Buddhist monastery Shad-tchup-ling in the Urals, on Mount Kachkanar. Buddhist monastery "shad tchup ling" Shad tchup ling logbook
Looking through the guide to the Urals, I mentally planned my trips around the region, marking on the map the most interesting places and routes. One of these places is Mount Kachkanar, located in the North Sverdlovsk region and is one of highest peaks Middle Urals.The Buddhist monastery of Shad Tchup Ling is located on the mountain. It is the only Buddhist datsan in the Urals. After googling on the Internet, I found out that the monastery has its own group in contact http://vk.com/shad_tchup_ling. I called the monastery to arrange my visit. Received the approval of the Chief Lama Dokshit, me were allowed to visit the monastery and stay overnight. MOn the phone he asked to bring some products and told in detail how to get to them.
Having packed my hiking backpack, early in the morning I went to Shad Tchup Ling.
The route of my trip began from the city of Verkhny Tagil, by car I drove to the city of Kachkanar. Citywas founded to ensure the development of the Kachkanar group of fields. From the moment the decision on construction was made to this day, the city has been inextricably linked with the mining and processing plant. Construction of the mining and processing plant and the city began in 1957 and was declared a Komsomol shock construction project.
From the city of Kachkanar I headed to the entrance of the Western Quarry, this is the end point of movement by car, then I had to climb the mountain on foot.
After about 2 km of climbing up the mountain, I came to the observation deck of the Western Quarry. Its development has begun back in the 30s and 40s. All mined ore from the quarry is transported tomining and processing plant (GOK) "Kachkanarsky", located nearby, mThe processing capacity of which is 33 million tons of iron ore per year.The Kachkanarsky GOK is the largest mining and processing plant in Russia.
There are traces of sleds on the trail: in the monastery there are dogs on which novices carry food and various loads up the mountain.
There is a sign on the path. Meaning: if you go straight, you will come to the “camel” rock, if you go right, you will come to the monastery. From this sign to the monastery there is a 1 km walk.
Now about how the monastery appeared on Mount Kachkanar.
Lama Dokshit (means protector) is a former military man, I’ll tell you about him a little later. His teacher, Darma Dodi Zhalsaraev, lived in Buryatia. One day the teacher dreamed of a beautiful monastery on a mountain called Kachkanar. In the morning he called Lama Dokshit and told about his dream. They began to look for a mountain with that name and discovered it 5,500 kilometers from Buryatia in the very center of the Urals. There Lama Dokshit began building a monastery in 1995. WITHConstruction of the monastery according to the construction plan is designed for 300 years.
Construction is being carried out according to the ancient Tibetan and Mongolian canons of monastic architecture, which allows preserving the ecosystem of the area and harmoniously fitting the complex of buildings into the picturesque landscape of Mount Kachkanar.The main function of the monastery is to organize and ensure the Buddhist practical process: conducting rituals, services, traditional festive events, individual and collective practices.
This year, solar panels were installed in the monastery, thanks to which there was internal lighting in all buildings and the ability to charge phones and laptops.
Now there are four novices living in the monastery, not counting the Lama, who undergo practices, do housework and fulfill various vows. Some have been living for 12 years, others came a month ago.
Lama Sanye Tenzin Dokshit in the world is Mikhail Vasilyevich Sannikov, a very kind, open-hearted person with a subtle sense of humor. You can talk to him on any topic, I even got the impression that he knows the answer to any question. Different people of different levels of income and class constantly come to Lama Dokshit. Ordinary tourists come for the sake of curiosity, advanced Buddhists and Yoga Gurus come to practice in the monastery. Many come just to chat, talk about life, and gain experience. He does not impose his opinion on anyone, does not engage in moralizing and promoting religion, as various preachers of various religions do.
I’ll tell you a little about life in the monastery. A duty officer is assigned every day. He wakes up before everyone else, lights the stove, cooks food and clears the table.
There are always kettles with hot tea on the stove. Kettles are insulated with caps to retain heat longer. The white ones have black tea, the rest have green tea. In such frosts, tea helps to warm up; they drink it here all the time and treat all guests. Lama Dokshit jokes that “our water is magical.” Jokes aside, but the water is really very tasty, despite the fact that... there is no hole or spring on the mountain. In summer, the guys collect rainwater, in winter they raise it from a special pit-well.
There is an altar in a separate room. To honor the Body of the Buddha, images (thanka) of a Buddha statue are installed on the altar.
Eight cups for offering gifts; water is poured into them in the morning and poured out in the evening. Some cups are filled with rice and are also used as an offering.
On the left on the altar lie sacred texts - this is the speech of the Buddha, the teaching through which living beings achieve Enlightenment. Therefore, they are considered the most sacred item on the altar.
Various ritual accessories.
In the morning I went for a walk around the outskirts of the monastery, admiring the winter beauties of Mount Kachkanar.
An interesting rock called "Camel", there really is a similarity.
It's time to go back home, I say goodbye to Lama Dokshi and his students. Thank you for your hospitality, for the magical tea and interesting communication.
If you are planning to visit the monastery, do not forget to take gifts with you - building materials, polyurethane foam, any products, etc. It is better to call or contact the monastery in advance to find out about current needs.
Every morning we are born again. And what we do today will be of greatest importance.
Siddhartha Gautama
I continue the story about interesting people. Yes, the story will mainly be about the only mountain Buddhist monastery in Russia, but the monastery is the work of a specific person.
So, spring, Sverdlovsk region, Kachkanar, the mountain of the same name.
01.
I found information about the monastery by chance while preparing for a spring trip to the Urals. Sensible reports about the visit can be counted on one hand, mostly some articles about litigation with the Kachkanarsky GOK and rumors about imminent demolition. So I had to take my hands in my hands and go before it was too late.
02.
Mount Kachkanar stands next to the city of the same name, or rather, the city is located at the foot of the mountain. The mountain is so-so, far from Elbrus, only 887.6 m. This is the height we had to go to.
03.
The most difficult part of the entire ascent was to pass the GOK entrance. The mountain turned out to be on the territory of the enterprise. I asked the security guard if it was possible to go up the mountain, she replied that it was possible, but we had to get approval from the department, it was in the city, but they weren’t working today (Saturday), and it wasn’t a quick task. But since we came from afar, she simply had to tell us that their work is difficult, the territory is huge and it is simply impossible to keep track of everything. Here she sees it at the barrier, but over there, behind the bushes three meters away, she no longer sees it. They say there is a path there, and further along the road, the main thing is not to get under the BelAZ. After thanking the guard and loudly expressing our regret about the inaccessibility of the monastery due to bureaucratic delays, we went behind the bushes.
04.
Well, then we go up the mountain along an excellent road. Along the way, you can stop at a couple of observation platforms, and even climb onto lighting towers. The quarry is active, so there is something to look at and you need to look both ways.
05.
From the second lookout, a straight old road goes up the mountain, we follow it. As you climb, you literally cross several natural zones in just an hour. You should take your children on excursions here; it’s rare that changes in nature can be so clearly shown in such accessibility.
06.
And eventually you come out into a small clearing. If you go straight, you will get to the Camel rock and high mountain lake.
07.
The lake is so-so. It will probably be more fun in the summer, but in May there was still ice on it. Fishermen are still sitting on the luda of this thickness in the spring
08.
And to the right there begin simply fantastic (for the end of spring) deposits of snow, along which a chain of old tracks can be seen. Let's follow them. Step to the side and you fall almost waist-deep.
09.
There is a thick layer of snow underfoot, and streams gurgle under the snow. You can hear them perfectly and you don’t want to fall into them at all. A few hundred meters later, right in the forest, there is a large stack of boards and a sign in the style of “Traveler, throw away your things, leave your fatigue and help build the monastery.” We helped, yes.
10.
The last push along the kurumnik, we jump over the slippery stones and behold, the monastery. To be honest, there were fears of not being able to catch him there.
11.
The monastery is being built, from completely finished buildings, perhaps only the stupa of the Awakening. Through the gates, drums and information board we finally get inside.
12.
We are clearly welcome
13.
No, actually we are glad. A man came out hearing the dogs barking and led us inside to dry off after swimming in the snow and drink tea. “Drinking tea” is perhaps the most frequently used phrase at the top.
14.
This concept does not include tea drinking itself, although of course there will certainly be one, but rather conversations and gatherings. This is the eastern version, this is Asia.
“Where are you from? And then where can I see the photos? On LJ? Is he still alive?!”
Soon they had a logbook shadtchupling
15.
Having warmed up, we go out to explore. This is a stunningly beautiful place! I love mountains, even small ones. There is something primal in them, revealing the subconscious in a person.
16.
A long time ago, the Mansi lived on these lands. No one lived on the mountain itself, but it was considered a place of power and was used to perform religious rituals.
17.
When the Russians came to these places, they became interested in the local deposits. According to rumors, Demidov himself wanted to buy the entire mountain from the Mansi, but something didn’t work out between them.
18.
Then platinum fever passed through these places, but quickly ended. The mining and processing plant was founded in the late 50s of the last century, at the same time the city of Kachkanar was founded on the southern slope of the mountain.
20.
The idea of building a monastery came to its creator in 1995. The creator was Mikhail Vasilievich Sannikov, a very interesting person. He was born into a military family, and for several years he commanded a sabotage and reconnaissance group in Afghanistan.
21.
He was demobilized from the army due to disability with the rank of captain, worked as a nurse in a morgue, as a cook in the river fleet, and graduated from the Nizhny Tagil Art School as an external student.
22.
In the late 80s, at the age of 27, Mikhail decides to go to study at the Ivolginsky datsan. He entered and took the monastic name Tenzin Dokshit. I went to Mongolia and after finishing my studies I wanted to move there to live. But fate decreed otherwise.
23.
To be completely precise, his teacher Pema Jang ordered otherwise. The young Lama Dokshit was given the order to build a Buddhist datsan in the Urals. The logic is simple: in the east there are Buryat churches, in the west St. Petersburg Gunzechoiney, in the south datsans of Kalmykia, and in the middle it is empty. There are no Buddhist temples in the Urals. And in order to stand out completely, the temple must stand on the top of a mountain.
24.
We chose Kachkanar, a mountain on the border of Europe and Asia. As I already said, this place has long been known as a place of power. And the name of the monastery was given to Shad Tchup Ling - “place of practice and implementation” (or “Place of study and implementation”, as you prefer). Construction began on May 15, 1995, and during the first years Tenzin Dokshit built it alone.
25.
The first buildings were almost entirely wooden, and a fire that happened in 1998 destroyed everything that had been rebuilt. The Lama and his few disciples had to start all over again.
26.
After a walk along the mountain we drink tea again.
27.
Mikhail is an excellent conversationalist with a unique sense of humor. In general, if you communicated with a Buddhist who was a military man, a pathologist and a river worker, and even with a good education and encyclopedic knowledge in various fields, then you will understand me
For some reason I kept remembering “The Golden Calf”
“Have you read about the disarmament conference? - one pique vest addressed another pique vest. – Speech by Count Bernstorff.
– Bernstorff is the head! - the asked vest answered in such a tone as if he was convinced of this on the basis of his long-term acquaintance with the count. -Have you read the speech Snowden made at a meeting of voters in Birmingham, that stronghold of conservatives?
- Well, what can we talk about... Snowden is a head! Listen, Valiadis,” he addressed the third old man in Panama. – What can you say about Snowden?
“I’ll tell you frankly,” Panama answered, “Don’t put your finger in Snowden’s mouth.” I personally wouldn't put my finger on it.
And, not at all embarrassed by the fact that Snowden would never have allowed Valiadis to put his finger in his mouth, the old man continued:
- But no matter what you say, I’ll tell you frankly - Chamberlain is still a head too.
Pique vests raised the shoulders. They did not deny that Chamberlain was also a head. But most of all, Briand consoled them.
- Brian! - they said passionately. “This is the head!”
28.
No, in fact, I was ready to listen to Mikhail Vasilyevich all day, or even two. He told why smoking filtered cigarettes is more harmful than just cigarettes, how pipe tobacco differs from cigarette tobacco (he loves to smoke), the story of the Russians coming to these lands and what happened before that, how ore is mined and why the Kochkanar Mining and Processing Plant wants to evict them from here and much more.
29.
I learned a bunch new information, but never received an answer to my questions about the plans of the monastery, where the money for construction came from and why there are no documents for the land. With Buddhist directness, the lama answered me that we are what we think; that the monastery is not the main thing, the main thing is the process; and money is like food: if it is taken internally according to the body’s needs, then the food becomes food and since the body is alive, then there is food. Excellent answer from the tax office, you can use it
30.
After tea and conversation, break for work. That day they made a shed-shed for all kinds of household needs.
31.
The people here are handy, and whether you like it or not, you will inevitably learn to work with your hands. All sorts of mechanisms were collected around the area and used on the farm. No one will just drag such heavy weights up the mountain.
32.
A couple of years ago there were fewer problems with the delivery of building materials, food, and in general with movement. From the mining and processing plant there was a pass for entry and passage, the car could drive to that site with a sign for Camel.
33.
Since then, the plant’s policy has changed dramatically and even on foot the monks pass through the checkpoint illegally. There is also a path on the northern side of the mountain, but it is suitable for transporting anything only in winter.
34.
Then, with the help of dogs or a snowmobile, construction materials are thrown in. By and large, there are two seasons in the monastery: winter is the time of dropping off building materials and studying, summer is the time of construction and study.
35.
Up here there is no electricity, running water, or steam heating. No official permits, no documents. One on one with the outside world.
36.
The territory of the monastery, in fact, like the whole mountain with all the lakes, Camels, the Gagarin monument and the mass hiking trails The Kachkanarsky GOK wants to finally close it. The basin is expanding, they are starting to develop a new field, and there is a risk that the mountain may be destroyed by explosions.
37.
Shad Tchup Ling is the only mountain Buddhist monastery in Russia, the Kachkanarsky GOK is developing the only vanadium deposit in Russia. It’s hard to argue with money; the plant produces 55 million tons of iron ore per year.
38.
In addition to the monastery, we may also lose a mountain, as happened with one of the Sterlitamak shihans. In 2015, the mining and processing plant plans to launch production at a new deposit at the very foot of the mountain.
39.
One of the main tenets of Buddhism is that everything in this world is changeable and impermanent.
40.
But let's return to the monastery. We came there for a couple of hours, and ended up staying for a bathhouse, dinner and overnight. Where does everything come from on this rocky peak?
41.
Even though it’s May, the schedule is still winter. Studying, shopping for supplies, tea. No one stands over the students with a stick, it’s just that if you came here, it means you want to study, and in order to survive you need to do housework.
42.
This is what the monastery should become at the end of construction. Dogs provide the main assistance in transporting building materials. The guys say that they had a hard time with them until they understood what needed to be done so that they would pull the sled in the right direction. Well, the dogs seemed to understand what they wanted. But there are still cases when the whole bunch breaks away and runs away wherever they look, taking the sleigh with it.
43.
Mikhail says that the level of students is different. Someone with higher education, and someone needs to improve their school course. There are books in the library for every taste, that's for sure.
44.
According to the schedule, from among the monks, those on duty are appointed to take care of the household, someone is assigned to work at a construction site, and someone goes into the city on business or to buy groceries. In general, it’s like in the army.
45.
The farm has chickens, goats, a cow, and dogs. Everyone needs to be fed, everyone needs to be cleaned up.
46.
Some also need to be milked.
47.
This is a vegetable garden. They say they even grow something. Mikhail graduated from the Perm Agricultural Institute in a year and probably knows some secrets about how to grow potatoes on stones. As I say, he is a very interesting and versatile person.
48.
There is no electricity, the light comes from a kerosene stove, but there is LED lighting powered by a car battery. The laptop runs on it, and the battery is charged during the day when the gas generator is started for work.
49.
The water is local, rainwater. It is collected in a natural reservoir and taken as needed. In winter it all freezes to the bottom and you have to melt the ice and snow.
50.
As the lama says, they have been drinking for several years, the horns and hooves have not grown, so everything is fine. It was difficult in the dry years. It was summer, when there was no rain for several months and we were without water.
51.
This is how this unique place lives. It is clear that not everything is legal, it is clear that outwardly it looks more like a labor community, but I would really like the GOC to find an opportunity to leave the monastery and the mountain alone.
52.
We wish the monks good luck and strength of spirit. As far as I know, now, six months later, their situation has not changed.
And so again my restless head and quick feet again carried me through the villages of the Fatherland. My eighteen-year-old daughter and friend Denis volunteered to go with me. Our path this time was already a little further than usual - although it was rich Perm region to the sights, but they also come to an end someday. No, of course, you can watch a lot more, but this is where priorities and desires come into play. And they gravitate more and more towards large spaces and mountains. In a word - to scale.
This time was chosen aside Sverdlovsk region: almost on the border with Perm region There is city of Kachkanar. Glorious is he Kachkanar Mining and Processing Plant (Evraz holding), which mines titanomagnetite ore in its vicinity.
View of the monastery from the northern peak of the mountain
What can you see in Kachkanar
and on the way to it?
The bulk of the attractions are concentrated in the area of the same name mountains: actually the mountain itself with its rocks at the top, a mountain lake at the site of stone mining, Buddhist monastery And stele to Gagarin. At the foot of the mountain, on the way to the top, located Western quarry of the Kachkanarsky GOK. Also if you go to the side Perm region , then 40 kilometers from Kachkanara you can visit mountain.
But more about everything below. Since there was a lot of photographic material, no matter how hard I wanted, I couldn’t cram in what couldn’t be squeezed in and show all these objects in one report without loss. Therefore, there will be three parts - one about the monastery, and the second - about other attractions Kachkanara, well, the third one is about Mount Kolpaki.
How to get there?
Get to Kachkanara not difficult - Kachkanar is located 280 km from Perm and 260 from Ekaterinburg. Didn't check the road from Ekata, but from Perm The road is quite, although quite winding.
Coordinates for GPS navigator
58.77678, 59.38694
Shad Tchup Ling Monastery on the map
How to get to the top?
We chose a longer route - from Western Quarry. The reason for this is simple - only by walking along this path can you see for yourself Western Quarry.
To get to the starting point of this route you need to drive through the city, turn in the direction Western Quarry, cross the dam and soon you will see the company checkpoint Evraz. Feel free to leave your car there, turn into the undergrowth on the left and go around the checkpoint. Afterwards, you can calmly go back onto the road and continue your journey without worrying about anyone. The road is flat and carefully smoothed by graders. After about 2.5 kilometers you will reach a fork - on the right there will be Observation deck with views of the quarry, and the road to the monastery turns to the left. You need to walk along this road for about another 4 km without turning anywhere until you reach a fork with a tree decorated with ribbons. To the right there will be a road to the monastery, and straight ahead to a mountain lake and Camel rock.
For those who don’t want to trample white feet, I can offer a life hack on how to shorten the walking distance by 6-7 kilometers. Find out the phone number of the pass office at the KGOK reception, contact it and get the necessary passes for the tourist purpose of your visit. I didn’t check it myself (since the day before was a day off), but according to reports the method works. With a four-wheel drive vehicle with normal ground clearance, you can reach a fork with a “ribbon” tree - in some places, closer to the top, there is still snow on the road.
Shad Tchup Ling Buddhist Community
Story Shad Tchup Ling(in Tibetan pronunciation "Shaddoobling", Tib. bshad sgrub gling; "Place of study and implementation") is directly related to the personality of his lama - Sanye Tenzin Dokshit (Mikhail Sannikova) who, on the instructions of his teacher Pem Dzhanga (Darma Dodi Zhalsaraeva) in mid-May 1995 arrived at Mount Kachkanar and laid the first stone of the monastery there.
Over the 22 years of its existence on the harsh rocks of the mountain, the monastery (a small disclaimer regarding this below) under the leadership Lamas Dokshit gradually rebuilt. Its current state is far from admirable - it is striking that despite the heroic efforts of its followers, the lack of resources affects literally everything and construction is moving very slowly. However, over the past year the monks have erected a number of important objects, including a large buddha statue. As far as I understand, in order for a community to have the right to be called a monastery, it must build 8 stupas - half have already been created, and the monks intend to finish the rest in 2017.
To support the community, it is good manners when visiting it to bring with you building materials or food. To find out the most relevant things, it is better to call the community phone number in advance and check with the guest attendant for information. Nobody obliges you to do anything, but just keep in mind that you are just a curious guest within these walls. We took with us a hammer drill and sweets for tea.
In addition to tourists, the community is also hospitable to pilgrims, detailed information available .
In my opinion, the most beautiful monastery looks like winter, when the wind and frost wrap everything in a thick layer of frost. However, to see all this splendor you will have to work hard - the many kilometers uphill on skis are thorny.
Why travel so far and climb so high?
Guests of the community are greeted by a kurumnik on the approaches to the summit 
The most famous Buddhist prayer is Om mani padme hum. 
To get to the monastery you need to go through the main gate.
The gate doors have colorful paintings. Winds, humidity and cold are quite merciless even for modern acrylic paints.
Symbiosis of stone and spirit. In such harsh conditions, every natural shelter is used. 
Mortar 
The guest attendant conducts a tour for tourists 
Mortar 
In the loopholes of the rocks you can see the expanse of the Ural Parma 
Inner courtyard of the monastery 
After the excursion, we were invited to drink tea, and the child also helped in making signs with mantras 
The day was a success - towards evening the clouds cleared and we enjoyed the picturesque rays of the sun 
At the foot of the cliff, monks take water 
Main Buddha statue Video
A short video from the series “what I see with my feet” - don’t pay attention to my scratched face - I was in such a hurry to get ready the day before that I drove headlong into the box while loading the shmurdyak.
What to see nearby?
Stay on the line - there are two more promised notes ahead: about yourself and Mount Kolpaki.
Coordinates: 58°46′37″ n. w. 59°23′13″ E. d. / 58.77694° N. w. 59.38694° E. d. / 58.77694; 59.38694(G) (I)Story
Founding of the monastery
Lama Sanye Tenzin Dokshit, aka Mikhail Sannikov, became acquainted with Buddhism in the late 1980s in Afghanistan, where he, a career officer and special forces commander, saw on the mountain passes monuments of the Buddhist civilization that flourished there before the arrival of the Muslims. After the end of the Afghan War, Sannikov retired from the army, went to Buryatia, to the Ivolginsky datsan, becoming a student of Darma-Dodi Zhalsaraev.
On May 15, 1995, Lama Sanye Tenzin Dokshit began construction of a Buddhist monastery on Mount Kachkanar. His teacher showed him the place for it.
Over the course of 20 years, Shad Tchup Ling has become one of the largest centers for the study of Buddhism in Russia and simply a tourist attraction that attracts thousands of tourists.
Court for territory
Community members tried many times to legalize the buildings, but the rights to the land were claimed by the mining and processing plant, whose quarries are located nearby, and the forestry department.
On February 9, information appeared on the website of the Office of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Sverdlovsk Region about the upcoming demolition of a “Buddhist monastery” on Mount Kachkanar. The life’s work and the fruits of the incredible perseverance of Mikhail Sannikov and the hundreds of people who helped him during these years may go to waste, and the “fascinating Buddhist stupas among the Ural mountains” may disappear.
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Excerpt characterizing Shad Tchup Ling
- Karagin, Julie and Boris are with them. The bride and groom are now visible. – Drubetskoy proposed!“Why, I found out today,” said Shinshin, who was entering the Rostovs’ box.
Natasha looked in the direction in which her father was looking and saw Julie, who, with pearls on her thick red neck (Natasha knew, sprinkled with powder), was sitting with a happy look, next to her mother.
Behind them, Boris’s smoothly combed, beautiful head could be seen with a smile, his ear tilted towards Julie’s mouth. He looked at the Rostovs from under his brows and, smiling, said something to his bride.
“They talk about us, about me and him!” thought Natasha. “And he truly calms his bride’s jealousy of me: there is no need to worry! If only they knew how much I don’t care about any of them.”
Anna Mikhailovna sat behind her in a green current, with a devoted will of God and a happy, festive face. In their box there was that atmosphere - the bride and groom that Natasha knew and loved so much. She turned away and suddenly everything that was humiliating in her morning visit came back to her.
“What right does he have to not want to accept me into his kinship? Oh, it’s better not to think about it, not to think about it until he arrives!” She said to herself and began to look around at the familiar and unfamiliar faces in the stalls. In front of the stalls, in the very middle, leaning his back to the ramp, stood Dolokhov with a huge, combed-up shock of curly hair, in a Persian suit. He stood in full view of the theater, knowing that he was attracting the attention of the entire audience, as freely as if he were standing in his room. The most brilliant youth of Moscow stood crowded around him, and he apparently took precedence among them.
Count Ilya Andreich, laughing, nudged the blushing Sonya, pointing her to her former admirer.
- Did you recognize it? - he asked. “And where did he come from,” the count turned to Shinshin, “after all, he disappeared somewhere?”
“Disappeared,” answered Shinshin. - He was in the Caucasus, and there he escaped, and, they say, he was a minister for some sovereign prince in Persia, he killed the Shah’s brother there: well, everyone is going crazy and the Moscow ladies are going crazy! Dolochoff le Persan, [The Persian Dolokhov,] and that’s it. Now we have no word without Dolokhov: they swear by him, they call him like a sterlet,” said Shinshin. - Dolokhov, and Anatol Kuragin - they drove all our ladies crazy.
A tall, beautiful lady with a huge braid and very bare, white, full shoulders and neck, on which there was a double string of large pearls, entered the adjacent benoir, and sat down for a long time, rustling with her thick silk dress.
Natasha involuntarily looked at this neck, shoulders, pearls, hairstyle and admired the beauty of the shoulders and pearls. While Natasha was peering at her for the second time, the lady looked back and, meeting her eyes with Count Ilya Andreich, nodded her head and smiled at him. It was Countess Bezukhova, Pierre's wife. Ilya Andreich, who knew everyone in the world, leaned over and spoke to her.
- How long have you been here, Countess? - he spoke. “I’ll come, I’ll come, I’ll kiss your hand.” But I came here on business and brought my girls with me. They say Semenova’s performance is incomparable,” said Ilya Andreich. – Count Pyotr Kirillovich never forgot us. He is here?
“Yes, he wanted to come in,” Helen said and looked at Natasha carefully.
Count Ilya Andreich again sat down in his place.
- She’s good, isn’t she? – he said in a whisper to Natasha.
- Miracle! - said Natasha, - you can fall in love! At this time, the last chords of the overture sounded and the conductor’s baton began to tap. In the stalls, belated men filed into their seats and the curtain rose.
As soon as the curtain rose, everything in the boxes and stalls fell silent, and all the men, old and young, in uniforms and tails, all the women wearing precious stones on their naked bodies, turned all their attention to the stage with greedy curiosity. Natasha also began to look.
On the stage there were even boards in the middle, painted paintings depicting trees stood on the sides, and a canvas on boards was stretched behind. In the middle of the stage sat girls in red bodices and white skirts. One, very fat, in a white silk dress, sat separately on a low bench, to which green cardboard was glued to the back. They were all singing something. When they finished their song, the girl in white approached the prompter's booth, and a man in tight-fitting silk trousers on thick legs, with a feather and a dagger, approached her and began to sing and spread his arms.
The man in tight trousers sang alone, then she sang. Then both fell silent, the music began to play, and the man began to finger the hand of the girl in a white dress, apparently again waiting for the beat to begin his part with her. They sang together, and everyone in the theater began to clap and shout, and the man and woman on stage, who were portraying lovers, began to bow, smiling and spreading their arms.