February 29, 2012 | The history of the Russian troika

The trio of horses and everything connected with it is primordially Russian, which has no analogues in any country in the world. A foreigner who first came to Russia and saw the Russian troika literally froze in amazement. And it was from what! In his homeland there was no team equal in speed and beauty to the Russian troika.

Record, by the standards of a horse team, speed, 45-50 km / h, was achieved due to a peculiar combination of horse gaits. The central horse, called the root horse, starts at a fast trot, and the harness horses (fastened on the sides of the root horse) gallop and, as it were, “carry” the root horse. With such a different gait, all three horses get tired more slowly, they can maintain a high speed for a long time. The Russian three-piece harness is exceptionally rational, and there is not a single superfluous detail in it. Usually, a tall and powerful trotter was chosen for the role of the rooter, and smaller and lighter horses were attached, which, while running, have to beautifully bend their necks to the side and down.

The history of the Russian troika

According to written sources, the first Russian troikas began to appear in the second half of the 17th century. Prior to this, horses were harnessed to the team one at a time, and if several horses were required, then in single file. Then a steam room appeared, a harness in a row “for departure”, and on its basis - a troika. But a team of three horses in a row did not take root immediately and was used extremely rarely.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the troika was appreciated. Among the advantages are high speed, endurance, large carrying capacity and good cross-country ability. Thanks to these qualities, by the end of the 18th century, the use of a trio of horses to transport mail, couriers and passengers was officially legalized.

Since then, troikas of horses have carried sledges, carts, wagons and tarantasses with a breeze. The first half of the 19th century is the period of the real peak of the popularity of the Russian troika. According to foreigners, she personified the daring Russian soul and became a symbol of Russia.

The era of the famous Russian troikas came to an end when horse-drawn transport was replaced by the railway and cars. From the middle of the 19th century, trains began to force the Russian troika out of the postal routes into the countryside. The 20th century put an end to the two-century history of the troika - it lost its state significance, but, nevertheless, retained its popularity as an invariable attribute of folk festivals.

The main postal routes of long-distance equestrian mail from the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 18th:

1. Moscow - Klin - Tver (now Kalinin) - Torzhok - Vyshny Volochek - Zimogorye (near Valdai) - Novgorod - Chudovo - Tosno - Petersburg (Leningrad).

2. Moscow - Vladimir - Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) - Kazan - Elabuga - Izhevsk - Perm - Kungur - Suksun-Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk) - Tyumen - Tobolsk and further to the east.

3. Moscow - Serpukhov - Tula - Plavsk - Mtsensk - Orel - Kursk - Belgorod.

4. Moscow - the settlement of the Trinity Monastery (Zagorsk) - Pereslavl Zalessky - Rostov the Great - Yaroslavl - Danilov - Vologda - Velsk - Shenkursk - Kholmogory - Arkhangelsk.

Troika: appearance, device, ammunition

The Russian troika has always been distinguished by an abundance of decor. Each "triple" sought to ensure that his trio was the brightest and most recognizable.

Troika. Artist: Konstantin Baumgartner-Stoilov (1850-1924)

The wooden tongs of the collars were covered with paintings and carvings, and the leather of saddles, harnesses, bridles and shoroks were decorated with embossing and a metal set of cast parts of various shapes. The most commonly used alloys of copper with nickel or zinc, silver-plated copper, and in richer harnesses - silver. Bright tassels were attached to the bridles and harnesses.

It is unlikely that a resident of the early 19th century could imagine a Russian troika without the famous root arch. This most significant part of the team was richly decorated with carved geometric figures and painted with gold paint so that it sparkled in the sun and was visible from afar. Later, thin black or red graphic patterns and floral ornaments began to be drawn over the “gold”.

In the 60s of the 19th century, gilded arcs were replaced by picturesque ones - they were painted with red roses, blue bunches of grapes and greenery of herbs. The picturesque arcs looked no less bright than the gilded ones.

The fashion for large roses passed by the end of the 19th century. By this time, the arc had become thinner, so there was less space for painting. The drawings became smaller, more colorful, and over time, the arcs began to be painted in one color, in special cases, one-color arcs were intertwined with colored ribbons.

A few words ... about the bell

Horse transport filled the streets of cities, there were no traffic rules as such, and besides, it was necessary to somehow solve the problem of notifying postal station employees about the arrival of a postal troika so that they would prepare a shift for tired horses.

Troika. Artist: Konstantin Baumgartner-Stoilov (1850-1924)

At that time, a postal horn was widely used in Western Europe, but this device did not take root in Russia, although Peter the Great issued a decree on its use by postal services. Coachmen, according to an old Russian habit, warned of their appearance by whistling and shouting, despite fines and beatings . Thus, the postal horn became the emblem of the Russian mail, but the role of the signaling device went again to the Russian invention - the bronze bell. It was tightly attached to the middle part of the arc above the head of the root of the troika with a rawhide leather belt. Starting from the end of the 18th century, the ringing of a bell announced the approach of a “troika bird” two miles away, so pedestrians and other crews knew that they needed to immediately clear the way for a courier or mail cart rushing at breakneck speed. Also, such an early warning significantly reduced the time for harnessing horses at the station - the staff had time to prepare for the arrival of the troika.

In addition to the practical, the bells also performed an aesthetic function - their strong, but at the same time gentle, ringing brightened up the monotonous everyday life of coachmen.

Riding on troikas with bells quickly became popular not only among postal drivers, but also among wealthy private traders. Demand for bells grew and many handicraft bell workshops appeared. The most famous "bell" city was considered Valdai - the city of the Novgorod province, located in the middle of the main postal highway of Russia, St. Petersburg - Moscow. By the name of the city of Valdai, the arched bells were often called Valdai bells.

Many craftsmen supplied their products with cast inscriptions and decorations, from the 19th century they began to put the year of manufacture, often the name of the master was put.

However, the widespread use of triplets with ringing introduced some confusion into the work of the postal service - the coachmen at postal stations stopped urgently preparing horses at the sound of a bell, thinking that it was not the mail that was coming.

Complaints from postal services rained down on those who liked to ride, so in the 19th century the government issued a decree banning bells for private individuals. Permission to use the popular "signaling" was given exclusively to postal drivers and employees of the Zemstvo police, and only during the performance of official duties.

However, the Russians found a way around the ban quite quickly. One bell was replaced by a whole scattering of bells, which were attached to leather collars with whole garlands. They were worn on every horse. The bell was a hollow ball with a pellet inside and could not make strong sounds, but a lot of bells, matched in size and tone, made a “consonant” ringing. By the end of the 19th century, when the prohibitions on the use of bells had lost their force, both bells and bells began to be used simultaneously on triplets. They were specially selected in consonance. The resulting ensemble turned out to be unique in its sound and went down in history under the name "Yamskaya accordion".

Threes with the ringing of arched bells were sung in the verses of A. S. Pushkin, F. N. Glinka, P. A. Vyazemsky, A. A. Blok and S. A. Yesenin. Such famous prose writers as N. V. Gogol, F. M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy did not lose sight of the "bird-troika". Also, numerous folk songs and romances that have survived to this day tell about the popular love for troikas.

Russian troika

"Oh, threesome! bird troika, who invented you? you could only have been born among a lively people ... "" And what Russian does not like to drive fast?" N. V. Gogol

Troika has long enjoyed the love of Russian people and has always aroused the surprise of foreigners who found that there is no more dashing ride than the Russian triple.

The need for troikas was especially evident in the middle of the last century, at a time when the internal and external trade turnover of the country, which was embarking on a capitalist footing, was growing rapidly, railways did not yet exist, and subsequently their network was insignificant.

There was no special breed of triple horses in Russia. Yamsky triplets were selected from horses of different breeds, possessing strength, endurance and sufficient agility. The Vyatka and Bashkir, Kirghiz and Trans-Baikal, Don and Black Sea troikas were famous throughout the country. The beauty of the gait for the Yamsky triplets was a secondary matter.

However, amateur troikas, as they were called “hunters”, were required that either the whole troika flew at a gallop, or that the rooter walked at the correct trot, and the harnesses traveled at a gallop. Such triplets were also used, when all three horses walked at a measured trot.

In accordance with the customs of the Russian people and the widespread practice of troika riding, competitions of troikas were introduced, for which special prizes were assigned in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lebedyan. Poltava, Romny, Kursk, Voronezh, Tula, Penza, Saratov and other cities.

This is how V. Koptev described the interest of the population in triple tests. “Almost every day, Moscow residents went out and went out to the wide Khodynskoye field to admire the excellent trotters, which rushed beautifully and quickly along the run. But then, on July 2, 1847, even more curious people left and came out: they densely dotted the entire field, they climbed onto the roofs of small houses that stood near the run, climbed onto the pipes, lowered the fences, and all unanimously, with intense attention, were waiting for the national spectacle - a fast driving dashing and daring triplets.

This interesting competition was held at the three-verst Khodynsky Hippodrome for 11 laps or 33 versts. The Yamskaya troika Karaulov won, having covered 35.2 km (33 in) in 1 hour 21 minutes. 18 sec. The trio won by stamina. It was a troika that had galloped along the high road for many miles in its lifetime. The horses rode ugly, they galloped, ran, and galloped again.

The second trio, made up of Don horses, well-trodden, running excellently, was supposed to win, according to the general opinion. 97g of the circle or 30.4 km, the three of the Donets led the rest of the three and ... paid for it with a defeat. On the sand, in the heat, the tired horses could no longer carry a rather light cart and got up, allowing themselves to be overtaken by the Yamskaya troika, which rode in their back for almost the entire distance.

The black troika of the VNIIK Experimental Stud Farm at the Moscow Hippodrome.

Troikas were sent from city to city for a hundred or more miles in order to return the next morning. It is known, for example, that the three Bashkir horses of the owner of the postal station covered the distance from Ufa to Sterlitamak - 120 km - in 8-9 hours, that is, 115 km per hour.

Before the construction of the Siberian railway, the majority of the Siberian population was concentrated along the large postal road. The peasants were engaged in postal chase and carting, or served the needs of and. tract needs.

Traveling in the summer to Kyakhta, and in the winter to the Irbit fair, they could appreciate the wonderful Russian troikas that carried the traveler along the steppe roads 70 miles in 4 hours. About Transbaikal horses, distinguished by mobility and endurance, they wrote that in harness they are more suitable for triple riding and that dashing triples are known to everyone traveling from Russia along the road from Baikal to Sretensk.

Putting together a good three is a kind of skill; horses need to be aligned in temperament, stock and ail. Horses of different breeds need their own riding techniques and special riding conditions, related both to the constitution, the type of higher nervous activity and the size of the horses themselves, and to the prevailing terrain, climate, etc.

In order for the rooter, trotting, to keep up with the galloping harnesses, he must be of a good class. If he does not have enough energy and a frisky trot, he will stray, he will not carry, he will shift all the work to the harnesses and “slaughter” them. If the tie-downs turn out to be rather weak and will only jump without pulling on the strings, and not carry, the root will run out of steam. A lot of skill, attentiveness, strength is required from the rider. When stopping the troika, it is important to simultaneously and gradually restrain all three horses so that the harnesses do not interfere, do not knock down the root and vice versa.

If the troika of the merchant Karaulov, which we talked about at the beginning, covered 35.2 km in 1 hour 21 minutes. 18 seconds, then the next year everyone was amazed at the Smagin troika, which very quickly traveled 28.8 km (27 versts) in 57 minutes. 01 sec., which is 2 minutes. for 1 km.

However, the trio of blood horses often showed even better agility, passing 30 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes. The troika of S. S. Lansky, with great knowledge of the matter, made up of thoroughbred racehorses and excellently trained, overcame the troika of all other breeds with such ease that any thought of rivalry with it became impossible. This trio passed in Moscow along the highway 30 versts in 56 minutes. 42 sec. Agility for every 10 miles was: 17 min., 19 min. and 20 min. 42 sec. Thus, on average, this trio traveled 1 km in 1 minute. 46 sec.

The victories of the racing troikas, although they proved the superiority of their agility and the amazingly long swing, unprecedented in the harness, which has no equal, did not convince, however, that tens of thousands of Russian troikas, traveling in all directions of thousand-verst distances of Russia, could be at least partially replaced jump triplets. Therefore, in order to encourage triplets formed from Siberian, Vyatka, Don, Kalmyk, Kirghiz, Bashkir, Black Sea or Bityug horses (united at that time under the code name of simple Russian breeds) and eliminate unnecessary rivalry, it was forbidden to let blood racehorses with them .

Particular attention was paid to troikas with rooters, walking at the correct trot. According to the organizers of the tests, the Orlov trotting breed, which quickly spread throughout Russia, adapted well to the conditions of different climates, terrain, work in harness, should have fully met the need for beautiful, strong and fast horses for long journeys, capable of trotting in one team up to 35 kilometers.

In Russia, purely trotting troikas were also used, when three horses, selected by type and height, trot the entire distance. In this case, the tie-down heads are slightly turned.

However, more often only a stable, correct trot was required from the rooter, while the harness ones walked at a gallop (or an arbitrary gait). The rooter had to carry his head high, and the harnesses - often they were riding horses - had to bend their neck into a ring and, turning their heads to the sides, bow them low - “there is snow”. With such a spectacular, but tiring system for horses, agility naturally decreased and the horses could not withstand the gait for a very long time.

Triple tests were carried out in winter - in January, February and early March, and in summer - in June, July and August.

Usually they let two threes at a time. If 4 or 5 triples were recorded for one prize, then the first two were allowed first, and after the second two or three; the flag was set at 60 and 200 meters. The winners competed among themselves on a run, which was arranged for a shorter distance. But it also happened that the troika went alone. In this case, in order to win a prize, it was necessary to drive faster than the norm, which, depending on the distance, was 2-3 minutes per 1 km. The distance from 6.4 km to 10.7 km was covered by troikas with troikas with agility from 3 minutes. 02 sec. up to 3 min. 16 sec. at 1600 m.

This playfulness from a modern point of view may seem insufficient. However, we must not forget the main thing - the length of the distance. If hippodrome triple competitions are introduced for 5-8 km, then high agility should not be required.

Well-chosen and moved triples showed excellent performance. So, in St. Petersburg, the Saltykov troika with blood harnesses when riding at a gallop successfully performed for 10 miles with the following frequency: January 13 and 27, February 3, 47 and 24 with an average speed of 17 minutes. 43 sec. The following year, the same trio performed on January 29,

February 2, 9, 23 and March 2 with the same average speed. The troika jumped in a week, then in two weeks. At the same time, the tie-downs remained the same, and the two roots were replaced; in the third year, the troika galloped even faster.

Best Age for Triple Horses is 6-8 years old. Approximately three-quarters of all triple horses were of this age. Under 5 years old, horses for triples were not taken at all.

Recently, disputes have sometimes arisen about what gender and color the horses should be in order for the three to be considered well matched.

Among the 186 triple horses we disassembled, there were 97 geldings, stallions - 45 heads and mares - 44 heads. These triples were either symmetrical - most often a stallion in the root and two geldings per harness, or asymmetrical - more often a root gelding, and a attached gelding and a stallion. It also happened that a trotting mare walked behind the root.

However, there were many unsuited and not symmetrically matched triples. There were, for example, the following: a black root, one tie-down piebald, another red or bay root, and black and gray attachments.

Most often, the coachmen's triples were of different suits. This was due to the fact that the Yamskaya troika were selected horses primarily for working qualities. On the contrary, amateur “hunters” triples were carefully selected according to all signs, including suit.

If someone undertook to pick up excerpts from the works of Russian and Soviet writers concerning troikas and troika riding, and supplemented them with reproductions from paintings and drawings by our artists, then an interesting work could turn out, reflecting one of the brightest aspects of the life of the Russian people. Let us give just one small example in connection with the question of the suit.

N.V. Gogol, a very subtle observer, for a reason gave his Chichikov a trio of simple, simple horses with a bay root, brown (red-savrasy) and chubary gelding as harness (“Dead Souls”).

G.P. Danilevsky, referring to a long trip, wrote about the “measured step of a trio of well-fed, merrily snorting savras” (“Burned Moscow”). M. Yu. Lermontov wrote in a letter about the trio of savrasian Bashkirs, presented to him by his grandmother E. A. Arsenyeva: “They are so hardy that it’s a miracle. I’m galloping to St. Petersburg (from Tsarskoe Selo), and when I arrive, they don’t sweat.” L. N. Tolstoy in the novel “War and Peace” repeatedly and very correctly describes triplets and triplets.

He has Nikolai Rostov riding a troika of savras, the manager Alpatych sets off on a long journey in a troika of well-fed savras, etc. Vyacheslav Shishkov writes “A troika of brown rushes quickly, not a horse-beast” (Gloomy River). Konstantin Sedykh tells how the thousandth Platon Volokitin pulls ahead on the troika of his kaury, so that he knows the village, whose horses are the best ”(Dauria).

The number of examples could be increased many times over, but that's not the point. It is interesting that writers, who truly reflect life even in small things, give us in a few words a description of constitutionally strong, necessarily well-kept body, sometimes calm, sometimes strict, but always tireless horses of local breeds of “wild” colors. Savrasy, brown, mousey, chubarye - these are the horses on which you can ride a long journey day after day, year after year, without fear that they will let you down.

Russian troikas more than once demonstrated abroad of our homeland. In 1911, in connection with the coronation of the English King George V in London, an international horse show and horse competitions were held in the huge Olympia arena. There were demonstrated, in particular, various types of harnesses: fours, couples, city singles, etc. Two Russian threes were also shown - gray and black. The root of the gray troika was 13-year-old Ratnik-Turkish, a well-known prize trotter, winner of a number of distance prizes. Streltsy stallions were attached - siblings, weather. Perfectly matched and moved down the trio made a very good impression. The root of the black troika was also the prize-winning trotter Mucius II, and the Orlovo-Rostopchins of the Limarevsky plant were attached. The troika was even—the horses were large, prominent—but on the whole, still less elegant than the gray one.

Russian troikas made such an extraordinary impression that, despite the sympathy of the English judges for their horses, the gray one received the first prize at Olympia, and the black one the second. One London sports club proposed a competition for the beauty and agility of harnesses, and, in particular, triples. The Russian gray troika won the first prize both for beauty and agility (they arrived at about 2 min 26 sec 1600 m). Our troikas were so successful that we had to show them every day, although according to the program they were supposed to leave only once.

Over the past decades, troikas have been shown from time to time at the hippodromes, took part in various races, the riding of troikas has been shown at stadiums and agricultural exhibitions, but all this has been done on a case-by-case basis.

When selecting horses in threes It should be borne in mind that the root a troika troika should be somewhat larger than a troika, should walk in a correct, clear, measured trot, carry its head high, beautifully. Strong, hardy, rather frisky and correctly built trotting horses should be selected for the roots, which do not require eyecups, muffs or shields, stags, navok, kaburs, etc. harness items that do not correspond to the style of Russian triple riding. This will contribute to the selection of horses of a strong, balanced type of higher nervous activity, with the correct structure of the limbs, clear, rhythmic movements. The tie-downs should be very well matched in order to be as similar as possible to each other and, at the same time, to be in harmony with the root of the troika.

The selection of tie-downs is somewhat easier if you take siblings, sisters, or at least half-brothers. For triplets of factory breeds, primarily trotters, it is desirable to select single-colored or, if unsuited, then with symmetry. For aboriginal triples, along with the usual colors, it may be recommended to attract horses with savras, kaura, chubar suit.

AT trios, collected from horses of local breeds, a pacer can also be a rooter, or a troika can go in an arbitrary gait. In triplets with trotting rootstocks, tie-downs can be riding breeds.

Trinity trials are held in the summer in carts, tarantasses, cabs, carriages; in winter - in pit or carpet sledges, etc.
W. Lipping, PhD in Agriculture

The trio of horses and everything connected with it is primordially Russian, which has no analogues in any country in the world. A foreigner who first came to Russia and saw the Russian troika literally froze in amazement.
And it was from what! In his homeland there was no team equal in speed and beauty to the Russian troika.

Record, by the standards of a horse team, speed, 45-50 km / h, was achieved due to a peculiar combination of horse gaits. The central horse, called the root horse, starts at a fast trot, and the harness horses (fastened on the sides of the root horse) gallop and, as it were, “carry” the root horse. With such a different gait, all three horses get tired more slowly, they can maintain a high speed for a long time.

The Russian three-piece harness is exceptionally rational, and there is not a single superfluous detail in it. Usually, a tall and powerful trotter was chosen for the role of the rooter, and smaller and lighter horses were attached, which, while running, have to beautifully bend their necks to the side and down.

According to written sources, the first Russian troikas began to appear in the second half of the 17th century. Prior to this, horses were harnessed to the team one at a time, and if several horses were required, then in single file. Then a steam room appeared, a harness in a row “for departure”, and on its basis - a troika. But a team of three horses in a row did not take root immediately and was used extremely rarely.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the troika was appreciated. Among the advantages are high speed, endurance, large carrying capacity and good cross-country ability. Thanks to these qualities, by the end of the 18th century, the use of a trio of horses to transport mail, couriers and passengers was officially legalized.

Since then, troikas of horses have carried sledges, carts, wagons and tarantasses with a breeze. The first half of the 19th century was the period of the real peak of the popularity of the Russian troika. According to foreigners, she personified the daring Russian soul and became a symbol of Russia.

The era of the famous Russian troikas came to an end when horse-drawn transport was replaced by the railway and cars. From the middle of the 19th century, trains began to force the Russian troika out of the postal routes into the countryside. The 20th century put an end to the two-century history of the troika - it lost its state significance, but, nevertheless, retained its popularity as an invariable attribute of folk festivals.

The Russian troika has always been distinguished by an abundance of decor. Each "triple" sought to ensure that his trio was the brightest and most recognizable.

The wooden tongs of the collars were covered with paintings and carvings, and the leather of saddles, harnesses, bridles and shoroks were decorated with embossing and a metal set of cast parts of various shapes. Most often, alloys of copper with nickel or zinc, silver-plated copper, and in richer harnesses - silver were used. Bright tassels were attached to the bridles and harnesses.

It is unlikely that a resident of the beginning of the 19th century could imagine a Russian troika without the famous root arch. This most significant part of the team was richly decorated with carved geometric figures and painted with gold paint so that it sparkled in the sun and was visible from afar. Later, thin black or red graphic patterns and floral ornaments began to be drawn over the “gold”.

In the 60s of the XIX century, gilded arches were replaced by picturesque ones - they were painted with red roses, blue bunches of grapes and greenery of herbs. The picturesque arcs looked no less bright than the gilded ones.
The fashion for large roses passed by the end of the 19th century. By this time, the arc had become thinner, so there was less space for painting. The drawings became smaller, more colorful, and over time, the arcs began to be painted in one color, in special cases, one-color arcs were intertwined with colored ribbons.

Horse transport filled the streets of cities, there were no traffic rules as such, and besides, it was necessary to somehow solve the problem of notifying postal station employees about the arrival of a postal troika so that they would prepare a shift for tired horses.

At that time, a postal horn was widely used in Western Europe, but this device did not take root in Russia, although Peter I issued a decree on its use by postal services.

Coachmen, according to an old Russian habit, warned of their appearance by whistling and shouting, despite fines and beatings. Thus, the postal horn became the emblem of the Russian post office, but the role of the signaling device went again to the Russian invention - the bronze bell. It was tightly attached to the middle part of the arc above the head of the root of the troika with a rawhide leather belt.

Starting from the end of the 18th century, the ringing of a bell signaled the approach of a “troika bird” two miles away, so pedestrians and other carriages knew that they needed to immediately clear the way for a courier or mail cart rushing at breakneck speed. Also, such an early warning significantly reduced the time for harnessing horses at the station - the staff had time to prepare for the arrival of the troika.

What Russian does not like fast driving? And fast driving in our tradition is inextricably linked with the Russian troika. It can reach speeds of up to sixty kilometers per hour, which is unattainable for any harness in the world.

Mystery of Appearance

When did the Russian troika appear? Historians say that at the beginning of the 18th century, when the triple harness began to be used by the royal courier service. However, given that in conservative Russia, any innovation was sometimes "infused" for centuries before entering "mass production", this date raises some doubts. There is a version that the troika was borrowed by government services from secret "horse" cults dedicated to Elijah the Prophet, which have been practiced for centuries in some areas of the North of Russia. Every year on Ilyin's day, ritual horse races were held on troikas, which symbolized the "fiery chariot and which fiery" that lifted Elijah to heaven. To break during the "ascension" was considered a manifestation of Grace: they said, "Ilya took it to heaven."

Uniqueness

The trio's innovation was that all the horses ran at different gaits. Korennik - the center horse - galloped at a trot, and lighter harness horses galloped, bending their heads to the side. Such a combination of “horsepower”, where the harnesses, fastened to the root with traces, seemed to “carry” the root, was aimed at making all three horses get tired more slowly, while maintaining high speed.

Speed

Troika was able to reach speeds of up to 60 km per hour. No harness in the world could achieve such a result. There is such a story. Once, during the reign of Catherine II, the Austrian emperor Joseph arrived in St. Petersburg on a visit. The Empress set out to impress the distinguished guest and ride him on a troika. The most daring coachman was brought to the palace, whom Catherine asked: “Will you take the emperor to Moscow in thirty-six hours?” The daring man answered the queen: “I’ll take you, mother. I'm just not sure that I will take his soul. It remains to add that on average the journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow on the bedside tables was two to three days.

horse breed

As a rule, the horsepower of the hardy breed of the Vyatka horse was used in the Russian troika. Wealthy gentlemen could afford to harness a trio of Oryol trotters.

Application

The triple harness, as already mentioned, was used in the courier service. At the end of the 18th century, important passengers began to be moved on the troika. Over time, the troika has become an indispensable attribute of weddings and festivities on major holidays.

Decoration

The triple harness was necessarily richly decorated. For example, at first the root arch was painted with gilding. It was not just foppery: the gold symbolized the lightning that accompanied the ascension of Elijah the Prophet.

Later, the arcs began to be painted with ornaments and artistic carvings. Moreover, it was not just decoration: the saddlers applied the so-called protective paintings to the harness, which could protect the troika from evil forces, from a wild beast and from robbers.

"Yamskaya accordion"

If the gilded arch of the root symbolized lightning, then the ringing of bells and bells accompanied by a triplet was a metaphor for thunder. In the people, this "musical set" was called the "pit accordion". Almost every trio had a unique sound. It is interesting that in some places in Russia it was believed that by riding a “loud” troika, a person is able to get rid of the spells sent by witches and sorcerers. It was believed that most often unkind people cause damage at weddings, so the trip of the newlyweds in a troika with bells became an indispensable wedding ceremony.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CAR FREE LIFE IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE
Cars on the streets of cities have long become not a luxury, but a means of transportation. And we don’t even think about how some time ago people moved from point A to point B. For example, how Russian writers managed without a car in the 19th century.
The encyclopedia of Russian non-motorized transport in the literature was compiled by Sofia Bagdasarova.

Here is what Vladimir Sollogub wrote in the story "Seryozha":
“Here is a cart rushing - the violent youth of Russian roads;
here the chaise rolls over like a Saratov landowner after dinner;
here a wide carriage proudly appears, like some rich tax farmer;
here is dormez
here is the stroller
and behind them is a fat stagecoach merchant, having drunk fourteen cups of tea at the post yard..

So, let's start decoding.

B - BRICHKA

Tom Winans. Russian trio. 1847

The word of Polish origin means a light wagon, often without springs, with an open top. The main parameter is unbearable noise.

B - WHO

Sergey Ivanov. Boyar serfs. 1909. Collection of Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya

The term was used for a winter mode of transport - a covered wagon on skids. The cart is praised for its warmth, it is comfortable in it, you can ride lying down - “falling into the cart under fur blankets” (Amphitheaters). It is "filled with feather beds, pillows, etc." (Viktor Shompulev). On the windows it could be upholstered with bear fur so as not to blow, and trimmed with red cloth or even velvet from the inside.

Fyodor Koni had a vaudeville "Carriage, or They meet according to the dress, they see them off according to the mind" about the importance of transport for prestige.

K - KIBITKA

Nikolay Sverchkov. Caught in the storm. timing

A word borrowed from nomads in Russia was called a covered wagon. Often her top was on the arcs and could recline - reminiscent of a "grandmother's cap" (Nikolai Teleshov). A good wagon means “with a spacious top and a double canopy of matting” (Ivan Lazhechnikov) or “with a leather top and a tightly buttoned apron” (Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky).

It was in the shaking wagon that Radishchev rode: “Lying in the wagon, my thoughts were turned into the immensity of the world. Separated mentally from the earth, it seemed to me that the wagon strikes were easier for me.

Vyazemsky dedicated a whole poem to her, very vicious: “And this movable casemate, / And this movable torture, / Which is called: a wagon.” Pushkin is more cheerful: "Blowing the fluffy reins, the daring wagon flies." On the other hand, in his “Road Complaints” he laments: “How long will I walk in the world / Now in a carriage, now on horseback, / Now in a wagon, then in a carriage, / Now in a cart, then on foot?”

K - CARRIAGE

Nikolay Sverchkov. Wheelchair ride (Alexander II with children). Yaroslavl Art Museum

Four-wheel spring carriage with lifting top. She becomes the heroine of Gogol's story of the same name - the owner boasts there that she is light as a feather, and the springs are as if "the nanny rocked you in the cradle." In the end, it turns out that boasting is empty. Vyazemsky dedicated a poem of the same name to her: “A light carriage rushes, / And the mind easily rushes with it.” A beautiful carriage is a matter of prestige: Dolly Oblonskaya and her coachman are ashamed of their old, patched-up carriage during a visit to Vronsky's village.

L and D and I (looking out the window). Wait! What is this stroller? Lace! Is it possible that maman took it for me? What beauty, what luxury!<…>Ay! I'll faint. This is not a stroller, this is a dream. You can choke with happiness to sit in this stroller. What's wrong with me?
Alexander Ostrovsky. "Mad Money"

All this ends with technical progress: “An elegant stroller, in an electric beat, / Elastically rustled on the highway sand” (Igor Severyanin).

L - LANDO

Nikolay Sverchkov. Tsar Alexander III in an open landau. 1888. Private collection

The carriage, named after the German city, was a four-seater, with a lifting top that turned it into a carriage at will. Zhukovsky in his “Journey to the maneuvers” tells how the roof somehow refused to open: “Here, here, the landau is stubborn; / He re-stubborn all the ladies, / Forced them to move / Without ceremony to another, / And he himself went empty.

A beautiful foreign word denoted a fashionable mode of transport, mandatory for a person from society. The hero of Mamin-Sibiryak needs exactly the landau to "show them all that I can ride like all of them."

We read from Grigorovich: “How many expenses, my God, how many expenses! We had to hire new horses and exchange our carriage for a landau; it is embarrassing for people of a certain position to show themselves otherwise in the evenings to music; so it is customary in Peterhof ”(“ City and Village ”).

C - SANI

Factory warehouse in Petropavlovsk. Samara Regional Art Museum. Photo: russianphoto.ru

Another means of transportation that has long been registered in poetry. “And having opened the shafts, the sleigh is waiting, / When they are harnessed” (Zhukovsky); “To the city of Ryazan / Three sledges are rolling, / Breakup sledges / Painted arches” (Mei), etc. Unlike firewood, not only peasants can be seen in the sleigh. The nobles own their own sledges and ride in them, lying down comfortably and wrapped in warm coats and blankets.

Pleshcheev's "Winter Skating" and other authors cover them with a carpet. In Gogol's "Marriage", the dowry painting includes a droshky and "paired sledges with carvings, under a large carpet and under a small one." Nikolai Teleshov mentions a sleigh "with a carpet back and a soft seat." The saying "Do not sit in your sleigh" is abundantly used.

T - TARANTASS

Tarantass. 1880s National Library of Congress

Tarantas was a special covered wagon on a long longitudinal frame, which reduced shaking on a long journey. Often he is decrepit and rattling (Sergey Solovyov), waddling (Ivan Surikov). In Sollogub's story "Tarantas", the main character makes a journey through Russia in it - of course, a satirical one, and the rattletrap eventually turns into an allegory.

“But what a tarantass, what an amazing invention of the human mind! .. Imagine two long poles, two parallel clubs, immeasurable and endless; in the midst of them, it seems as if a huge basket was accidentally thrown, rounded on the sides, like a gigantic ball.
Vladimir Sollogub. "Tarantas"

But if the "carriage creaks" at, Ivan Surikov) and "hides" (Nekrasov), especially if she is "ungreased", which happened often. Her move is lazy, calm (Ivan Nikitin). In Pushkin, the movement of the cart becomes an allegory of being ("The Cart of Life").

At Nekrasov, her passenger is the wife of the Decembrist Maria Volkonskaya: “... At first / The cart occupied me, / But soon afterwards, neither alive nor dead, / I recognized the charm of the cart.”

T - TROYKA

Nikolay Sverchkov. Troika. 1865. Tomsk Regional Art Museum

This is not a type of wagon, but a way of harnessing - three horses, with the central one (root horse) looking straight, and the side ones (attachment) beautifully bending their heads to the side. In winter, sledges were harnessed by a trio, in summer - wheeled transport. A specifically Russian invention became a national symbol, which was facilitated by Gogol's chanting of the trio bird - "Rus, where are you rushing to?" ("Dead Souls").

Troika is perhaps the leader in inspiring poets and composers. Here are Pushkin's "Winter Road", and "The troika rushes, the troika jumps" by Vyazemsky, and Nekrasov's "What are you greedily looking at the road ...", as well as the "daring troika" with Glinka's "bell - the gift of Valdai" ... I can’t list them all. The poets liked her dashing and speed - she is “borzoi”, “brisk”, “dashing”, “crazy”, “mad”; the coachman on it is "smart".

F - PHAETON

Phaeton of Empress Maria Feodorovna. Denmark. Until 1821. Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve

A light convertible stroller, often a two-seater, was named after the son of the god Helios (by the way, one of the first to die in a road accident). According to the classics, the chaise is “beautiful” (Pismsky), “pretty” (Mikhail Avdeev) and “funny” (Fyodor Koni).

At Pyotr Boborykin, we see a two-seater sloping chaise with an open top, which is also quiet while driving. Harnessed to this "light, dandy" crew of fast trotters and flaunted in front of others.

Virtual tour of the storage of carriages and horse teams in the Hermitage.