How America works. Massachusetts and Virginia

Hello, friends, I am Alexander Genis, author and leading podcast “Genis: a look from New York”.

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How America works. Massachusetts and Virginia

This season we try to reopen America again, in any case, that of its significant part that I myself managed to find out and love. In each episode, we will visit the States, radically different from each other. Their features - political, historical, social, cultural and culinary - will help to understand how the country's truly federal structure of the Latin motto, minted on all its coins: E Pluribus Unum, "from many are one."

The purpose of this cycle is to know our listeners closer to that America, which, contrary to the wild Kremlin propaganda, has something to love and is always interesting to study - to understand how it is arranged.

Today we will visit two old states, one - northern and liberal - Massachusetts, the other - southern and conservative - Virginia.

Nickname - "Puritan state"

Massachusetts: 44th staff by territory (27 thousand square kilometers), 15th in population (about 7 million), 2nd in average income for a family (90 thousand dollars a year). The adoption of state status is 1787 (sixth in the country). The capital is Boston. The state of the state is a wild turkey. The nickname is “Puritan state”.

This state with an unpronounceable name for a beginner was most famous for three events in its, as in the American, history.

The first is the trial at the end of the 17th century over witches in Salem, as a result of which 15 people were executed. In memory of this terrible event in the city, a monument to innocent victims is erected and the museum is dedicated to it. The rest of the details are in the classical play by Arthur Miller "The Hard Test" ( Eng. The Crucible , 1953). But no matter how much Salem is repented by this crime, he still remains a “city of witches”, which is reminiscent of local road signs with a sorceress on a broomstick.

The second event is the “Boston tea party”, an incident that served as a reason for the war for the independence of the American colonies from England.

But the most important thing is the landing of pilgrims from the ship. “Meiflauer” on the cod Cape, who sang “Lullaby” Joseph Brodsky:

In the towns of New England, like those who have left the surf,
Along the entire coast, gleaming to the pockmarks
scales of tiles and fights, asleep jambs
stand in the dark at home, having hit the network
the continent that opened herring
and cod.

A cape code, a picturesque and barren sand braid, like a Sinai desert, entered the sacred history of the New World. It is surrounded by legends, each of which, however, is strictly documented.

The first shootout with red -skinned ones, which ended in a draw: they did not injure anyone either with an arrow or a bullet

On November 11, 1620, the pilgrims first entered the Earth of the New World, on November 13, they made a laundry, on the 15th they found a spring with fresh water, which, the chronicle notes, "seemed tastier than the wine." A little later, they found a hole with corn reserves hidden by the Indians for the winter (paid only a year later). The first shootout with red -skinned ones, which ended in a draw: no one was wounded by an arrow or a bullet. And finally, moving to fertile Plymouth, freed from the Indians with Ospa. Here they, Pilgrimov, can still be visited. And this is the most interesting adventure that Massachusetts gave me.

The fact is that America, as, say, Rome, was born in the squalor, but it carefully preserved it without decorating it. To admire the original, you should visit a special museum - the first settlement of pilgrims in the New World.

Due to the fact that historians stopped the clock, here always the same year: 1627. And people are the same that sailed four centuries ago. Taking the name and fate of one of the colonists, each on the plantation does not just play the hero chosen from the chronicle, but lives, as he, sharing faith, prejudices and languages of his age (seventeen dialects, which were then spoke in England).

Pilgrim on an American brand

I will put a house for myself there: my house on my land!

Fearing the attacks of the very Indians who even then lived in the neighborhood, the colonists surrounded their village with a shaky picket fence and installed four guns on a guard tower, which served as a prayer house at the same time (who occupied all the Sunday was the only entertainment of the settlers). Shots could scare away Indians and pirates, but hardly protect the pilgrims. There were too few of them. Of the hundred and sixty people, there are only sixty men who were able to wear weapons, but these did not part with him (here I first understood why it was so difficult to separate the American from his trunk).

The village was poor, but overlooking the sea. The streets, crooked sandy paths, hens roamed, goats grazed behind the fence, but not cows. Low houses were crowned with sharp, in case of snowfall, roofs.

Entering the hospitably open doors, you meet with the masters living in the XVII century, ready to answer your questions. In a smoky room behind a thick book, a young man in a spicy hat was sitting.

“Steve Dean,” he introduced himself, “my uncle sailed to Meflauer.”

- Do you know how to read?

- But not to write, like half of the colony, not counting women, of course, they were not taught.

- And what is this book? Bible?

- "Useful tips." The Bible is too expensive, especially - Geneva, which was translated directly from Jewish and Greek, so that closer to the word of God. Many people know her by heart.

- So, there are educated people among the pilgrims? Doctor?

- This is unlikely, he is a butcher.

- So bad?

- No, by profession, he knows how to open blood. You can’t lure the other in this wilderness.

- And you?

- In England, I was a ferryman, and then the king promised me seven years in twenty acres on the shore. I will put a house for myself there: my house on my land!

The guy's eyes lit up with unenfable joy, and I thought that in four hundred years the American dream had not changed too much.

In parting, I drove into the harbor, where Maiflaueer-2 stood, a museum copy of the first ship and with the same crew. More than others, I liked Pushkar Tom. He was not shy in expressions.

"Meiflauer-2"

“The most difficult flight in life,” he began his saga.

- Storms?

- Pilgrims! Bible day and night. “Ezekiel, verse 2,” will begin one. “Isaiah, verse 13,” will pick up another. And this did not reach the New Testament. Even the sailors complained: "Better pirates."

The heritage of pilgrims and puran is manifested in the national character of the whole of America

Our old friend Ruvin Deutch , physicist, doctor of sciences and an outstanding inventor in the field of medical equipment will be our old friend. In his office, there are more than a hundred patents - all the walls are hung.

Massachusetts is the grain from which America grew. Living here, do you notice the legacy of the pilgrims?

Ruvin Deutsch: the heritage of the pilgrims and Puritan manifests itself primarily in the national character of the whole of America, for example, American exclusivity, and in some institutions - a limited government, universal education. The holidays have survived from the pilgrims, for example, thanksgiving, when they are preparing a turkey in all families of America. As well as "blue laws". One of them, which prohibits the sale of alcohol on Sundays, was canceled recently.

Ruvin Deutsch and the wall of patents. Photo by Irina Genis

Alexander Genis: Your American life began in Cleveland, in Ohio, in the Middle West. When you moved to Massachusetts, which means to New England, what seemed to you fundamentally different?

live here very comfortable

Ruvin Deutsch: Indeed, New England is not at all like the Middle West, first of all, because it has 200 years a longer history of European settlement. And Boston does not look like Cleveland. This is a city of such a European style, I would say that it was founded for a long time, almost 400 years ago. Once upon a time, New England and Massachusetts were centers of industry and agriculture, and then all this moved from here to the Middle West, to the same Ohio, for example. I have the impression that the state of Massachusetts returns to its former green, wooded appearance.

Alexander Genis: How comfortable do you live in Massachusetts, climate, nature, culture, neighbors?

Ruvin Deutsch: the climate and nature of Massachusetts are very familiar to us, immigrants from Latvia. There are all four seasons here, near the ocean, not the Baltic Sea, but the ocean on which the same beautiful beaches as in Jurmala. Boston is known for his universities, medical clinics, museums, symphonic orchestra. The population here is very diverse by origin. The waves of emigration here brought a lot of Irish, Italians and created a new modern appearance of Boston. He, of course, is not the same as he was in the time of the pilgrims. I now live in Glosters on the shore of the ocean, where most of the population are fishermen who came from the Azores and Sicily. Yes, I would say, living here is very comfortable.

Alexander Genis: Massachusetts, where Harvard and MIT are located, is considered a staff of scientists. Do you how one of them notice a focus on science in the life of the state?

Harvard and Mit raised more than a hundred Nobel laureates each

Ruvin Deutsch: This is difficult not to notice in Massachusetts, especially when they announce the award of Nobel Prizes. Harvard and MIT are the most prestigious and rich universities in America. They raised more than a hundred Nobel laureates each. In Boston, of course, there are a lot of other universities and colleges, they are calculated in dozens - this gives the city a lively and noisy character, especially by the beginning of the school year, when more than 300 thousand students enter hostels and rental apartments. In addition to purely academic achievements, graduates of MIT, Harvard and other universities have created many well -known companies in the field of high -tech and bio -industry in Boston - this allows you to easily find the work of my plan who came from the Soviet Union with degrees, Doctor of Sciences, and so on.

Alexander Genis: What place can only be found in your state?

Ruvin Deutsch: For me, the most unique place in Massachusetts is the Cape Code, Cape Treski. This is such a sandy peninsula, which is issued 60 miles to the Atlantic. This is a favorite place for summer residents. At the very end of the peninsula, there is a very eccentric city of Provvinstun, in the way, by the way, a place where pilgrims landed 400 years ago, they only then moved through the bay to Plymouth. Every fall, a lot of mushroom hunters gather there, mainly immigrants from the Soviet Union, because the Americans are afraid to collect wild mushrooms.

Ruvin Deutsch and Sunsinces

Alexander Genis: I know this well, because my wife and I were the first to open this place.

Tell me, what dish conveys the character of your state?

Simple, very nutritious soup, like food of poor people

Ruvin Deutsch: I think that the main dish is very simple. This is a "Clam Chauder", a stew of mollusks. A simple, very nutritious soup, like the food of poor people, it is served in all state restaurants. In second place Omara, which until the 19th century fed pigs. Now this is a big delicacy. I always give it to the guests who come from afar. Boston is also called "bin-town", named dishes is baked beans. Now, of course, no one eats them, but the name of the city has been preserved.

Alexander Genis: What was your most unexpected meeting in your state?

Ruvin Deich: My closest colleagues were engineers, physicists, mathematicians born in America and who came from different countries of Europe and Asia, with a very diverse history. Among the Americans were the Yankees from New England, who spoke with the strong Boston New English accent. By the way, I really value their frugality, self -sufficiency, independence, I believe that these are one of the main features of people in Massachusetts and New England. There was a Mormon from Arizona, a PHD physicist, who spent two years a missionary in Thailand, a mathematician from Milan from a family of condotics and cardinals, Russian graduates of Fiztekh. There was a Hungarian, which in 1956 fled from Soviet tanks across the border to Austria with two little sons and wife. The founder of the company was Bernard Gordon, a very large inventor and philanthropist, by the way, a graduate of MIT. His grandfather came to America from Lithuania. It was very pleasant to work and communicate with such different people.

Alexander Genis: How did the war in Ukraine affect your state?

The congressman from my constituency was twice in Ukraine over the past year

Ruvin Deutsch: In general, Massachusetts is an ultraliberal state that always votes for a democratic party. Choosing their congressmen, people affect the situation. The delegation in the Congress supports the assistance of Ukraine. I know that the congressman from my constituency was twice in Ukraine over the past year. In principle, this whole delegation supports the assistance of Ukraine, significant assistance for an unlimited time. My neighbors who live on our street, when this war began, called us and asked if refugees from Ukraine that they could help - place at home. Other neighbors, dentists, sponsor the family of refugees from Ukraine, five, three young children, they really pay money to equip and help people stay in America for some time.

Virginia, or Virginia, as it is called in America, the 35th state by territory (110 thousand square kilometers), the 12th in population (8 and a half million). The adoption of state status is 1788 (tenth in the country). The capital is Richmond. The state of the state is a red cardinal. The motto is Sic Temper Tyranos (“such fate of tyrants”). The nickname is "mother of presidents."

Washington's estate

Virginia really gave America 8 presidents, and four of them were included in the first five. The most famous, of course, George Washington. Mount-Vernon, its plantation of 20 hectares, has become the most important museum-and not in vain. This is one of the most beautiful places in America. Located on the high bank of the Potomak River, only 20 kilometers from the current capital, elegant, in the spirit of the Enlightenment, the estate resembles the ideal housing of the British gentleman-agrarian, who, in a certain sense, was Washington. However, he was never in the old world and fought with the British for many years.

Washington's artificial jaw made of fang fangs

Washington’s main interest, in addition to the founding of the new state, was agriculture. I carefully examined his barn book, where all the agricultural ventures of the first president in retired are pedantically recorded. It turns out that he experimented with the breeding of all then -known crops, including very exotic ones. They told me that Khrushchev, retired from public affairs, was growing corn, but without much success. Washington was better. Historians believe that, given the value of all his land possessions, he was the richest president in the history of the United States.

One exhibit that made a strong impression on me is the artificial jaw of Washington made of fangs of a hippo.

Washington's dentures

By the time he became president in 1789, he had only one of his tooth. Therefore, he never smiled in public. As evidenced by Washington's lifetime portraits - and every dollar from which a harsh and thoughtful president is looking at us, whose penalties have become the most popular attraction of Virginia.

About how to live in this state today, we have been talking with Anna Brodski-Krotkina, who has been teaching for many years at one of the Virgin Universities and is successfully engaged in journalism, including writing about the situation in Ukraine in the Ukrainian press.

Anya, your state is marked with a paradox: they say that Virginia did the most for creating the United States and for their destruction - in the civil war. Does this contradiction feel today? For example, I saw in Virginia on the bumper of the cars a sticker with the inscription “The general surrendered, but I haven’t”.

South lost, and the loser very often cannot recover for centuries

Anna Brodski-Krokina: Undoubtedly, everyone is felt by the contradictions. Our state is marked by a large number of museums. Jefferson Museum, Museum of Patrick Henry-these are all the founding fathers. Nevertheless, the most important topic in the minds of the inhabitants of Virginia is a civil war. She is literally by ear. When we had just moved to Virginia 20 years ago, we were struck that, sitting in a restaurant, we heard how at a neighboring table, people discussed whether the general should give up or not. This is still a topic that excites the inhabitants of the state. Why did it happen? Of course, the south lost, and the loser could not come to his senses very often for centuries.

Anna Brodski-Krokin

I live and work in a city called Lexington. Our city is small, but we have two universities. One bears the name of Washington, the other - Lee, a military institute that produces future officers. Note that Lee was the commander in chief of the southern troops. Therefore, the history of the city, of course, is very, very connected with the war, is connected with General Lee, who was also a lecturer of our university.

Our city is the place of pilgrimage of people who yearn about the former beauty of the southern states. We have the grave of General Lee, we have the grave of General Thomas Jackson. Each time on the day of the memory of these generals, the city is visited by fans of the slave states. They come, dressed in strange costumes, men often lose weight. To look like soldiers of that time, they are specially sitting on a diet for six months. They are in old costumes, they are with ancient weapons - guns with bayonets. Women in caps and crinolines. This whole team is marching along the main street of the city, and in the evening they go to the cemetery, where General Jackson is buried. They carry old lanterns, I recall the great past there.

Costymic procession in Lexington

Of course, they dream of Jackson to get out of the coffin. He is very trepidated, these people throw lemons at his grave, because Jackson loved to suck Lemon, preparing for his lectures, which, by the way, he read precisely at the Military Institute in Virginia, that is, at the institute, which is located in lexington.

Конечно, у нас в штате дело не ограничивается призраками. У нас дороги названы именами генерала Ли, площади названы именем генерала Джексона. И только два года назад главную больницу города переименовали, дали нейтральное имя этой больнице, а раньше больница называлась Больница имени "Стоунволл" Джексона, то есть генерала южных войск, который, между прочим, боролся за рабство. Так что наследие войны нас преследует повсюду. В какой-то момент любители конфедератской истории, все еще сторонники южных штатов, украсили весь наш город флагами конфедерации. Город с этим стал активно бороться, и несколько раз пришлось городскому совету идти в суд, чтобы эти организации, связанные с флагами и историей конфедератов, не могли бы заставить город вешать флаги конфедерации на столбах города, которые принадлежат городу, а не частным группам.

Александр Генис: Как отразилась “война с памятниками”, которая бушует по всей Америке, на жизни штата?

Кадеты военного института до последних лет должны были, проходя мимо этого памятника, отдавать честь

Анна Бродски-Кроткина: Показательный момент связан именно с памятником "Стоунволл" Джексона, генерала Гражданской войны. Памятник ему прямо перед университетом поставили в 1912 году. Это маленький такой изысканный памятник, скорее статуэтка. Кадеты военного института до последних лет должны были, проходя мимо этого памятника, отдавать честь, как будто он был живой герой. И только несколько лет назад, когда афроамериканские студенты возмутились, такое правило было упразднено. То есть памятник – совершенно не нейтральная фигура, это не нейтральный объект в истории Виргинии. Памятники героям Виргинии поставили в основном в самом конце XIX века или в начале ХХ века, конечно, они должны были быть объектом восхищения, поклонения и в конце концов культа.

Александр Генис: Давайте перейдем к более мирным темам: какое место можно найти только в вашем штате, если не говорить о военных мемориалах?

Анна Бродски-Кроткина: Наш штат славится самыми прекрасными, удивительными водопадами. Туристы съезжают к этим водопадам, где они шумят, грохочут, создают невозможную красоту. С моей точки зрения, самое прекрасное место – это Университет штата Виргиния, это памятник архитектуры, который построил третий президент США Томас Джефферсон. Это ротонда, здание, принадлежащее стилю классицизма.

Университет Виргинии

Все окружено колоннами, такое впечатление, что это маленький римский форум

Оно говорит о ясности пропорций, прекрасных американских идеалах, о красоте разума, о демократии. И это одно из самых восхитительных мест в нашем штате. Когда ко мне приезжают гости, я всегда их туда отвожу – посмотреть на этот совершенно прелестный памятник классицизма. Сам кампус университетский, сама территория университета, спланированная Джефферсоном, тоже очаровательна. Все окружено колоннами, такое впечатление, что это маленький римский форум. Идея, конечно, легитимизация новой страны, показать, как она связана с римской республикой, с идеей просвещения. Университет должен был называться “Академическая деревня”. Поэтому тут еще восторг перед пасторальным и одновременно интеллектуальным образом жизни.

Еще в этом университете есть тоже одна маленькая историческая деталь, тоже совершенно очаровательная: это комната, в которой жил Эдгар Аллан По.

Комната Эдгара По в университетском общежитии

Студенты жили почти в монашеских кельях: кровать, столик, зеркало. Конечно, администрация университета посадила туда чучело ворона. Как же иначе, Эдгар Аллан По не может быть без ворона.

Александр Генис: Nevermore! Замечательная история. Последний вопрос: как – конкретно – война в Украине отразилась на жизни вашего штата?

Анна Бродски-Кроткина: Конкретно в нашем городе четыре семьи беженцев. Две многодетные семьи, у которых 5 или 6 человек детей у каждого, одна семья, где три ребенка. Это полные семьи, муж, жена и дети. Мужчины смогли выехать из Украины, потому что по правилу войны отцы многодетных семей имеют право на выезд из страны. Этих людей спонсирует наша местная баптистская церковь. Люди эти очень быстро нашли себе работу. Все эти три семьи связаны с работой на стройке, поэтому работы такой очень много, они быстро нашли применение своим талантам. Жены их тоже нашли себе работу, кто-то работает в столовой, кто-то работает в библиотеке. Все стали учить английский. Дети пошли в школу, уже, конечно, подучили язык.

Наш город очень маленький, 5 тысяч человек, не считая студентов, тем не менее уже есть три семьи беженцев. Университет, конечно, тоже подтянулся. Весь прошлый год у нас была целая череда украинских гостей, которые читали лекции, рассказывали о войне в Украине, ее искусстве и литературе. К нам приезжали журналисты, рассказывали о том, что происходит в российских застенках. Так что студенты университета ни на минуту не забывают о том, что идет война.