Photographer Alexey Shestakov

Fantastic landscapes of Demerdji make me think, that I have falling asleep

and awakening in this dream. So now I am able to hover in the clouds together with
magic dragons, 

hover and admire with this mystic beauty.

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Sevastopol Paintress Elena Melkova

You need a considerable skill to show with the oil-paints

the transparency of vine in the glass goblet, roughness of garnet’s skin and gloss grape-peel.

I think, Elena has this skill!

Information Supermarket The Atrium

Interview with Yuri Volodin, PR/event-manager

Before making an interview, Yuri Volodin and I had visited an interesting presentation: “Social FormArt” by Andrew Vasilenko – an exhibition, installation, research – all-in-one. Yuri, as a PR/event-manager has a professional interest, and I was just a curious spectator. This exhibition made a great impression for me, so I will describe it in my next review.

And our topic for today is the Personality. The Personality and the Place. And some delicacy in the end. 

The Personality.

Yuri, we know each other for a long time. But tell about yourself to our readers.

Yuri Volodin, PR/event-manager of the Information Supermarket “The Atrium”.

My way, or how it is called now “lifestyle”, can be described in two words “Zen and Ken”: Japanese fencing with the Buddhism in its soul. These two things have a great importance at all my life and also at my professional realization. They form, first of all, the discipline, the inner attitude to the very fundamental things like life or death, like the possibility of “victory” and “defeat”. What is more important for you: how many times have you fallen down or how can you rise you up? What is your attitude to the things which should be over inevitably? Realizing of this inevitability in your life helps you to feel the real taste of life, how bright and colorful life is, to evaluate the importance of every day of it. And you clear understand that every day should be filled with action and progression, self-knowledge and self-evolution. Zen motto for the Iaido: “Always being on the Path”.

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Happy Birthday!

Needlework From Olga Solodukha

No, this grey cat is not unhappy!

This is a smoke beaut-cat, poet-minstrel and dreamer.

And its’ dreams became true: tender loving hands keep it!

Let’s rejoice at his happiness!

Café-gallery “MadTea-party”

Are you ready for retro-party? Have you prepared your silk dress and flower-decorated hat? The last detail to your image: a piece of chocolate-cream delight “Franch silk” cake!

S O L O

Marching with the brass band.

In the middle of June Sevastopol celebrates its anniversary. This year it will be 229^th city’s birthday! It is quite natural, that for its long history the city gains a lot of different customs and traditions. But we are not going to stop at these achievements! We will continue to expand our habits and good practices. For example, this year at third time we have a very special festival for our citizens and guests, which arrived at the city’s birthday: "Sevastopol Military Tattoo" fest. This is a number of performances of the military bands from different countries.

 

Just imagine the picture: sea, lines of ships at the roadstead, and on the landing stage plays the military brass band. Handsome military men in the neat uniform, the winds, shining with golden light, and military marches, rhythmic and bravura - something inside hit you to spread your shoulders and go marching!

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S O L O

I say very often to my non-Sevastopol friends and familiars: it is impossible to live in Crimea and to be ignorant in vines. In our Crimean peninsula winemaking, its culture and specialties has a long history: more than 2 thousands years starting from first Greek colonists. That meant you simply couldn’t skip over acquaintance with this culture and wines.

Therefore during last 10-15 years I have studied carefully the main assortment of wine cellars in biggest Ukrainian (or Crimean) wineries – Inkerman, Massandra, Sun Valley. I have my own favorites in every of it. But there’s always something new to learn, I think, so let’s expanding our horizons!

During last years in Crimea small private wineries are developing. More and more companies entering wine market. And they products are interesting due to its originality. Wine specialists says: every wine is a product of its own area and technologies applied. In this way, every bottle of wine from different Crimean regions has a small discovery for its explorer. Would you like to be the one?

The bar-shop “Wine cellar” yesterday provided us possibility to be explorers. I hardly could call the yesterday event “wine sampling”, it more looked like very intimate get-together of the very special affinity-group.

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Café-gallery “MadTea-party”

What is “Browny”?

Browny is Browny – you can’t add nothing to it.

Browny is the chocolatey chocolate, covered with whipped cream.

And this is also the Café-gallery “Mad Tea-party”!!!

Sevastopol Academic Russian Dramatic A.Lunacharsky Theatre

Now I try to realize my very old idea: to create series of materials about the very details of theater life. This behind-the-scene stories will came from the source: from our theater personalities. So, let me introduce Dovgan' Tatyana Alexandrovna.

Since year 2000 she is a manager of the literature department in our Sevastopol Academic Russian Dramatic A. Lunacharsky Theatre. What is the work of the manager of literature department consisting of? On the official web-page of the Theater you can read: "…she is responsible for preparing of historical and culturological materials for Theater's performances, makes press-conferences and communicates with mass-media. Together with the art-director she determines the repertoire and keep contacts with contemporary playwrights". But what does "preparing of historical and culturological materials" mean?

Tatyana Alexandrovna told me about it shortly and I try to write here this story. Theatre has a new premiere in a 2 days, everything and everyone is in a hurry now, so we couldn't make a normal interview.

When coming to the performance we are used to see spectacle for 1,5-2 hours, not longer. But have you ever think, that original plays are 4 or even 6 hours long!!! Tatyana Alexandrovna makes a huge work over the texts in order to get into the performance's timetable and keep for us all cause-and-effect relations, all intrigue and let's say the very heart and soul of the original.

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Sevastopol Paintress Elena Melkova

The tea-party with the joyful spring cup, with lemon-yellow tea-spot and with some nice muffin or cake… Just imagine: a table covered with a green cloth, parti-colored cups, tea-spots and saucers and a variety of small vases with wild flowers. This is so nice, isn’t it?!

Solo

An old Crimean legend says:

‘Have you ever been in Crimea? Everything you can find here: you can find sea, you can find mountains, you can find steppe. Ascend the mountain, look around and regret about those, who have never been here. It is so beautiful around. Behind the mountain the sea and the sky are together, both of them are blue, even hard to say what has the deepest blue. The man from Crimea can travel a lot of lands but at the end he says: the best place of the world is Crimea. This is our land. A good place to live, no need to die…’

I am completely agreed with this legend. Agree and ready to vote for it, to sign for it and will always repeat it. In order to make my repeats not too much monotonous I will include in it short stories about different places of our unique Crimea.

Story #1. Ilias-Kaya Mountain.

In case you are a local Sevastopol citizen, trip to Ilias-Kaya Mountain can be some kind of week-end hike-tour for you. Really, it is not too far, and the route is not requires special tourist skills from you.

Preliminary part of this trip can by made in scheduled bus or in own car by “Sevastopol-Yalta” road right to the turn to Laspi Bay. A good orienteer is a roadside café “Myth”.

Now imagine, that we are just descend from the rout-bus and looking around. If we turn to the sea, on the right will be blue Laspi Bay, framed with green pine forests, and Cape Kush-Kaya at the horizon. Mountain ridge of Baydarskaya Yayla arising behind us. It looks so sublime and inaccessible! And on the left it is a good view of Ilias-Kaya massif. Covered with morning dove-colored mist it looks very similar to a gigantic frog on the green hummock. Behind this frog arises predatory shark’s fin. This fin is our destiny point: top of Ilias-Kaya Mountain (681 meter)… O, please, don’t panic! It is not too far and too high. The devil is not so black, as painted. And you never know what you can do till you try!

Author and photographer - Yevgeniya Solovjova as known as Solo :)

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Photographer Alexey Shestakov

This is not Sevastopol, this is Bakhchisaray, but the author of these photos – is our citizen!

Being in Venice I was impressed by the fact that aged and ragged local houses, suffering from tides and dampness, both – at the photos and in reality, looks so romantic.

And I have a thought: “Why do our houses never look romantic, but aged and ragged?!” 

Well, Alexey has an ability using his camera show us old houses and narrow streets of Bakhchisaray as a real antiquity – romantic and marvelous.

A talent is necessary here!

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Needlework From Olga Solodukha

Riding on the star…

the Moon-hare after his star-astride could tell us a number of mystic stories!  

Sevastopol Paintress Elena Melkova

Sevastopol in aquarelle. The spirit of upcoming summer...

Café-gallery “MadTea-party”

 

Today kink of the “Mad tea-party”  - original Chinese tea Mao Fen.

This excellent green tea is made from the first very tender sprouts. It is raised at the Yellow mountains (Huangshan), Anhoy province, China and gathered at the early spring. Mao Fen is one of the most famous Chinese tea. It is prepared from the most young spouts with 1-2 little leaves. It looks very attractive during brewing, well drinking, very healthy (includes a lot of antioxidants), has a very nice aftertaste. Depending of the way, you’ve brew it, this tea could be very light, and sweetish, saturated and acerbic. It could tone you up, so we advice you drink it in the morning or early afternoon. Very special technology of treatment and storage provide to preserve the freshness of the green tea. Due to it you can delight with the primeval taste, aftertaste and aroma, like it just was gathered from the plantation. In our café you can enjoy yourself with this tea all around the year.

Elena Lebedeva

Sevastopol in May

 

Sevastopol in May – is it so special?! Yes, it is! It is bright and tuneful choirs created by “young ladies” at the age “a little above forty”. But they can outbid every teen-age company with their youthful ardour and vivid life style...

 

It is a merrymakings with pancakes at a huge samovar right at the embankment...

 

It is live music from the stage of Youth and Children’s Palace. This time when I’ve seen it, orchestra plays an ardent melody from the “Pirates of the Carribean”. What the energy it makes for all spectators!!!

Moreover

Stylish interest

At Sevastopol M. KroshitskyArt Museum

 

On the 19^th of May in the frameworks of “The European Night of Museums” our Sevastopol M. Kroshitsky Art Museum made a great present for all of us: special action “The Night at the Museum” took part here. It was found, many people interested in this action! Museum workers had to divide all numerous visitors into separate groups – all together didn’t find enough space inside. As for me, the most interesting were works by Sevastopol paintress Elena Vil’chukova, dedicated to children’s world. Bright, colorful and very kind pictures and real retro-style toys together creates an unique atmosphere from our childhood, makes us remember these perfect but slightly forgotten in our adult life times “when trees were high”.

Sevastopol paintress Elena Vil’chukova

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Solo

9th  of May - is a very special date for Sevastopol. And the reason is not only the old navy history of the city, which is now the base for two fleets: Russian and Ukrainian. Main reason is the traditions of Sevastopol as the hero-city - one of 12 hero-cities at the former Soviet Union.  In the  Great  Patriotic  war  Sevastopol garrison  together  with  civil  population during  250  days  kept heroic defense of the city against  superior numbers and better-equipped German  fascists  forces. And the 9th of May, 1944 became the day of liberation the city from fascists' occupation - one year before the Red Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag.

More than 60 years had passed after the end of war, and only a few participants and witnesses of that events are still alive. But all citizens of Sevastopol revere heroic defenders' memory and keep patriotic traditions.  Every year on the 9th of May thousands people gathered to the center of the city to greet veterans of the war and military veterans at the great Victory Parade. At this day you can meet here Sevastopol's citizens with their families and children and very lot of visitors from neighbor Crimean cities, from Russia and Ukraine and even from far abroad.

March is opened by victory warriors of the great patriotic war. Yes, unfortunately their number is decreasing every year. But free places in the marching columns are filling with their descendants, holding portraits of hero forefathers. And everybody feel the invisible presence of these soldiers, who gone to eternity. This presence will stay till the memory about their feat is alive.

Red  velvet  of  banners  in the wind, clanging of awards at the medal ribbons,  applauses  and  greetings  and  a  lot  of  flowers  in  the outstretched  children's hands. 9th of May - is not a holiday, it is a lesson for young citizens. This lesson teaches to be worthy the proud name of Sevastopol citizen. And they study this lesson well.

Author and photographer - Yevgeniya Solovjova as known as Solo :)

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Café-gallery “MadTea-party”

At the Café-gallery “Mad Tea-party” at Bolshaya Morskaya str. #12 you can enjoy yourself with a

piece of lemon pie. Soufflé of lemon and a mass of whipped cream on the top makes you forget

all problems and concerns and feel yourself quite easy and airily.

Sevastopol Paintress Elena Melkova

May be this painting is about book: you read it and you see the world, unknown and beautiful.

But it is also about the world; you see and describe it in your book.

And you describe it as unknown and beautiful for your readers… But may be I’m wrong.

This painting about something else – but beautiful anyway!

Solo

Dragon Magic

Practically all natives in Sevastopol know, where is situated the most romantic bridge of our city. It is on the Primorsky Boulevard and it has an unofficial name “Lovers’ Bridge”. The second unofficial name for this installation is “Dragons’ Bridge”. Each side of it has a bás-relief where two dragons attack the city’s coat of arms.

Also the most of natives know the fact, that this menacing quadruple – is the only dragons in the architecture of Sevastopol. The only dragons for the whole of the city! Now you can imagine how unique this construction is. And dragons themselves are not ordinary creatures. They are fairy, magic and very bright! And no wonder that when Sevastopol’s dragons waked up in one sunny spring day, this event was celebrated with a magic performance under the bridge. Huge bubbles play rainbow colors under the sun. They look so bright, colorful, and so fickle and transient, the same as magic in the real world

 
Author and photographer - Yevgeniya Solovjova as known as Solo :)

Needlework From Olga Solodukha

This Сute little animal became an infallible guard of your dreams from any nightmare monsters. 

Really, what kind of monster could harm the master of such long-eared, pink-nosed, dilly…

By the way, what is the name of this sweetie?! No, don’t tell us!

If she will keep your dreams, her name should be hidden from every monster!

We knew well “The Namerule” by Ursula le Guinn!

Sevastopol Paintress Elena Melkova

A Tea-party – is a good reason for drink some tea from

this simpatico cup with pleasant-looking tracery.

Sevastopol Academic Russian Dramatic A.Lunacharsky Theatre

 

Sevastopol Academic Russian Dramatic A. Lunacharsky Theatre was founded in 1911 and pretty soon it will celebrate its 100th jubilee. It was called "Renaissance" up to 1920. The first director of the theatre was A.Nikulichev.

During the October Revolution and the Civil War (1917-1920) Sevastopol was a refuge for the intellectuals of the ruined Russian empire. Many great artists such as L. Sobinov, A. Vertinsky, A. Polevitskaya, F. Shalyapin performed in Sevastopol theatre those years.

In 1920 revolutionary committee took hold of the city and gave the name of people's comissar of education Anatoly Lunacharsky to the theatre.

The original building of the theatre was destroyed during the Second World War. The group of architects from Moscow headed by V. Pelevin worked out the project of a new building in classic style. Renewed theatre was opened in fall of 1957 on Primorsky boulevard.


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Photographer Alexey Shestakov

Trolls and orks, gnomes and hobbits are frozen in stones. Crimean caves are not a decoration to the fairy tale. This is really fairy places, where in darkness and shadows are hidden the doors to unknown. An underground tales from Alexey Shestakov.

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