Personally, I think that President Putin did a wonderful job and put an enormous amount of thought into the Olympic celebration right down to the smallest detail of the Olympic award bouquets.

Russia has one of the most vast and beautiful landscapes with many unique cultures. The history of the country is fascinating and the architecture is unique of its own.”, writes one of the authors on Internet. “It is obvious that he authorized millions of dollars and engaged years of creative thinking on showing the world these assets while, keeping everything in absolutely good taste.”

One cannot disagree with the opinion of our fellow-journalist or whatever he or she can be by profession.

The Paralympic Sochi Winter Games are on their way. They will be held in March 7-16.

We wish all the Olympians in the upcoming sports events in Sochi good luck, lots of success and more and more unforgettible award ceremony bouquets of flowers.

Listen to: “River Flows in You” – Lindsey Stirling