Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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Barbara
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Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

Post by Barbara »

I thought this architecture was beautiful :

Image

"Its Russian Revival design belongs to Ivan Charushin, a little-known 19th-century architect from Vyatka. The red-brick church is capped with a tent-like roof that rises to a height of 67 metres. It is encircled by several massive chapels with gilded bulbous domes and slender candle-like belfries. The porches have sharply pitched roofs in the manner of the Muscovite churches of the 17th century.

The Izhevsk arms factory owed its rise partly to the involvement of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, whose patron saint was Michael the Archangel. The factory's employees contributed one percent of their wages to a fund set up to finance the construction of a large church to this military saint."

The cathedral was erected between 1897 and 1915, only to be demolished by the Soviets in 1937. It was rebuilt to Charushin's original designs in 2004-2007."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Micha ... _(Izhevsk)


Noticing mention of a "Kalashnikov Museum" in Izhevsk, capital of Udmurtia, I quickly followed up to learn that the arms factory referred to above seems to have evolved into the main factory for production of the AK-47 rifle [ invented in 1947 ]. I am not sure whether the later Kalakov, AK-74 [ similarly, invented in 1974 ] has always been manufactured here.

Here is a summary by the New York Times :


"The nickname of this town, home of the factory that makes Kalashnikov rifles, is the “Armory of Russia.” Over the years, it has armed a good number of other countries, too, as the lathes and presses of the Izhevsk Machine Works clanged around the clock to forge AK-47s and similar guns for insurgents and armies around the world.

But these days, many of Izhevsk’s weapons are headed somewhere else: the United States.

...American hunters and gun enthusiasts are snapping up tens of thousands of Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns. Demand is so brisk that the factory has shifted its focus from military to civilian manufacture over the last two years. United States sales of the civilian versions, sold under the brand name Saiga, rose by 50 percent last year, according to officials at the factory, known as Izhmash.....

[ Worldwide ] Demand for new military guns in the Kalashnikov family has evaporated. Simple, durable and relatively cheap to manufacture, about 100 million have been produced over the decades, or about one for every 70 people on earth. Inventories are overflowing, used AK weapons have flooded the market, and cheap Chinese knockoffs are stealing many of the customers that remain."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/busin ... wners.html


With Izhmash, the Kalashnikov manufacturing plant, now struggling - despite the interest from American enthusiasts - perhaps it's time for it to be partly closed. According to the NYT article cited above,


"The Russian army isn’t planning many new orders until the AK-12, a new model to be introduced this year, is widely available.
"The sales of civilian rifles in the United States are helping to pay for the factory’s retooling for the AK-12, ultimately making it cheaper for the Kremlin."


Regardless of whether the Izhvesk Machine Works can remain in business, its employees and all other locals should instead have their lives revolve around the splendid St Michael's Cathedral ! That is, if no appropriate True Orthodox jurisdiction has a presence there. Time to start some parishes to rescue the potentially laid-off laborers from boredom, drinking and other bad habits. Hopefully with good spiritual direction, they will become motivated to zealously participate in the life of the Church.

After all, the precedent is there. Their forebears at this factory cared enough to contribute 1% of their incomes to build this magnificent Church.

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Barbara
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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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Interestingly, the inventor of the world's most efficient and easy to use and clean rifle -- especially under difficult conditions like in a desert sandstorm -- was also named Mikhail.

In a letter written half a year before his repose in Izhevsk in December 2013, Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov wrote to MP Patriarch Kirill about his qualms of conscience. At age 94, describing himself as an Orthodox Christian believer, the famous and much-decorated Lieutenant-General must have been trembling anticipating where his soul might be headed after his imminent repose.

Image
Commemorative stamp of M.T. Kalashnikov, a resident of Izhevsk since 1949. Behind his right shoulder is the famed AK-47 assault rifle he invented which became Third World guerrilla fighters' weapon of choice to this day

"The patriarch wrote back, thanked Kalashnikov, and said that he "was an example of patriotism and a correct attitude toward the country". Kirill added about the design responsibility for the deaths by the rifle, "the church has a well-defined position when the weapon is defense of the Motherland, the Church supports its creators and the military, which use it."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalashnikov


Tell that, however, to the Afghan fighters who mostly famously used the Kalashnikov to good effect to free their country from a decade-long brutal occupation ( 1979-89 ) by the Red Army.

Was this an example of the Kalashnikov being used to protect 'the Motherland' ? Hardly. It was used to defend AGAINST the so-called defenders of the atheist Soviet state, who of course were busy doing their 'internationalist duty' : oppressing other peoples and forcing Communism upon them at the point of a sword / Kalashnikov rifle ....

A little known side fact here is that the Afghan freedom fighters gained most of their Kalashnikovs by buying the ones issued to Red Army soldiers, who were often surprisingly ready to sell or trade their standard issue weapons. "Defense of the Motherland" was not a priority for most Soviet army conscripts, particularly those from the neighboring Central Asian Republics.
Other Kalashnikovs were captured by the Afghan freedom fighters in battle or from ammunition storehouses. Not nearly so many were supplied by Western countries as the American media trumpeted regularly ....

Via overland smuggling routes into northeastern Afghanistan, China did send some of their pirated Kalashnikovs. But these were deemed inferior by the Afghan resistance, because, as the NYT piece above implied, they were badly made imitations of the real Izhvesk-produced article. Further limiting the Chinese Kalashnikovs' usefulness in the anti-Soviet war, Beijing ordered them given selectively to the tiny radical Maoist [ Chinese Communist ] groups among the Afghan resistance.

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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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The name Kalashnikov had an entirely different significance for anti-Communist Russian emigres in Harbin, China. Perhaps it's only a coincidence, but I tend to see a deeper layer of meaning in this vignette.

The anti-Soviet residents of Harbin [and likely elsewhere in Manchuria ] devised a code system. Was this for continuing the efforts of the White Resistance to the Soviet government ? No, it was for something much more mundane but nonetheless critically important.

Since Moscow was waging an intensive campaign to lure back the emigres, homesick Russians were tempted to go. NKVD and other pre-KGB agents roamed amongst the population of Harbin, spreading propaganda that "the Motherland" would welcome back her wayward sons and daughters with open arms. All would be forgiven if they would just take a Soviet passport and board the Soviet vessels waiting to sweep them back to their homeland.

The anti-Communist refugees in Harbin had little idea about the terrible repressions and purges taking place under Stalin.
Rumors slipped out, but news was strictly censored so that the nightmarish Soviet life of informers, gulags, show trials and famines was carefully kept from spreading in that most Russian of émigré cities, Harbin. Particularly, little information about the complete persecution of the Orthodox Church, the hierarchs and clergy, monastics and parishioners had percolated all the way to the Far East.

Image
Blagoveshchenk Cathedral, one of about 30 Churches in Harbin. Little did the emigres realize their freedom to practice Orthodoxy was a rare blessing - until some made the fateful choice to return to the atheist Soviet Union, where many beautiful Cathedrals were closed, damaged or even demolished by the devil's servants, the Soviet Communists.

Had these refugees been in Europe, news of the behavior of the barbaric Soviet regime would have much more readily reached them.

This is why, then, the Harbin Russian community developed a secret message system. Those people who caved in to nostalgia combined with expert Soviet propaganda efforts and made the plunge to return to an unknown life and system would write to their families and friends who remained behind in Manchuria.

The new returnee would send a postcard with the upbeat-sounding sentence : "Everything is fine here. When you arrive, stay at the Kalashnikov". That imaginary hotel name would immediately be recognized by the Harbin contacts as communicating that life in Soviet Russia is dangerous, bad, nightmarish -- don't even think of falling into this same trap : stay where you are.

The sad part is that some Russian residents of Harbin received this message, understood the warning --- but STILL went back, assuming things could not be THAT bad ! Of course, these dreamers promptly met the fates of many, many earlier returnees : if not summarily shot by the proto-KGB agencies, then sent to fearful "corrective labor camps" such as the dread Kolyma on the Arctic ; stuck for decades there. When finally released as skeletons of their former selves, they would be widely ridiculed and unable to find even a lowly job. Suspicion would follow them all of their lives, for what cause ? They had spent time abroad in non-Communist countries and thus were considered enemies of the people.

Too bad that the code name Kalashnikov did not stop more people from returning to the totalitarian Soviet Union !
This hotel name must have been selected at random, as Mikhail Kalashnikov did not invent his famous assault rifle until 1947.
Nonetheless, in the choice of this particular name which would become synonymous world-wide with a weapon of death, there may have been some subconscious awareness that Kalashnikov = death, labor camps, enduring of unimaginable suffering lying ahead for those Russian emigres who stepped across the border into Stalin's Soviet Union.

As for hotels named Kalashnikov in Izhevsk, it seems that there aren't any. At least not among the properties listed for foreign travelers on the internet.
There is a Radisson Izhevsk for affluent travelers and groups ; other more modest accommodations such as the Park Inn, the Premier and -- the Green Roof [!].


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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

Post by Maria »

Barbara wrote:

The name Kalashnikov had an entirely different significance for anti-Communist Russian emigres in Harbin, China. Perhaps it's only a coincidence, but I tend to see a deeper layer of meaning in this vignette.

The anti-Soviet residents of Harbin [and likely elsewhere in Manchuria ] devised a code system. Was this for continuing the efforts of the White Resistance to the Soviet government ? No, it was for something much more mundane but nonetheless critically important.

Since Moscow was waging an intensive campaign to lure back the emigres, homesick Russians were tempted to go. NKVD and other pre-KGB agents roamed amongst the population of Harbin, spreading propaganda that "the Motherland" would welcome back her wayward sons and daughters with open arms. All would be forgiven if they would just take a Soviet passport and board the Soviet vessels waiting to sweep them back to their homeland.

The anti-Communist refugees in Harbin had little idea about the terrible repressions and purges taking place under Stalin.
Rumors slipped out, but news was strictly censored so that the nightmarish Soviet life of informers, gulags, show trials, etc. was carefully kept from spreading in that most Russian of émigré cities, Harbin. Particularly, little information about the complete persecution of the Orthodox Church, the hierarchs and clergy, monastics and parishioners had percolated all the way to the Far East. Had these refugees been in Europe, news of the behavior of the barbaric Soviet regime would have much more readily reached them.

This is why, then, the Harbin Russian community developed a secret message system. Those people who caved in to nostalgia combined with expert Soviet propaganda efforts and made the plunge to return to an unknown life and system would write to their families and friends who remained behind in Manchuria.

The new returnee would send a postcard with the upbeat-sounding sentence : "Everything is fine here. When you arrive, stay at the Kalashnikov". That imaginary hotel name would immediately be recognized by the Harbin contacts as communicating that life in Soviet Russia is dangerous, bad, nightmarish -- don't even think of falling into this same trap : stay where you are.

The sad part is that some Russian residents of Harbin received this message, understood the warning --- but STILL went back, assuming things could not be THAT bad ! Of course, these dreamers promptly met the fates of many, many earlier returnees : if not summarily shot by the proto-KGB agencies, then sent to fearful "corrective labor camps" such as the dread Kolyma on the Arctic ; stuck for decades there. When finally released as skeletons of their former selves, they would be widely ridiculed and unable to find even a lowly job. Suspicion would follow them all of their lives, for what cause ? They had spent time abroad in non-Communist countries and thus were considered enemies of the people.

Too bad that the code name Kalashnikov did not stop more people from returning to the totalitarian Soviet Union !
This hotel name must have been selected at random, as Mikhail Kalashnikov did not invent his famous assault rifle until 1947.
Nonetheless, in the choice of this particular name which would become synonymous world-wide with a weapon of death, there may have been some subconscious awareness that Kalashnikov = death, labor camps, enduring of unimaginable suffering lying ahead for those Russian emigres who stepped across the border into Stalin's Soviet Union.

As for hotels named Kalashnikov in Izhevsk, it seems that there aren't any. At least not among the properties listed for foreign travelers on the internet.
There is a Radisson Izhevsk for affluent travelers and groups ; other more modest accommodations such as the Park Inn, the Premier and -- the Green Roof [!].


Interesting story, Barbara. Homesickness and cleverly worded propaganda can deceive many into believing the lie.
Just as smooth sounding words can deceive many into remaining in World Orthodoxy, which preaches the lie of ecumenism -- that all religions are one, and that we all worship the same God.

Please cite your references.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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The post was compiled from my reading, studies, and interviews for a good 17-18 years. I can't cite any particular source, except for the Kalashnikov Code. [ Sounds like a thriller novel, doesn't it ? ]. That came from a blog, the link for which I have to check for online.

Some information I took from the autobiographical essay of a particular émigré, which I had been thinking to post in its entirety in this year of the New Martyrs as it is so full of pathos. I reread it every couple of years to recall just how terrible the Soviet system was. This elderly and ailing émigré reposed suddenly - too suddenly, in fact [ foul play due to ex-Soviet bullies, who were nominal Russian Baptists by the way, not Orthodox ] - and left his cherished volume of Metropolitan Philaret's Sermons to me, which is the 1st time I had seen that book produced by the Russian Orthodox Youth Committee. This shows how much he appreciated the words of Metropolitan Philaret, which probably helped soothe and comfort him in his 'deep old age' as the Russians like to call it after the trauma and turmoil of a transfer to the Soviet Union from Harbin and ensuing disasters.

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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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Picture of Old Harbin to give the full atmosphere of the above story.

Image
But for the Mandarin characters, one might imagine this postcard came from any of hundreds of Russian provincial cities untouched by the Russian Revolution

One point needs to be clarified. The Harbin residents who devised this clever stratagem of "Hotel Kalashnikov" knew enough to not prearrange repatriated Russian emigres to write the truth. Such as :

"Life is horrendous here. We can't stand it. They are SUCH liars ! What an idiot I was to believe those slick people who I now realize were merely KGB agents sent to trap us naïve ones into returning to our former homeland. To sum up, it's a Communist Hell here, not a socialist 'Paradise'. We live only to plot how we can escape back to the free Far East,
Best wishes to Anna and Joachim. P.S. Please keep feeding my cat. Sorry I can't be there with all of you."

No ! That card would not have gone farther than Stalin's postal censors. With concrete evidence of discontent expressed, the writer would have picked up by the NKVD and charged with agitating against the Soviet state. All the writer's relatives would have been summoned for interrogation, with the writer packed off to the frozen north of Siberia for daring to utter a word of complaint. This amount of criticism of the USSR would likely have landed the author 15 or more years of hard labor at Magadan or other dreaded camps.

The Harbin emigres wisely had the plan for repatriated friends to send back only cheery impressions of Soviet life and talk about neutral subjects like advice on where to stay. Imagine if someone had tried to send a postcard out of the Soviet Union of a famous monastery or cathedral, like St Michael's in Izhevsk pictured at the beginning of the thread.

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Re: Udmurtia: The Kalashnikov Culture & St Michael's Cathedral

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We hear echoes of this very time in the furor kicked up over a supposed Russian government poisoning of a double agent who defected to the UK. One of the few paragraphs written about this non-event [ could have been faked or contrived to cover up unpleasant things going on in England, such as the visit of the sinister Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to purchase gigantic amounts of British weapons a few days afterwards ] which rang true is the following :

"The Russians have always sought to locate Russian defectors in the U.S. and Britain, and attempt to lure them back to Russia if possible,” fellow CIA veteran and Russia hand John Sipher told Newsweek. Their message: “all is forgiven.” Few believe it. Only one defector is known publicly to have returned home and lived to tell about it: Vitaly Yurchenko, who in 1985 changed his mind, apologized to his CIA minder in a Georgetown pub, walked out the door and up the street to what was then the Soviet embassy. The Russians made propaganda hay out of his turnaround, probably to encourage other re-defections."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/moscow-murde ... 40430.html

Note the irony of the former CIA officer's name, which sounds exactly like cipher, an older term in the spy world for codes -- which brings us back to The Kalashnikov Code. Maybe The Kalashnikov Cipher would make a more intriguing sounding title for a Manchurian - or Izhevsk - based Cold War novel !

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