Eh, three! bird three, who invented you? to know, you could only have been born among a lively people, in that land that does not like to joke, but has spread out evenly across half the world, and go count the miles until it hits you in the eyes. And not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not grabbed by an iron screw, but hastily equipped and assembled alive by an efficient man from Yaroslavl with just an ax and a chisel. The driver is not wearing German boots: he has a beard and mittens, and sits on God knows what; but he stood up, swung, and began to sing - the horses like a whirlwind, the spokes in the wheels mixed into one smooth circle, only the road trembled, and a pedestrian who stopped screamed in fear - and there she rushed, rushed, rushed!.. And now you can see in the distance, like something is gathering dust and drilling into the air.

Aren’t you, Rus, like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing along? The road beneath you smokes, the bridges rattle, everything falls behind and is left behind. The contemplator, amazed by God's miracle, stopped: was this lightning thrown from the sky? What does this terrifying movement mean? and what kind of unknown power is contained in these horses, unknown to the light? Oh, horses, horses, what kind of horses! Are there whirlwinds in your manes? Is there a sensitive ear burning in every vein of yours? They heard a familiar song from above, together and at once tensed their copper breasts and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air, and all inspired by God rushes!.. Rus', where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. The bell rings with a wonderful ringing; The air, torn into pieces, thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on earth flies past, and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and give way to it. Ah, the triple! bird trio who invented you? know you have spirited people could only be born in the land that does not like to joke and smooth- Gladney razmetnulas for half the world, yes and go versty considered until dazzled you in the eyes. It is not tricky, I think, a road bomb, not an iron screw captured and hastily live with an ax yes chisel shells and gathered you Yaroslavl agile man. Not in the German jackboots coachman: beard yes mittens, and sits at God knows what ; and stood up, swung yes, yes tightened song - horses vortex spokes in the wheels come together in one smooth circle, only faltered road, but cried out in fright stopped pedestrians - and there she rushed, rushed, rushed! .. And now you can see in the distance, something dusty and air drills.

Is not it you, Russ, that brisk neobgonimaya triple talking about? Smoke smokes under the road bridges rattle, everything behind and remains behind. God miraculously stopped the affected contemplative: Is it not the lightning dropped from the sky? what does this terrifying movement do? and what mysterious force lies in the unknown light horses now? Oh, horses, horses, horses for that! Vortices are sitting there in your manes? Is sensitive ear burns in all your vein? Hearing with the height familiar song, and together again strained copper chest and almost without touching the ground hooves, turned into one elongated lines, flying through the air, and rushes all inspired by God! .. Russia, where do you nesеshsya? Give an answer. Does not give an answer. Wonderful bell ringing filled; thunders and becomes torn to pieces by the wind the air; flying past all that to eat on the ground, and, squinting, postoranivayutsya and give it the way to other nations and states.

And what Russian doesn’t like driving fast? Is it his soul, striving to get dizzy, to go on a spree, to sometimes say: “damn it all!” - Shouldn’t his soul love her? Isn’t it possible to love her when you hear something enthusiastically wonderful in her? It seems that an unknown force has taken you on its wing, and you are flying, and everything is flying: miles are flying, merchants are flying towards you on the beams of their wagons, a forest is flying on both sides with dark formations of spruces and pines, with a clumsy knock and the cry of a crow, it flies the whole road goes to God knows where into the disappearing distance, and something terrible is contained in this quick flickering, where the disappearing object does not have time to appear - only the sky above your head, and light clouds, and the rushing month alone seem motionless. Eh, three! bird three, who invented you? to know, you could only have been born among a lively people, in that land that does not like to joke, but has spread out evenly across half the world, and go count the miles until it hits you in the eyes. And not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not grabbed by an iron screw, but hastily equipped and assembled alive with one ax and a hammer by an efficient Yaroslavl man. The driver is not wearing German boots: he has a beard and mittens, and sits on God knows what; but he stood up, swung, and began to sing - the horses like a whirlwind, the spokes in the wheels mixed into one smooth circle, only the road trembled, and a pedestrian who stopped screamed in fear - and there she rushed, rushed, rushed!.. And there you can already see in the distance, like something is gathering dust and drilling into the air.

Aren’t you, Rus, like a brisk, unstoppable troika, rushing along? The road beneath you smokes, the bridges rattle, everything falls behind and is left behind. The contemplator, amazed by God's miracle, stopped: was this lightning thrown from the sky? What does this terrifying movement mean? and what kind of unknown power is contained in these horses, unknown to the light? Oh, horses, horses, what kind of horses! Are there whirlwinds in your manes? Is there a sensitive ear burning in every vein of yours? They heard a familiar song from above, together and at once tensed their copper breasts and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air, and all inspired by God rushes!.. Rus', where are you rushing? Give an answer. Doesn't give an answer. The bell rings with a wonderful ringing; The air, torn into pieces, thunders and becomes the wind; everything that is on earth flies past, and, looking askance, other peoples and states step aside and give way to it.

Excerpt from the book “Dead Souls”

Nikolay Gogol

Beautiful words dedicated to the speed of a team of three horses and their comparison with rapidly changing Russia. Bird troika is a well-known type of harness (rooter and two harness horses). Also used as a poetic image of Russia.

The history of the Russian troika

Russian troika near Yuzovka

Troika appeared and received its current name about 200 years ago. According to the rules that existed at that time, when transporting passengers in postal wagons, it was possible to harness three horses only if there were three people. Two or one had to ride a pair of horses. Bells and bells were only allowed to be hung on postal troikas and courier carriers carrying important state dispatches. In tsarist times, in addition to important gentlemen, troikas were used by postmen (postal troika), firefighters and anyone who needed fast speed for a long period of time. Often troikas were harnessed on days of weddings and other festive celebrations, when the coachmen could “go wild” and let even a root horse gallop.

The usual horses for the troika were small and unprepossessing, but very hardy Vyatka horses. Richer people got a trio of stately and large Oryol trotters. The best three is a three, where all the horses are matched to the same color, and the horseman is noticeably larger in stature and has a higher harness.

Since the 1840s, triple competitions began to be organized at the Moscow Hippodrome. In 1911, the troika was first seen in Europe - in London at the World Exhibition. The Oryol trotter Ratnik Turetsky, winner of the Imperial Prize, was born at the Khrenovsky stud farm, and the riding horses were streltsy horses. The painting depicting that legendary troika is now in the Museum of Horse Breeding at the Timiryazev Academy in Moscow. In Soviet times, troikas almost everywhere began to be made up of Oryol trotters; such a troika looked so chic that it was even given as a gift by officials in the USA. In 1982, the Russian troika of light gray horses was again brought to the international horse exhibition and fair “Equitana” in Germany. Korennik is the Oryol trotter Motley Palace, the tethered are horses of the Terek breed - descendants of Streltsy horses. The trio were awarded the title of Equitana champions. In 1989, Soviet horsemen brought a new troika to Equitana - the Orlovets horseman Vals, and the Terek horses Tsegel and Tsiemir. The spectators gave this trio a standing ovation when all three horses easily and freely performed circles, figure eights, turns and other elements of figure riding in the arena. However, by the 1990s, interest in the troika in Russia had fallen so much that the existence of this unique harness for Russia was in danger of dying. There are as few masters left who know how to manage such a complex type of harness, just as there are few Oryol trotters left.

However, enthusiasts and members of the Russian Association “Commonwealth”, created in the mid-1990s headed by A.M., got down to business in time. Polzunova saved the national treasure of Russia. On the initiative of the Commonwealth, stages of the Russian Cup for Russian triples with the final in Moscow were established in some cities of Russia, such as Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Moscow, Vologda.

Thanks to the participation of the Association, even the French Trotting Association, led by Count Dominique d'Bellegue, was involved in saving the Russian troikas. In 2000, for the first time, as part of the “Days of France” at the Moscow Hippodrome, established with money from the French side, the expensive “Vincennes Hippodrome” prize for triples was held, where three triples took part. On a return visit to Paris in December 2000, the Russian troikas showed the French public for the first time their unique beauty and fast running at the world's largest racetrack, Vincennes.

Since then, “Days of Russia” in France and “Days of France” in Russia have become a permanent event at the Moscow and Vincennes hippodromes, and the troikas have become regular participants in these events. Thus, in the drawing for the Vincennes Hippodrome prize in 2006, seven triples took part at the Moscow Hippodrome, which had to be divided into two races, since all seven triples (21 horses) could not fit on the track of the Moscow Hippodrome.

Three bird!

Troika is an old Russian horse team. The troika was invented for fast driving over long distances.

This is the only multi-gait harness in the world. The root horse - the central horse - should go at a fast, clear trot, and the trailing horses - the horses on the side - should gallop. At the same time, a very high speed of 45-50 km/h develops.

The mechanism of the troika is that the root horse, walking at a wide, sweeping trot, is, as it were, “carried” by galloping harnesses, fastened to the root horse with lines. Thanks to this, all three horses tire more slowly, but maintain a high speed.

Russian triples competition

Russian troika competitions are becoming increasingly popular today. They take place in two stages. On the first day, elegant horses, decorated with bells and ribbons, with smartly dressed riders and their assistants go out to compete in figure riding, where the rider himself controls all three horses, showing his skill, and the horses must perform various figures - “voltes”, “eights” and etc.

The judges evaluate not only the cleanliness of all elements, but also the overall impression of the troika: the horses’ cohesion, their reaction to what is happening around them. Decorations in the same style for horses, rider and assistants and the same color for all three horses are rated higher. On the second day of the competition, an agility competition is held. In this case, the horses are dressed in running harness, protective equipment against injury, the rider and assistants wear simple sports uniforms with helmets. Here, the assistants actively help the rider in control: while the rider controls the horseman walking at a brisk trot, the assistants keep control over the galloping harnesses.

The best triples can be seen today in Moscow at the hippodrome. Troikas from Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Saratov, Kaluga, Vladimir, Vologda and other old Russian cities also come here.

The most famous trio of recent years was a trio of light gray horses from the Moscow Stud Farm with the Russian trotter Alexandrite (Rugby's Star - Assembly 1992), and the Oryol trotters Priz and Vitok. It is this trio that was filmed in the intro for the Vesti program on the RTR channel.

Russia Rus' bird troika Gogol Russia Rus Ptitsa Troika Gogol

Russia Rus' Bird Troika. Rus', where are you going? Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol Dead souls poem rare video rare video video HD Played by the wonderful Russian theater and film actor Leonid Diachkov Leonid Diachkov

Rus RussiaPtitsaTroika. Rus’ Kuda Nesioshsia Ty?! Russian writer Nickolai Gogol "Miortvye Dushi" the end of the 11th Chapter. rare video rare video video HD

High cultural heritage of the Russian people.

Excellent teaching material for classes at school, lyceum or university on the topic

Russian literature of the 19th century, history of Russia, patriotism, love of the motherland, human ideals in Russian culture, freedom, freedom, vastness of the country, the future of Russia. Preparation for the Unified State Exam EGE . Preparation for entering a university.

Russia Rus' Bird Troika Gogol Dead Souls Rachmaninov 3rd concert

Russia Rus' Bird Troika Gogol Dead Souls Rachmaninov 3 concertaudio audio mp 3 An excerpt from a wonderful audio book based on the prose poem by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol “Dead Souls”.

Unfortunately, the annotation erroneously states the name of the reader (supposedly Mikhail Ulyanov, but this is not Ulyanov). If anyone recognizes the name of the reader, as well as the piece of music and its performer, which comes at the end of the audio play, please write who it is. Let the names of these wonderful performers be known.

Before the reading begins and as a musical paraphrase between the parts, a melody sounds, an excerpt from the Third Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninov. Piano part: genius pianist Vladimir Gorvits. This was one of the best performances of Sergei Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto in history.

“Rus! Rus'!.. What kind of incomprehensible secret force attracts you?! Why is your melancholy song heard and heard incessantly in your ears, rushing along your entire length and width, from sea to sea? What is in it, in this song? What calls, and sobs, and grabs the heart?!..Rus!..What incomprehensible connection is hidden between us?..”

N.V. Gogol . Dead Souls. Volume OneChapter Eleven (where to look in the text - this is an excerpt - part of the penultimate paragraph and the last paragraph of the 11th chapter)

“...Chichikov only smiled, flying up slightly on his leather cushion, for he loved driving fast.

And what Russian doesn’t like driving fast? Is it possible for his soul, trying to get dizzy, to go on a spree, to sometimes say: “damn it all!” - Is it his soul not to love her? Isn’t it possible to love her when you hear something warily wonderful in her?

It seems that an unknown force has taken you on its wing, and you yourself are flying, and everything is flying: miles are flying, merchants are flying towards you on the beams of their wagons, a forest is flying on both sides with dark formations of spruces and pines, with a clumsy knock and the cry of a crow, it flies the whole road goes to God knows where into the disappearing distance, and something terrible is contained in this quick flickering, where the disappearing object does not have time to appear - only the sky above your head, and the light clouds, and the rushing month alone seem motionless.

Eh, three! bird three, who invented you? to know, you could only have been born among a lively people, in that land that does not like to joke, but has spread out smoothly across half the world, and go ahead and count the miles until it hits your eyes. And not a cunning, it seems, road projectile, not grabbed by an iron screw, but hastily equipped and assembled alive by an efficient Yaroslavl man with only an ax and a chisel. The driver is not wearing German boots: he has a beard and mittens, and sits on God knows what; but he stood up, swung, and began to sing - the horses like a whirlwind, the spokes in the wheels mixed into one smooth circle, only the road trembled, and a pedestrian who stopped screamed in fear - and there she rushed, rushed, rushed!.. And there you can already see in the distance, like something is gathering dust and drilling into the air.

Is it not so for you, Rus', that you are rushing along like a brisk, unstoppable troika? The road beneath you is smoking, the bridges are rattling, everything falls behind and is left behind. The contemplator, amazed by God's miracle, stopped: was this lightning thrown from the sky? What does this terrifying movement mean? and what kind of unknown power is contained in these horses, unknown to the light?

Oh, horses, horses, what kind of horses! Are there whirlwinds in your manes? Is there a sensitive ear burning in every vein of yours? They heard a familiar song from above, together and at once tensed their copper chests and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air, and rushing, all inspired by God!..

Despite the economic crisis that has seriously affected the domestic and foreign yacht industry, the process of the emergence of new yacht dealers in Russia (and the corresponding yacht brands) has not stopped at all; our yacht club is also growing. And although the entire “mainstream” of the sailing market has already been practically chosen by existing dealers, no less interesting yacht brands continue to come to the country. This time we will talk about Corsair trimarans, which the Chernomor company (KiYa No. 225) has undertaken to represent on the Russian market. These American yachts (assembled, by the way, in Vietnam!) have long become popular all over the world. Over the quarter century of the company’s existence, more than one and a half thousand pennants have been built.

One of the shipyard's most popular models is the Corsair 31, also known by its maiden name F 31. The trimaran "F 31" was designed by the famous designer Ian Farrier based on his earlier model "F 9A", created back in 1991, and was built in series at the Corsair Marine shipyard. After the “divorce” of Farrier and “Corsair” in 2000, all rights to the “31st” (with a certain deviation from the original author’s design) remained with “Corsair”, and Ian Farrier began his own development of the “F 9” line, which turned into "F 32". In general, this entire line remains the largest (and the most successful in terms of the number of ships built) of all Farrier’s works. Corsair 31 is also the flagship of the Corsair Marine series of trailer trimarans, being the largest and most expensive vessel in this line, which also includes 24- and 28-footers, called “pocket cruisers” by the company.

A feature of vessels of this type are folding floats, which, due to the kinematics of the folding mechanism, are pressed against the hull from below (in its narrowest part), which allows the yacht to be transported on a regular trailer without in any way violating the current traffic regulations on width. This turns this cruising trimaran into a highly mobile (compared to a classic monohull yacht) vessel that can be transferred to almost any water area that has at least a primitive slipway.

Interestingly, setting up the mast on the Corsair 31 can also be done without outside help or the use of any mechanisms. This is a significant plus in the portability of this yacht. If we add to this a draft of 40 cm (with the centerboard raised) and the ability of the crew to calmly pull the vessel onto a sandy (or small pebble) beach - we took advantage of this in practice, leaving the boat to spend the night on the bank of a river in the village of Lermontovskoye, then the options for using the trimaran seem incredibly diverse . On a yacht with such characteristics, it is easy to explore water areas of the country that are inaccessible or difficult for “keel yachtsmen” to reach - the Black Sea coast, almost completely devoid of natural refuges and artificial shelters, the White Sea with its drying shores, shallow Azov, many rivers and reservoirs.

Inside, the Corsair 31 was unexpectedly spacious. The “31CR” (cruiser/racer) version presented to us for testing has aft and bow cabins and a salon with six (in total) berths. So, in terms of capacity, the yacht, in principle, does not differ much from the classic 30-foot monohull. Of course, the interior of a monohull itself is much more spacious - there’s no getting around it; the features of the trimaran layout, coupled with the requirement to “squeeze” the central hull for trailer transportation, impose their own severe limitations.

The decoration of the vessel in the basic version is quite modest - almost all internal surfaces are covered with a simple light gray-beige carpet, here and there fastening screws stick out, covered with neat rounded protective tips. Such a pragmatic approach to the interior is very typical for many American shipyards that build mass-produced popular yachts, but it may not work here - a demanding Russian client will most likely want to have more luxurious equipment. (Besides, a Corsair is not a MacGregor, if only because it costs an order of magnitude more.) On the left side of the cabin there is a small galley with a two-burner alcohol stove, on the right there is a small switchboard. In the center of the salon there is an impressive centerboard well, occupying its entire height. A removable table can be installed near the centerboard well on a special leg; there is a similar mount for its installation in the cockpit. There is no chart table, nor is there a latrine (however, this model can be equipped with either a dry closet or a full-fledged marine toilet with pumping, which fits under the V-shaped bunk in the bow cabin).

The sailing rig of the trimaran is very specific: due to the widely spaced floats and the shrouds strongly set back, the turning mast does not have a backstay, and along its length it is supported by only one pair of spreaders with diamond shrouds. The bowsprit is additionally secured with a waterstay. The sail package includes a Dacron mainsail (which seemed a little too full to me) and a jib (furler), as well as a large laminate headsail called a screecher (the name comes from the words "spinnaker" and "reacher"), also carried on a furler. All sails are made by North Sails. All running ends (including the centerboard) are led out into the cockpit. The only work that requires going up is setting/cleaning/reefing the mainsail. Instead of the Lazy Jack scheme, the company used a cleaning mechanism with a patent reef, the handle of which must be rotated manually.

Preparing the trimaran for departure from Sochi did not take much time. Much more effort and time (more than six hours) was spent on the legal registration of the exit itself, which ultimately ended with a visit from a representative of the border authorities to the yacht itself. With this approach to the matter, there is no point in thinking at all about the prospects for the development of sailing (and in general sea) tourism and sports on the Black Sea coast of the Russian Federation. However, this is a separate sad topic, to which, I hope, we will return.

But the excellent weather quickly dispelled the unpleasant feelings. There was only one thing that upset us: the wind, which was not very strong anyway, was blowing from exactly where we were supposed to go. So our hopes of leaving Sochi early in the morning and arriving at Novomikhailovskoye, where one of Chernomor’s own two yacht clubs is located, before nightfall, quickly dissipated. Although the speeds shown by the ship with five people on board were not bad: under the screecher, with a wind of about 3 m/s, the trimaran went into gulfwind at a speed of 5.7 knots - for a cruising 11-meter yacht with the same crew, the result is almost unrealistic. Under a small jib in a steep close-hauled direction the speed was 5.4 knots - also very good.

However, the direction of the wind was extremely unfavorable for us. There was simply an urgent need to determine the real tacking angle of the trimaran. Alas, the yacht had quite big problems with the steepness of the tack. Under the screecher, the tacking angle turned out to be exactly 180°, which forces us to put the word “tacking” in quotation marks in relation to this case. And even with a small jib, the tacking turned out to be not at all as steep as we would like - only 130°. This, alas, is not enough, but it should be noted that this was only the third outing of the new yacht, and it was completely out of tune*. Adjusting the centerboard position did not fundamentally change anything. The centering of the vessel turned out to be peculiar - under the screecher it was almost flawless, but under the jib the boat had a very strong tendency to drive - the tiller had to be constantly controlled. By the way, it should be noted that the steering wheel here is not balanced, which gives noticeable and pleasant feedback on the tiller. But at high speeds the force on it can be about 10 kg (or even more), which on long passages (especially on starboard tack) can tire an untrained person somewhat. The yacht's maneuverability is quite high; it maneuvers easily and quickly picks up speed after a turn.

It must be said that when we arrived at the trimaran’s base in Novomikhailovskoye, we removed the mast and made a small adjustment to the armament, which had a positive effect on the tacking steepness and performance. The centering under the small jib improved noticeably - the boat was no longer driven so much, and the speed characteristics also increased. That same evening, with a wind speed of 5-6 m/s and an almost complete absence of waves at the Novomikhailovskoye-Lermontovskoye crossing, the boat maneuvered under the screecher at about 160° and easily ran at a speed of about 16-17 knots! At these speeds, the Corsair 31 brings a whole new quality to sailing. And the flight of the yacht itself with its hull raised to windward is delightful and at the same time completely safe! At the same time, the yacht feels like just some kind of magical bird flying through the waves.

To be honest, I still didn’t really understand the screecher. The sail is a kind of hybrid of a genoa and a gennaker, carried on a bowsprit and has a free luff. The sail is cut noticeably fuller than a genoa, but flatter than a gennaker. Due to the laminate, it is quite rigid, and in light winds it is not very easy to control its luff. The lack of experience in sailing multihulls and working with such a sail undoubtedly affected the results of the test in its digital form, so to speak. I think that after careful fine-tuning and tuning of the vessel and its armament by Chernomor employees and with an experienced team on board, the trimaran is capable of achieving higher speeds - it clearly has the potential for this! For now, alas, I have to write about what I saw and observed personally.

But let's get back to practice. Accommodating five people and a decent amount of things was not a problem - there is a large amount of empty space behind the backs of the salon bunks, which allows you to put a lot of property there. Difficulties arose with the use of the aft cabin: you can get there either from the salon by removing the companionway steps, or from the cockpit through the hatch. In practice, both options turned out to be not entirely convenient: to get into the cabin from the salon, you need to have the flexibility of a boa constrictor, and in order to be able to use the aft hatch, the helmsman will have to sharply change course - the hatch is located in the DP directly under the non-lifting tiller. This is a rather strange planning miscalculation by the designers - it was quite possible to position the hatch asymmetrically, there is room for this. I have another complaint about the running rigging and the placement of some practical things: the screecher sheet winches do not have flanges, and the cam stoppers for these sheets are located on the internal (i.e., facing the crew) surfaces of the cockpit coamings. The consequence is that even in the most innocent weather conditions, two crew members hurt their backs. In any critical situations, you can get injured. It seems necessary to move the sheet stopper to the ballerina, placing the latter on the upper surface of the coaming on the helmsman's side, thereby giving the latter the opportunity to work with the screecher if necessary - Chernomor employees agreed with this point of view. It's surprising that a company with such a rich history as Corsair Marine could make such an ergonomic mistake. Vietnamese assembly costs?

At the same time, I must say that I have practically no complaints about the quality of the vessel as such. The yacht is assembled to a very high quality: there are not only no visible assembly flaws, but even creaks of the hull or beams - in fact, absolutely typical for multihulls. But no - the ship’s prolonged stay without moving on the dead swell was absolutely silent. Its hull remained equally “silent” both when running under the motor (the speed was about 6 knots) and when running at high speed under a screecher, when the leeward float almost completely went into the water. Top marks for such quality! True, the sound insulation should be strengthened - it is quite difficult to sleep in the bow cabin while sailing against the waves; the stern cabin is noticeably more comfortable in this regard. Perhaps, to increase habitability, it would make sense to cover the interior surfaces of the premises with cork (as, for example, it was done on one of the copies of the St. Petersburg "Artmarin 26"), but this can be implemented by the dealer if there is a buyer's request.

“Eh, troika! bird troika, who invented you?” - we remember these lines from school. More than a dozen years have passed since the last bird or three flew through the city streets. But the memory of this famous Russian team has been well preserved to this day. Today, the Russian troika continues to live in literature, music, fine arts and folklore.

There is no doubt that the image of Nikolai Gogol’s troika bird was nourished not only by the special Russian troika riding, but also by folk tradition, which manifested itself in fairy tales, epics and the lives of saints. So what is important for us in this image? Why do these words bother us so much?
Space, a road, a huge space - all these images from our soul overflowed into the flesh of Russian culture, in addition, they became its physical and metaphysical filling: “Isn’t it so for you, Rus', that a brisk, unstoppable troika rushes along? The road beneath you smokes, the bridges rattle, everything falls behind and is left behind. The contemplator, amazed by God's miracle, stopped: was this lightning thrown from the sky? What does this terrifying movement mean? and what kind of unknown power is contained in these horses, unknown to the light? Oh, horses, horses, what kind of horses! Are there whirlwinds in your manes? Is there a sensitive ear burning in every vein of yours? They heard a familiar song from above, together and at once tensed their copper chests and, almost without touching the ground with their hooves, turned into just elongated lines flying through the air, and rushing, all inspired by God!..."

Gogol paints a simply fantastic Russian carnival: flying horses, the horror of movement, the road smoking with smoke (snow dust), vast Russian spaces rushing towards each other, the white silence of the fields, pierced by the copper breasts of horses... And there is so much strength in it - strong, animal (in old Russian understanding the stomach is life), and so much power - mysterious and “terrible”.
Gogol did not invent the image of the Bird-Troika (mighty Rus'-Russia) - he only strengthened it.

The troika of horses and everything connected with it is primordially Russian, having no analogues in any country in the world. A foreigner who came to Russia for the first time and saw the Russian troika literally froze in amazement. And there was a reason! In his homeland there was no team equal in speed and beauty to the Russian troika.

A record speed, by the standards of a horse team, 45-50 km/h, was achieved due to a peculiar combination of horse gaits. The central horse, called the “root horse,” starts at a fast trot, and the tethered horses (fastened on the sides of the root horse) gallop and seem to “carry” the root horse. With such different gaits, all three horses tire more slowly and can maintain high speed for a long time. The Russian troika harness is extremely rational, and there is not a single unnecessary detail in it. Usually, a tall and powerful trotter was chosen to play the role of a root horse, while the draw horses were smaller and lighter horses, which, while running, had to beautifully bend their necks to the side and down.

The Russian Troika is an ancient horse-drawn carriage that has become the national symbol of Russia. It appeared around the middle of the 18th century and established itself as the fastest mode of transport. In the 19th century, the troika achieved universal popularity: carts drawn by the troika became the personification of Russian prowess and broad nature. The three-piece team was decorated (colourful collars, covered with carvings and paintings), equipped with tassels on the bridles and harnesses; the bow of the central horse (root horse) was especially beautiful. The arcs were painted like this. that were visible from afar. - they painted with green herbs, red roses, blue grapes.
A bell was attached to it, which, in addition to the signaling function, certainly performed a spiritual one. I was pleased with the ringing. Russian troikas had no analogues in the world. The image of the troika was also preserved by music, romances, folk songs, and literature.
The era of the famous Russian troikas came to an end when horse transport was replaced by the railway and cars. From the middle of the 19th century, trains began to displace the Russian troika from post roads to rural areas. The 20th century put an end to the two-century history of the troika - it lost its national significance, but, nevertheless, retained its popularity as an invariable attribute of folk festivals.