вторник, 17 июня 2014 г.

Alya Rakhmanova

(1898-1991)


Biography

Alya Rakhmanova, by birth Galina Dyuragina, was born in the town of Kasli (now-the city in Chelyabinsk region) in 1898 in the family of a gentry physician. Alya spent all her childhood in the Urals, she highly appreciated her motherland and wrote a lot about it in her diaries. For instance, in the preface to one of her books Rakhmanova described her childhood the following way:
«I was fortunate to spend my childhood and youth in the rugged mountains and magical lakes of the Urals, in the unique world that showed me the mysterious forces of nature and human life, the world, which always helped me to find the key to the mysteries of these forces, world, which strengthened my love for God, for the people and for the good»
At the age of 14 Alya started a diary, that, later on, formed the basis for her first novels-autobiographical trilogy «the Symphony of lives». In 1916 she entered the philological faculty of the Perm university, where studied literature and psychology. However, the October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent civil war in Russia destroyed the lifestyle of her family. After nationalization the family had to move to Omsk, where Rakhmanova married the Austrian soldier Arnulf von Hoyer. A year later the couple moved to Perm, shortly after Alya gave birth to their son- Jury. Her husband worked as a teacher of English,  she conducted lectures on psychology and children's literature. In 1925 at the request of the authorities the family was forced to leave the USSR. The Hoyers returned  to the motherland of Arnulf. Firstly, they stayed in Vienna.
Arnulf worked at the university, Alya after learning the basis of German, worked as a dairy-woman. 

International fame

Трилогия "Симфония жизней"
In 1927 the family moved to Salzburg, where Alya started her first novel, based on the contents of her diaries, which she was writing even at hard times. Due to the absence of typewriter with Russian alhabet, Rakhamanova was typing her novels in Russian transliteration. In 1931 Alya's husband translated her novel into German, and then demonstrated it to the editor Otto Muller, who after reading agreed to publish the book. Rakhmanova's novel
 «Students, love, Cheka and death» was published in Austria and at once became a best-seller with edition of 350 000 copies. The book described the events in Russia after the October, 1917 by the example of the Duyragins. From 1931 to 1933 she released two more autobiographic novels- «A married couple in the red storm» and «A dairy-woman from Ottakring», where she described her hardships in Soviet Russia and her first years in Austria. Trilogy «the Symphony of lives» was sold around Europe and got a writer an international fame. In 1935 Rakhmanova finished her next novel  «The factory of the new men».At the contest in Paris the book was rewarded as the best anti-bolshevik novel of those times. After a while, she realised several marketable books.Hovewer, in 1939 after Austria joined Germany her books were forbidden by censorship as its contents negatively reflected the development of relations between Germany and USSR. During the WW2 some of Rakhmanova's books were translated into Russian for the purpose of anti-bolshevik propaganda. In 1945 in the battle for Vienna her only child Jury was killed by the Red Army soldiers. After the Soviet Army took Austria, Alya and Arnulf escaped to Switzerland. Firstly they stayed in refugee camp, then moved to Ettenhausen. Rakhmanova continued writing, Arnulf editted her books and translated them into German. When in 1970 Arnulf died, Rakhmanova finished her writing activity. The talant and fame of Rakhmanova is proved by the fact that her books were translated into 21 languages and published with the edition of 2 mln copies. Her books influenced the formation of the image of the USSR in German-speaking countries.
Alya Rakhmanova died in February,11 1991 in Ettenhausen. She was buried in Salzburg, next to her husband and son. In Salzburg there is a memorial plate in honour of Alya Rakhmanova, a famous European writer of 1930s from the city of Kasli.


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Louis Aragon
    
(1897-1982)

Biography

Louis Aragon is a French poet, novelist and politician. Aragon wrote his first poems in 1917 serving as a hospital attendant during the WW1.In 1927 already famous French writer joined the French Communist Party and started working as a journalist. In the early 1930s Aragon got his first trip to the USSR, where he observed the life in the Soviet Union, and later on through his books got French people acquainted with the life in the USSR. During the WW2 Aragon joined the Resistance. In 1957 the writer won the Lenin Peace Prize. Aragon dealt with the popularization of the Soviet literature in France, paid much attention in his books to the toplic of the USSR. In 1962 in collaboration with Andre Maurois he published the parallel history of the USSR and the USA from 1917 to 1960. Still in spite of his sympathy to the USSR Aragon criticized some steps of the Soviet government- in particular, the Soviet invasion of Checoslovakia, and the lawsuits against Soviet writers.
Louis Aragon became the great French poet. His life and works still arouse the great interest. On March,27 2012 Paris held the opening of the square of Louis Aragon.

Product image
Сборник "Ура,Урал",
опубликован в 1934 г.
The political views of Aragon explained his sympathies to the USSR, and became a turning point in decision of the Soviet government to invite the writer to the USSR. In 1930 Aragon and his wife Elsa Triolet visited the international conference of revolutionary writers in Kharkov. His speech at the conference made him famous among the Soviet writers. In 1932 Aragon as a member of a group of foreign writers went on a long trip around the Urals. Their purpose was to observe the great construction projects of Communism and tell about the success of Soviet modernization worldwide. The writers arrived in Chelyabinsk on July, 31 1932 . In Chelyabinsk Aragon visited the Chelyabinsk regional power station, ChTZ construction, made a speech in a railway club and literature club of ChTZ. In Magnitogorsk he visited one of the main Soviet construction projects  of 1930s - Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. Later in his poems he called MMK «the black heart of the Soviet Union». Aragon was astonished with enthusiasm and devotion of Soviet workers and ambitious plans of the Soviet government. Aragon reflected his impressions of the trip in the book of poems «Hourra l'Oural», published in France in 1934. This book contains the poem «Valse du Tcheliabtraktrostroï», devoted to the СhTZ workers. Besides this book, Aragon also published his diaries, where described his Ural trip in detail. Thanks to Aragon France and other Western European countries learnt about life and tendencies of socialist Ural of 1930s.

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Zlatoust steel engraving

History

ГонIn 1815 at the order of  Emperor Alexander 1 the Russian government decided to start the first separated cold arms plant in Russia. In addition to the blades for the Russian army and navy, the factory also produced honorary weapon, decorated with Zlatoust steel engraving.
The first decorated blades were produced by German armourers invited to Zlatoust by the  Tsarist government to organize arms production in the town and to teach Russian masters . Soon, however, "students" became better than teachers in the art of decorating blades. Moreover, local craftsmen managed to improve sharp style of German engravings, adding elements to the decoration and composition, which at last formed a unique style of Zlatoust engraving , that glorified the city of craftsmen all over the world.
Март в рамеMain components of Zlatoust engraving style were developed in the works of the master Ivan Bushuev.Bushuyev introduced into the engraving the plots of Greek mythology and  scenes of Russian history. He was also the first to cover the entire surface of the blade with engravings .
In the second half of the 19th century Zlatoust engraving became more complicated and diverse. It was enriched by the elements of landscape and realistic motives. In addition to the blades, the masters started decorating with the engraving elements and compositions household products, cigarette cases and trays, cutlery and stationery .
In the first half of the 20th century due to the mass production of decorated items and simplifying the process of engraving, Zlatoust engraving turned out to be in decline, but in the 1950s the engraving art started to revive and return to its traditional forms .
Currently Zlatoust steel engraving develops quite rapidly. The masters return to traditional composition and artistic elements , improve production technologies. Zlatoust engraving gradually regains the position of the Russian and world brand .

International fame

Famous English geologist and explorer R. Murchison, who visited Zlatoust in 1848, highly appreciated the masterpieces of Zlatoust masters: "These products and steel tray , richly decorated with gold notch ... aroused universal surprise in England ." From this moment Zlatoust engraving became known in the West.
In the second half of the 19th century goods decorated with steel engraving, participated in exhibitions all around the world and everywhere won top prizes. Goods made by Zlatoust masters were exhibited in London , Paris, Stockholm , Glasgow, Philadelphia, Chicago , Copenhagen and Vienna. In 1923 Zlatoust products were demonstrated at the World Exhibition in Lyon.
However, in the late 1920s export of decorated products was stopped and art prints fell into decay . In the late 1950s , as the masters returned to traditional elements and technologies, Zlatoust engraving reappeared at international exhibitions : the decorated goods were exhibited in Izmir , Leipzig, Prague. Nowadays Zlatoust engraving is produced by 20 city enterprises. It is actively demonstrated at Russian and international exhibitions, the producers restarted the export of decorated goods. The ancient art of the Ural masters gradually regains lost ground in the domestic and international markets.

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Zlatoust arms

History

At the beginning of the XIX century the Russian Empire had only 3 ordnance factories. They produced weapons and firearms for the Russian army and navy. For the increase of output and improvement of firearms quality, the government decided to reduce the production of cold arms in all three ordnance factories of the country. However, it was necessary to preserve the production volume of cold arms, so at last the authorities made a decision to build a separate cold arms factory in the Urals . The idea to build a plant in Zlatoust was received by the Cabinet and approved by Emperor Aleksandr I. The main reason for the construction of cold arms factory in Zlatoust was the location of iron foundry and ironworks in the town, and also cheap labour.  These conditions made it possible to organize mass production of cheap blades and provide their easy transportation to the central part of Russia .
The plant construction project was developed in 1811 , and in December 1815 the new enterprize  was commissioned. The first workshops built on the bank of the Ai river were wooden, construction of a stone building was completed only in 1839. In order to organize the production of cold arms in Zlatoust the authorities invited more than 100 famous armourers from Germany. They also should have taught Russian armourers. All these measures provided rapid development of the factory what led to the gradual abandonment of contracts with foreign masters.
At the end of the 1820s Zlatoust produced 75% of all cold arms in the country. The factory produced a variety of fighting , fencing and hunting weapons , from 1839 to 1860 the plant also produced cuirasses.
In the second half of the 19th century the plant almost completely supplied the needs of the army and navy in the cold arms, and produced decorated honorary weapons. By the early 20th century production of blades at the plant increased to 42 thousand units per year. During the First World War, the plant produced 600,000 weapons and during the years of the Great Patriotic War , 583 thousand cavalry swords and 1 million war knives . In 1945, all the participants of the Victory Parade in Moscow were armed with Zlatoust weapons. Today the plant does not organize the mass production of weapons. Plant facilities are concentrated in the production of 100 kinds of cold and decorated arms , as well as souvenirs. Besides the factory , there is the guild of Zlatoust armourers , which includes 12 companies dealing with cold arms production.

International fame

In 1851 Zlatoust weapon was firstly demonstrated abroad. At the World Exhibition in London Zlatoust cold arms factory presented the best samples of its production and made ​​a favorable impression on the European audience . The success of the Ural gunsmiths did not go unnoticed for the foreign press. Thus, the newspaper "Morning Post" wrote the following: "The great achievements in this sector of Russian industry , without doubt, can be attributed to the high quality of steel consumed ." On its first overseas exhibition Ural weapons found the customers , and London's Royal Commission received several samples with the condition to exhibit them in the museums of the Geological Society and the University of Oxford .
From 1851 Zlatoust cold Arms Factory participated in 12 exhibitions, including 9 international events. The Ural masters won two gold medals at exhibitions in Paris ( 1878 ) and Stockholm (1897) , six silver medals - at exhibitions in London ( 1862 ) , Paris ( 1867) , Vienna (1873 y ) , two medals at the exhibitions in Philadelphia in 1876 , two bronze medals in London ( 1851 ) and Chicago ( 1893 ). Moreover,Zlatoust cold arms received diplomas and medals at exhibitions in Copenhagen (1888), Paris (1900 ) and Glasgow (1901).
Zlatoust cold arms are wide-spread all over the world. One of  the sabres made in Zlatoust is found in the Museum of Weapons of Solingen (Deutsches Klingenmuseum).
Another sword , made in 1824 , presented to the British military leader and statesman, the Duke of Wellington during his visit to St. Petersburg . Now it is stored in the London memorial museum of the Duke of Wellington.
Zlatoust cold arms are exhibited in museums of the Czech Republic , the Ukraine, Finland and other European countries. In the 21 century Zlatoust armourers actively develop weapon technologies , as well as the relations with former foreign partners, what contributes to the gradual return of  global brand status to Zlatoust cold arms.
In 2013, one of the Zlatoust arms companies made a unique saber worth 10,000 euro. It was ordered by one of the descendants of the Romanov princes . The sabre will be presented to the newborn heir of the British throne Prince George of Cambridge .

Learn more:
http://resources.chelreglib.ru:6005/el_izdan/kalendar2005/zlatoys4.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_psmxLUrmVQ
http://zlatoust.pro/about_us
http://z-o-f.ru/about_us
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0
http://www.zlatoust.ru/a/ze/nemcy_v_zlatouste.html
http://www.zlatoust.ru/a/ze/orush_fabrika.html

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http://www.all-zone.ru/zlatoust-oruzhie.html?page=4
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Kasli art castings

History

Construction of the  foundry in Kasli started in 1745 . In 1749 the plant was commissioned , and in 1751 was bought by the Demidovs, great Russian industrialists. The Kasli foundry was a relatively small enterprize, with one blast furnace and a factory producing iron. The major part of workers were bondmen, that was an ordinary situation at those times. Initially, the plant produced cast iron and iron, and executed military orders (producing cannons, balls and case-shot )
In 1809 Demidov sold the factory to the merchant L.I.Rastorguev. In the years 1811-1817 due to the Napoleonic Wars the plant specialized at mass production of balls , bombs, grenades and case-shot . After 1817 the foundry started a gradual transition to the production of household items - iron crockery, openwork gates and fences, cabinet goods. The production of art castings was established only at the early 1850s . At that time the masters began the casting of famous horse sculptures  on the models by P.K. Klodt, that was a turning point for the development of animal genre of Kasli art casting.
At the beginnng of 20th century due to increased investment Kasli foundry turned into the main Ironworks of the District, and in 1907 became the part of the English-Kyshtym joint-stock company.  However, management plans to further development were prevented by the First World War and the October Revolution of 1917. Since 1914, the plant began to produce mortar shells for artillery, consequently, the production of art castings was  resumed in the early 1920s. In 1934, at the factory there was commissioned a workshop of art castings. The  foundry also started producing large-size castings for bridges and parks of the cities of the USSR . Currently Kasli foundry produces a  great variety of high quality architectural and art castings. The products of the plant are treated as a recognized Russian brand.

International fame

In the second half of the 18th century, the products of Kasli foundry was actively exported to Europe, mainly to England, where at that time there was a crisis of metallurgy. However, with the transition of European plants to the more advanced production technologies , the export of Russian metal to Europe stopped. Over half a century the plant products were not exported from Russia. Only in the 1860s Kasli art casting appeared at the international exhibitions.
Kasli art casting became well-known abroad. In 1867 the plant products won a silver medal at the World exhibition in Paris. The awards of Kasli castings include a big gold medal at an exhibition in Vienna (1873 ) , a bronze medal at the exhibition in Philadelphia (1876 ) , an honorary diploma of the exhibition in Copenhagen (1888) , a bronze medal at the World Exhibition in Chicago (1893) , a gold medal at the international exhibition in Stockholm (1897).
Каслинский чугунный павильон
In 1900 Kasli iron and art castings took the Grand Prix at the World Art and Industry Exhibition in Paris. Specially for this exhibition Kasli masters created a huge cast iron pavilion-palace in the Byzantine style on the project by E.Baumgarten. The pavilion literally struck jury and visitors of the exhibition. Entrance to the palace was decorated with sculpture “Russia” by N.Laveretskiy. After the exhibition , several visitors offered to purchase pavilion with all exhibits, including the sculpture " Russia ." However, Russian flatly refused to sell abroad this sculpture because it demonstrated a symbolism of Russian power. As a result, the pavilion returned to its homeland . At the moment Cast iron palace is found in the Museum of Fine Arts (Yekaterinburg) . The Pavilion is included in UNESCO catalog as the world's only architectural structure of cast iron, located in the museum's collection .
The unprecedented success of the Ural masters in Paris attracted foreign investors to the plant. Casting production from Kasli interested Englishmen . In 1906 Kasli products received a gold medal at the exhibition in Milan , and a year later the plant became a part of the English- Kyshtym corporation. British engineer Leslie Urquhart was appointed to the post of Director. The plant gradually increased its capacity through the employment increase, as well as modernization of production base and production technologies.
After the events of 1917 Anglo-Kyshtym corporation was abolished, and the production of artistic castings resumed only in the early 1920s. Today Kasli products are in great requisition among Russian consumers, they are regularly demonstrated at the Russian exhibitions. One of the last major orders was the production of 500 lampposts that were installed on one of the quays of Sochi, the capital of the Winter Olympics-2014.

Learn more:
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B8
http://kasly.su/History_Kasly_08.htm
http://kasly.su/History_Kasly_04.htm


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Kusa art castings

History

The history of Ironworks in Kusa began in 1754 , when the founders of the plant the Mosolovs brothers purchased the land for the works construction. In 1778, the Kusa Ironworks was commissioned.Originally, the plant produced nails, staples and hoops, in the mid-19th century craftsmen also made houseware , heating and architectural molding.

International fame

The first samples of the Kusa art castings were dated 1883 . The decorated goods of the Kusa masters differed from the Kasli art castings in the appearance and the cast quality. More than 400 samples of the Kusa art castings were demonstrated at the international exhibitions. Decorated goods from Kusa won  top prizes at the exhibitions in Copenhagen (1888 ), Stockholm ( 1897) , Glasgow ( 1901) , Milan (1906), Malta (1914). The highest triumph of the Kusa castings became the Grand Prix at the exhibition in Milan (1906). The plant's products continued to be actively exhibited in the Soviet times. In particular, the production of the Ironworks was awarded a gold medal at the exhibition in Bulgaria ( 1988). In 1994 Kusa castings were presented at the exhibition in Paris. However, in spite of the international success after the Great Patriotic War the plant reduced the volume of art castings  produced. Currently, the Kusa machine engineering plant continues producing the Kusa art castings.

Learn more:
http://allday2.com/index.php?newsid=173177
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%83%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4
http://www.klmz74.ru/about_plant_02.php


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Evgeni Malkin

(1986- )

Biography

The star of NHL and the Russian ice hockey team Evgeni Malkin was born in 1986 in Magnitogorsk. Malkin started skating at the age of 3, and a few years later began to play hockey in the hockey school of Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Initially, Malkin did not differentiate himself from hockey players of his age , and at 15 he even did not get into the hockey team of the Ural region. Nevertheless, his talent and dedication proved that Malkin deserved to play hockey at the highest level. In 2004, Malkin got into the junior national team of Russia and  the same year won the Junior World Championship in Minsk. Evgeni's successes did not go unnoticed, forward joined  Russian youth national team. As part of the team Malkin won two  silver medals at the world championships.
In 2003 Malkin played his first match for the first team of Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and in 2005-2006 season won the "Golden Slam"- the prize to the best center forward of the championship. 

International fame

In 2006, during the off-season tournament for the Cup of Tampere Malkin suddenly left  the Metallurg team and went to the NHL where signed a contract with the club "Pittsburgh Penguins". However, at the same time Malkin had   a valid contract with Metallurg, that's why after the complaints of the club from Magnitogorsk, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation prohibited Malkin to play for any club until eliminating all trials. Nevertheless, the court of the New York State rejected the claim of Metallurg and on September 20, 2006 Malkin played his first match for Pittsburgh.
In the NHL Malkin continued his successful sports career. In the 2008-2009 season as part of the Penguins Malkin won the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy (prize to the best player of the season in the NHL). Playing in the NHL  Malkin became the best scorer of the league in 2009 and 2012, and won a series of  other personal trophies.
In 2012, as part of the Russian national team Malkin became the World Champion, and  got the prize to the most valuable player of the championship. A year later due to the NHL lockout Malkin returned to Metallurg. He played 37 matches for the club and scored 65 points. On his return to NHL the hockey player signed a new 8-year contract with the Penguins.
Malkin does not forget about his hometown and the team in which he became a top player. After getting the Stanley Cup Malkin brought it to Magnitogorsk, where everyone had the opportunity to take photos with Malkin and trophy on the main square in front of MMK. Currently Evgeni Malkin is one of the most talented and highly paid hockey players of the world, the star of Russian and international Ice hockey. 

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