Astrakhan and its Surroundings - Kozma Spassky-Avtonomov, 1854
Translation about Astrakhan, one of Russia's "Windows to the East"
Preliminary note: For Gmail readers, this essay might be clipped due to size limitations. To read the entire essay simply click on “View entire message” at the bottom of the email, thanks.
Translator’s Introduction
Below is a translation of an except from the travelogue “Travel Notes from Baku to the Mouth of the Ural” by Kozma Spassky-Avtonomov, originally published by the Imperial Russian Geographic Society in 1854. The author was a born in 1807 near Oryol, located south of Moscow, and primarily researched climatology and meteorology. He additionally wrote a few travelogues based on his travels in the Caucasus region. The source of this translation can be found here, as well as the full text itself.
The city of Astrakhan is located near the mouth of the Volga River, which is arguably the grandest river of Russia, and begins northwest of Moscow in the Valdai Hills and drains into Caspian Sea. Thus, the river has always had a great commercial significance as it links the interior of Eastern Europe with the Caucasus and Central Asia. In the 9th and 10th centuries Vikings sailed down this river to raid the coasts of modern day Azerbaijan and Persia.
It is also worth noting that at the beginning of this text the author is sailing up river, from the Caspian Sea to Astrakhan.
Astrakhan and its Surroundings
Early in the morning, 28th April, we went out on to the deck; it was quite the spring day – clear and fresh. The steamship went between green islands, carefully passing by the ships scattered here and there, some at full mast sailing in the fresh wind on the strong current of the river. I do not remember who first said to me: “there is the Astrakhan cathedral, and the entire city is around it!” Never will I forget that sweet feeling of happiness and a kind of tenderness which filled my soul when I saw the magnificent cathedral of God, with its five blue heads soaring high above the buildings of the vast and very beautiful city, which itself is scattered across high hills and islands, entwined by the ribbon of the river’s blue stream.
Astrakhan maintains the dignity of the cities of the Russian Kingdom in this distant land, at the mouth of this renowned river, on a deserted sea. If we, Russians, returning from across the sea and mountains and forgotten the cities of our native Russia, can look upon this advanced city of the Empire with pride and satisfaction, then, of course, the native Asians will approach the frontiers of our fatherland with feelings of great respect upon seeing Astrakhan, which out classes all of the capitals of Persia and even the famous cities of Turkey, excluding Constantinople, of course. The closer we came to Astrakhan, the more lively everything around us became: the islands became wider and more populated, the homes were better built and the route more spacious for us. Finally the city opened up on our left, as a small city, Bertyul Island with its settlement and salt stores; on the right were the rich fisheries known as Bashmakovka sloboda;1 the Bakhtemir2 flows wider and wider, Astrakhan becomes closer and closer; the steamship, like a good horse, runs more free, quicker and cheerful to its place of rest; all while passengers and the crew fuss about. Suddenly we exit from the labyrinth of islands and the Bakhtemir channel, and enter into the wide Mother Volga itself: to the left along the embankment stretches the endless steppe; and on the right a vast city spreads forth, with all its churches, mosques, towers, suburbs and garden. The city is crowned by the toothed wall of its kremlin and the golden domes of its cathedral, appearing as if they were an ancient crown. By all appearances, Astrakhan is the daughter of Moscow!
The city of Astrakhan lies at 46° 21′ N and 48°02′06″E. During antiquity it was located in a completely different place and was named something else entirely. Some called it Atil,3 others called it Balanjar, others Samander-kent, and in the end, Astorokanya.4 From the 5th to the 8th centuries it belonged to the Khazars,5 and from the 13th to 16th centuries it was the capital of the special Kingdom of Astrakhan, which belonged to the Tatars. In 1551, under Tsar Ivan Vasilevich IV,6 the Russians conquered Astrakhan. Our writers7 point out that there were two older settlements near where this city is now located: the first – ten verstas8 above the current site on the right side9 of the Volga where there is a saltpeter factory; the second – 70 verstas, on the left side of the Volga, not on the river itself but on its branch the Akhtuba. Contemporary Astrakhan is an entirely Russian city, with significant remnants of its Tatar past. But the Russian element has long ago prevailed over the Tatar element, and at the same time European citizenship has quickly changed the everyday life of the mixed population, so much so that at first glance upon arriving to Astrakhan you will say: “this is a European city on the frontier of Asia!” Churches, public buildings and some private homes speak of Europe and the Rus; only the Tatar suburb and the scattered Kalmyk10 kibitkas11 around it will remind one of Asia.
The streets are wide and are fairly straight, the squares and bazars are extensive; there is a general lack of tidiness and not many streets are paved. This, however, is more so due to the lack of materials and not from a lack of patronage on behalf of the city’s leadership or from its residents. From 1554 to 1557 the Russian occupation of ancient Astorokan began; in the last of those years the city swore an oath of loyalty to the Russian Tsars and around 1582 it was already moved to its current place. Here, having been fortified by a kremlin and a white city, it was made into its current Astrakhan, with the characteristics of a Russian city. In the course of two and a half centuries Astrakhan experienced many storms and unpleasantries from attacks by the surrounding peoples, and even more so from Razin, Zarutsky and Pugachev.12 But, thanks to Provenience, good fortune and the smarts of the Russian Monarchs, Astrakhan today prospers.
The entire population of Astrakhan can be assumed to be 50,000; from among them 30,000 are Russian, up to 10,000 are Tatars, more than 4000 are Armenians, around 500 are Persians, and up to 300 are Indians; the rest of the population are divided among Greeks, Germans and other European. Besides this, there is a population of Bukharans, Khivans, Turkmen and Kalmyks who permanently live here. All of these peoples have their own temples for worship: Muslims have mosques, Indians have pagodas, followers of the Lama belief have khuruls. Astrakhan, putting so many people together, is a representative of religious tolerance of the great Empire. “All the peoples who reside in Russia,” our native law states, “honour God All-mighty with different languages according to their own laws and with the faiths of their forefathers, blessing the reign of the Russian Monarchs and imploring the Creator of the world for greater prosperity and strengthen to the power of the Empire”. To educate the youth in Astrakhan there is a seminary with a lower theological school, a gymnasium, a girl’s institute, an Armenian school and a few Tatar schools. To strengthen and support enlightenment there is a public library and a museum, where samples of local nature and the tools of production are collected. For entertainment there is a theater; in summer there is a vauxhall garden,13 and in winter meetings are held there; the Varvatsievsky canal,14 with its boardwalks, offer during summer and autumn, and likely on clear winter days too, a convenient place for locals to walk: there is nothing to say about spring.15 I myself with great pleasure wandered along this boardwalk, observing the gradual elevation of the water. Simply put, the Varvatsiesky canal for Astrakhan is what the Nevsky Prospect is for Petersburg.
The internal and external security of the Astrakhan is guarded by a line battalion of internal guards, a naval flotilla and the Astrakhan Cossack force, consisting of a gendarmerie, salt teams16 and quarantine-customs guards. The total number of all higher and lower ranking forces can be estimated to be up to 6000. The main occupations of Astrakhan’s residents are fishing and shipping along the Volga and Caspian. Secondary industries are gardening, manufacturing, and finally, trade. The total sum of trade turnover in the city can be estimated to be up to 15 million silver rubles per year.
Not having the possibility in these travel notes to present a complete historical and statistical account, I decided to limit myself to a short sketch of the places I passed by in order to not fruitlessly occupy readers and bore them with details. Having spent 12 days in Astrakhan with great pleasure, I cannot depart from her on paper without saying a few more words about her locality and the character of her life.
Cut off from Asia by the deserted Caspian Sea, and from the inner Russian provinces by steppes that are nearly more deserted, Astrakhan reigns over the numerous streams of the Volga delta. The area nearest to the city are cut through by rivers, streams, ilmens17 and eriks,18 whose shores are overgrown with bushes and occasionally willow or cytisus. The entire city and surrounding area is made up of rolling hills and mounds. The center of these hills is occupied by the kremlin with its cathedral and other sections of the city; the surrounding hills are covered with gardens, where there are many fruit trees and vineyards. The wine made from the latter, naturally, is inferior to Trans-Caucasian wine, but regardless it is still quite good. Neither in the city’s surrounding nor in the gardens of Astrakhan are there centuries old trees, which amaze the eyes and mind with their strength and growth. Only in the Pokrovsky Monastery did I see an entire walkway of oak, which one cannot help but admire in this kingdom of willow.
Tatars manage the vegetable and so called melon fields: Astrakhan watermelons are famous. Fish of every kind are found here, from the river and the sea, and red and so called clean fish seem infinite. Cattle in the surrounding steppes are plentiful; grain and timber are found in abundance. Due to all of these circumstances, life in Astrakhan is the cheapest one can find in the entire Empire, excluding Siberia. One local old-timer, who had visited and lived in many internal provincial capitals of Russia, told me about the local way of life: “nowhere in the whole of Russia are there so many means of life for poor people as in Astrakhan; grain here is not expensive, likewise for meat, and a poor person can get as a gift the fish and greens which are leftover from the morning sale that are not bought by anyone!” Russian speech in Astrakhan differs from the common pronunciation of o, with the use of many Tatar words. You will not hear the word rynok (рынок, market) here, and in its place is isad; uksus (уксус, vinegar) among Astrakhaners is sirka, vorona (ворона, crow) is karga, passol (рассол, brine) is tuzluk, golova (голова, head) is bashka, ukha (уха, ear) is shebra, etc.
Public and private buildings in Astrakhan are not inferior in comparison to those found in the provincial cities in the interior of Russia, except in terms of bridges; the churches of God shine with their brilliant iconostases in silver and golden frames. Astrakhan’s many church and their rich decoration involuntarily draws an observer’s attention. In recent times, the Greek settler Mr. Varvatsy left a special memory of himself behind with his wealthy contributions to the churches, their decorations and construction of cathedral bells; he also built the Varvatsiev canal, which connects the Volga to its stream, the Kutum. Stories about the sources Varvatsiev’s wealth led me to think about the sources of wealth for other former residents of Astrakhan, as well as the reasons for the many local churches and their rich decorations. The location of Astrakhan is an important place for the field of enterprising industry, and sea trade in particular disposes people to vows and piety.
With its natural streams and one artificial canal, as well as its coastal location, Astrakhan on the southern border with Asia reminds one of the famous northern capital. It is as if the capital of the Russian Tsar and the Finnish border is here, and the Volga might even surpass her small sister the Neva in magnificence, but with its rolling hills and warm climate Astrakhan could hardly be Petersburg… Nor is the Great Genius of Russia in Astrakhan, and of course, Asia is not Europe and Astrakhan is not Petersburg, but at the very least they do resemble each other!
A type of Cossack settlement
The main steam in the delta of the Volga River
The capital of Atil the Hun’s empire
Source cited by Spassky-Avtonomov: см. И. Г. Р., том VIII, стр. 22, и «Записки об Астрахани» Рыбушкина, стр. 9—15
The author wrote Kazakhs here, which is mistaken, the Kazakhs did not emerge until nearly a millennium later
Also known as Ivan the Terrible
Source sites by Spassky-Avtonomov: см. Геогр. слов. Гос. Р. Щекатова, I том, стр. 269, и Ж. Об. VI, стр. 226
Old Russian unit of measurement. 1 versta equals 1.06 kilometers or 3,500 feet
Right being western, as the river flows south
A western Mongol people that migrated to the south Russian steppes near the Volga in the 17th century
Nomadic tents, similar to yurts
Various Cossack rebellions
A garden where parties and events are held. Named after the Vauxhall Gardens in London
A canal the runs through central Astrakhan
I’m not sure what is meant here. Possibly the Volga floods it’s banks during spring and makes this place unwalkable
Presumably for the collection of salt from lakes in the steppe. Salt lakes were extremely important strategic objects in the steppe were hotly contested by Russia and its nomadic foes
Bodies of water that form at the mouth of rivers. Similar to a limen. This term is used for rivers in the European part of Russia
A narrow channel connecting a lake or river to the sea