Providence was pleased to create a person in such a way that he needs sudden shocks, delight, impulse, and at least momentary oblivion from worldly worries; otherwise, in solitude, the temper becomes coarse and various vices take root.
Reutt. dog hunting
1.
The watchman walks around the master's house,
He yawns viciously and bangs on the board.
The sky and the distance are covered with darkness,
The autumn wind brings sadness;
Gloomy clouds are driving across the sky,
There are leaves across the field - and plaintively groans ...
The master woke up, jumped out of bed,
He put on shoes and blew a horn.
Sleepy Vanka and Grishka shuddered,
Everyone shuddered - up to the baby boy.
Here, with the trembling fire of lanterns,
The long shadows of the hounds are moving.
Scream, commotion! the keys rang
The rusty hinges sang dejectedly;
They lead out with thunder, water the horses,
Time does not endure - saddle as soon as possible!
In blue Hungarians on hare's feet,
In pointed, unheard-of hats
The servants drive up to the porch in a crowd.
It's nice to look - well done to well done!
Although many have thin soles -
Yes, there are yellow seams in the coats,
Though the bellies let down with oatmeal -
Yes, in laces under each saddle,
The horse is a feast for the eyes, two packs of dogs,
Circassian belt, arapnik and spurs.
Here is the landlord! Down with the cards.
Silently he twists his gray mustache,
Terrible in posture and magnificent attire,
Silently moves an authoritative glance.
Listens importantly to the usual report:
“The snake is dead, in the slaughter of Nabat;
The falcon went mad, the blues limped.
Stroking, bending down, Nahal's favorite,
And, voluptuously agitated, impudent
He lay on his back and wagged his tail.
2.
In strict order, at an accelerated pace
Houndsmen go over the hills and ravines.
It began to grow light; passing through the village
Smoke rises to the sky
The herd is chasing, with a painful groan
Ochep creaks (forbidden by law);
The women from the windows look fearfully,
"Look, dogs!" The boys are screaming...
Here they go up the hill slowly.
Wonderful distance opens to the eye:
The river below, under the mountain, runs,
The greenery of the valley glistens with frost,
And beyond the valley, slightly whitish,
A forest illuminated by a striped dawn.
But indifferently meet the psari
A bright ribbon of fiery dawn,
And the awakened nature of the picture
Not one of them enjoyed it.
“To Banniki,” the landowner shouted, “throw it!”
The wrestlers are driving apart,
And the leader of the dog team,
A screamer-reacher hid in the island.
God gave him an enviable throat:
That will blow a deafening horn,
That will shout: “Get there, dogs!
Don’t give him, the thief, a wheelbarrow!”
It will yell: “Go-ho-ho! - that! - that!! - that!!!"
So they found it - they poured on the trail.
Varom-cooks a boiled flock,
The landowner listens, enthusiastically melting,
A spirit is engaged in a powerful chest,
Hearing basks in wondrous harmony!
Littermates musical barking
Takes the soul to that ideal world,
Where there are no payments to the Board of Trustees,
There are no restless police officers!
The choir is so melodious, melodic and even,
What is your Rossini! what is your Beethoven!
3.
Closer and barking, and squealing and screaming -
A brisk mainland hare flew out!
The landowner yelled and rushed into the field ...
That is the expanse of the landowner's will!
Through streams, gullies and ditches
Rushing furiously, do not feel sorry for the head!
In stormy movements - the greatness of power,
The voice is imbued with the power of passion,
Eyes burn with noble fire -
Something wonderful happened to him!
Here he will not be afraid, here he will not give in,
Here Croesus won't buy it for millions!
Violent prowess knows no barriers,
Death or victory - not a step back!
Death or victory! (But where, if not in a storm,
And turn around Slavic nature?)
The beast sucks - and in mortal anguish
Weeping landowner, crouched to the bow.
The beast was caught - he screams wildly,
Instantly otpazonchil, he sticks around,
Proud of the luck of your favorite fun,
In a hare's tail wipes armor
And freezes, bowing his head
To the neck of a foam-covered horse.
4.
They poisoned a lot, jumped a lot,
Hounds were thrown from island to island,
Suddenly failure: Fierce and Terzai
They rushed into the herd, Rugai followed them,
Following them Ugar and Chamomile -
And they tore the lamb to pieces in a minute!
The master ordered the rebels to be whipped,
He himself spoke harshly to them.
Dogs jumped, snarled and howled
And they fled when they were let in.
Rheuma - the ill-fated shepherd roars,
Behind the forest, someone swears aloud.
The master shouts: "Shut up, animal!"
The brisk kid is not appeased.
The master got angry and jumps to the cry,
Cowardly - and falls at the feet
and a man.
The master drove off - the man started up,
Scolding again; the bartender is back
The master waved a rapnik angrily -
The brawler barked: “Sentry! Guard!"
A beaten guy pursued for a long time
The master with his poisonous scolding:
“We will beat you up with a cudgel
Together with your vociferous lackey!
But already the angry master did not listen,
Sitting down on a haystack, he ate hazel grouse,
I threw bones to Nahala, and to the kennel
He handed over the flask, having tasted it himself.
The psari drank - and were gloomy silent,
Horses chewed hay from a haystack,
And in blood-stained mustaches
Hares were licked by hungry dogs.
5.
So rested, continue the hunt,
They jump, porskat and poison without counting.
Meanwhile, time passes imperceptibly,
The dog changes, and the horse gets tired.
A gray mist falls over the valley,
The red sun has half set
And showed up on the other side
Essay on a lifeless white moon.
Dismounted from horses; waiting by the haystack
The hounds are knocked down, summoned with three horns,
And repeat the echo of the forests
Wild sounds of discordant horns.
It's getting dark soon. quick step
They go home through the hills and ravines.
When crossing a muddy stream,
Throwing the reins, watering the horses -
Greyhounds are happy, yappers are happy:
We got into the water up to our ears!
Seeing a herd of horses in the field,
A stallion neighs under one of the kennels...
We finally got to our overnight stay.
In the heart of the landowner, joy and bliss -
Many hare souls have been lost.
Glory to the diligent rut yapkush!
Knocking out timid animals from the forest,
You honestly served, faithful flock!
Glory to you, unchanging Nahal, -
You are like a desert wind flying!
Glory to you, rezvonozhka Pobedka!
Jumped briskly, you caught aptly!
Glory to the zealous and violent horses!
Glory to the survivor, glory to the kennel!
6.
Having drunk fairly, having dinner densely,
The master goes to sleep carefree,
Tomorrow tells himself to wake up earlier.
It's a wonderful thing to jump and poison!
Almost half the world in itself combining,
Russia stretched wide, dear!
We have many forests and fields,
There are many animals in our country!
We have no ban on the open field
Amuse the steppe and violent will.
Blessed is he who surrenders himself to power
Military fun: he knows passion,
And to gray hair young impulses
It will be preserved, beautiful and alive,
Black thought will not come to him,
In idle peace, the soul does not fall asleep.
Who does not like dog hunting,
He will fall asleep in himself and destroy his soul.
In different regions, the terms of the hunting season for different animals are different. On the territory of the Leningrad region, hunting for a hare and a fox opens from October 1 and continues until the end of February. And hunting for these animals with hounds and greyhounds can be started a little earlier - from mid-September. In the same period, they begin to issue hunting permits, which must be obtained when going out into the fields along with a valid hunting license. But the optimal time for hunting with dogs will come a little later, when a thin layer of the first snow falls, on which both the tracks and the animal's beds will be visible.
The only trapping breed that itself completes the entire cycle from tracking prey to catching it is the Russian Borzoi. Therefore, any tests in greyhounds are equated with hunting, while when testing the working qualities of most dogs of other hunting breeds, the extraction of an animal is completely optional, and tests on both decoy and free animals, followed by the issuance of diplomas and awards, can be carried out all year round.
Calm and phlegmatic at home, in the field the Russian canine greyhound is radically transformed - it becomes active and reckless. At the same time, few of the four-legged brethren can demonstrate similar strength and speed. Dog breeders say that the greyhound is able to cope with a powerful mastiff and catch up with a swift whippet. But to achieve good results, like any athlete (and a greyhound is an athlete), she needs a strict training schedule. And if you go out into the field with an unprepared, "taken off the couch" dog, then you can "burn" it, planting its heart and lungs in a few jumps. Of course, a tight training regime is established exclusively for "working" dogs, which are able to please not only with their amazing beauty at exhibitions.
And since there is very little time from the opening of the season to the start of the tests, and the weather can present an unpleasant surprise at any moment (after all, it is far from possible to go out with dogs in the field in any weather), there are no free weekends for greyhounds in the near future. In total, it turns out that only 2-3 months a year are allotted for training, and even less in the conditions of our region.
Events dedicated to the opening of the season, with the departure of several packs in the field - a tradition of many clubs. True, there are very few animals left in the Leningrad Region (mostly when hunting with greyhounds they are guided by a hare). So you have to travel with dogs to remote regions, where it is better with a beast: Crimea, Krasnodar Territory. But nevertheless, during the next trip out of town, if you're lucky, you have a chance to observe from the sidelines the well-coordinated work of a pack of greyhounds, which, stretched out in a line (in hunting terminology, it is called "levelling"), combs the fields in the hope of "raising" hare.
"Master's" dogs
Aristocratic, elegant, refined, graceful - all these epithets are indispensable in the story of Russian canine greyhounds, which are invariably associated with royalty, palace interiors and masterpieces of famous painters who loved to depict greyhounds on their canvases. The very name “canine” Russian greyhounds received from the word “psovina”, which means “wavy silky hair”.
As the old saying goes, “Falconry is royal, dog hunting is lordly, and gun hunting is kennel hunting.” The killing of animals with a gun, since the time of Ivan the Terrible, was considered a shameful act among the nobles. They hunted only with dogs or birds of prey - falcons and hawks, and those who went hunting with guns were called "skin hunters". In dog hunting, it was not so much the prey of the beast that was important, but the splashing of energy, excitement and the competitive process - whose pack is faster and more lovable.
“Hound hunting, the dashing pastime of our ancestors, still delights the hearts of hunters who value the precepts of antiquity, support the breeds of bloodline greyhounds and hounds and all the traditions of this noble pastime both in the rules of riding with complete hunts and in the strict use of the hunting language ( terminology) in stories or descriptions of these hunts, - wrote General D.P. Valtsov in his book, published a hundred years ago. - During the time of serfdom until 1861, when most of the nobles lived on their estates, there were no greyhounds in a rare manor estate. Wealthy hunters kept complete hunts, that is, a flock, and sometimes two, of hounds that set the beast from its forest shelters (islands) into clean fields, and a different number of greyhound packs, depending on the size of the hunt, chasing and catching the beast put into the fields . To what a large scale some landowners brought their hunts is evident from the example of the Smolensk hunter Samsonov, who had a kennel set of 1,000 dogs and who proudly signed: "the first hunter of Russia." Hunters were poorer than only a few packs of greyhounds.
For many years, D.P.Valtsov was the manager of the famous Pershinsky dog hunting (late XIX - early XX centuries), which belonged to Emperor Nikolai Nikolayevich Romanov. It was known not only in Russia, but also abroad, having become a kind of standard in its composition and organization, despite the fact that it arose after the end of the “golden age” of domestic canine hunting.
In 1861, after the abolition of serfdom, a period of their decline began, when even the most avid hunters were forced to significantly reduce the number of dogs. And after the revolution of 1917, Russian canine greyhounds were declared "master's" dogs, which must be exterminated. Most of the livestock was taken abroad, and all the buildings on the hunting grounds were destroyed and burned. And only in the 90s of the twentieth century, the Russian canine greyhound reasserted itself, and clubs engaged in breeding them began to emerge. However, today, according to experts, only enthusiasts are engaged in keeping and breeding Russian greyhounds. The number of dogs of this unique ancient breed has been declining in recent years, giving way to dogs of decorative breeds. After all, in order to raise and train a greyhound, you need not only to be ready to devote all your free time to it, but, perhaps, even completely change your lifestyle. Often greyhounds sell apartments in the city and buy a house in an area where the dogs will be much more comfortable.
With the onset of October, dogs start leaving for testing and hunting in the fields, - Igor Batig, president of the Tsarskaya Zabava club, told OK-inform. - In the off-season, when there are no hunts and trials, dogs are happy to participate in cross-country competitions and coursing. This is quite a spectacular event and at the same time a good training for dogs. For a greyhound, communication with the owner, family members, human friends is very important. The owner does not train the greyhound in any case - he educates her. She does not tolerate pressure on herself. It is much easier to negotiate with her, if we take into account not only her needs, but sometimes her wishes. Then she will become your second "I" and give you her tender soul.
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Dictionary of the canine hunter
Greedy for the beast - a greyhound, recklessly and stubbornly pursuing the beast.
A breeder is a hunter engaged in breeding, raising and raising thoroughbred dogs.
To fall in the field - to get an animal or game on the hunt.
They laid down - the greyhound galloped in the direction of the beast's run.
Complete dog hunting - hunting with a full set of greyhounds, hounds, horses and attendants.
Red beast - fox, wolf.
Red field - hunting with greyhounds, when it was possible to take a wolf or a fox.
Dashing - a greyhound of exceptional agility, overtaking with lightning speed and reliably taking, capable of catching up with any animal on any ground.
Field - hunting with greyhounds or hounds.
Field trials - checking (examination) of the hunting qualities of dogs, as well as determining their suitability as producers.
Poimista is a greyhound, taking the beast without a miss.
Pickle - miss the beast.
Leveling - a line of hunters with greyhounds in packs, walking (or riding a horse) at a certain distance from each other (in this way they comb the area). Before whom the beast rises, he sets off a pack.
Pack - 1) greyhounds walking with a hunter, from one to four; 2) any number of greyhounds belonging to one person; 3) a combination of greyhounds, a horse and a hunter as a hunting unit; 4) a belt-pack on which greyhounds are led.
Match - pick up greyhounds in a pack for the same agility.
"With the field!" - an appeal to a hunter who has obtained a bird or beast.
Photo by Elena Kurakina.
Unusual adventures of the Austrians in Russia, or what Herberstein saw
It seems that many books and articles have been written on the history of dog hunting, on the origin of Russian greyhounds. The number and volume of sources could be the envy of any other breed of hunting dogs. However, in order to get a more or less clear picture of events, one must not only read, but also, by comparing, analyze what has been read.
With surprising ease, some authors speak of greyhounds in the dowry of the Kievan princess Anna Yaroslavna (XI century) and at the same time assert that the Russian canine greyhound owes its birth to the Mongol-Tatar conquerors.
The same breeders with the same fervor promote the strictest selection for the first signs of bloodlines, while at the same time extolling Yermolov's "Description" (1888), full of compromises regarding mixed greyhounds.
Why is this happening? Where do myths come from and why are they so tenacious? It seems interesting to me, step by step, to analyze the mistakes and misconceptions of a number of popular authors, often leading the reader to an erroneous, or even completely absurd interpretation of the history of canine hunting and the Russian canine greyhound breed.
I am going to tell about this and many other things in my future monograph. In the meantime, I suggest readers of the magazine "Hunting and Fishing XXI Century" to get acquainted with one of its chapters dedicated to "Notes on Muscovy" by Sigismund Herberstein. This widely known source in Russia and in the West has been addressed by many authors, ancient and modern. But the conclusions that they made were so strange and inexplicable that one can only doubt whether they read these very “Notes” on which they rely in their conclusions ?!
So, the diplomat of the Holy Roman Empire, Baron Sigismund Herberstein (1486-1566), twice visited Moscow on an embassy mission: in 1517 and 1526. He left detailed travelogues Notes on Muscovy, which became a real bestseller and went through dozens of editions during the author's lifetime. The notes contain a detailed description of Russian dog hunting at the court of Father Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Ioannovich III.
Two author's editions of Notes on Muscovy have survived to this day - the Latin edition of 1556 and the German edition of 1557. In addition, Herberstein's Autobiography has been preserved, which in many respects supplements both editions of the Notes. Using the publication of "Notes on Muscovy", carried out in 1988 by the Moscow State University publishing house and containing both (Latin and German) author's editions of the book and the autobiography of its creator, I will try to acquaint the reader with the most complete description of the Moscow Grand Duke hunting.
A few words about Herberstein himself. Brilliantly educated, fluent in the main European languages and having been on diplomatic missions at almost all European courts and even met with the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Sigismund Herberstein, during his two trips to Muscovy, managed, by his own admission, to learn spoken Russian , which allowed him "in the description of Russia to consciously use Russian words when designating objects, areas and rivers." It can be assumed that this was largely facilitated by the knowledge of the diplomat - a native of Styria (Steiermark) of the Slovenian language, which was native to a significant part of the population of this Austrian duchy.
Herberstein arrived in Moscow from Vienna to mediate in Russian-Polish affairs, as an envoy of Emperor Maximilian I. In the Muscovite state, he encountered well-established, but unknown to the ambassador, canine hunting and local breeds of hunting dogs, with which he did not fail to acquaint the European reader.
A little background. Vasily Ioannovich III (1479-1533) began to hunt from early youth and spent the autumn months in the outgoing fields near Mozhaisk, Volok Lamsky or in the villages near Moscow - Ostrov, Vorobiev and Vorontsovo. The tradition of opening a dog hunt on the day of St. Simeon the Stylite, or Semyonov Day, which resulted in the 19th century. in the "holiday of hunters, the first outgoing field", is rooted in those distant times: in 1519, Vasily III hunted "in Voloka from September 14 to October 26."
In 1496, the Grand Duke organized a special court institution - the Stable Order, to which not only the Grand Duke's riding and draft horses, carriages, but also hunting birds, "amusing" hunting dogs, hunting tools and various hunting utensils were transferred. The decree on the creation of the Stable Order speaks in detail about the rules and terms of hunting, its rituals. At the head of the new Order could be "the first boyar with rank and honor", who received the post of Sovereign Stable boyar. And in 1509, another Order appears - the Stalker.
Accordingly, the rank of Sovereign Hunt Boyar is also established. The first Hunter was the boyar Mikhail Ivanovich Nagoi, who served from 1509 to 1525.
In the year of the first visit of Baron Herberstein to Moscow (1517), having concluded a trade agreement with the Danes, Vasily Ioannovich sent as a gift to the King of Denmark Christian II several Russian greyhounds from the kennel of the Hunt Order, which Christian, in turn, presented to the French king Francis I.
Note that all these events refer to the time when, from the point of view of Kishinsky (and Sabaneev), there was no Russian dog hunting and could not be! Indeed, before the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, there were still decades, namely, after this event, accompanied by the “settlement of the Tatars” in Russian lands and the breeding of their greyhounds with local dogs, the history of the formation of the Russian greyhound began, as the authors saw.
What did a foreign diplomat invited by Vasily III to the "sovereign's fun" see in 1517 in the vicinity of Moscow?
“Near Moscow [half a mile or a mile from it] (hereinafter in square brackets the text from the German edition of Zapisok - A.O.) there is a place overgrown with bushes and very convenient for hares; in it, as if in a hare's nursery, there is a great multitude of hares, and no one dares to catch them, as well as cut bushes there, for fear of the most severe punishment. The sovereign also breeds a huge number of hares in animal pens and other places ... He has a lot of hunters, each of whom leads two dogs ... Fast dogs are kept in front, they call them "kurtzen" (kurtzen).
“... Arriving at the place of hunting, the sovereign turned to us, saying that they have a habit whenever he is on a hunt and his fun, to him and other good people to lead hunting dogs with their own hands; he advised us to do the same. Then he assigned to each of us two people, each of whom led a dog, so that we could use them for our amusement. To this we replied that we gratefully accepted his real mercy, and that the same custom existed among us. [So noble gentlemen lead dogs themselves when hunting.] He resorted to this reservation because they consider a dog to be an unclean animal and it is shameful [for an honest person] to touch it with a bare hand. Meanwhile, almost a hundred people [on foot] lined up in a long line; half of them were dressed in black, half in yellow. Horsemen stopped not far from them, blocking the way for the hares to escape. At first, no one was allowed to release hunting dogs except Shih-Ali and us.
“The sovereign was the first to shout to the hunter, ordering him to start; he immediately rushes at full gallop to the other hunters, whose number was great. After that, they all begin to shout with one voice and lower the dogs, Molossians (molossi) and bloodhounds (odoriferi). It was a great pleasure to hear the manifold barking of such a great pack. And the sovereign has a great many dogs, and, moreover, excellent ones. Some, called “kurtzi”, are used only for baiting hares, very beautiful, with shaggy ears and tails, as a rule, bold, but not suitable for chasing and running over long distances. When a hare appears, they release three, four, five, or even more dogs that attack him from everywhere ... When the hunt began, I took one dog for a reason ... I began to poison the hare that I got, only then when he ran far enough. However, I caught few of them. Dogs can't stand a long chase."
“When the dogs are overtaken, the hunters all shout: “Oh-ho! Ho! Ho!" - as if hunted down a big deer. A lot of hares were caught, and when they were taken down in a heap, they asked me: “How many are there?”. I replied: “More than a thousand,” which they were very pleased with, although there were not even three hundred.” (According to Herberstein, the more Vasily III catches them, "... with the greater, in his opinion, fun and honor will end the day.")
“In the same way, one could see how the sovereign himself applauded the ambassador (i.e. Herberstein - A.O.), whose dog caught a lot of hares.
Let us now see how the description left by Herberstein corresponds to the stories about dog hunting in Russia in the late 19th - early 19th century. XX centuries other authors.
As we know, traditionally, participants in dog hunts were divided into two groups: greyhound hunters - hunters with greyhounds and vyzhlyatnikov, or kennel - with hounds. The greyhounds, having taken places along the perimeter of the forest, bush, swamp or ravine, into which the hounds were launched, poisoned the animals put out of the island into the open space, while the greyhounds had to strive with all their might to help their hounds to induce and force them to leave the island as much as possible. the number of the beast.
For this purpose, the coloring of the hunting dress of greyhounds and vyzhyatnikov also served. The dark clothes of the greyhounds helped them go unnoticed by the beast and let it in at the “measured” distance necessary for successful persecution, and the bright costumes of the greyhounds frightened the hares trying to stock up and hide. The yellow and black colors of clothes, marked by the ambassador, remained quite traditional for canine hunters three centuries later.
Incidentally, Herberstein's "Notes on Muscovy" offer the modern reader one more additional touch, indicating the continuity of the traditions of dog hunting - at the beginning of the 16th century, as well as many years later, moving to the hunting place, greyhounds go ahead of all other hunters (in Herberstein - "fast dogs are kept ahead").
In order for the beast not to leave the island without persecution, greyhounds were placed around the entire perimeter, and in the intervals between them - the remaining idle part of the foot or horse snipers, forming a virtually continuous chain. This rule was observed regardless of the size of the island or weaning. The hunt described by Herberstein in an area limited by foot and horse hunters from one to four thousand square meters draws us a classic example of island riding.
Dog hunting is not the modern field trial of greyhounds or hounds. Its main goal is, according to Gubin, “the destruction of any animal, i.e. wolf, fox and hare, and in every place accessible to hunting with greyhounds. Setting such a goal, the old canine hunters tried their best not to leave a single animal on the island and not to miss a single animal without persecution. And constantly, when driving in impassable places with limited visibility (and dense bushes are just such a place), reaching along with improvised skimmers with a deployed front, along with the hounds, they combed the island on foot, loudly chirping (that is, cheering exclamations) encouraging dogs to search in the climb. Hence the hunters on foot and the loud cries in Herberstein's description.
It is easy to see that there are special differences in the organization and conduct of dog hunting in the 16th and 19th centuries. we couldn't find it. It remains to answer the last question: what kind of dogs took part in the Grand Duke's hunt and what were the mysterious "kurtsy"?
It can be seen from the text that the ambassador divided the dogs he saw while hunting Vasily Ioannovich into two groups. He attributed to the first one molossi et odoriferi (it would be more correct to write: canes odorisequus), i.e. Molossian - etching and "sniffing" or "wind", and to the second - "fast" dogs, "named" kurtzi "(kurtzi)". Already from this it becomes clear that Herberstein did not see hounds and greyhounds in Russia in the understanding of these breeds accepted in the West. An inexperienced person is unlikely even today to catch the relationship between, say, the Russian hound and the Bloodhound. At first glance, there is no more in common between the Greyhound and the Russian canine. These dogs are fundamentally different in the manner of their work.
Therefore, being quite correct, the ambassador of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire gave the dogs he saw names that fully corresponded to their functions. In other words, speaking of "pickling and wind" dogs, Herberstein perfectly described the work of the hounds during the island ride. As we know, the hounds in the old days not only pursued the beast, driving it out of the island into the open area, using their instinct - “spirit”, but often independently caught (“poisoned”) the beast in the island.
The ambassador described the second group of dogs - “kurtzi” in much more detail. Since, as we know, European monarchs maintained close ties with Turkey, Persia, and the countries of the Middle East, and the ambassador visited all European courts, we can say with confidence that Russian dogs had no analogues in Europe and the Middle East . The ambassador notes not only that these dogs are very beautiful, but also repeatedly emphasizes their main feature - the inability to jump for a long time. Thus, we see that we are talking about a native breed of greyhounds, adapted to hunting in wooded areas. These dogs differed from their eastern and western neighbors by short work and drew attention to themselves with their beauty. And although the author's mention of "furry ears and tails" may suggest an oriental greyhound such as the Saluki, the author's characterization of dogs as frisky, but absolutely not hardy, strongly refutes this assumption.
What Herberstein says specifically about greyhounds follows from his own words: "fast dogs are kept ahead." This phrase is an exact translation of the Old Slavonic word "brazy". Having learned from the grand ducal hunters that they lead greyhounds, the author could not translate this word otherwise than “fast”.
When the diplomat began to ask about these dogs in more detail, he heard the word “kurtzi” in response. But neither in Russian, nor in Polish, nor in any other modern language, there is such a word. The question arises: did the translators and publishers of Notes on Muscovy correctly transliterate it into Russian as “kurts”?
Comparing “kurtzi” in the original source with other Russian words, for the transliteration of which into Latin Herberstein resorted to the same letter construction - “tz”, as suggested by O. Egorov, we will see that in most cases the author used it to convey the sound “ch ", and not at all "c". For example: "UgliTZ" - "UgliCh"; "tissuTZe" - "thousand"; "kreTZet" - "KreChet"; "japenTZe" - "epancha", etc. So, it will be quite fair to read “kurtzi” not “kurtsy” or “kurtsy”, but “kurchi”. The word “kurchi” has long existed in the West Slavic language and, being a derivative of the well-known “hort”, denoted a greyhound dog.
In the so-called Lithuanian status of 1529 - the first written code of feudal law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, written in West Slavonic, in article 12 "The price of dogs", dedicated to the "imposition", i.e. compensation for the theft or murder of a dog, the section "On robbery and imposition" we can read: "... and for kurcha ten kopecks of pennies ...".
Here it is worth mentioning that in the language of the peoples who inhabited the borders of Kievan, Novgorod, and later Moscow Rus, the word "greyhounds" in its modern meaning did not yet exist. The adjective "borzoi" was used until the 16th century. only to indicate the speed of the horses. But along with this, we meet the ancient word "hort" or "khrt", meaning a greyhound dog, a hunting dog.
Similar words existed in addition to Old Church Slavonic and in the languages of other related peoples: chrt and chrtice (feminine gender) (Czech), chart (Pol.), hart or hert (Bosn.), hrt or rt (Serb.), chrt (words .), khirt (ukr.), kurch (white), etc. In all cases, they designate precisely greyhounds. In addition, consonant words are also found in the languages of the neighboring Baltic peoples: hurtta (Fin.), hurt (Est.), Kurtas (Lit.) - a hunting dog.
All of them, according to Professor A. Alqvist, are borrowed from the Russian or Lithuanian language. According to linguists, the word "hort" is close in origin to the German Windhund, which literally means: a dog as fast as the wind. It is likely that four centuries ago all these words were much closer in pronunciation than they are today.
In order not to go far for an example, we note that the imperial envoy himself is called “Zhigimont” in Russian official correspondence and annals of that time.
Suggestive and another characteristic of dogs - "as a rule, bold." It is clear that the hare's "fun" did not give the slightest opportunity to be convinced of the courage of the dogs, and this characterization itself looks out of place in the context of the story. So isn't the word "bold" an exact translation of another well-known characteristic of greyhounds, such as "daring"? In this case, Herberstein's phrase - "as a rule, dashing, but not suitable for pursuit and long-distance running" takes on a completely different semantic meaning.
From the editorial archive
What should a real dog hunter be like and why is hunting with greyhounds a purely Russian fun? Prince Boris Vasilchikov, an associate of Stolypin, the governor of Pskov and a passionate "greyhound" tells about the rules, traditions and spirit of dog hunting.
Dog hunting, unlike all other types of hunting, was a purely Russian phenomenon, original, unparalleled in any other country and among any other people. Everywhere they hunt with hounds, in many places they poison the beast with greyhounds, but dog hunting was a combination of both: the hounds drive the beast out of the forest and, when it is in the field, it is poisoned by greyhounds. This simultaneous use of hounds and greyhounds is a feature of dog hunting, for which there is not even a suitable expression in foreign languages.
Dog hunting is undoubtedly an accessory of the life of the former rich nobility. It required large spaces for its existence; that freedom, which even before the revolution was rapidly disappearing in the central provinces under the influence of population growth, the fragmentation of landed property, the intensification of arable farming, etc.
In those days, the gentlemen themselves never led greyhounds and each had a special stirrup, and some had two, of which one in turn and by order poisoned the beast. When I began to hunt myself and began to personally lead dogs, my father was unfriendly to this and saw this as an innovation, a departure from the traditions, which, despite his progressiveness in many respects, he very much adhered to in matters of hunting.
In any dispute between canine and gun hunters, the latter usually try to convince that in gun hunting success depends entirely on the skill of the hunter himself, and in canine hunting everything seems to be in the quality of dogs, and that, therefore, you just need to buy good dogs, which is available to every rich person, and he already becomes a dog hunter. Such an opinion is deeply mistaken.
First, we must agree on what is meant by the word "hunt"? In Russian, the meaning of this word is wider than in its exact translation "chasse" or "jagd". The Russian language knows such expressions as "trotting hunting", "pigeon hunting", and in this application this word has nothing to do with the concept of extermination, but, on the contrary, contains the concept of reproduction. Any reproduction of animals and birds, any "breeding" (horse breeding, poultry breeding, cattle breeding) is very apt to turn from a purely economic matter into a partly sporting matter and even into a passion.
In a true canine hunter, the passion for dog breeding prevailed over the passion of a hunter in the narrow sense of the word, and to designate a hunter who found satisfaction in one persecution of an animal, there was a contemptuous name "skin hunter". Canine hunters, whose names were pronounced with the addition of “big” or “famous”, were certainly dog breeders, and they gained their fame not by the number of hunted animals, but thanks to the breed of canine dogs they bred (“Kareevsky”, “Machevaryanovsky”, “Protasevsky” greyhounds, "Pershin" greyhounds and hounds, named after the estate of Pershino, in which the famous hunting of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was located).
A true canine hunter will not experience from hunting with other people's dogs even a shadow of the pleasure that he experiences from hunting with his own dogs, bred by himself and justifying the hopes placed on them.
It was possible to buy two or three good dogs, but it was always impossible to make a whole hunt of greyhounds and hounds recruited from the forest and from the pine, even in modern times, when the old prejudice disappeared that it was shameful for a hunter to trade in dogs. Therefore, those who think that in order to become a dog hunter, it is enough to mount a horse and take two dogs in a pack: you need to skillfully pick up a horse, and lead your dogs, and you need to skillfully move in with the beast. And that it is not so easy to bring out your own dogs, which would serve you as fun, anyone familiar with animal husbandry in any of its forms will understand; this requires time, and knowledge, and experience, and most importantly, you need to arm yourself with patience in order to persistently endure the inevitable mistakes and disappointments.
To his successes and disappointments as a dog breeder, the dog hunter is very sensitive, and on this basis a competition is established between brothers in passion, which, manifesting itself both at home when examining dogs, and in the field, hunting, and at cages and exhibitions, if it takes place in sports spirit and among well-bred people, captivates and fills with content everything that is closely connected with dog hunting as a well-known sport.
From under the greyhounds, wolves are usually taken alive, “stringed”, as it is called. These wolves are kept alive in specially arranged wolves, and "cages" are arranged on them, i.e. artificial baiting, which teaches young dogs to take wolves. This ability is not assigned to all greyhounds; it is called "malice" and consists in taking, firstly, "according to the place", i.e. in the neck or in the ear, so that the wolf, defending himself, could not injure the dog, and secondly, to take what is called "deadly" with a death grip, without breaking away until the wolf is accepted by the greyhound. The combination of the serious matter of elections with the seemingly wild fun of "sadki" may now seem strange to many, but in those days noble elections, in which once every three years noblemen from all over the province gather in the provincial city, were always accompanied by all sorts of celebrations, dinners, balls, performances, and for connoisseurs of strong sensations, “mounts” on wolves could be a welcome entertainment.
Compiled on the basis of the memoirs of Prince Boris Vasilchikov, chapter "Something about hunting in general and canine hunting in particular."
Departure fields, the sounds of hunting horns, graceful packs of greyhounds, flocks of black-backed, crimson, black-and-white hounds, brocade caftans, scarlet jackets - all this was a long time ago, infinitely long ago, and that hunting life of our ancestors, in their original form, alas, will never will not come back. They were surprisingly beautiful and sometimes gloomy and silent - all these dexterous, reaching, stirrup, vyzhlyatniks, hounds, screamers. They treated hunting and everything that surrounded her with great love. The old Russian hunting embodied their dream of freedom and will. Their beauty was in a blood relationship with nature: with grain-growing fields, with copses dressed in autumn gold, with quiet backwaters, with sunset distances and clouds floating in the heavenly heights. The beauty of the action itself was also in the fact that all this was native Russia ...
It's time, it's time! Horns blow;
Psari in hunting gear
Why are they sitting on horseback,
Greyhounds jump on packs...
A. S. Pushkin
The history of Russian dog hunting, and primarily with greyhounds and hounds, is one of the most important pages of the past of our Fatherland, inseparable from the culture, traditions, customs and mores of Russian society. The very name “Russian canine greyhound” sounds the breadth and freedom of Russian open spaces, the antiquity of this unique breed sounds: “canine” - canine (obsolete) wool; "Greyhound" - frisky, that is, fast-running. Dog hunting, with its centuries-old traditions, is a whole layer of not only Russian but world history and culture.
N.K. Roerich. Prince hunting. Morning. 1910 
Thanks to the works of art by Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dryyansky, Machevarianov, the scientific works of Gubin, Rosen, Sabaneev, Reut, Kishinsky and others, picturesque and detailed pictures of old national hunts have been preserved, written in an original language that vividly conveys all the passions that once boiled while baiting the beast graceful greyhounds, swift hounds, dashing greyhounds.
S.S. Voroshilov. Hunting with hounds. Chuvash State Art Museum, Cheboksary
Even in the most ancient Russian sources, we meet the word "fishing". In the "Initial Chronicle", dated 1071, it is said that Prince Vsevolod near Vyshgorod in the forests "did animal catches, swept the net." In the teachings of Vladimir Monomakh, it is said that all his life he worked “fishing”, “he himself kept a hunting outfit”, that is, hunting - a stable of hawks and falcons. In the annals there are indications that already in the 12th century under Vladimir Monomakh "the animals were poisoned by dogs."
The first Europeans to see the outlandish Russian hunting dogs were the French, who in the 11th century brought to Paris not only the new bride of their king Henry I - Anna Yaroslavna, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kyiv, but also three canine greyhounds.
Alexander Gorbikov Russian hunting 2006
Vasily III was a passionate canine hunter, who went with dogs to hunt a hare. When the hunt was not entirely successful, he took his soul with cages (for a decoy hare). Up to 300 riders took part in such cages. In 1509, Vasily III formed a special Hunting Order at the court, which was in charge of “all kinds of amusing dogs, greyhounds, hounds” and from which he sent several of his greyhounds as a gift to the Danish king Christian II.
The son of Vasily III - Ivan the Terrible, like his father, loved dog hunting and observed the same crowd and splendor in its organization.
N.E. Sverchkov. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with boyars falconry near Moscow. 1873. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
After the end of the Time of Troubles, the new Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich faced an unexpected problem - there was not a single dog in his Hunting Order. Some died during the occupation of Moscow by the Poles, the other was taken away by the retreating gentry. It was necessary in 1619 to send "two hunters and three horse kennels" to the lands near Novgorod and Vologda. After a couple of years, life in the kennels of the Hunting Order began to boil with renewed vigor.
Alexei Mikhailovich, who replaced Mikhail Fedorovich on the Russian throne, was also fond of hunting. Loving orderly order, harmony and "rank" in everything, the Quietest personally wrote in 1656 a detailed instruction for his falconers - "The constable or the New Code and the arrangement of the order of the Falconer's Ways." The period of his reign also includes the appearance of the first book dedicated to complete hunting - “Hunting regulation, belonging to dog hunting” (circa 1635), written by a certain Christian von Lesin. 
N.E. Sverchkov. Hunting with greyhounds. 1889. Private collection
Peter the Great was not fond of hunting. He introduced other, European amusements for the nobility - assemblies with dances and issued a decree: “Near Moscow, in nearby places with their people through the fields and in them with a dog hunt so that they don’t go.”
But Elizabeth and Peter II were passionately ill and devoted themselves entirely to dog hunting, devoting a lot of time and money to it. Under Peter II, the Imperial kennel consisted of 420 greyhounds, 200 hounds, and there were 70 servants with dogs.
Hunting in Ropsha. 1857. Ulyanovsk Art Museum, Ulyanovsk
Paying tribute to fashion, hunting in Russia more and more became the main entertainment of nobles and landowners. By the end of the 18th century, huge kennels appeared, in which there were thousands of dogs. L.P. Sabaneev writes about this: “In those days, almost every independent landowner, especially in the provinces near Moscow, made it his duty to keep greyhounds and hounds, sometimes in significant numbers - hundreds.”
In Catherine's time, the owners of large kennels were known and noble, such as Prince G.F. Baryatinsky - the owner of the then famous thick-dog dog "The Beast", who alone, without a pack, took a seasoned wolf, Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky - the owner of greyhounds of all breeds . Orlov-Chesmensky, the same one who bred the Oryol breed of horses, also owned the initiative to set up a cage in Moscow (for a wolf, a hare), for which invitations were sent out in advance throughout Russia. 
Sergey Potapov Dog hunting 2006
The significance of hunting was then great from a political point of view. Many important state and interstate affairs were decided during them. For this purpose, foreign ambassadors and major diplomats were often invited to the sound of a hunting horn. The fate of an entire state sometimes depended on a successful hunt.
Throughout the 18th century, there was an exchange of blood borzois with Polish and Courland nobles. And in the 19th century, aristocrats from Western Europe began to buy our greyhounds. At the same time, the first clubs of Russian greyhound lovers were created in England and Germany. Since the second half of the 19th century, Russian greyhounds have already spread widely throughout Europe and America. Numerous nurseries specializing in breeding this breed have appeared. Thanks to its refined aristocratic appearance and docile nature, the greyhound quickly won the sympathy of foreign dog breeders, who saw in it no longer a hunting dog, but a show dog and a companion dog.
The "golden age" of domestic dog hunting ends with the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861. The owners of large kennels lost their serf kennels and the number of kennels was sharply reduced. They were preserved at that time only among the true lovers of Russian dog hunting.
Mikhail Dianov Hunting trip 2007
The centuries-old tradition of hunting with dogs has firmly entered the mentality of Russian society in pre-revolutionary Russia. Scientific works were devoted to dog hunting, specialized magazines were published, where lovers argued about the exteriors of dogs, about the order of hunting, shared stories about their leisure time in the fields. In 1873, the "Imperial Society for the Breeding of Game and Game Animals and Proper Hunting" was created, which began to organize exhibitions, show the work of dogs for playfulness and malice, with prizes and incentives. 
Nikolai Komarov Royal Hunt
The history of Russian canine hunting keeps the memory of outstanding connoisseurs-craftsmen, artists of their craft. These are Feopen Ivanovich from E. E. Dryyansky’s Notes of a Small Herb, Danilo from L. N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”, Akimka from F. A. Svechin’s story “Two Souls”, Leonty from the story of I. A. Bunin “ Huntsman, the tsarist hunter V.R. Dits, famous throughout Russia, the famous Pershinsky hunters of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Romanov - Efim Aleksanov and Mikhail Mamkin, this is the mysterious magician and wizard "B" from the story of N. N. Karamzin " Canine hunting”, efficient hunters from the hunt of K. V. Sumarokov, M. I. Alekseev and N. P. Pakhomov – Krasov, Pavlov, Milovanov and Nikitin and many others…
In the second half of the 19th century, in the village of Pershino, Tula province, the Pershinsky Dog Hunting of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke N. N. Romanov was created. Contemporaries noted that Pershinsky hunting was the only canine hunting in Russia at that time on such a large scale, with such thoroughbred dogs, with such knowledgeable hunters and with such a device for leading dogs. 
Alexey Shalaev Russian dog hunting (sketch) 2007
Pershinsky hunting consisted of 365 dogs, including 125 Russian canine greyhounds, 15 English greyhound greyhounds and two packs of hounds of 45 dogs each: one pack of crimson Russian blood, the other - nightingale-piebald (white with marks). Pershinsky "bloods" were supported by young animals - there were constantly about 100 puppies in the hunt, mostly greyhounds and hounds.
This hunt was known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. People from Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, England, the USA came here to buy elite hunting dogs of the Pershinsky type, to participate in the hunt ...
Alexander Sychev Wolf hunting 2004
“Thirty versts from the city of Tula to the west, 4 versts from the large old Kaluga dirt road, on the elevated bank of the Upa River, the beautiful estate of His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich of Pershinsky’s estate is widely spread,” this is how his story begins about the Pershinsky imperial hunt in a monograph published in 1913 by General D. P. Valtsov, the manager of this hunt.
The estate in Pershin was built back in the time of Empress Catherine II by the famous Russian banker Lazarev. The old Russian word "estate" itself comes from the verb "plant": the tsar then "planted" service people on the ground and gave them the opportunity to arrange life in their own way. Once upon a time, Russia was decorated with estates, like a meadow with flowers. About the Russian estate, the poet Fet wrote: “This is a house and a garden arranged in the bosom of nature, when the human is one with the natural in the deepest, organic flowering and renewal, when the poetry of native nature develops the soul hand in hand with the beauty of the fine arts, and under the roof of a manor house a special music of domestic life arises, living in the change of labor activity and idle fun, joyful love and pure contemplation.
Alexander Sychev Hunting expectations 2003
Under Lazarev, a magnificent two-story palace was erected, and the temple built here in 1696 in the name of the Kazan Mother of God was put in order. In the future, the estate changed its owners several times. In 1887, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov acquired Pershino as a hunting residence. The estate was rebuilt, many new buildings appeared, including stables for thoroughbred horses, carriage and barnyards, kennels.
The palace flaunted against the dark background of an amazing park with centuries-old linden alleys, and in front of it, on a wide platform, flower beds were laid out with a circular path, poured out with crushed brick powder. Hunting dogs were led out along the path for the guests. Spectators admired such broods from the lower terrace.
The interior of the imperial hunting palace was designed according to the purpose of this residence. The walls of the vestibule are hung with hunting paintings and portraits of purebred dogs from Pershinsky hunting. Stuffed wolves stood on the landing of the stairs. In the large dining room on the second floor, the walls were decorated with medallions of the heads of bison, bears, wolves, lynxes, wild boars, elks, deer, goats, capercaillie. Stuffed huge bears stood in the corners, holding lamps in their raised paws, and at the balcony door there was a stuffed animal of a seasoned wolf baring its powerful fangs.
Many interesting hunting stories were heard by the walls of this dining room from the guests of the owner of the estate. But even more heated conversations and disputes were held in a room on the ground floor, called the "club". Greyhounds were examined here, deals were made for the sale of puppies, hunting was discussed. On the walls of the "club" hung portraits of the best producers of the Pershinsky hunt by the artist and passionate hunter G. K. von Meyer.
Vladimir Doronin
Already in 1898, the greyhounds of the Grand Duke began their victorious march through the exhibition rings in Russia and abroad. At the same time, few people could compete with them in the fields.
The type of Russian canine greyhound is a calm, balanced dog, the true character of which wakes up only at the sight of the beast rising in front of it. The Pershinsky greyhounds were distinguished by their special nobility of appearance, powerful frets, exquisitely shaped heads, dressing dogs and had exceptional agility. Among them were the so-called spiteful men who worked furiously for the wolf.
A real old dog hunt has always been a “complete” one: it consisted of a set that included 5-12 packs of greyhounds (20-36 dogs), a pack of hounds (18-40 dogs), as well as a whole staff serving the hunt and consisting of a senior in the hunt - hunter, greyhounds (with greyhounds), vyzhlyatnikov (with hounds), driving (senior over greyhounds), reaching (senior over vyzhlyatniks), stirrup (responsible for the greyhound packs of the owner of the hunt), several laborers-houndmasters, a special convoy for "departing fields ”, i.e. for hunting trips away from home, riding and draft horses.
In addition to greyhounds, the “set” of the Pershinsky hunt included a crimson flock of hounds, famous throughout Russia. According to the exterior, they were very tall, powerful hounds with excellent bones, rather dry, very well dressed, with a thick undercoat. The dogs of this pack were distinguished by malice and perfectly worked on the wolves. Many of them had voices with a bay. A flock of nightingale and piebald foxhound hounds worked here - mostly fox dogs.
Natalya Baronetskaya Royal Hunt 2007
N. P. Kashkarov, who repeatedly judged domestic hounds in the rings of Russia in those years, wrote: “Hounds of different breeds are common among Russian hunters, in the vast majority of mixed breeds; hounds of pure breeds are now almost never found ... Between modern hounds, a brilliant exception is the crimson flock of "Pershin" hounds ... "
Persh hunting was served by a whole range of livestock and poultry farming: blood herds of Swiss cows, English sheep, herds of Kabardian and Arden horses, Tamier pigs, Rouen ducks, French chickens, etc. - all this was kept in exemplary order and under the personal eye of the Great Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich. In addition, there were nine stone houses for greyhounds with rooms and kitchens, walking areas, kennels for hounds, a hospital for dogs and horses, a boarding house for "pensioners" - dogs that had worked out due to age or injuries.
Sergey Potapov Falconry 2006
In Pershin, old dogs were not destroyed. They were kept until death. And when the dog fell, she was supposed to have a separate grave and a cast-iron slab indicating: when she was born, when she fell, who her parents were. Strict tribal records and pedigree books were kept. In addition to local peasants, 78 former soldiers of the Life Guards of the Imperial Hussars worked here, headed by Grand Duke N. N. Romanov.
In the vicinity of the estate, a wolf-hut with an area of 10 hectares, with three ponds, a hare with an area of about 30 hectares and a pheasant house located on an area of more than 50 hectares were arranged. Wolves were brought to the wolf hut, hunted in autumn by greyhounds in the surrounding forests. Their separate maintenance was arranged there: a department for over-flyers (last year's wolves) and profitable ones (born this year). Young greyhounds and hounds were taught on the newly arrived wolves, they hunted with them in cages. About 3 thousand hares, regularly brought here from Siberia, were kept in the rabbitry. At least 2,000 pheasants were constantly kept in the pheasant farm.
In the monograph by D. P. Valtsov, we find information that a special train was used to transport people, horses, dogs, tents, kitchens, carriages and much more to the hunting place, consisting of 42 freight cars, including two passenger first and second classes . The Grand Duke himself and his guests arrived by separate train. 
Natalia Baronetskaya Hunt 2006
More than 100 greyhounds, the same number of foxhounds and rangers took part in the hunt. Horses for hunting were specially selected, as were packs of greyhounds and foxhounds. When the whole group arrived at the place where, according to preliminary data, there were wolves, plans were made, preparations were made and the hunt began.
The beaters, accompanied by a pack of foxhounds, drove the animal, usually a wolf, out of the forest into an open field, where mounted hunters were waiting for them at a respectful distance, each with a trio of greyhounds on a leash - one female and two males. When the beast showed up, the hunter let the dogs off the leash. The greyhounds chased the wolf, and the hunters rode after them. After an exciting chase, if the wolf failed to escape, the greyhounds had to grab it and keep it until the hunters arrived, who hurried at full speed to the place of the fight, so that, according to the custom, they immediately got involved in the fight, plugged the wolf's mouth and tied it. After that, the wolf was often released and, of course, the next time he behaved smarter and much more careful. A fascinating story about such a hunt can be read in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.
And what hunts Valtsov himself described! The heart stops when you read: “... the yellowish color of his coat and his head held high proved that the mainland favors me. Knowing the edge of the forest close behind me, I was very afraid to let the beast loose and, moving towards it, pointed it out to the dogs. I had three males of my own pack and among them the handsome Armavir. Noticing the sleeping dogs, the wolf turned to the left, and they had to get him in good measure through very deep snow. All three males rushed to him together and where they caught up, they laid him down, but I didn’t have time to drive up, the wolf broke and just rushed to the edge, when Golovin’s three dogs, who were in a hurry to help me, covered him; six dogs squeezed the wolf into the snow, forming a star, I was already three steps away from them, how, in an incomprehensible way for me, the wolf twisted out from under a bunch of dogs from below and, while they managed and rushed after him, moved away 30 steps and in all legs laid down to the edge.
A.S.Stepanov. Hunting. 1885. Memorial Museum-estate of the artist N.A. Yaroshenko, Kislovodsk
Many times I have seen persecution by the most vicious dogs of the blood of Nazim and Novikov, and always in such conditions seasoned wolves left; having broken after two tricks at a nearby edge, the mainland no longer allowed itself to be reached, especially along the heavy field, and then my heart trembled: “It will leave!”. But the playfulness of the Persh dogs again came to the rescue: the red bitch from Golovin’s pack flew out of a pile of dogs, pulled out a wolf with a terrible throw and hung on his neck, the males covered him and lifted him into the air at the feet of Golovin, who had jumped off the sleigh ... "
The First World War, the revolution and the civil war that followed them became a sad milestone in the history of domestic canine hunting and the development of hunting dog breeds. Keeping, for example, greyhounds at that time in Russia became almost impossible. Their main elite composition was taken abroad, and those who remained at home were declared "lordly" and subject to mass extermination.
N.E. Sverchkov. Horses and greyhounds
With the outbreak of war, the reduction of the Pershinsky hunt began, and the World Hunting Academy, as it was once called by numerous foreign guests, ended its existence in 1919. Most of the greyhounds were taken to Czechoslovakia, the hounds and the remaining greyhounds went to the hands of the local population.
This eradication of "bourgeois survivals" continued for more than 15 years. As a result, the Russian population of greyhounds and hounds suffered enormous damage. It seemed to many at that time that everything had gone to dust and domestic dog breeding could no longer be revived.
The October Revolution was a disaster for canine hunting and dog breeding. Was it up to dogs when they blew up temples and burned estates. For several years, the breed of domestic greyhounds practically died. And it's not that they killed out of hatred for the attribute of a class enemy. The population, hunters-traders dismantled dogs in the yards without any idea about the appraisal and selection work with them. But in a purebred dog, the main thing is “pure blood”.
It is possible to restore an architectural monument according to the drawings, but a line of breeding animals, even once having launched alien blood into it, will not return many generations to purity. Dissolved blood greyhounds at that time among the balls and tuzikov. There were greyhounds, but there were “selections”. The rescue and restoration of the wonderful breed, and with it the re-creation of Russian canine hunting, is a long, dramatic story.
The fate of the Russian hounds was somewhat more successful. And only because they were more adapted to the Russian climate and did not look as aristocratic as greyhounds.
As for the Russian greyhounds, it was only after the end of the Great Patriotic War that the first blood representatives of this breed, found in the nurseries of occupied Germany, returned to Soviet Russia. Then the gradual return of the Russian canine greyhound to his homeland began.
In 1962, the nursery "De Norois" was registered in Switzerland in the name of Ursula Vera Trueb. being hundreds of kilometers from Russia, the breeder of the kennel then, and then in the next more than 40 years, devoted herself to the preservation and breeding of the classic type of Russian greyhound. And before starting breeding greyhounds, this amazing woman studied the history and culture of Russia, visited Pershino. It is impossible to recreate the breed without getting acquainted with its origins, roots, as Ursula believed. Today, the positive impact of the De Norua kennel on the restoration and conservation of the number of greyhounds in our country, which already number several thousand, is well known.
An even more difficult task turned out to be the revival of the Pershinsky type of greyhounds, once famous all over the world ... Moscow, Rusich kennel, breeder Irina Korshunova: about twenty years ago, Irina brought a greyhound from Germany, the roots of which went to the dogs of the Pershinsky hunt. This dog was also of Pershin type. Today in the kennel it was possible to restore and consolidate this type of Russian greyhounds.
The metropolitan nursery "Lunnaya Raduga", breeder Elena Balakireva, today specializes in breeding thick-dog Russian greyhounds of the Pershinsky type and has the most titled pack of Russia.
Kennel "Borzoi Romanovs" (Moscow), breeder Inna Estrina, working in close contact with the nursery from Sweden "De Norua". It was from this nursery that Inna once brought Hurricane. It was a dog, a real hunter, full of dignity and some kind of masculine strength. Hurricane aroused respect for himself not with a formidable look and a roar that put everyone in their places, but there was something special in his large, expressive dark eyes that spoke of him as a person.
And some time later in this kennel, from the parents of the blood of the kennel "De Norua", a fiery-bred aristocrat, a black-and-tan male of the Pershinsky type Bursh was born .... So in Russia this type of Russian canine greyhounds was recreated in the last century already ...
Kirill Datsouk
Kirill Datsuk name:
"Fox hunting in Kostomloty on the feast of the patron saint of hunters St. Hubert" 
On the calendar, the beginning of the 80s of the last century ... In those years, Vasily Terentyevich Urvachev, an honorary hunter of the regional hunters' society, a native of the village of Pershino, was a frequent guest of our family. We lived side by side and had a lot in common. Urvachev helped me in preparing a book on the history of the region, advised me on the creation of museum expositions, where I worked as a director at that time, and often went hunting together. How many then were lucky to hear hunting stories from the lips of this amazing person and talented hunter. About, for example, how he hunted in the local forests with academician Boris Stechkin, the main developer in the Soviet Union of rocket engines for spacecraft. But that, like many others, is another story...
N.E. Sverchkov. Hunting. 1881. National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk
Urvachev was born in 1902 and from childhood he was a witness, and then a participant in the royal hunts, which came to his native places in spring and autumn. His father, Terenty Eliseevich, served in the Hunt of His Imperial Highness and early began to accustom his son to hunting tricks, caring for hunting dogs.
For a long time, Urvachev's words that dog hunting, unlike gun hunting, is not the extermination of animals, will be remembered for a long time. This is, first of all, sports, adrenaline and a beautiful sight. This is a competition between two animals - wild and bred, grown by man. There are no wounded animals in dog hunting. Hunting is carried out in strictly limited terms, when there are no more young hares and pregnant hares. The hunting greyhound herself practically does not touch the hares, because she only knows how to poison and catch up. If the animal is gone, good. It means a strong animal. Overwinter and give healthy offspring. More than once, the old hunter expressed regret that after the revolution, along with thoroughbred hunting dogs, the national canine hunt also disappeared into oblivion, and today's greyhounds are mainly urban "sofa" dogs ...
N.E. Sverchkov. Hunter. A hunting halt. Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum, Nizhny Novgorod
Two more decades have passed since those meetings with a well-known hunter in the Tulshchina. And I happened to be at the head of the development of the project for the recreation of the Pershinsky dog hunt, to take part in the beginning of the return to the original homeland of the Pershinsky type of greyhounds. Alas, all this is far from being so simple in our today's world, with its predominantly technocratic mentality...
And although central and local publications wrote about the work that had begun at one time, there were reports on television, the first dog hunts with greyhounds took place, so far it has not been possible to break the minds of many that Pershino should stand in Russia, on Tula land in one row with Yasnaya Polyana, Polenov, Kulikovo field.
N.E. Sverchkov. Wolf hunting. 1873. Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Karelia, Petrozavodsk
And with the revival of the national dog hunting here, perhaps even brighter, more significant ...
But everything in the world once returns "to its own circle." That is why I want to end this essay with the words of a passionate hunter, a talented Russian writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev:
“I will now limit myself to the desire that hunting, this fun that brings us closer to nature, accustoms us to patience, and sometimes to composure in the face of danger, gives our body health and strength, vigor and freshness to the spirit ... - would have flourished for a long time in our Motherland!"