Russians have ceased to be proud of what their ancestors had created for centuries. It is considered old-fashioned to keep Russian household items in your home.
Rather, we will decorate our living space with consumer goods from large furniture companies or buy European interior items and inventory for crazy money.
But our grandmothers also kept the most valuable things in their chests: what was made by the hands of our ancestors: embroidery, lace.
The sets contained fancy teapots, plates, and lovely porcelain figurines.
What constitutes the self-identity of a Russian person today?
A sad trend of our days: bragging by the power of Russian weapons, tricolor, pompous mass events that strengthen the "spirit". Plus, news feeds, where we are urged to "be patient, while there is no money" and "to understand the situation", because there are only enemies around!
You can ask any student what crafts he knows?
Promotional video:
It will be Gzhel, Khokhloma, Zhostovsky tray and Palekh casket.
Unfortunately, even popular folk art items can be seen less and less in the houses and apartments of Russians. Apparently, now it is considered irrelevant. For the inhabitants of the metropolis, in general, everything "Russian-folk" is a bad form. As they say now - "not in trend".
And who decides for us what to be in trend ?! Why do we look to the west all the time and think that theirs is better and more beautiful ?!
Not so long ago, almost every corner of our country had its own crafts. Manufacturing: tableware, carved wooden toys and furniture, jewelry, lace, embroidery, blacksmithing and much, much more. Now these amazing things can be seen only in small local museums, where, thanks to caring local residents and curators, it is a miracle that collections are preserved in memory of local life and traditions. Many crafts have been partially or completely lost.
Do you know about Konakovsky faience, Ramon ceramics? The list of crafts can be supplemented by residents of those towns and villages where there is nothing from local applied art
not left, or instead of production there were small workshops that barely make ends meet, trading in the markets.
Konakovsky faience. I vase.
What has changed over time? Why did people stop producing locally what was originally supposed to provide their everyday life with everything they need: dishes, various utensils, serve as decoration for their home?
The problem of choosing a course towards globalization and immeasurable consumption is now extremely acute! Advertising, fashion trends; everything that is imposed on us from the outside in order to force a person to buy the products of corporations and suppress their will.
Many Russians get rid of their grandmother's ceramic plates and cups, disgustingly sending them to their dacha or even to the trash heap.
Ramon ceramics. Set of dishes.
It is possible that many of these items are badly worn by everyday life, unattractive and, often, have no historical value, since they are the products of large factories in the USSR. But even among them there are beautiful, stylish things. And, perhaps, someday, these "dacha exhibits" will be in demand among collectors.
But back to the problem of crafts;
Here is how artisans from the south of Russia write about the current situation:
“I have been making baskets and other wickerwork for several years, but now I am making rattan furniture,” said Andrey Goncharov, the wicker weaving. - And the baskets are brought from China, mine turned out to be more expensive. My grandmother taught me how to handle the vine, who after the war took places at VDNKh with her products. Now this skill has practically disappeared on the Don. I regret it, but I cannot go back to it. I need a job. I feel like a Lefty in a tie."
Galina works at a ceramics company, paints Galina works at a ceramics company, paints urns for ashes.
“The company is forced to hire those who picked up a brush for the first time,” says Galina. - They are paid a penny, the cost is low, but the quality of the painting does not fit any criteria. Thanks to such tricks, we are still competing with Chinese consumer goods. To stay in the market, the managers came up with new products - urns for ashes. You cannot call it folk craft, but debit and credit converge better”.
As we can see, the situation is extremely difficult. It is necessary to create conditions and provide support at the state level: if you want - to promote and advertise craft production. After all, if the local workshops were working in full force, then people could buy handicrafts again and again, and then they did not have to give their "hard-earned" foreign corporations.
For example, almost everyone has been abroad: if you go into the house of an Italian, then you will certainly find there grandma's cute sugar bowl and a brand new shiny blue and yellow dish with the image of juicy lemons, bought at a family factory from hereditary ceramists.
Or, for example, let's take - the eastern countries, with their incredible flavor. Any oriental bazaar on the doorstep will overwhelm you with a wave of colors, smells, sounds, fanciful ornaments. It is hard to imagine that the locals, coming home, would drink coffee in Arabic from a mug "Made in China", isn't it ?!
So why only foreigners buy nesting dolls, Khokhloma, Gzhel for souvenirs? Why are these things hung on the wall, put in a sideboard or on a bookshelf, like some kind of decoration ?!
Thus, a disappointing conclusion can be drawn: modern Russians devalue their own culture and traditions; after all, household items were created to serve a person. He should admire them, feel connected with generations and be proud of the achievements of his fellow countrymen, and not be a wonder for a tourist! These things are valuable because they are made by hand, by craftsmen, with a soul (because for such beggarly salaries that craftsmen in Russia receive, people are clearly ideological and principled!)
Flip the plate of the Swedish company: maid in Romania, read the towel or tablecloth label: maid in Bangladesh or China.
Now think about the meaning of such purchases: after all, we buy consumer goods from Bangladesh or China. We pay for logistics, customs clearance. In this case, it does not interfere with reflecting on what harm is done to the environment, this is: transportation, gasoline, resources, chemical production, the construction of shopping centers in deliberate quantities, where at every step they shout to us: “Buy! Buy … Discount, Sale.!."
The whole world is entangled in a web of points of sale, where lines of trucks, ships, planes carry their goods, so that next year or season we will buy something new, and the old - thrown away (as tired and advertised newer).
Almost all people on earth are victims of hidden or direct advertising of global corporations. And their goal is to make the appearance of "elite" low-quality junk. We must remember: if all the peoples of the world at the same time cease to perceive their cultural code, if everyone imagines himself an "elite", then our world will simply collapse!
This is exactly what everything goes to …
Elite is a very dangerous concept for the minds of people, aimed at making us spend more and consume more. With the “reputation” that, for example, the “Russian elite” has won for itself, the following can be considered synonymous with this word: degradation, social inequality, theft, greed, corruption, bribery, deception, acting, vice, dementia, squalor, irresponsibility, hostility, selfishness, arrogance, infantilism, mental illness, isolation from reality.
And not sable furs at all, black caviar with spoons, an expensive car, a palace, a yacht, a football club. Sane people around the world consider all this to be nothing more than vulgarity and bad taste. This should become a new "trend" in our country: economy, care for nature, common sense, intelligence.
Perhaps then, people will remember what the peoples of Russia can rightfully be proud of, but for now, support museums of folk art, visit them! Explore your own culture and life of your ancestors.
After all, just imagine: if, suddenly, they turn off: electricity, heating, and people have nothing to eat, we will not run to the bank for a deposit, but for a rolling pin, a candle, a packet of seeds, potatoes, a poker and a cast iron. We'll dig up the clay with a shovel and blind the crooked cup … And those who have the most (seemingly) simple skills of life without the benefits of civilization will survive. Those who are able to plow the land and plant their own food. It is possible that many will not master this! And no corporation will help to survive, that's for sure!
Therefore, it is very important to accustom your children to manual labor, to be able to do something ourselves. As experts say, it is extremely useful for the neural connections of the brain. Apparently, therefore, our ancestors were not fools and did not destroy Mother Earth, unlike modern "individuals".
Author: Maya Elina