Surrounded by dozens of men in chainmail and helmets playing dead in a field, an impersonator of medieval Russian prince Alexander Nevsky raises his sword and roars.
“This land is Russian, always has been, and always will be!”
It was on this spot near Lake Peipus on Russia’s border with Estonia that eight centuries ago Nevsky repelled a force of Teutonic Knights who wanted to convert Russia to Catholicism.
Photo: AFP
Known as the Battle of the Ice because it was fought largely on the frozen lake, the clash in April 1242 is celebrated as a great victory against efforts to turn Russia away from Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
For the hundreds of history enthusiasts re-enacting the battle on a recent August day, that victory is especially resonant today, as Russian forces wage an offensive in Ukraine framed by the Kremlin as part of an enduring conflict with the West.
“We are fighting against Europe just like our ancestors did,” says Oleg Yakontov, a 56-year-old retired paratrooper, holding a sword and shield as sweat drips off his face.
Photo: AFP
Historical re-enactments are a popular pastime in Russia, whether of medieval battles, Napoleonic-era clashes or the fierce fighting of World War II.
Drawing parallels with that history — and with President Vladimir Putin as a kind of successor to figures like Nevsky — is part of the messaging put forward by the Kremlin and Russian state media in support of Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine.
“To me, Nevsky symbolizes the defense of the Motherland and victory,” says 23-year-old Vladislav Vasilyev, still out of breath after taking part in the re-enactment.
Photo: AFP
Several hundred people gathered for the mock battle near the lake, called Lake Chud in Russian. They feasted on grilled meat and listened to live rock music as the combatants pummeled each other on the field.
The event culminated in horseback combat demonstrations a few meters away from a large metal sculpture of Nevsky that was inaugurated last September by Putin and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Alexander Nevsky’s personality was truly grandiose,” Putin said at the time, praising him as a “talented commander” and “skilful diplomat.”
Photos: AFP
Part of the modern-day appeal of Nevsky for the Kremlin was his alliance with the great power of the time, the Mongol Empire and its Golden Horde, which had destroyed and seized many of Russia’s lands. For some in Russia, Nevsky’s acceptance of Mongol dominion helped preserve the country’s religious traditions and Eurasian character in the face of Western expansionism.
“His main achievement is this civilizational choice,” says Igor Fomyn, a bearded 52-year-old Orthodox priest in a black cassock who came to watch the spectacle.
“By making this choice, he put spirituality, his people, and his Motherland before comfort,” he says.
Nevsky has been used in the past to stir up patriotic fervor, most famously in Sergei Eisenstein’s landmark propaganda film Alexander Nevsky in 1938.
Made at a time of strained ties between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, the film portrayed Nevsky as a heroic figure battling Teutonic domination. It features an epic recreation of the battle at Lake Peipus with the heavily armored crusaders crashing through the ice and drowning — a scene many historians regard as of dubious authenticity.
The film was pulled from cinemas when the USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact in 1939, then allowed back onto screens when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
Nevsky remains a cherished historical figure for many in Russia, and some here have little doubt about who would be his modern counterpart.
“Our president is continuing his work, of course,” says Oleg Davydov, a 52-year-old engineer, in attendance at the re-enactment.
“It’s all about this country’s defense, its strength, its security.”
Nov. 11 to Nov. 17 People may call Taipei a “living hell for pedestrians,” but back in the 1960s and 1970s, citizens were even discouraged from crossing major roads on foot. And there weren’t crosswalks or pedestrian signals at busy intersections. A 1978 editorial in the China Times (中國時報) reflected the government’s car-centric attitude: “Pedestrians too often risk their lives to compete with vehicles over road use instead of using an overpass. If they get hit by a car, who can they blame?” Taipei’s car traffic was growing exponentially during the 1960s, and along with it the frequency of accidents. The policy
Hourglass-shaped sex toys casually glide along a conveyor belt through an airy new store in Tokyo, the latest attempt by Japanese manufacturer Tenga to sell adult products without the shame that is often attached. At first glance it’s not even obvious that the sleek, colorful products on display are Japan’s favorite sex toys for men, but the store has drawn a stream of couples and tourists since opening this year. “Its openness surprised me,” said customer Masafumi Kawasaki, 45, “and made me a bit embarrassed that I’d had a ‘naughty’ image” of the company. I might have thought this was some kind
What first caught my eye when I entered the 921 Earthquake Museum was a yellow band running at an angle across the floor toward a pile of exposed soil. This marks the line where, in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 1999, a massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake raised the earth over two meters along one side of the Chelungpu Fault (車籠埔斷層). The museum’s first gallery, named after this fault, takes visitors on a journey along its length, from the spot right in front of them, where the uplift is visible in the exposed soil, all the way to the farthest
The room glows vibrant pink, the floor flooded with hundreds of tiny pink marbles. As I approach the two chairs and a plush baroque sofa of matching fuchsia, what at first appears to be a scene of domestic bliss reveals itself to be anything but as gnarled metal nails and sharp spikes protrude from the cushions. An eerie cutout of a woman recoils into the armrest. This mixed-media installation captures generations of female anguish in Yun Suknam’s native South Korea, reflecting her observations and lived experience of the subjugated and serviceable housewife. The marbles are the mother’s sweat and tears,
RSS