Numerous works have been written about the contribution of Izmail Sreznevsky, an outstanding philologist and professor at Kharkiv University, to Ukrainian and, more broadly, Slavic ethnography. We, however, will focus on the travel notes from his ethnographic expedition through Slavic lands in 1839–1842 and on the love and longing for Kharkiv that permeate this work.
Sreznevsky repeatedly compared Kharkiv to various cities.
Here is what he writes about Moscow:
By the way, everything in Moscow is expensive—apartments, for one, are also very expensive, almost more expensive than in Kharkiv, and just like in Kharkiv, as soon as they’re cleaned up, they’re immediately occupied by new tenants.
Here are his impressions of Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which he shares in letters to his mother:
But why isn’t this temple in Belgorod? Or rather, why isn’t this “White City of Peter” as close to Kharkiv as that other one is! That would be so good! Then we’d be there together, and I could at least escape from it for a day to come to you in Kharkiv, where I left so much that is irreplaceable, unforgettable—and which may now have been taken from me forever. Ah, Kharkiv, Kharkiv! I’ll return to it—if God grants me a return—no longer the same; and surely the people I’ll meet there will have changed as well!
The farther I get from Kharkiv, the more I miss it: if only I could turn my cart toward it and race off without looking back, without thinking about anything…
Here, Sreznevsky is already writing about Prague Castle:
The Spanish hall with its 35 chandeliers is also nice; however, our halls in Kharkiv (Universitetskaya and Dvoryanskaya) are much better: larger, more beautiful, more authentic, simpler, and more elegant.
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…about Bratislava:
Bratislava has a population of up to 85,000, but it’s much smaller than Kharkiv, and to my eyes, it’s not as nice…
Here’s what he writes about the Bratislava market:
There isn’t a lively buzz like the one we have here, and this isn’t even a Kharkiv-style market: I haven’t seen such huge markets anywhere else abroad.
And, of course, about Kyiv:
Kyiv is not a city, but a collection of farmsteads and summer homes clustered around churches. Pechersk is a working-class neighborhood, Lipki is home to high society, and Khreshchatyk is neither one nor the other. Old Kyiv is bourgeois; Podil is merchant-class. There is no city center, and this does it a great disservice. What a pity that the Dnieper is running low. Kyiv is so rich in scenery—it’s a city for a painter; I’ve never seen another like it. But the hills are no small inconvenience for the residents. Which do you like better, Kyiv or Kharkiv? As for me, Kharkiv is better. And there are many fine buildings in Kyiv, but they’re all so scattered.
Truly, the tendency of Kharkiv residents to compare everything they see abroad with their beloved city—and not in favor of other cities—dates back a very long time. As you read this book, you truly feel your love for our city welling up inside you. We’ll definitely return to Sreznevsky’s works later.
You can download the book in .pdf format by clicking the link: