As Peter the first gave giants to the Prussian king Frederick. How children's New Year's gifts have changed over the past century and a half

The longer you defend your rights, the more unpleasant the aftertaste.

During the Northern War (1700-1721), in the period from 13 to 17 November 1716, Peter 1 and the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm 1 in Babelsberg negotiated an alliance against Sweden, while Peter promised Friedrich Wilhelm to give all the lands in his favor , which will be conquered in the north of Poland, which at that time belonged to Sweden (Mecklenburg, Pomerania).

The generous Frederick-Wilhelm then decided to hand over to the powerful Tsar Peter, whom the whole of Europe began to recognize (in the same year he commanded the united allied fleet), the details of the unfinished Amber Cabinet, which Frederick-Wilhelm considered proof of the "vicious inclination of his father, Frederick 1, to luxury" ...
At the same time, the luxurious pleasure yacht "Liburnika" was added to the details of the Amber Office - another quirk of Frederick 1, which was unnecessary for the new Prussian king, since he was not interested in luxury and art.
This yacht was in such poor condition that only three years later, after repairs, she reached St. Petersburg. There she stood for some time at the Winter Palace. In 1740 it was renamed "Crown".

In turn, Peter knew about Friedrich-Wilhelm's passion for giants, whom he collected for himself from all over Europe and created his own guard from them, and presented him with 55 selected Russian grenadiers. However, Friedrich Wilhelm had to wait for this gift for more than a year. These grenadiers, together with a lathe and a wooden goblet personally carved by Peter, were presented in October 1718 and presented to Friedrich-Wilhelm-1 by the camera-cadet Tolstoy in the presence of Count Golovkin. Friedrich Wilhelm was very happy with this gift.

Friedrich-Wilhelm's faithful brother and friend, Tsar Peter, repeatedly presented giants to his Prussian godfather to replenish his Guard. The documents preserved in the archives show that in this way Frederick-Wilhelm got 248 Russian soldiers.

This tradition was continued by Anna Ioanovna. After the King of Prussia Frederick - Wilhelm-1 gave her "five amber" boards ", on which five senses were depicted in mosaic work," the empress gave him "back" 80 "large recruits".
Only Elizaveta Petrovna, heeding the numerous complaints and petitions of the relatives of the giants sent to a foreign land, wrote a letter to the Prussian king and demanded that they be returned to Russia. However, Frederick Wilhelm sabotaged this order for a long time. Only after several formidable warnings did he write her a letter with a request to leave the soldiers so that they "end their days here in the service."

But the giants did not want to live out their days in Prussia. Elizabeth also disagreed, and the soldiers were reluctantly returned to Russia. After that, relations with Prussia became rather strained, and after Russia supported Saxony in the conflict with Prussia, they were completely hostile. Well, it ended with the Seven Years' War (1756-1763).

In memory of this story, two portraits of giant soldiers are exhibited in today's exposition of the Amber Hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.
As for the amber cabinet itself, after unpacking the gift, Peter saw that due to the fact that many of its parts were not made, it was impossible to assemble it entirely. However, Peter put on display the details of the amber study in the "human chambers" of his Summer Palace. After Peter's death, the office was folded into boxes. When Anna Ioanovna was taken out, looked around when receiving the "amber plaques" of Friedrich-Wilhelm. Early 1740.

The Amber Room was back in the boxes. In 1745, Friedrich-Wilhelm decided to try his luck and get the giant soldiers again, now from Elizaveta Petrovna. For this, he ordered to make another frame for the amber cabinet, which was made in January 1746 and later sent to Elizabeth's court as a gift. But this trick failed, in response, Elizabeth "got off" with another gift. The frame was later used by craftsmen who, by order of the Empress, began making the Amber Hall in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

Thus, from this story, which began 290 years ago (November 15, 1716), we can draw some conclusions: first, that since then, from Peter the Great, the fashion for Russian rulers has gone subjects; secondly, that the Prussian gift is far from the "Amber Room" that was taken out of Tsarskoye Selo and housed in the Royal Castle of Koenigsberg during the war years as a "German national relic".

Russian giants of the Prussian king "Big men" in foreign service

In 1713-1740. King Frederick William I of the Hohenzollern dynasty ruled in Prussia. From childhood, he was distinguished by his love for everything military - parades, uniforms, rifle articles occupied the leisure of the young crown prince and did not give way to other affections since Friedrich Wilhelm succeeded to the throne. Tall soldiers were the king's particular passion. Collecting them from everywhere, Friedrich Wilhelm made sure that under him the well-trained Prussian army became one of the tallest in Europe. Head and shoulders above all other regiments, literally and figuratively, was the three-battalion Royal Guards Regiment - Leib-Regiment or Konigsregiment - in Potsdam, better known as Riesengarde - the Giant Guard.

Grenadier Svirid Rodionov (after 1723)? Grenadier James Kirkland (circa 1714), Grenadier Jonas Heinrichson (19th century copy from 1725 portrait)

In the 1st, or Red, grenadier life battalion of this regiment (Roten Leib-Bataillon Grenadiers), people were tall, even by today's standards; in the 18th century they seemed like fairy-tale giants. Some of them were noticeably more than two meters tall - without shoes and a grenadier's cap! Unusually stingy in everything else, the king spent 12,000,000 Joachimsthalers on his "collection" - he hired, bought or even abducted "big people" by force in distant and neighboring lands.
The activities of Prussian recruiters earned him ill fame, but at any court it was known that there is no better gift and guarantee of friendship for Friedrich Wilhelm than one or the other Lange Kerl (long guy) - these brutes, without knowing it, influenced the “high European politician". In his own handwritten notes, the king explained how to put a barefoot giant against the wall and, after making a mark on it, then attach a special "measure" to the wall, this time without a person. These measures were of two types: 1) paper strips with inscriptions and lines indicating the height of people in different ranks; 2) "sloping rope", that is, just ropes.

Peter I, interested in a military and diplomatic alliance with Prussia, did not fail to take advantage of Friedrich Wilhelm's "weakness" and periodically sent him "big men" without even demanding money for it. In 1715, during the Pomeranian campaign, the tsar wanted to give the Prussians a whole Russian regiment or battalion, with the only condition that it would not be distributed among other regiments of the royal army, and the officers in it would also be Russian. The Russian people who, by the will of Peter, found themselves "in Prusy", were divided into two categories: "presented as a present" (permanently) and "given into service" (for a while), and both are erroneously called "giants" by Russian sources. In fact, out of 248 donated (from 1714 to 1724) and 152 given into service (from 1712 to 1722), only about 100 people ended up in the Giant Guard; the rest served in army regiments, mainly infantry.

Second-Lieutenant von Hanfstaengel in a giant costume (photo 1881, taken during
celebrating the wedding of Prince William of Prussia and Princess Augusta Victoria)
A grenadier in a uniform made in Russia according to the Prussian model; reconstruction by V. Egorov and N. Zubkov.

These numbers are rather arbitrary. For a number of reasons, the most accurate information has been preserved about “donated as a present”. Such "presents" were prepared centrally and in advance: they allocated money from the treasury, carried out so-called "giant gatherings" in the field army and garrisons, in the provinces and provinces, during which not only tall soldiers, but also recruits were taken into "big men". peasants, clergymen, boyar people, artisans and merchants, representatives of other taxable classes. They were presented to the king in batches of 10 to 80 people approximately every two years, which was considered as a kind of proof of friendly relations between the monarchs or marked some event.
For example, for the first time Friedrich Wilhelm received a detachment of "beautiful and prominent" soldiers and a transport of weapons "for the whole regiment" shortly after accession to the throne. Of course, the decrees and correspondence about these "presentations" were held by the highest state institutions of the Russian Empire.

It is much more difficult to count "those given into service". This category was represented exclusively by soldiers and dragoons of the field regiments of the active army. They were given to the king one by one or several people in between campaigns or after the next inspection with firing and exercise. At the same time, the term of service was not stipulated either orally or in a written contract, and the only certificate of extradition remained in the papers of the regimental offices, where the soldiers, moreover, were sometimes listed as unnamed. In the event that the regiment's archive perished - and during the war it happened all the time - their traces were completely lost.

One way or another, but in less than fifteen years, Peter I presented and lent to the Prussians at least 400 of his subjects. Many of them had families in Russia, others grew old and sent petitions to the tsar asking him to change and return home. Descending to their plight, on November 1, 1723, Peter ordered the soldiers who were sent to the Prussian service to be taken back, and instead of them the same number of recruits should be sent. Apparently, this demand seriously worried Friedrich Wilhelm, since January 4, 1724.
Peter informed the Privy Councilor and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Prussian court, Count A.G. Golovkin, that his "permission" did not apply to the royal giants and donated people in general, but only to those who were given away from the regiments in different years. The Russian Collegium of Foreign Affairs also showed her usual diplomatic tact, asking to “send” the letter of exchange, and instead of the word “recruits”, write “other Russian soldiers” so as not to upset the king ahead of time with the news of sending untrained recruits instead of old campaigners.

According to the certificates that the Military Collegium managed to collect from the army commands and generals, at least 152 people were to be returned. The Prussians found much less of them - some, most likely, were no longer alive, or they received resignation. According to the name list, signed by the royal adjutant general v. Krocher, on March 9, 1724 in the Prussian regiments of Anhalt Dessau, Stillen, Rinsch, Gersdorf, Löben (Loben), Glasenap, Forcade and Jung Donhoff, there were 95 Russian soldiers - these lists amusingly distort their names and surnames. However, when translated into Russian, no less went to the names of German commanders, for example, the Jung Donhoff regiment was named the regiment of the "young Dengov".
According to the plan of the Military Collegium, the Prussians were to deliver the Russian soldiers to Memel, where a team assembled to replace them would await them; there they will exchange uniforms and follow each in his own direction. However, such a dressing-up, so beneficial for the treasury, did not take place, thanks to the generous gesture of Friedrich Wilhelm.
Not far from the royal residence of Wusterhausen, he arranged a farewell review, at which he thanked the Russians for their faithful service and presented each of them with a new "green uniform" (apparently, like a Russian infantry uniform). The king reluctantly parted with them, but did not violate the terms of the agreement: having retained one soldier, whom he "really liked," he ordered to give him a gift instead; two more - the deceased and previously released due to illness - also ordered to replace with donations, so that there were exactly 95 people.
In 1724, these people returned to Russia, and the king was bothering to award them all with non-commissioned officer ranks. But of those who were appointed to their place (soldiers of the field infantry regiments then stationed in Riga, Pernov and Revel province), the Prussians accepted less than a third - the rest were found "much shorter." Count Golovkin was not mistaken when he warned that the Prussians regard "age" (height) as the main advantage of a soldier.

The gathering of giants in exchange for the returned Russian soldiers continued for several years after the death of Peter the Great. From the Prussian side, they sent the "ordinary measure" of field regiments - the height of a barefooted recruit in the first of three ranks - 2 arshins 11 vershoks (193.5 cm). In the summer of 1725, it was applied to the soldiers selected from the Livonian and Estland garrison regiments, but there were almost no suitable in height - the highest were lower by one or more vershoks.
When Count Golovkin was notified of the results of the measurements, he reported from Berlin that “he tried those measures with the local Prussian guarrison saldats, and if need be, those people who are a bit smaller, and even then not in the first rank, and all the rest of the Prussian regiments will not come , and in the Royal Regiment, not one is good. " From these experiments it can be concluded that the average height of a private Prussian infantry was about 2 arshins 8 vershoks (about 180 cm).
In Russia, only the guards were equipped with such, so on November 10, 1725, Empress Catherine I pointed out: instead of these "undersized soldiers", look for other people throughout the state, at least a little less than a measure. And for a long time, in search of giants, military teams with measuring ropes walked through the distant provinces ...
It is inappropriate to judge the events of the past, guided by current concepts. But still, no matter how dubious the custom of selling their “big men” to a foreign land may seem, the ignorance, if not indifference of the Russian authorities regarding their future fate and living conditions in Prussia, is even more outraged. Suffice it to say that for a long time there was no Orthodox priest in Potsdam. Of course, the same Military Collegium could vaguely imagine how the giant measure differs from the measure of the field regiment and, in such matters, take the Prussians at their word. But when handing over Russian soldiers to foreign service, they probably should have kept a strict account of them and at least occasionally inquired about their fate.

History has preserved the appearance of one of our compatriots who served the king in the ranks of the Giant Guard. Anyone interested in a military suit of the 18th century knows the portrait of a giant, published in the album "Europaische Helme" and dated 1714-1718 / 1719. The canvas depicts Schwerid Redivanoff aus Moscow - Svirid Rodionov from Moscow - in a uniform of dark blue and red cloth, with a pouch and a bag on yellow belts, with a fusée "on his hand" and in a high red grenadier hat with a white guard star and embroidered Latin gold with the motto "Semper Talis" ("Always Like This"). Thanks to our acquaintance with some German sources, we found out that this uniform is considered to be almost the only form of Riesengarde clothing from 1714 to 1725. The documents deposited in the course of the "giant" epic in the Russian archives allow us to take a fresh look at this issue, especially since the dating of the portrait in "Europaische Helme" is clearly erroneous. Svirid (or Spiridon) Rodionov and with him another 22 donated people were sent to Prussia in the last days of December 1723, respectively, and the portrait could be painted no earlier than 1724. As for the uniform of the Russian giants, it was different depending on from time and circumstances.

Soldiers and dragoons, "given into service", referred to the "Brandenburg Royal Majesty" in their ordinary regimental uniform and ammunition - on their example, the king could once again be convinced of the diversity and multicoloredness of the Russian military uniform of the Northern War era. New, as a rule, identical clothes were sewn to the “donated as a present”. So, on the first 80 soldiers, presented to Frederick Wilhelm in the winter of 1714, there were hats, caftans, shirts and ports, stockings, "kurpas" (as shoes were sometimes called), fur coats and mittens. Musketeer equipment - fusées with bayonets (baguettes), cartridge pouches in slinges and swords on shoulder straps. Probably the next 80 people, donated in the winter of 1716, were dressed and armed in the same way. But since 1716, it has become a habit to "dress" the giants in the Prussian manner, and the dress that was sewn for them in Russia in many respects differs from the well-known Riesengarde uniform. Let's dwell on it in more detail.

So, in December 1716, the Tsar's letter from Havelberg was received in the Governing Senate - Peter wrote that, yielding to the requests of the Prussian king, he promised him 200 "big men" as grenadiers and suggested that the Senate immediately address this issue. The letter was accompanied by a traditional paper measure, with inscriptions in Russian and German, and soon the tsar's orderly Tatishchev brought from Berlin an exemplary Prussian uniform, which had to be sewn on the spot, in Russia, also as a gift to the king.

The Senate, having made a special painting, decided to collect in the provinces 211 giants not older than 50 years old - in a year and a half, they managed to find and deliver about 60 to St. Petersburg; In the end, 54 were sent to "Prusy" (according to other sources - 55). The Senate was engaged in the "construction" of their uniform along with matters of state importance. Artillery was entrusted with the supply of weapons; ammunition belts - of the Metropolitan City Chancellery. For the contracting of other things, merchants and shopkeepers were summoned; artisans - tailors, shoemakers, hats, masters of copper, silver, chased, gimmick and other works; soldiers-cutters from the regiments of the St. Petersburg garrison. Descriptions of the Prussian model, statements of purchased and consumed goods, "fairy tales" of contractors, by which they swore "word for word, the kindest skill" to make items of giant equipment, compiled a volume of considerable thickness in the Senate archive.

By the summer of 1718, everything had been done except for the weapons and the buttons on the hats. Without waiting for the onset of cold weather, the Senate ordered to send the giants with what is, and the missing, as it will be ready, - to send in pursuit. Soon the team and accompanying officers set off: the giants, dressed in a simple traveling dress, rode two by two on carts. Each one wore a hat, a gray sermeled caftan, a linen shirt and ports, suede goat pants, woolen stockings - white or gray - and shoes - all bought in the shops of Gostiny Dvor after a long search, and still a little too little. The military uniform was transported right there, on carts, carefully packed. In total in 1717-1718. 56 sets of uniforms and ammunition were manufactured. 54 together with the giants were sent to Berlin; 2 and Prussian exemplary remained in the Senate; then, by decree, they were transferred to the Military Collegium, and from there to the Commissariat (February 1719). Probably, in the future they were used as exemplary.

Below we provide a description of Prussian things with an indication of minor changes made by Russian craftsmen:
Grenadier hat had a miter shape and consisted of a woolen crown, a woolen back "visor" (edge) and a gilded copper "coat of arms" (forehead). The crown or, in fact, the hat was azure; the edge is red crimson; both are lined with black dye, and the outside is sheathed with a 12 mm wide gold braid. A garus brush was attached at the top (its color is not indicated), and at the back on the trump card was a gilded copper plaque in the form of a bomb with a "palm" (fire, flame). The shape of the hat was given by a skeleton of a bone mustache; in addition, it was hemmed with canvas, goatskin and thick "grape" paper. For better preservation of the cap, a cover made of black oilcloth or wax cloth, lined with a thick canvas, was relied on. The caps of the giants repeated the Berlin pattern in everything, only the plaques, bombs and "sticks" were not gilded, but only "painted" and, as the master assured, that "the coloring will be strong and will not fade" - apparently, instead of gold, the copper was simply painted either varnished (?).

The second headdress was triangle hat- woolen, lined with gold braid, 19 mm wide, with a yarn brush and a press (embossed, stamped) button. The ties for attracting the brim of the hat to the crown were made of azure garus (probably not very different from black). Russian craftsmen managed to make everything, except for these very "fundamental" buttons, and they were ordered to buy and sew on the way.

Giant's caftan"Built" of azure cloth, with red cloth cuffs, cuffs and lining in the floors. The rest of the lining (back, sleeves, etc.) is red flannel. The buttons were flat, smooth cast copper, counting 44 pieces per caftan - 21 "large" and 23 "small". The loops for the fortress were lined with oilcloth and trimmed with a garus - azure or red, depending on the color of the cloth. The collar and sleeve cuffs were decorated with a 25 mm wide gold braid. Exemplary camisole and trousers were red cloth, with copper "small" buttons. The lining of the camisole is canvas, there are 11 buttons, the loops are encased in oilcloth and trimmed with red garus. The pants had no lining at all and were fastened with three buttons. The upper uniform for the giants was sewn exactly the same, only instead of red cloth for camisoles, trousers and a caftan appliance, a red “double horseradish” was used - a widespread woolen fabric that looked completely similar to cloth, but a little denser and thicker. The pants were covered with canvas for uniformity.

Exemplary Neck Tie: - red or scarlet - in the paintings it is called either garusny or crepe. For the giant ties, they picked up a red brocade (fabric) and florent (red ribbons) for ties. Underwear - a shirt and ports - canvas as usual. When sewing was used linen white canvas of two varieties: shirting - thinner and more expensive; port - a little coarser and cheaper.

Exemplary Prussian stockings were defined by Russian masters as white "felted" or "half felted", that is, made of thick, tightly knit wool.
Giant stockings"Russian business" were just "clean" woolen. Canvas boots - they are also “shtivlets” or “shtivers” - were worn over stockings, fastened with buttons and fixed under the knee with garters. The boots themselves were sewn from white “twisted” (strongly twisted, dense) canvas, and were lined with white “simple” (rare and soft) canvas. The buttons were brazed copper (with soldered ears), counting two portiches (24 pieces) per pair. The garters were cut out of black cowhide straps and each fastened with one brass buckle. The shoes of the giants were given the usual - a pair of boots and shoes - apparently Russian, since the Berlin model set included only shoe buckles - copper, with iron pins and a rim.

Of the gigantic weapons and ammunition, first of all, the fusey is worthy of mention - in a walnut tree bed, with a "goddess" (bayonet), a ramrod, a pygmy and a belt of "veal" leather. A detailed description of the "giant" fuses, made in 1718 at the Tula factories, is given in his books by weapons expert L.K. Makovskaya. We will only outline this wonderful thing in general terms. So, the "giant" fusea was a muzzle-loading rifle with a round smooth barrel, a long forend and a wide massive butt.
The barrel was attached to the stock with iron pins. The device was made of copper (brass), including a round shield on the buttstock neck with an engraved FWR monogram - Friedrich Wilhelm Rex. Flint lock, battery; there is a carved image of a burning grenade on the lock board. The fusée's caliber was 19.8 mm with a total length of 1575 mm and a weight of almost 5 kg.
Fusées of Tula work differed from the Prussian exemplary, firstly, by the hallmarks - factory and personal masters; secondly, the material from which the stock was made. There was no walnut tree on Tula, since factories supplied the Russian troops with soldier's and dragoon's guns in maple boxes; officers - in birch, sometimes with "ripples". Another tree was practically not used, therefore, the giant fusées were trimmed with birch.

Giant's bag on white "veal" the sling is called "belt" (worn over the shoulder), while it is not specified whether it is cartridge or grenade. The Prussian model was cut from black "veal" leather, and the lid on it was decorated with a "coat of arms" - embossed on copper and gilded. The sums of the Russian giants were barnyard, and the coats of arms on them were not gilded, but only "painted". The bag was accompanied by: a large cow's horn for gunpowder - cleaned, blackened and trimmed with copper, as well as a brush, which, apparently, was used to clean the gun lock from powder soot.

A broadsword served as a melee weapon for the giant- he was worn in a white cowhide harness, fastened at the waist with a copper buckle and loop. The exemplary broadsword had a blade with a fuller, a copper hilt and a scabbard with a copper rim. The "brush" or lanyard is made of white garus. Artillery refused to work with such broadswords - as General Feldzheikhmeister Ya.V. Bruce reported to the Senate, “at the Tula arms factories they cannot do broadswords against the Germans,” and the giants were supplied with ordinary Russian broadswords with copper hilt, apparently, even without lanyards ... In 1718, broadswords according to the Berlin model were nevertheless made at the Department of the Military Chancellery in Moscow, although here it was not without marriage. So, a foreign master who made blades at a Moscow broadsword factory did not find the proper "gear" (equipment), and therefore his blades turned out to be smooth (without dolly).

The trekking item of the giant ammunition was knapsack (knapsack) of dressed calfskin with wool- in the documents it is called "veal skin" - with an iron buckle and a leather "veal" sling.
The whole cloth uniform was sewn with harsh threads; shirts and boots - white; ties - red; the lace is yellow. Buttons on caftans and camisoles were sewn on belts; plaques on hats and bags - with copper wire. It is curious that about 20 fragments of different fabrics, presented by contractors as samples, are glued to the sheets of the Senate file containing the above information. Judging by them, "azure" - it is "cornflower blue" - cloth of dark blue, almost black, which is sometimes called in modern color tables - Prussian Blue (Prussian blue). For the giant caftans and hats, English cloth was chosen, left over from the "structure" of the uniform for the Vyatka dragoon regiment, but it was his sample that disappeared from the case. However, there is no reason to believe that it was of a different shade - all cornflower-blue cloths of the first half of the 18th century are the same.

“Red” fabrics - broadcloth, yarenok, bike - today would be called dark red or even speckled (old colors are generally darker than their names). The exception is "karmazin" - a thin and very expensive cloth of a specific dark crimson color. Linen lining canvas (for camisoles and pants) - rough gray. "Twisted" and "simple" canvases (for shoes) are thin white, more precisely yellowish. Three gold braces (for a cap, hat and caftan) have also disappeared from the case, but their appearance can be restored. The fact is that the samples were so tightly "waxed" and so long lay in the thickness of the archival folio that they were imprinted in all details, both on paper and on the red sealing wax with which they were once glued. These prints show that the "golden braid" was an even smooth braid, like the metallized stripes, which were recently used in the Russian army.

The reconstruction of this uniform is shown in the figure. As for the commentary on it, not being competent in matters of the history of the Prussian military suit, we do not undertake to finally decide whether it is a Riesengarde uniform or a grenadier of the guards. Let's just say that people in 1716-1718. recruited into the "big grenadiers", and if the dress sewn then is not an early, hitherto unknown sample of the Riesengarde uniform, then, apparently, the giants put it on only once - before the show at which they were presented and presented to the king. Another thing is strange: in the set of "gigantic" things, nothing, except for a hat, testifies to belonging to the grenadiers; for example, there are no such characteristic items of equipment as a cartridge pouch and a tube for the wick, which was used to set fires at hand grenades.

It should also be noted that the "presentation" of 1716-1718. turned out to be one of the most pompous and coincided with the confirmation of the Russian-Prussian alliance against Sweden. That time, in addition to the giants, "so big, I could find colic in my lands until now," Peter gave Friedrich Wilhelm a lathe, a barge built in St. Petersburg and a cup of "hand-made" with a carved motto.
As Count Golovkin reported in a report dated October 11, 1718, “His Majesty deigned to accept all the presents with great gratitude and joy and with curiosity. The Tula rifle, he also deigned to praise the uniform and the manliness of the people ... but he deigned to disassemble the mentioned grenadiers at the same hour, and determined everything, he deigned to send them to Potsdam with the Mayor from the Big Battalion. "
Subsequently, the giants were sent to Berlin at a much lower cost. So, on January 22, 1720, Peter ordered to select 10 soldiers of "great age" from the infantry regiments and send them "as a present" to the Prussian court, "giving them a new ordinary Saldak uniform and guns, and broadswords instead of swords." On December 29, 1722, His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov again "ordered the giants to make a Prussian uniform, also hats, and named: blue caftans, and the cuff and lining and camisoles and red trousers, white stockings, and shoes as well" Finally, on August 10, 1725, the same Menshikov announced to the Military Collegium that Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna “pointed out six people of giants, who were chosen to be sent to the Royal Majesty of Prus, to make the uniform the same as on the previous giants sent to His Royal Majesty. made".

In the first years of Anna Ioannovna's reign, the “withdrawal” of the giants to Prussia continued. In the journal of the Uniform Office of December 28, 1730, we read an entry about the decision to release over 250 yards of blue Prussian cloth for sewing giant uniforms. Moreover, the empress saved the domestic administration from unnecessary trouble and allowed the Prussians to recruit giants in her possessions themselves. With this mission, the captain of the Prussian troops v. Kalsow arrived in Russia - in some studies he is mistakenly referred to as Captain Koltsov - in January 1733 he complained to Field Marshal Munnich that he could not uniform the giants brought from Ukraine, since the Russian Commissariat was under on various pretexts he denies him leave of cloth.

With the death of Frederick William I in 1740, Riesengarde was effectively abolished and the Royal Leibergiment was reduced to a battalion. Frederick II did not share his father's predilection for giants, especially Russians, which was also facilitated by diplomatic disagreements between him and the new Russian Empress Elisaveta Petrovna. The children of the former allies very soon moved from “coldness” to “outright quarrels,” one of which was triggered by Elizabeth's demand to return all Russian soldiers to their homeland.
Frederick not only refused, but did not even want to tell how many of them and in what regiments they are. Searches undertaken in 1746 by Count Chernyshev, an envoy to the Prussian court, established the names and whereabouts of over 80 Russian giants, not counting their wives and children. Among them was the elderly Svirid Rodionov, who was already retired and lived in Werder. The further fate of these people is unknown to us, but apparently, the “big men” never returned to Russia ...

At the same time, the luxurious pleasure yacht "Liburnika" was added to the details of the Amber Office - another quirk of Frederick 1, which was unnecessary for the new Prussian king, since he was not interested in luxury and art.

This yacht was in such poor condition that only three years later, after repairs, she reached St. Petersburg. There she stood for some time at the Winter Palace. In 1740 it was renamed "Crown".

Only Elizaveta Petrovna, heeding the numerous complaints and petitions of the relatives of the giants sent to a foreign land, wrote a letter to the Prussian king and demanded that they be returned to Russia. However, Frederick Wilhelm sabotaged this order for a long time. Only after several formidable warnings did he write her a letter with a request to leave the soldiers so that they "end their days here in the service."

In memory of this story, two portraits of giant soldiers are exhibited in today's exposition of the Amber Hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.

As for the amber cabinet itself, after unpacking the gift, Peter saw that due to the fact that many of its parts were not made, it was impossible to assemble it entirely. However, Peter put on display the details of the amber study in the "human chambers" of his Summer Palace. After Peter's death, the office was folded into boxes. When Anna Ioanovna was taken out, looked around when receiving the "amber plaques" of Friedrich-Wilhelm. Early 1740.

Russian giants of the Prussian king
"Big men" in foreign service

From left to right:
-Grenadier Svirid Rodionov (after 1723)
-Grenadier James Kirkland (circa 1714)
-Grenadier Jonas Heinrichson (copy of the 19th century from a portrait of 1725)
-Second Lieutenant von Hanfstaengel in the costume of a giant (photo 1881, taken during the celebration of the wedding of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Princess Augusta Victoria)
-Grenadier in a uniform made in Russia according to the Prussian model; reconstruction by V. Egorov and N. Zubkov.

In the 1st, or Red, grenadier life battalion of this regiment (Roten Leib-Bataillon Grenadiers), people were tall, even by today's standards; in the 18th century they seemed like fairy-tale giants. Some of them were noticeably more than two meters tall - without shoes and a grenadier's cap! Unusually stingy in everything else, the king spent 12,000,000 Joachimsthalers on his "collection" - he hired, bought or even abducted "big people" by force in distant and neighboring lands. The activities of Prussian recruiters earned him ill fame, but at any court it was known that there is no better gift and guarantee of friendship for Friedrich Wilhelm than one or the other Lange Kerl (long guy) - these brutes, without knowing it, influenced the “high European politician". In his own handwritten notes, the king explained how to put a barefoot giant against the wall and, after making a mark on it, then attach a special "measure" to the wall, this time without a person. These measures were of two types: 1) paper strips with inscriptions and lines indicating the height of people in different ranks; 2) "sloping rope", that is, just ropes.

These numbers are rather arbitrary. For a number of reasons, the most accurate information has been preserved about “donated as a present”. Such "presents" were prepared centrally and in advance: they allocated money from the treasury, carried out so-called "giant gatherings" in the field army and garrisons, in the provinces and provinces, during which not only tall soldiers, but also recruits were taken into "big men". peasants, clergymen, boyar people, artisans and merchants, representatives of other taxable classes. They were presented to the king in batches of 10 to 80 people approximately every two years, which was considered as a kind of proof of friendly relations between the monarchs or marked some event. For example, for the first time Friedrich Wilhelm received a detachment of "beautiful and prominent" soldiers and a transport of weapons "for the whole regiment" shortly after accession to the throne. Of course, the decrees and correspondence about these "presentations" were held by the highest state institutions of the Russian Empire.

One way or another, but in less than fifteen years, Peter I presented and lent to the Prussians at least 400 of his subjects. Many of them had families in Russia, others grew old and sent petitions to the tsar asking him to change and return home. Descending to their plight, on November 1, 1723, Peter ordered the soldiers who were sent to the Prussian service to be taken back, and instead of them the same number of recruits should be sent. Apparently, this demand seriously worried Friedrich Wilhelm, since on January 4, 1724, Peter let Count A.G. Golovkin, the Privy Councilor and Plenipotentiary Minister at the Prussian court, know that his "permission" does not apply to royal giants and donated people in general, but only on those who were given in different years from the regiments. The Russian Collegium of Foreign Affairs also showed her usual diplomatic tact, asking to “send” the letter of exchange, and instead of the word “recruits”, write “other Russian soldiers” so as not to upset the king ahead of time with the news of sending untrained recruits instead of old campaigners.

According to the plan of the Military Collegium, the Prussians were to deliver the Russian soldiers to Memel, where a team assembled to replace them would await them; there they will exchange uniforms and follow each in his own direction. However, such a dressing-up, so beneficial for the treasury, did not take place, thanks to the generous gesture of Friedrich Wilhelm. Not far from the royal residence of Wusterhausen, he arranged a farewell review, at which he thanked the Russians for their faithful service and presented each of them with a new "green uniform" (apparently, like a Russian infantry uniform). The king reluctantly parted with them, but did not violate the terms of the agreement: having retained one soldier, whom he "really liked," he ordered to give him a gift instead; two more - the deceased and previously released due to illness - also ordered to replace with donations, so that there were exactly 95 people. In 1724, these people returned to Russia, and the king was bothering to award them all with non-commissioned officer ranks. But of those who were appointed to their place (soldiers of the field infantry regiments then stationed in Riga, Pernov and Revel province), the Prussians accepted less than a third - the rest were found "much shorter." Count Golovkin was not mistaken when he warned that the Prussians regard "age" (height) as the main advantage of a soldier.

It is inappropriate to judge the events of the past, guided by current concepts. But still, no matter how dubious the custom of selling their “big men” to a foreign land may seem, the ignorance, if not indifference of the Russian authorities regarding their future fate and living conditions in Prussia, is even more outraged. Suffice it to say that for a long time there was no Orthodox priest in Potsdam. Of course, the same Military Collegium could vaguely imagine how the giant measure differs from the measure of the field regiment and, in such matters, take the Prussians at their word. But when handing over Russian soldiers to foreign service, they probably should have kept a strict account of them and at least occasionally inquired about their fate.

So, in December 1716, the Tsar's letter from Havelberg was received in the Governing Senate - Peter wrote that, yielding to the requests of the Prussian king, he promised him 200 "big men" as grenadiers and suggested that the Senate immediately address this issue. The letter was accompanied by a traditional paper measure, with inscriptions in Russian and German, and soon the tsar's orderly Tatishchev brought from Berlin an exemplary Prussian uniform, which had to be sewn on the spot, in Russia, also as a gift to the king.

In total in 1717-1718. 56 sets of uniforms and ammunition were manufactured. 54 together with the giants were sent to Berlin; 2 and Prussian exemplary remained in the Senate; then, by decree, they were transferred to the Military Collegium, and from there to the Commissariat (February 1719). Probably, in the future they were used as exemplary. Below we provide a description of Prussian things with an indication of minor changes made by Russian craftsmen:

The grenadier's hat had a miter-like shape and consisted of a woolen crown, a woolen back "visor" (edge) and a gilded copper "coat of arms" (forehead). The crown or, in fact, the hat was azure; the edge is red crimson; both are lined with black dye, and the outside is sheathed with a 12 mm wide gold braid. A garus brush was attached at the top (its color is not indicated), and at the back on the trump card was a gilded copper plaque in the form of a bomb with a "palm" (fire, flame). The shape of the hat was given by a skeleton of a bone mustache; in addition, it was hemmed with canvas, goatskin and thick "grape" paper. For better preservation of the cap, a cover made of black oilcloth or wax cloth, lined with a thick canvas, was relied on. The caps of the giants repeated the Berlin pattern in everything, only the plaques, bombs and "sticks" were not gilded, but only "painted" and, as the master assured, that "the coloring will be strong and will not fade" - apparently, instead of gold, the copper was simply painted either varnished (?).

The second headdress was a triangular hat - woolen, lined with gold braid, 19 mm wide, with a tails brush and a press (embossed, stamped) button. The ties for attracting the brim of the hat to the crown were made of azure garus (probably not very different from black). Russian craftsmen managed to make everything, except for these very "fundamental" buttons, and they were ordered to buy and sew on the way.

The giant caftan was "built" of azure cloth, with red cloth cuffs, cuffs and lining in the floors. The rest of the lining (back, sleeves, etc.) is red flannel. The buttons were flat, smooth cast copper, counting 44 pieces per caftan - 21 "large" and 23 "small". The loops for the fortress were lined with oilcloth and trimmed with a garus - azure or red, depending on the color of the cloth. The collar and sleeve cuffs were decorated with a 25 mm wide gold braid. Exemplary camisole and trousers were red cloth, with copper "small" buttons. The lining of the camisole is canvas, there are 11 buttons, the loops are encased in oilcloth and trimmed with red garus. The pants had no lining at all and were fastened with three buttons. The upper uniform for the giants was sewn exactly the same, only instead of red cloth for camisoles, trousers and a caftan appliance, a red “double horseradish” was used - a widespread woolen fabric that looked completely similar to cloth, but a little denser and thicker. The pants were covered with canvas for uniformity.

An exemplary neck tie: - red or scarlet - in the murals it is called either garus or crepe. For the giant ties, they picked up a red brocade (fabric) and florent (red ribbons) for ties. Underwear - a shirt and ports - canvas as usual. When sewing was used linen white canvas of two varieties: shirting - thinner and more expensive; port - a little coarser and cheaper.

Exemplary Prussian stockings were defined by Russian masters as white "felted" or "half felted", that is, made of thick, tightly knit wool. The giant stockings of the "Russian business" were simply "pure" woolen stockings. Canvas boots - they are also “shtivlets” or “shtivers” - were worn over stockings, fastened with buttons and fixed under the knee with garters. The boots themselves were sewn from white “twisted” (strongly twisted, dense) canvas, and were lined with white “simple” (rare and soft) canvas. The buttons were brazed copper (with soldered ears), counting two portiches (24 pieces) per pair. The garters were cut out of black cowhide straps and each fastened with one brass buckle. The shoes of the giants were given the usual - a pair of boots and shoes - apparently Russian, since the Berlin model set included only shoe buckles - copper, with iron pins and a rim.

Of the gigantic weapons and ammunition, first of all, the fusey is worthy of mention - in a walnut tree bed, with a "goddess" (bayonet), a ramrod, a pygmy and a belt of "veal" leather. A detailed description of the "giant" fuses, made in 1718 at the Tula factories, is given in his books by weapons expert L.K. Makovskaya. We will only outline this wonderful thing in general terms. So, the "giant" fusea was a muzzle-loading rifle with a round smooth barrel, a long forend and a wide massive butt. The barrel was attached to the stock with iron pins. The device was made of copper (brass), including a round shield on the buttstock neck with an engraved FWR monogram - Friedrich Wilhelm Rex. Flint lock, battery; there is a carved image of a burning grenade on the lock board. The fusée's caliber was 19.8 mm with a total length of 1575 mm and a weight of almost 5 kg. Fusées of Tula work differed from the Prussian exemplary, firstly, by the hallmarks - factory and personal masters; secondly, the material from which the stock was made. There was no walnut tree on Tula, since factories supplied the Russian troops with soldier's and dragoon's guns in maple boxes; officers - in birch, sometimes with "ripples". Another tree was practically not used, therefore, the giant fusées were trimmed with birch.

A giant pouch on a white "veal" sling is called a "saddle bag" (worn over the shoulder), while it is not specified whether it is cartridge or grenade. The Prussian model was cut from black "veal" leather, and the lid on it was decorated with a "coat of arms" - embossed on copper and gilded. The sums of the Russian giants were barnyard, and the coats of arms on them were not gilded, but only "painted". The bag was accompanied by: a large cow's horn for gunpowder - cleaned, blackened and trimmed with copper, as well as a brush, which, apparently, was used to clean the gun lock from powder soot.

A broadsword served as a melee weapon for the giant - it was worn in a white cowhide harness, fastened at the waist with a copper buckle and loop. The exemplary broadsword had a blade with a fuller, a copper hilt and a scabbard with a copper rim. The "brush" or lanyard is made of white garus. Artillery refused to work with such broadswords - as General Feldzheikhmeister Ya.V. Bruce reported to the Senate, “at the Tula arms factories they cannot do broadswords against the Germans,” and the giants were supplied with ordinary Russian broadswords with copper hilt, apparently, even without lanyards ... In 1718, broadswords according to the Berlin model were nevertheless made at the Department of the Military Chancellery in Moscow, although here it was not without marriage. So, a foreign master who made blades at a Moscow broadsword factory did not find the proper "gear" (equipment), and therefore his blades turned out to be smooth (without dolly).
The trekking item of the giant ammunition was a knapsack (knapsack) made of dressed calfskin with wool - in the documents it is called "veal skin" - with an iron buckle and a leather "veal" sling.

The whole cloth uniform was sewn with harsh threads; shirts and boots - white; ties - red; the lace is yellow. Buttons on caftans and camisoles were sewn on belts; plaques on hats and bags - with copper wire. It is curious that about 20 fragments of different fabrics, presented by contractors as samples, are glued to the sheets of the Senate file containing the above information. Judging by them, "azure" - it is "cornflower blue" - cloth of dark blue, almost black, which is sometimes called in modern color tables - Prussian Blue (Prussian blue). For the giant caftans and hats, English cloth was chosen, left over from the "structure" of the uniform for the Vyatka dragoon regiment, but it was his sample that disappeared from the case. However, there is no reason to believe that it was of a different shade - all cornflower-blue cloths of the first half of the 18th century are the same. “Red” fabrics - broadcloth, yarenok, bike - today would be called dark red or even speckled (old colors are generally darker than their names). The exception is "karmazin" - a thin and very expensive cloth of a specific dark crimson color. Linen lining canvas (for camisoles and pants) - rough gray. "Twisted" and "simple" canvases (for shoes) are thin white, more precisely yellowish. Three gold braces (for a cap, hat and caftan) have also disappeared from the case, but their appearance can be restored. The fact is that the samples were so tightly "waxed" and so long lay in the thickness of the archival folio that they were imprinted in all details, both on paper and on the red sealing wax with which they were once glued. These prints show that the "golden braid" was an even smooth braid, like the metallized stripes, which were recently used in the Russian army.

Subsequently, the giants were sent to Berlin at a much lower cost. So, on January 22, 1720, Peter ordered to select 10 soldiers of "great age" from the infantry regiments and send them "as a present" to the Prussian court, "giving them a new ordinary Saldak uniform and guns, and broadswords instead of swords." On December 29, 1722, His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov again "ordered the giants to make a Prussian uniform, also hats, and named: blue caftans, and the cuff and lining and camisoles and red trousers, white stockings, and shoes as well" Finally, on August 10, 1725, the same Menshikov announced to the Military Collegium that Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna “pointed out six people of giants, who were chosen to be sent to the Royal Majesty of Prus, to make the uniform the same as on the previous giants sent to His Royal Majesty. made".

With the death of Frederick William I in 1740, Riesengarde was effectively abolished and the Royal Leibergiment was reduced to a battalion. Frederick II did not share his father's predilection for giants, especially Russians, which was also facilitated by diplomatic disagreements between him and the new Russian Empress Elisaveta Petrovna. The children of the former allies very soon moved from “coldness” to “outright quarrels,” one of which was triggered by Elizabeth's demand to return all Russian soldiers to their homeland. Frederick not only refused, but did not even want to tell how many of them and in what regiments they are. Searches undertaken in 1746 by Count Chernyshev, an envoy to the Prussian court, established the names and whereabouts of over 80 Russian giants, not counting their wives and children. Among them was the elderly Svirid Rodionov, who was already retired and lived in Werder. The further fate of these people is unknown to us, but apparently, the “big men” never returned to Russia ...

V. Egorov. Russian giants of the Prussian king. "Big men" in foreign service 1712-1746 "Military illustration", M., 1998

The New Year became an official holiday in the 18th century. Emperor Peter I issued a decree calling to celebrate January 1 with a solemn prayer service, bell ringing, the roar of shots and fireworks. In general, as it was said in the document: "... to amuse children, to ride on sledges from the mountains, and adults do not commit drunkenness and massacre - there are enough other days for that."

It was thanks to Peter I that the custom of giving each other gifts became an obligatory part of the celebration. From Europe, the custom has also come to us to hide gifts in socks and boots next to the stove. The best New Year's gifts were considered sweets, which were presented in decorated tin boxes. Many children also received toys and sweets specifically to hang on the Christmas tree as decorations. Subsequently, sugar flowers and apples were added to them, which became the prototype of Christmas balls.

Peter the Great

Wikimedia Commons

At first, the solemn celebration of the New Year was spread only among the privileged strata of society. The peasants, for example, for a long time considered such amusements to be lordly fun and foreign innovation, and on January 1 they celebrated Vasilyev's Day, which gave a start to "terrible evenings" when evil spirits could penetrate our world. Gifts, if there were, were associated with ceremonies: for example, children went from house to house and "sowed" cereal grains, and housewives tried to catch the grain with an apron and add it later during real sowing - for a rich harvest. Also, many peasants had a roasted pig or a pork head on the table that day, and neighbors could come for a treat by paying a little money, which was then transferred to the parish church.

However, massive Christmas trees among the nobles did not come into fashion immediately either. The situation changed when Hoffmann's fairy tale "The Nutcracker" was published in Russian, which we call "The Nutcracker of Nuts". The book became so popular that in 1852 the nobles organized the first public Christmas tree in Russia. Despite such a seemingly magnificent event, this did not bring much joy to the children. So, the writer Ivan Panaev was disappointed with the indifferent attitude of children:

“The kids surround the tree without noise, without shouting, because only children of bad taste are delighted”. In addition, the toys from the Christmas tree were drawn in a lottery, and the most expensive gifts were won "in an amazing way" by the lord's children.

At the imperial court, the tree appeared a little earlier. Thus, Baroness Maria Fridericks recalls in her memoirs how, shortly after Christmas, the Empress invited members of her retinue with children to a family holiday: “1837. I am already starting to remember quite clearly, I was then 5 years old, it was at this time that the approach of the tree was more engraved in my memory. It must be said that about a week before Christmas and the "big tree", as we called it in childhood, the Grand Duchesses Maria, Olga and Alexandra Nikolaevna, on some chosen day, made the so-called "little tree": here are the young greats princesses and little grand dukes gave each other various trinkets. At the end of our children's celebration, we children were taken to the nursery of the grand dukes to drink tea. "

Genrikh Matveevich Manizer. "Christmas bargaining"

A wrapper is the best gift

At first, children from the poorest families received practically nothing on New Year's Eve: charity trees appeared only at the end of the 19th century. So, according to the memoirs of Margarita Sabashnikova, the daughter of a large tea merchant, her mother turned the New Year into a real holiday for Moscow children from poor families. Near Sukharevskaya Square, a house was rented specially for the time of the celebrations: “The children of the poor gathered there. After the popular game with Parsley, candles were lit on a large Christmas tree. Gifts were handed out in the next room. Each child received chintz for a dress or shirt, a toy and a large bag of gingerbread. "

Leo Tolstoy, who was 15 years old in 1843, congratulated the children living nearby in the following way. “On New Year's Eve, he left the house with a large paper bag and gave each of us a huge Crimean apple, bright yellow, a Tula gingerbread, and a large chocolate candy with marmalade filling, which I kept in my candy wrapper for a long time. girl's box, - later recalled the writer Alexandra Kuchumova. -

Chocolate was a delicacy inaccessible to us. We saw him only in the windows of the pastry shop. We bit off a small bite and relished with such delight that we even burst out laughing. Tomorrow, he says, come, we'll do the skating rink ”.

New Year's celebrations were also celebrated in the royal family. As the daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Olga, writes in her memoirs "The Dream of Youth", during the holidays all children went to skate and sled, built ice towns, participated in masquerades. The most important event, of course, was the receipt of gifts. Each member of the imperial family had their own tree, next to which the long-awaited New Year's gifts lay. It is said that Nicholas I personally traveled to the city and went shopping in search of suitable gifts for his loved ones. Among the presents were many toys, books, outfits and various decorations. Once the princess even received a piano as a gift. Boys, on the other hand, liked toys related to military affairs more: soldiers, sabers and guns, as well as special uniforms for toy armies. However, there were also more original gifts. For example, one of the emperor's sons found a bust of Peter I under the tree, who was considered a role model in the family.

Despite, as they would say in the 21st century, a busy schedule, the imperial family tried to spend New Year's Eve with each other. Princess Olga Nikolaevna recalled: “On the New Year's Eve, Papa appeared at the bedside of each of us, seven children, to bless us. Pressing my head against his shoulder, I said how grateful I am to him. " The emperor himself also liked to receive gifts. As a rule, children gave him postcards and souvenirs made with their own hands.

Wikimedia Commons

Even in wealthy families, it was customary to exchange rather modest gifts. “Mamá loved and knew how to make gifts. So this winter, too, I found my present under the tree - a scroll of writing paper (without rulers), colored pencils and a thick oilcloth notebook also without rulers. In addition, I received a family of tiny white porcelain rabbits, not to mention firecrackers, glass balls and other Christmas tree joys that we could take from the tree ourselves, "wrote Princess Maria Mansurova in her memoirs.

Santa Claus rushes to the rescue

After the revolution, most of the traditional holidays, including New Year's, were temporarily canceled by a special decree as remnants of the tsarist era. Despite the ban, people continued to celebrate both New Year's and Christmas. The tree was also forbidden. As the famous artist recalled, in many schools there was then a poster: “Do not cut down the forests uselessly, it will be a gloomy and gray day. If you went to the Christmas tree, then you are not a pioneer. "

“Although my parents didn’t arrange a Christmas tree for me, I believed in Santa Claus who came to the children’s holiday. And before the New Year, he always exhibited his shoes, knowing that Santa Claus would definitely put a toy or something tasty in them. It happened that for several days in a row I put up my shoes, and Santa Claus always left something in them, ”Nikulin wrote in his memoirs. Once Yura found in his boot only a piece of brown bread wrapped in a sheet of paper, sprinkled with sugar. “What, Santa Claus was stunned, or what?”, - the future actor was immediately indignant. It turned out that Nikulin's parents simply ran out of money and could not buy anything. However, the next day, to Yura's great joy, a gingerbread in the shape of a fish was already in his boot.

Christmas tree in the Column Hall of the House of Unions. The first celebration of the New Year after a long ban

Ivan Shangin / Collection of S. Shagina / russiainphoto.ru

In 1936, the New Year returned to the country again - in the status of a public holiday. “Why do we have schools, orphanages, nurseries, children's clubs, palaces of pioneers depriving the children of the working people of the Soviet country of this wonderful pleasure? Some, not otherwise than "leftist" bendingists, denounced this children's entertainment as a bourgeois venture. Follow this misjudgment of the Christmas tree, which is great fun for children, to end it. Komsomol members, pioneer workers should arrange collective Christmas trees for children on New Year's Eve. In schools, orphanages, in the palaces of pioneers, in children's clubs, in children's cinemas and theaters - there should be a children's tree everywhere! ”Wrote the Soviet functionary V.

The first All-Union New Year tree took place on December 31, 1936 in the Column Hall of the House of Unions. Only the best students from Moscow and its nearest regions could get there. By the way, it was there that such characters as Santa Claus and Snow Maiden first appeared. This is how the Soviet pilot recalls this New Year's Eve: “Until twelve o'clock the time passed completely unnoticed. Every room, almost every step in the foyer hid something interesting for us. A movie was going on in a dark corner, pop artists performed in the hall and other rooms, it was very noisy in the quiet room: an electric train was running in the center, a carousel rolled around for free, others could get their own profile cut out of thick black paper; Pushkin's quiz, a literary game, which was as follows:

whoever comes up with the longest word will receive Dead Souls in a good edition. One 10th grade student asks: "Can I have a chemical name?" - "Please". And he said, "Methylethyl ... hexane." 22 syllables! Does such a substance exist?

Alexander Gulyaev, "New Year", 1967

And so the Snegurochka runs up to Santa Claus - the entertainer - and babbles: "Grandfather, one minute left before the New Year!"

It was very difficult to get tickets for such trees, in addition, they needed a costume for a masquerade, without which they were not allowed to go to the holiday. But those who got to the Christmas tree received gifts collected by the trade union committee, which included caramels, cookies, various fruits and nuts. Perhaps the dream of every child was to get to the main Christmas tree of the country - first to the Column Hall of the House of Unions, and after 1954 - to the Kremlin Christmas tree. Each child returned from there with a traditional gift - a set of sweets: in the 50s and 60s in a tin box (for example, decorated with Belka with Strelka or the icebreaker "Lenin"), in the 70s and 80s - in a cardboard box or a plastic tooth of the Kremlin wall. The sweet gift did not cancel a special gift from Santa Claus, which he already put under the Christmas tree at home. The most desirable gifts were felt-tip pens, various toys, a railway, a construction set, new sledges or skates.

Girl at the window of the Moscow department store "Detsky Mir"

Galina Kiseleva / RIA Novosti

Almost three centuries later, children still believe in Santa Claus and write letters to the New Year's wizard: every year he receives about 400 thousand messages. Most often this year, children asked for new phones, tablets, dolls, robots and controlled cars. But the most unusual desires were: to get a self-assembled tablecloth, fairy wings and a mermaid tail.

On the occasion of the 145th anniversary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, the exhibition "History of Russia of the XX century in gifts" was opened. The exposition features about 400 items. "Russian Planet" decided to continue studying history in gifts and found out what was given to the Russian tsars.

Disgraced elephant

The first ruler of Russia, who was presented with a real live elephant, was Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The animal as a token of gratitude was sent to the cold Muscovy by the Persian shah Takhmasi, who had previously received cannons and guns from Ivan IV as a gift.

At first, the Russian tsar liked the overseas curiosity.

Legend has it that the elephant was not transported by sea, he had to get to Russia on his own. And during the long journey to Moscow, he was so exhausted that when the beast was brought to Ivan the Terrible, he literally fell at his feet. The tsar was delighted that the mighty animal fell to his knees in front of him, so he ordered to carefully look after him and feed him “like himself,” historian Ivan Dolgikh tells the RP correspondent. - However, there is another, more plausible version: the trainer sent along with the elephant specially trained him to kneel before the king at the signal.

But Muscovites did not immediately like the elephant. A German adventurer who served in the oprichnina, Heinrich Staden wrote in his book Country and the Rule of the Muscovites that a huge animal ate tons of food when there was a famine in the city. But the elephant was also given vodka to drink: so that he would not freeze, he was given one and a half buckets of alcohol a day. Many envied the Arab who was sent along with the elephant - he received a large salary for those times. “This was noticed by Russian hawkers, dissolute people, drunkards who drink and play with grain in taverns. For money, they secretly killed the Arab's wife, ”wrote Staden. Of course, one should be very skeptical about the notes of the German mercenary, but, apparently, there is some truth in them.

When a plague epidemic began in Moscow, both the elephant and its trainer were accused of bringing the infection to the capital. But the king did not react in any way to requests to remove the "source of all troubles" from the capital, until he was finally disappointed in the gift.

According to one of the legends, once the elephant was brought to bow to Ivan the Terrible, forgetting to feed it before. And instead of kneeling, the hungry animal blew right in his face - so much so that the cap fell off, - continues the story Ivan Dolgikh. - This angered the king. And the recalcitrant creature, according to a long-standing Russian tradition of treating free-thinkers, was sent into exile - to Posad Gorodetsky, the current city of Bezhetsk.

Soon the Arab who was caring for the elephant died for some unknown reason. He was buried not far from the barn where his ward was kept. And then the elephant broke through the fence, came to the grave of his trainer and lay down on it, refusing to leave or take food. Upon learning of this, Ivan the Terrible ordered to kill the disobedient. The elephant was dealt with in the same place, at the grave of an Arab, by shooting with a squeak. And then they knocked out the fangs in order to present them to the king as proof of his death.

The only "live" gift that Ivan the Terrible liked was the lions sent to him by Queen Elizabeth I of England, to whom he wooed, ”says Ivan Dolgikh. - The tsar ordered to settle lions in a ditch near the gate under the walls of Kitay-gorod - for intimidation and amusement. By the way, that is why the Resurrection Gate of Kitay-Gorod was called the Lion's Gate for a long time. But soon the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, who besieged Moscow, ordered to set fire to suburban settlements and monasteries, the fire spread to the city itself. In a terrible fire, not only people died, but also lions. It is estimated that at least 25 elephants were donated to the Romanov dynasty over the three centuries of their reign. Nicholas II received the last of the "royal" elephants as a gift from Abyssinia. In 1917, the animal was shot by revolutionary sailors.

Chalice of Peter I

In 1761, Peter I visited Copenhagen while traveling across Europe. During one of the solemn feasts, the Danish king Frederick IV poured wine into a massive golden goblet and made a toast in honor of the Russian emperor and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna. And after that he presented the cup as a gift to Peter I, who brought it with him to his homeland.

The precious goblet amazed contemporaries with the skill of its execution - it was covered with enamel and rested on three decorative legs in the shape of dolphins. After the death of the emperor, it was transferred to the Kunstkamera, and many of its visitors left descriptions of the curiosity.

Cup given by King Frederick IV of Denmark as a gift to Peter I. Photo: book - online. com. ua

Unfortunately, the Peter's Cup was decorated with many graceful bas-reliefs-miniatures of agate, onyx and other stones, - historian Olga Sirotinina tells the RP correspondent. - In total, there were 2 thousand 320 cameos on its surface, the earliest of which were made by masters of the Renaissance. And Empress Catherine II was just crazy about these decorations. She said that she was sick with "cameo disease." The Empress wished to supplement her collection with cameos from a goblet and ordered to melt it. This is how this historical relic perished.

Fortunately, a drawing made by one of the visitors to the Kunstkamera has survived, on which the "cameo cup" was depicted in every detail. Focusing on this detailed image, the Hermitage restorers managed to recreate the goblet. And on its surface, genuine cameos were reinforced, preserved in the collection of thousands of Catherine's cameos. Now visitors to the museum can again see the bowl of Peter I in its original form.

This is a huge achievement, since the gifts once presented to Peter I are clearly unlucky. Most of them have not survived to this day, says Olga Sirotinina. - Suffice it to recall the amber room, presented to him by the Prussian Emperor Frederick I and disappeared without a trace during the Great Patriotic War. As in the case of the cup, today we can only get an idea of it thanks to the work of the restorers.

The payment for the spilled blood

The Russian diamond fund contains an oblong diamond with three engravings in Persian. This is the legendary Shah diamond, which Nicholas I received as a gift. It is believed that the Persian Shah presented it to the Russian emperor as compensation for the death of Russian Ambassador Alexander Griboyedov, who was torn to pieces in Tehran in 1829 by a crowd of fanatics during religious unrest. Allegedly, having received this diamond as a gift, the Russian emperor was so impressed by the beauty of the stone that he said: "I am consigning the ill-fated Tehran incident to eternal oblivion."

Diamond "Shah", which Nikolay I received as a gift. Photo: wikipedia. org

This is nothing more than a beautiful legend, - smiles Ivan Dolgikh. “The Shah diamond was indeed brought to St. Petersburg by the heir to the Persian throne, Khosrev Mirza, shortly after Griboyedov was killed. But he presented one of the most expensive diamonds of the Shah's treasury to Nicholas I not at all as payment for the death of the ambassador. The decision to transfer it was made even before the riots broke out, in which Griboyedov and all the employees of the Russian embassy died. This diamond was part of the indemnity that Persia had to pay to Russia after the defeat in the war. Iran was forced to conclude the Turkmanchay agreement, according to which the Russian crown was to receive ten kururs, that is, 20 million rubles in silver. Part of this amount was redeemed by the cost of the Shah diamond.

However, many believe that it would be better if this diamond, found in India in the 16th century, never ended up in Russia.

In the Indian Golconda, where he was found, it was considered that the yellow color of the stone portends trouble - such a diamond, resembling the eye of a tiger, will always ask for blood like a wild beast. Indeed, this stone passed from hand to hand for a long time, bringing only misfortunes to its new owners, - says Ivan Dolgikh. - One of them was Shah Jihan, who built the Taj Mahal mausoleum in memory of his deceased wife. Then he could admire his creation from the window of the prison in Agra, where his own sons imprisoned him, until one of them ordered him to be strangled. And Khosrev-Mirza, who brought the stone to Russia, had his eyes gouged out during the struggle for the throne. He spent the rest of his days crippled without seeing the sunlight.

In Russia, the "eye of the tiger" continued its bloody path. There is a legend that once the "tsar-liberator" Alexander II read "Woe from Wit" and wanted to see the diamond, which was paid for the blood of the author of the play. A few days after he took it in his hands, the emperor was killed by a bomb thrown by terrorists. And Nicholas II was very fond of admiring the play of light on the edges of a diamond ... Of course, all these are stories from the field of legends that always surround famous jewels, but who knows if there is a little bit of truth in them.

(photo album)

Type of: scientific instrument

Dating: 1651-1664 years

The size: diameter - 310 cm and weighing almost three and a half tons, with a door through which you can get inside the structure and sit there at the table on a bench for 12 people. Outside, the globe is a globe with an image of the earth's surface, and from the inside, the globe is a celestial sphere: images of constellations are applied on the inner surface and 1016 nails with figured gilded hats of different sizes corresponding to stars of different brightness are driven in. The Sun is also provided - a crystal ball on a special bracket, moving along the ecliptic by means of a special mechanism. Moreover, the globe is mounted on an axis and rotates around it, imitating the rotation of the Earth like an ordinary globe - if you stand outside, and the rotation of the firmament - if you are inside. Rotation - turnover per day - was provided by a hydraulic mechanism, but there was also the possibility of turning the structure manually using levers inside.

Technique: wood, metal, canvas, painting

Description:
The large planetarium globe was made in the Duchy of Holstein-Gothorp by A. Busch and the Rotgieser brothers under the direction of the geographer A. Olearius (1599-1671) by order of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein. In 1713 the globe was presented to Peter I and in 1717 brought to St. Petersburg. In 1747, while already in the tower of the Kunstkamera, he was badly damaged by a fire. Restored by the masters B. Scott and F. Tiryutin, etc. Changes were made to the earth map in accordance with the geographical discoveries of the 18th century.
A hollow sphere with an iron frame with wooden sheathing, the inner and outer surfaces of which are pasted over with canvas and painted: on the outside - a map of the Earth, on the inside - a heavenly map. One of the world's first planetariums, it is unique in size and design, allowing the outer globe with a map of the earth's surface and the inner planetarium with a map of the starry sky to rotate at the same time.

Preservation: satisfactory

In 1901, the famous was installed in the complex, which got its name from the place of manufacture: it was built in the Duchy of Gottorp for 10 years starting from 1654 years, and in 1713 year presented as a gift About him in detail tells in his diary who examined him in St. Petersburg on September 6 1721 of the year:

“After lunch, some of us examined a large, located in Schleswig, globe, which was brought here 8 years ago, with the consent of the archbishop-administrator. by dry road, in a car specially arranged for that, which was dragged by people. It is also said that not only it was necessary to clear roads and cut forests, but that even a lot of people were killed. He stands in the meadow opposite the house of His Royal Highness , in a specially made booth for him, where, as I heard, he will be left until the final finishing of a large building on Vasilyevsky Island, intended for the Cabinet of Curiosities and other rarities, where he will be placed.He still has the tailor who transported him here, a Saxon by birth, but stayed in Schleswig for a long time.Established here only for a while, it does not stand well for the time being: there is not even a gallery near him, which was with him in Schleswig and represented the horizon; it is pb is specially preserved. The outer side of the globe, not yet at all spoiled, made of paper glued to copper, skillfully drawn with a pen and painted; a door leads to its interior, on which the Holstein coat of arms is depicted, and there, in the very middle, there was a table with benches around, where there were 10 of us. There is a mechanism under the table that the tailor, who was sitting with us, set in motion; after which, like the inner celestial circle, on which all the stars are depicted from copper according to their size, so the outer ball began to slowly fidget over our heads about its axis, made of thick polished copper and passing through the ball and the table at which we were sitting. Along this axis, in the middle of the table, is a small globe of polished copper, with an artfully engraved image of the earth on it. He remains stationary when the large inner celestial sphere revolves around him, while the table forms his horizon. on the same table, at the same time with the whole machine, another copper circle is spinning, the purpose of which they could not explain to me. The pews around the table, with their backs, form a copper circle with the division of the horizon of the large inner celestial sphere. on the outer side of the globe there is a Latin inscription stating that His Serene Highness Duke of Holstein Frederick, out of love for mathematical sciences, ordered in 1654 to begin the construction of this ball, which was continued by his heir, everlasting memory of Christian Albert, and finally completed in 1661, under the direction of Olear, after whom the "fabricator" and "architect" of the entire machine are also named, the natives of the city of Luttiha, and two more brothers from Guzum, who painted both the outer sphere and the inner celestial sphere with a feather, described and painted. When this globe is transferred to a new house, I intend to set it in motion, by means of a special mechanism, so that it spins without the help of human hands, as before in Gottorp Garden, where it was set in motion by water. "

Kunstkamera- the first Russian museum. Gottorp Globe, a unique monument of science and technology, - the first exhibit of the Kunstkamera, built on the banks of the Neva. His life is full of drama. It was created in the middle of the 17th century in the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp under the guidance of a traveler and geographer Adam Olearius masters Andreas Busch and the Rotgieser brothers... The customer was Duke of Holstein Frederick III. In 1713, after the capture of Schleswig-Holstein by the Russian troops, in the Gottorp Castle, which served as the residence of Duke Karl-Friedrich, Peter gazed at this huge ball with admiration and, as a contemporary reports, "expressed a great desire to have it at home." The Holsteins did not dare to contradict Peter's wish. Four years later, the globe was delivered via Revel (now Tallinn) to the Russian capital on the banks of the Neva. Here he was raised to the thirty-meter height of the Kunstkamera building under construction. Only then the room in which this unprecedented miracle of science was installed was overgrown with walls. In 1747, the globe almost completely burned down, leaving only the front door and a few more details. The restored globe was no longer installed in the tower, but in a special pavilion, in which it stood until the end of the 20s of the 19th century. During the reconstruction of the Universitetskaya embankment, it was slightly moved, and in 1901 it was transported to Tsarskoe Selo.

During the Great Patriotic War the invaders took the Gottorp Globe to Germany. After the war, in 1947 year, it was discovered in Lubeck and soon after Murmansk returned to the Neva banks. In order to set up a unique exhibit on a historical site, a special hole was made in the wall of the Kunstkamera tower. Since then, the globe has been where it was placed during the life of Peter I. It is interesting that the fate of the miracle globe largely repeats fate. Created in one of the German duchies, in 1716 it was presented to Peter I as a diplomatic gift by Frederick William I. For quite a long time the room was in the Hermitage, and under Catherine II it was transported to Tsarskoe Selo, from where it, like the globe, was taken out Germans who occupied the city of Pushkin. The fate of the Gottorp Globe turned out to be happier.

About the restoration of the globe, 2003

Now it is under restoration, access to it is closed. Distinguished guests will not see him even in the jubilee week. This subject of pride for all our science will appear updated in a month and a half after the festive celebrations, that is, in mid-July.

The correspondent of the "Parlamentskaya Gazeta" together with Tatyana Moiseeva, head of the Lomonosov Museum, which is also in the Kunstkamera, visited the tower where this Gottorp miracle stands. A giant spinning ball with a diameter of 336 centimeters, on the outside of which the surface of the Earth is depicted, and on the inside - the sky with constellations, has long been in need of restoration. However, the five million rubles allocated annually by the Russian Academy of Sciences to the Kunstkamera were sorely lacking. In December last year, the Goethe Institute (Germany) allocated a grant to the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, as the Kunstkamera is officially called, for the restoration of the Gottorp Globe and for the creation of a new exhibition.

The floor and countertop were taken out of the globe, and they were handed over to the restorers from the Hermitage. Everything else is restored on site. This creates certain difficulties. "Painters work during the day, metalworkers in the evening," says Tatiana Moiseeva. Thanks to the restorers, some of the secrets of the Gottorp Globe, which the paint had hidden for many years, have been revealed. All metal parts will be cleaned and presented in their original form. More precisely, the historical one, dating back to the end of the 18th century, when the globe was rebuilt after a fire in 1747. The lost meridian circle and more than five hundred carnations-stars in the sky will be restored inside the planetarium globe.
But the globe will not reveal all the secrets. Since the middle of the 18th century, its surface has regularly undergone changes associated with new geographical discoveries. For example, it still remains a mystery ... The Russian Empire. The territory of the country is painted in two colors. The northern part is in blue, the southern part is in pink. Usually Russia stood out to the Urals, followed by Siberia. It was painted in a different color on the maps. So it was even in the 19th century, the surface of the Gottorp ball represents the earthly structure in 1792. Apparently, the secret of the pink-blue color separation of Russia on the world's largest globe will remain a mystery.
The globe has always been the operating mechanism by which astronomy has been studied. 10 - 12 people could enter it at the same time and look at the firmament. People sat around the table, a simple mechanism set the globe in motion, the table and bench remained motionless. In this way, the illusion of the movement of heavenly bodies was achieved, which delighted everyone who was lucky enough to visit the planetarium globe. Although it is still in working order, people will never be allowed inside. The first exhibit of the Kunstkamera is too valuable to risk it. After the opening, which is scheduled for July 18, a protective ring will be formed around it, closer to which sightseers will not be able to approach. Special small stands will tell about the history of the world's largest planetarium globe.

Alexey EROFEEV, ass. corr. St. Petersburg