Take a virtual trip through the exhibition "Peasant Women of the Russian North: Heritage of a Culture Lost." 

Guiding questions to keep in mind: 1) What can objects teach us about the past? 2) What do the everyday objects we use reveal about our lives? 3) How is the production of cloth shaped by the culture and geography of the region? 

Welcome to our exhibition at The Museum of Russian Art, called "Peasant Women of the Russian North: Heritage of a Culture Lost." As you move through this slideshow, you will see different spaces in the museum and many displays of objects from our collection. This exhibition includes over 100 rare artifacts that illustrate what life was like for people-- and especially women!-- in the Russian North. What do we mean by "Russian North?" Click to the next slide to find out. 

This map shows the region we refer to in the exhibition as the Russian North. Do you see any places that you recognize? 

While Moscow and Saint Petersburg appear on the map for reference, they are not actually part of the Russian North! The objects in the exhibition come from many of the other places identified on this map, like Vladimir, Ivanovo, Vologda, Nizhny Novgorod, and Arkhangelsk. This area would have been quite rural, with lots of forests. The people living here would have been peasants, which means that they worked on the land in order to live. The exhibition includes tools, clothes, furniture, and other objects that the peasants of this region would have used in their everyday lives. 

When we say "Russian North," we're referring more to a cultural and historical region than a bounded geographical region. That's why, for example, St. Petersburg is NOT the Russian North, even though it is pretty far north!   

Challenge: Can you locate this region on a globe or map of the whole world? Hint: you might use Finland and Norway as helpful reference points, just like we did on our map. 

Many of the objects in this exhibition are connected to one particular plant grown by peasants in the Russian North: flax. Peasant homesteads were often self-sufficient, meaning they themselves produced everything they needed to live, including food, tools, cloth, and clothing. Those last two items would have come from flax, the raw material that becomes linen cloth. 

Women were responsible for the entire process of turning flax into linen: growing the flax, harvesting it, processing it, spinning it into thread, and weaving it into linen. As you move through the slides in this slideshow, you'll learn more about the process of turning flax into linen. 

The image here shows a Russian peasant woman in 1910 using wooden tools to break flax. This photograph was taken by the Russian photographer Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Prokudin-Gorskiĭ. 

(Fun fact: The photographer, Prokudin-Gorskiĭ, funded by Tsar Nicholas II, was a pioneer in the art of color photography. He studied as a chemist and helped advance color film technology.) 

Source: Prokudin-Gorskiĭ photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Image of a woman processing flax in Permskai︠a︡ oblastʹ circa 1910, by Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich Prokudin-Gorskiĭ (photographer, 1863-1944).

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The Museum of Russian Art

Peasant woman breaking flax. Perm Province

For many centuries, the lives of Russian peasant women revolved around the production and use of homespun cloth. During the growing season, they would plant and tend the flax; during the harvest season they would pull the flax; and during the rest of the year they would process it, spin it into thread, weave it, and turn it into items for use. So, there was something to do all year round! The image here shows what the natural flax looks like, along with some wooden spindles for weaving and two examples of finished flax linen textiles. What do you think the flax would feel like to touch? 

We call these woven cloths "towels," but they're not towels like you might use after a shower or at the beach. These are ritual towels, or cloths that would be used for special purposes, like during a wedding, a funeral, or a holiday celebration. 

The linen towels you see here were donated to the museum by the grandchild of a US Army sergeant who brought it back after participating in the "Polar Bear expedition" during Russia's Civil War. The towels come from Arkhangelsk (do you remember seeing that on the map?). 

Natural flax, wood
Gift of Susan Johnson
Gift of Gwenn and Eivind Djupedal

Embroidered towels
Linen, thread
Gift of Estate of Leslie H. Woodward

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Flax Fiber, Spindles, and Embroidered Towels

This section of the exhibition shows a variety of tools that were used at different stages of the flax process. You can learn more about these tools and watch a demonstration video in the activity called "Virtual Display: Tools, Tools, Tools." 

What kinds of tools do you think someone might need in order to turn the flax plant into cloth? Why would you guess that? 

The objects displayed here are called prialkas. What do you notice about them? How would you describe them to someone who couldn't see them? 

You can learn about the prialka in the activity called "What's This Mysterious Object?"

Top row:

Prialka from Yaroslavl, late 19th – early 20th century
Wood (birch)
Gift of Susan Johnson

Middle row, left to right:

Prialka, Totma, Vologda region, with solar symbols; Prialkas, Mezen River, Arkhangelsk region
Prialka, Shenkursk, Arkhangeslk region 
Wood, paint
Gift of Susan Johnson

Bottom row, left to right:

Prialka from Vologda, with solar symbols, 1925 
Unpainted wood
Gift of Gwenn and Eivind Djupedal

Prialkas from the Rakulka River; Prialkas from the Northern Dvina River (village of Puchuga and Borok)
Wood, paint
Gift of Susan Johnson

Prialka from the village Maly Konev, Kargopol district,
Arkhangelsk region, early 20th century 
Wood, carved and painted green
Makers: the Tarakanov brothers
Inscription on back: “This is the prialka of Praskovia Grigorievna” 
Gift of Gwenn and Eivind Djupedal


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Prialka Spinning Tools

This scene shows us the inside of a Russian izba, or log house. A northern izba would be made of large logs of spruce, pine, or larch, and it would be heated by a huge Russian wood stove. You'll learn more about this scene in the activity called "What is This Mysterious Object?" 

Consider: If your home was part of a museum display, what kind of scene would you create to represent your home?  What objects would you put in that scene, and who would be present? 

In many traditional households of the Russian North, beds were decorated with bed skirts like the ones you see here. They are flax linen with stunning embroidery, featuring ancient symbols of a goddess, a tree of life, and other mysterious and magic beings, passed down from generation to generation. Can you think of any objects in your life that have been handed down over multiple generations? 

You can learn more about the symbols in this exhibition by visiting the activity called "Symbols." 

Bed Skirts (on the wall) 
Kargopol, Northern Russia 
Late 19th – early 20th century
Gift of Susan Johnson

Circular Floor Rug
Cotton, wool
Artist: Manefa Slobodina from the village of Nefedikha, Totma district, Vologda region
Gift of William Brumfield

Dowry Chest
Wood, metal
Northern Russia, 19th century
Gift of Susan Johnson



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Bed Skirts

Look at this window frame. What do you notice about it? What do you think it is made of? 

This is called a nalichnik, or a window surround. The uniquely Russian tradition of decorating window surrounds with elaborate woodcarvings originated in the distant past and reached its peak in the early 19th century. You might see a nalichnik like this on the windows of buildings in a town of the Russian North. The designs of window surrounds are specific to the region they are in. What designs do you see in this one? 

Window Surround, with Gable
Late 19th – early 20th century, Russia 
Wood
Gift of Raymond and Susan Johnson

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Window Surround

If you guessed sleds, that's right! While many of the objects in the exhibition represent work, peasants of the Russian North also needed to have fun. Winter was long, cold, and difficult, so folks had to find some joy in order to get through it. Sleds can be used for practical purposes of transportation, but also for fun. Have you ever gone sledding? What was it like? What are some activities that you do for fun at different times of the year? 

 Winter Sled  
Wood, metal
Northern Dvina River region, late 19th–early 20th c.  
Gift of Susan Johnson

Winter Sled  
Wood, metal
Shenkursk, Arkhangelsk region, late 19th–early 20th c.  
Gift of Gwenn and Eivind Djupedal


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Sleds

In addition to tools for the production of cloth, the exhibition also includes tools for the production of food. This case includes a berry picker, berry basket, flour sieve, a special holiday cheese mold, a stamp for making gingerbread, a tea pot, and containers made of birch bark. 

What kinds of tools do you and your family use to make food? 

Here you see some examples of  peasant footwear from the Russian North. 

On the left, you see winter boots made from felt (the lower two pairs) and leather (the pair on the pedestal). Felt boots, called "valenki," were warm and perfect for walking on dry snow in the frosty winter. The leather boots are a bit fancier, but not quite warm enough for winter! 

On the right, we see shoes for less frosty weather. These shoes, called "lapti" are made of woven birch bark. Woven footwear has been known since prehistoric times, and shoes woven from young birch or linden bark have been popular in Russia since at least the 16th century. They would be tied to the feet with strings or cords, and they lasted only 5-10 days! This means they were very healthy and hygienic, keeping a busy peasant's feet fresh and airy. 

Take a moment to think back on what you saw in the exhibition. 

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Standards for Learning: Virtual Gallery

National Core Arts Standards

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework