In 2017, Maslenitsa falls on the fourth week of February and will last from the 20th to the 26th of the last winter month.
From the history of the holiday
The history of Maslenitsa goes back to pagan times. Initially, the holiday was associated with the day of the vernal equinox, but with the adoption of Christianity it began to precede Lent and depend on its timing. The Christian Church actually added Maslenitsa to its calendar, calling it Cheese Week, so church and folk traditions are closely intertwined in the holiday.
Proto-Slavic Maslenitsa is associated with the cult of fertility. The rituals were designed to sanctify the land and fill it with strength so that it would produce a good harvest. In the popular consciousness, the fertility of the land was inextricably linked with the fertility of people and livestock. These days, boys and girls were looking for a mate for the purpose of procreation. The funeral essence of Maslenitsa was also closely connected with fertility. The departed ancestors, according to the peasants, were simultaneously in another world and in the earth, which means they could influence its fertility. Therefore, on Maslenitsa, departed ancestors were cajoled in every possible way, including pancakes. They were considered funeral food.
Today, the sacred meaning of Maslenitsa has been practically lost, and we perceive it primarily as a holiday of pancakes. However, until now, each of the seven days of the holiday has its own name, which tells us what needs to be done. But this only applies folk tradition holiday.
Maslenitsa folk schedule
Monday - Maslenitsa meeting
On this day, they made a stuffed animal out of straw and put an old one on it. women's clothing, they put this scarecrow on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh around the village. Then Maslenitsa was staged on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began.
Tuesday - flirt
On this day, brides' viewings took place. The girls invited young people to ride from the mountains and invited them over to eat pancakes.
Wednesday - gourmet, mother-in-law pancakes
On this day, mothers-in-law invited their beloved sons-in-law for pancakes.
Thursday - revelry, wide Thursday
Day of fist fights. The blood shed during such battles was perceived as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead or to the gods themselves.
Friday - mother-in-law's evening
If on Wednesday sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law, then on Friday it was the other way around. At the same time, in the evening, the mother-in-law had to give her son-in-law all the necessary ingredients for making pancakes.
Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers
On this day, the young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place and treated them to guess what? That's right - pancakes.
Forgiveness Sunday
On the last day of Maslenitsa, it is customary to ask for forgiveness from all relatives and friends, to which they usually answered “God will forgive!”
Sayings for every day of Maslenitsa:
Monday: Maslenitsa is coming, damn it, it’s bringing honey!
Tuesday: Damn is not a sheaf - you can’t prick it with a pitchfork
Wednesday: They don't like pancakes and kisses!
Thursday: Have fun at Maslenaya and treat yourself to a pancake!
Friday: Shrovetide doesn’t last forever!
Saturday: Pancakes are relatives of the sun!
Sunday: Not everything is Maslenitsa, there will be Lent too!
In 2017, Maslenitsa will last from February 20 to 26. This holiday of farewell to winter has come down to us since pagan times. During “pancake week” it is customary to visit people and, of course, bake and eat pancakes. This dish is a symbol of the sun that we are so looking forward to on the eve of spring.
Source - http://kp.ua/
The Moscow Maslenitsa festival will be held in the capital from February 17 to 26, 2017. You can take part in the festive festivities at 13 central sites, where there will be more than 30 points selling pancakes with a variety of fillings. In addition, culinary master classes will be held for guests, round dances and traditional Slavic Maslenitsa fun will be organized. The grounds will be decorated with numerous figures of straw Maslenitsa, an eight-meter-tall ice Maslenitsa and carousels in the form of Dymkovo toys.
During the Moscow Maslenitsa festival, more than 30 thematic excursions will be held. The townspeople will be told where fist fights and mass pancake feasts used to be held in the capital, how Maslenitsa was celebrated in the 19th century, for example, on Sparrow Hills. In addition, you will be able to walk around the city center and learn from your guide the secrets of ancient streets and alleys. Most excursions will be free of charge with prior registration. Sign up and check out full list routes can be found on the website: http://moscowwalking.ru/. At the same time, the list of excursions will be updated.
Guests of the Moscow Maslenitsa festival will be offered The best way to keep warm in winter - play sports in the fresh air. Children and adults will be able to practice and take part in friendly relay races. Experienced instructors will help them. Traditionally, Tverskoy Boulevard will become the center of the festival’s sports life. Near the Timiryazev monument you will be able to master croquet, jump on trampolines and play basketball. Guests will test their dexterity in the “Goose Catching” attraction; the goal of the game is to throw a ring around the “goose’s” neck, “catching” it. At the Yesenin monument, lovers of outdoor activities will be offered a cheese relay race. Here they will roll giant one and a half meter “cheese heads” at speed. At the site at the very beginning of Tverskoy Boulevard, children will be able to compete in kolobok-ball, a team game based on broomball. This sport is very similar to hockey, but instead of sticks the players use brooms, and the puck is replaced by a ball - at the festival it will be a bun. All sports grounds on Tverskoy Boulevard will be open daily from 12:00 to 20:00.
Puppet theater performances will take place on Manezhnaya Square and at the transition to Revolution Square. A master class will be held on Revolution Square, where Muscovites will be told about this type of graphics called lubok. Using a reconstructed medieval printing press and authentic tools, they themselves will create pictures that are characterized by simplicity and accessibility of images.
The history and traditions of wood carving will be presented on Klimentovsky Lane. Guests will also see carved window frames and wooden frames from different cities of Russia. On creative master classes everyone will be able to learn how to draw and paint frames, decorate gingerbread cookies with icing and even grind flour. It will be interesting for both adults and children.
A mini-exhibition of traditional clay toys will be held in Novopushkinsky Square. At other master classes, children will make masquerade masks and traditional Maslenitsa decorations made of paper, birch bark, leather and straw. “Assault on the Winter Fortress” will be the final and largest event of the festival. Reenactors, together with festival guests, will build a snow town for the winter battle.
“Moscow Maslenitsa” opens the cycle of city street events “Moscow Seasons” in 2017. It will be held at 13 venues in the center of the capital.
Maslenitsa in Tsaritsyno
On the last day of Maslenitsa, February 26, a free mass tea party will be held at the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve. It is expected that on Forgiveness Sunday in Tsaritsyno they will drink more than 200 liters of tea from 30 samovars. As the press service of the museum-reserve said, wood-burning samovars with a volume of five to 10 liters will be placed on a long compound table covered with a tablecloth. It is assumed that it will be located near the main entrance to Tsaritsyno. The tea party will start at 14:00 and last until 16:00. Before this, visitors will be able to take part in a festive theatrical procession with buffoons through the park, as well as other traditional Maslenitsa fun. Citizens will enjoy a competition for the farthest felt boot throw and a team tug-of-war competition. IN Maslenitsa week A fair will also be organized on the territory of the museum-reserve, where you can buy pancakes with different fillings and much more.
Maslenitsa in Victory Park
And in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill, instead of the traditional scarecrow, an artificial sun will be lit on the last day of Maslenitsa. As the park's press service clarified, it will be placed on a three-meter pole. The total height of the structure will be about five meters. The sun will be lit on Sunday, February 26, on the hill at the entrance to the park. The show will start around 20:00. It is planned to place mills around the structure. Specialists will light fiery fountains, which will make them rotate around their axis with a whistle. An outline of sparks will appear around the shapes. On each of them there will be small elements - whistles and burners. These are the so-called funny lights - fireworks that were launched in Moscow back in the 18th century. The hill itself, where the fire show will take place, will be surrounded by a small fence for security reasons. Visitors will be able to watch the burning sun and spinning windmills in the distance.
Gorky Park: music Festival and sports relay races
Maslenitsa in Gorky Park will be held under the auspices of totem animals: eagle, wolf, deer and bison. The territory will be divided into four zones with treats, adventures and challenges.
A sports zone will be located on Pushkinskaya Embankment. Everyone can play ping-pong and gorodki here, learn fencing and snowboarding, take an orienteering quest or measure the force of a blow. There will also be a music festival in the park from 13:00 to 19:00.
In the learning zone, children and adults will be invited to master classes and Green School games.
And at the food court you can try pancakes according to recipes collected from all over the world: traditional Russian ones with sour cream, fish or jam, French crepes made from chestnut or buckwheat flour, Dutch pannekoken with a variety of fillings and much more.
Sokolniki Park
A giant two-meter frying pan will appear in the park, against which you can take unusual selfies. On the 4th Luchevoy Prosek from 11:00 to 22:00 there will be a fair, and on the stage of the Ice skating rink from 14:00 to 18:00 there will be a concert with the participation of famous artists.
This year, the place of the traditional scarecrow on Fontannaya Square will be taken by the art object “Spring Mood Designer”. It will become a symbol of winter inconveniences: cold, apathy, stress that park guests will have to contend with. Visitors will also be able to create their own art effigies from construction parts, which can be burned at the end of the holiday.
Hermitage Garden
Guests of the Hermitage Garden will be greeted by street performers, mummers, mimes and even polar bears. Everyone will be able to learn about the traditions of celebrating Maslenitsa in the 9th century, take part in old Russian amusements, ride reindeer and the Zakrutikha swing.
At the Sweet Kitchen site, mimes will treat children to cotton candy and lollipops, and theatrical action will unfold on the main stage, culminating in a carnival procession: stilt walkers, acrobats, representatives of different nations of the world in national costumes They will guide a huge iron dog through the park, spewing out a sea of soap bubbles.
In addition, it is planned to set a Guinness record for baking the largest Pancake week pancake. The finale of the holiday will be the burning of a Maslenitsa doll, which will be made by modern artists.
Krasnaya Presnya Park
As part of the Yasnaya Maslenitsa festival, guests will enjoy games and fun, as well as performances by artists. During the day, everyone will be given husky and reindeer sled rides. And at 5:50 p.m., an effigy burning will take place on the Big Island.
Bauman Garden
A Maslenitsa fair will take place in the Bauman Garden, where guests can try various pancakes, warm up with tea and buy souvenirs self made. Young folk and indie folk performers will perform for visitors, and at the end of the holiday, cold “fiery sun” fireworks will be lit as a sign of farewell to winter.
Izmailovsky Park
On February 26, folk ensembles and folk groups will perform in the park, traditional attractions will operate and the burning of Maslenitsa effigy will take place.
Tagansky Park
A theatrical procession with the participation of guests will be organized in Tagansky Park, and the center of the holiday will be the art object “Gateway to Spring” - an arch made of logs and twigs, brightly painted on one side. Here everyone can learn the basics of home decor and try to get into the mouth of the Pancake Eaters with the help of a street pancake thrower.
And instead of the traditional burning of Maslenitsa, a performance with smoke effects was prepared for the guests.
Kuzminki Park
The “Vedanina Fair” will open here, where guests will be able to find porcelain dolls in national costumes, wooden, clay and woolen products, and handmade jewelry.
On the last day of the festival, winter folk entertainment awaits visitors. From 13:00 to 15:00, tug-of-war competitions and sack fights will take place near the main stage. And from 13:00 to 18:00 there will be a concert of unusual musical instruments. Musicians will play a belfry made of flat bells, harps, zhaleikas and other folk instruments, as well as frying pans, pots and spoons. Anyone can learn ancient musical instruments.
Park "Sadovniki"
A tournament to free Vesna from captivity will take place on Fontannaya Square. To rescue the captive, visitors will have to build a castle, fight opponents on cardboard pipes and build armor. The traditional burning of a Maslenitsa effigy at the end will be replaced by a solemn procession in honor of the liberation of Spring. The parade will take place to the sounds of electric organs.
Perovsky Park
The territory of the park will be stylized as a real village with haystacks and domestic animals.
On February 26, it will be possible to take part in round dances and team games, throwing felt boots, and watch performances of stilt walkers. Guests will also create a stuffed animal from eco-friendly materials: hay, cardboard, wood.
Vorontsovsky Park
On Sunday, there will be pancake rows, craft workshops and the “Phoenix-fest” - a festival with a new interpretation of folk art.
The finale of the holiday will be the burning of a phoenix bird created by young Russian designers.
Park "Northern Tushino"
A Maslenitsa booth will be held in the central square, where buffoons, mummers and musicians will help park guests spend the winter noisily and cheerfully. At 16:00 the concert will begin, and the holiday will end with the traditional burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa.
Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill
Visitors will be able to ride Russian rides, take part in fights with soft spears, and learn how to kindle a real samovar. The holiday will be accompanied by a concert, and at 19:50 the Yarilo art object will light up on the main alley and a pyrotechnic show will take place.
On Sunday, in Lianozovsky Park, Muscovites will enjoy outdoor games, a Maslenitsa table with treats, and an acquaintance with folk rituals. The events will take place from 14:00 to 18:00.
At the same time, amusing fights and winter trials will be held for visitors to Goncharovsky Park. Spectators will see comic performances and performances by artists.
In Fili Park on February 26, from 14:00 to 15:00, guests will be invited to try different pancake recipes, take part in competitions and listen to folk music.
Babushkinsky Park will celebrate the last day of Maslenitsa with dancing, songs, delicious treats and master classes for children. The celebration will take place from 13:00 to 18:00. A Cossack folk song ensemble and an animated theater will perform for the guests.
Celebrations with fairs and treats will also be held on February 26 in the Artyom Borovik Park, Lilac Garden and Rostokinsky Aqueduct Park.
Information: Moscow City Hall website
Ecuadorian authorities have denied Julian Assange asylum at the London embassy. The founder of WikiLeaks was detained by British police, and this has already been called the biggest betrayal in the history of Ecuador. Why are they taking revenge on Assange and what awaits him?
Australian programmer and journalist Julian Assange became widely known after the website WikiLeaks, which he founded, published secret documents from the US State Department in 2010, as well as materials related to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But it was quite difficult to find out who the police, supporting by the arms, were leading out of the building. Assange had grown a beard and looked nothing like the energetic man he had previously appeared in photographs.
According to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, Assange was denied asylum due to his repeated violations of international conventions.
He is expected to remain in custody at a central London police station until he appears at Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Why is the President of Ecuador accused of treason?
Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called the current government's decision the biggest betrayal in the country's history. “What he (Moreno - editor’s note) did is a crime that humanity will never forget,” Correa said.
London, on the contrary, thanked Moreno. The British Foreign Office believes that justice has triumphed. The representative of the Russian diplomatic department, Maria Zakharova, has a different opinion. “The hand of “democracy” is squeezing the throat of freedom,” she noted. The Kremlin expressed hope that the rights of the arrested person will be respected.
Ecuador sheltered Assange because the former president had left-of-center views, criticized U.S. policies and welcomed WikiLeaks' release of secret documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even before the Internet activist needed asylum, he managed to personally meet Correa: he interviewed him for the Russia Today channel.
However, in 2017, the government in Ecuador changed, and the country set a course towards rapprochement with the United States. The new president called Assange “a stone in his shoe” and immediately made it clear that his stay on the embassy premises would not be prolonged.
According to Correa, the moment of truth came at the end of June last year, when US Vice President Michael Pence arrived in Ecuador for a visit. Then everything was decided. “You have no doubt: Lenin is simply a hypocrite. He has already agreed with the Americans on the fate of Assange. And now he is trying to make us swallow the pill, saying that Ecuador is supposedly continuing the dialogue,” Correa said in an interview with the Russia Today channel.
How Assange made new enemies
The day before his arrest, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin Hrafnsson said that Assange was under total surveillance. “WikiLeaks uncovered a large-scale spy operation against Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy,” he noted. According to him, cameras and voice recorders were placed around Assange, and the information received was transferred to the Donald Trump administration.
Hrafnsson clarified that Assange was going to be expelled from the embassy a week earlier. This did not happen only because WikiLeaks released this information. A high-ranking source told the portal about the plans of the Ecuadorian authorities, but the head of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, Jose Valencia, denied the rumors.
Assange's expulsion was preceded by the corruption scandal surrounding Moreno. In February, WikiLeaks published a package of INA Papers, which traced the operations of the offshore company INA Investment, founded by the brother of the Ecuadorian leader. Quito said it was a conspiracy between Assange and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and former Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa to overthrow Moreno.
In early April, Moreno complained about Assange's behavior at Ecuador's London mission. “We must protect the life of Mr. Assange, but he has already crossed all boundaries in terms of violating the agreement that we came to with him,” the president said. “This does not mean that he cannot speak freely, but he cannot lie and hack.” ". At the same time, back in February last year it became known that Assange at the embassy was deprived of the opportunity to interact with the outside world, in particular, his Internet access was cut off.
Why Sweden stopped prosecuting Assange
At the end of last year, Western media, citing sources, reported that Assange would be charged in the United States. This was never officially confirmed, but it was because of Washington’s position that Assange had to take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy six years ago.
In May 2017, Sweden stopped investigating two rape cases in which the portal’s founder was accused. Assange demanded compensation from the country's government for legal costs in the amount of 900 thousand euros.
Earlier, in 2015, Swedish prosecutors also dropped three charges against him due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Where did the investigation into the rape case lead?
Assange arrived in Sweden in the summer of 2010, hoping to receive protection from American authorities. But he was investigated for rape. In November 2010, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Stockholm, and Assange was put on the international wanted list. He was detained in London, but was soon released on bail of 240 thousand pounds.
In February 2011, a British court decided to extradite Assange to Sweden, after which a number of successful appeals followed for the WikiLeaks founder.
British authorities placed him under house arrest before deciding whether to extradite him to Sweden. Breaking his promise to the authorities, Assange asked for asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy, which was granted to him. Since then, the UK has had its own claims against the WikiLeaks founder.
What awaits Assange now?
The man was re-arrested on a US extradition request for publishing classified documents, police said. At the same time, Deputy Head of the British Foreign Ministry Alan Duncan said that Assange would not be sent to the United States if he faced the death penalty there.
In the UK, Assange is likely to appear in court on the afternoon of April 11. This is stated on the WikiLeaks Twitter page. British authorities are likely to seek a maximum sentence of 12 months, the man's mother said, citing his lawyer.
At the same time, Swedish prosecutors are considering reopening the rape investigation. Attorney Elizabeth Massey Fritz, who represented the victim, will seek this.
From 17 to 26 February in the capital will take place festival "Moscow Maslenitsa". At 13 sites, visitors can enjoy folk festivals, sports activities, historical reconstructions, street theater performances, exciting master classes, and, of course, a lot of pancakes.
The festival grounds will be decorated with more than 100 Maslenitsa themed art objects. An 8-meter Maslenitsa figure made of ice will “grow” on Manezhnaya Square, an exhibition of 13 straw “Maslenitsa” will appear on the transition from Manezhnaya Square to Revolution Square, and on Novy Arbat Moscow designers and artists will decorate about 40 two-meter “art Maslenitsa” in front of visitors “—each in its own special style, and on Tverskaya Square guests will be greeted by giant art objects “Maslenitsa-Winter” and “Maslenitsa-Spring”.
Novopushkinsky Square and Tverskoy Boulevard will be decorated with bright art objects - Dymkovo toys height from 1.5 to 3 meters. These art objects will be interactive: you can ride down a 7-meter slide in the shape of a Russian sleigh, and you can lift a bucket from a “well.”
You can also study the history of Russian artistic crafts with the help of an exhibition of clay toys that will be located in Novopushkinsky Park. The exhibition presents Abashevskaya, Dymkovskaya, Kargopolskaya, Kovrovskaya and Filimonovskaya toys.
The longest book fair in Moscow, “Bookmarket,” on Novy Arbat Street during the festival will be dedicated to contemporary art: from the classics of the Russian avant-garde of the early 20th century and works by Malevich, Kandinsky, Lentulov and Stepanova, to the work of artists and designers of today’s Moscow.
Here, the art objects - figures of horses and Maslenitsa - are designed in the style of the Russian avant-garde and will also be interactive: with the help of special mobiles, guests will be able to “feed the horse with an apple” or “give the sun to Maslenitsa”.
The festival site in Klimentovsky Lane will be decorated in a neo-Russian (or pseudo-Russian) style. This area will be decorated with ten carved window frames: both original ones, which recently decorated ancient Russian huts, and modern ones, made according to old models. At creative master classes, everyone will be able to learn how to draw and paint platbands.
Three culinary schools will operate at the festival: on Revolution Square, Novopushkinsky Square and Tverskaya Square. The teachers will be chefs from Moscow restaurants, authors of cookbooks, famous food bloggers and simply experienced cooks.
At the children's culinary school "Blinnaya" on Revolution Square, children will master more than 50 pancake recipes and learn the history of their origin. The “menu” includes fluffy and rosy pancakes, thin pancakes, kefir pancakes, pancakes with sweet and filling fillings, pancakes made from buckwheat and rye flour.
Both children and adults are welcome to visit the culinary school in Novopushkinsky Square. Young festival guests will master simple pancake recipes, while older participants will learn the secrets of preparing real culinary masterpieces and take a culinary “young fighter course” at a local school of food bloggers. At the festival cheese factory, “quick” cheeses will be brewed and recipes for original cheese dishes will be mastered.
In the “Kitchen” pavilion on Tverskaya Square, “Khozyayka-Vesna” herself will teach you how to bake delicious pancakes. In addition to traditional Maslenitsa treats, chefs will teach festival guests how to prepare Lenten dishes on the eve of Lent.
At the festival, children and adults will be able to train, learn new sports and take part in friendly relay races. And all this - under the supervision of experienced instructors.
The main center of the festival sports life will be Tverskoy Boulevard. On the site near the monument to K. Timiryazev, you will be able to master croquet, jump on trampolines, play basketball, and test your dexterity by participating in the “geese catching” attraction.
At the site near the monument to S. Yesenin, all lovers of active recreation are invited to take part in the cheese relay race: a competition for the speed of rolling giant one and a half meter “cheese heads”. On the site near the Armenia restaurant, young guests of the festival can play “kolobok-ball” - an active team game based on broomball. All sports grounds on Tverskoy Boulevard are open daily during the festival from 12:00 to 20:00.
You can also take part in Maslenitsa themed sports fun on Revolution Square. On the special sports ground “Maslenitsa Fights” children will be able to play curling with “pancakes”, throw a “flying pancake” (Frisbee) and test their dexterity in the “pancake shooting range” or by throwing “pancakes” into the “oven” using a slingshot.
On Tverskaya Square the main outdoor entertainment will be folk game"Wake the Bear." You can find out its rules on the spot. This entertainment is safe for adults and children and not a single real bear will be involved in the game.
As part of the festival, the children's interactive program “Tales of the Winter Mistress” will be shown daily in Novopushkinsky Square and at two venues on Tverskoy Boulevard.
Festival venues:
- Manezhnaya Square, possession 1
- Revolution square
- Revolution Square (transition to Manezhnaya Square)
- Novopushkinsky Square
- Tverskoy Boulevard, possession 2 (near the monument to Timiryazev)
- Tverskoy Boulevard, property 19 (near the Yesenin monument)
- Tverskoy Boulevard, possession 26
- Tverskaya Square
- New Arbat street, building 13
- New Arbat street, building 15
- New Arbat street, building 19
- New Arbat street, building 21
- Klimentovsky lane, property 8