Guest Author - Marianne Gibson

The Volga means Russian history, culture and identity. It also means home for millions of people. Here’s a view of summer along the lower stretches of the longest river in Europe.

When is summertime anyway??

From ancient times, ‘Ivan Kupalo’ on 7th July marks the beginning of summer proper, and by tradition you shouldn’t swim in the Volga before this day, though modern weather patterns mean that most people do. Be careful on this day! The unwary can be liberally doused in water at any time, to the amusement of the populace at large. Only infants and the elderly are spared. When questioned, the people I spoke to explained that this is done to please the Russalka and Vodyanoi. Russalka are said to be the spirits of drowned maidens, and the vodyanoi their male equivalent. They inhabit ponds, lakes and rivers. On the night of Ivan Kupalo they hope to lure you down to join them in their watery fate.

The end of the season comes with 'Il'in Dyen'(Ilia's Day) on 2nd August. This is when the pagan Russian spirit of Ilia decides to hurl ice down into the Volga from his home in the sky, and cool the whole river down, making swimming a no-no. Why he does this, I could not discover, though I noticed that modern-day Volga residents conspicuously ignore this rule. Perhaps he’s still working to the old calendar?

Work

Summer for some in the smaller Volga towns and villages is the only opportunity to join the cash economy, albeit informally. These small traders may sell home-grown fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk and tvorog (cottage/farmer cheese), berries and mushrooms from the forest, smoked fish from the Volga. They will sell produce outside supermarkets, in town centres, and along the roads between towns. These people tend to be older, and the money they make hardly a huge sum.Yet others find work in the kiosk cafes/grills that spring up along the ‘naberezhnaya’ (riverbank promenade). Why is it like this for so many? Of the many industrial enterprises that lined the Volga in communist times, a large proportion have closed down. Also, pensions remain small in real terms, leading people to this kind of informal small businessman status.

Summer means work in the garden for almost everyone. Those many who live in flats usually have a relative in the village, a dacha, or ‘ogorod’ (a patch of land on the outskirts of town). Digging potatoes in the scorching heat, what fun!

Play

At weekends, the Volga pulls the crowds like nothing else, giving a good living to those men with boats who work as water taxis to ferry folks to the cleaner beaches away from the town.

How a day out on the Volga should go (dissent will not be tolerated!);

Step one; Gather friends, beer, food, a fishing line if you wish, blankets and a ball. Prepare the food; i.e. cut and marinate some meat, wash tomatoes and small cucumbers, cut some raw onions, slice a loaf of bread and cut the slices in half. It’s also common to assemble the dry ingredients for soup in a pot, to be made in situ. Make sure you’re wearing your swimming things.

Step two; Take a boat along/across the Volga to a likely spot, with beach and shade, lay out your HQ and put the drinks in the river to keep cool.

Step three; Undress, go for a swim / play volleyball. Start the beer.

Step four; Gather wood and make a fire. Girls now cut up the tomatoes and cucumbers, make soup or whatever, and drown everything in mayonnaise. Men cook the meat on the fire in rather a serious manner (you can also bake potatoes on the fire of course, but this is girl’s stuff!).

Step five; Eat eat eat! Sit! Repeat from step 3 until supplies run out or the last boat is leaving.