Grigorii Karpovich Kotoshikhin "On Russia in the Reign of Aleksei Mikhailovich" : A Translation and Commentaries (9)

This is the ninth and final part of our translation. The previous parts from the first through the eighth were published in the preceding numbers of this bulletin : No.45-1,1994, No.46-1,1995, No.47-1,1996, No.48-1,1997, No.49-1, 1998, No.50-1, 1999, No.51-1, 2000, No.52-1, 2001. Present part includes all sections of Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen and "A list of the chapters and articles contained in this book", which is located at the end of this document and is somewhat similar to a table of contents in present-day book. In Chapter Twelve, the shortest chapter of our document, consisting of only four sections, Kotoshikhin discusses very briefly the problems of foreign trade or tsar\u27s foreign trade at that time. This was area in which Kotoshikhin would be unlikely to have any special expertise. Here he refers to the tsar\u27s trade with the West through Archangel, fish trade on the lower Volga, silk trade with Persian merchants in Astrakhan, Kazan and Moscow, and lastly the trade with Greek merchants who come to Moscow every year, bringing with precious stones, gold, silver and other various valuable goods from Ottoman Empire. Chapter Thirteen, the last chapter of Kotoshikhin\u27s work, is comprised of sixteen sections and gives us a very impressive information on the way of every day life of upper social strata in Muscovy, like as boyar, Duma men and other high ranks. Beginning with a brief account of Moscow residences of the aristocracy, Kotoshikhin provides us a picturesque account of banquet held by Muscovite boyars, a long and detailed description of their wedding custom and ceremonies, and an interesting pictures of the richest boyar\u27s households, which keep a few hundreds domestic servitors and bondmen, both men and women.publishe