Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-12-04
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS IN Russia.
How the Art Of Love f. Pracffced I'm
the Empire Of the NOrth-DtvOrces
Not Allowed. but Annulmeuts of
Marriages Perfectly Proper.


Russian marriages are generally arranged
through priests. Being matters of business it
is desirable that there should be no mistake as
TO the amount OF dover which the bride is to
bring. and there would very likely be mistakes
If some member of the upper clergy Were not
to act as an intermediary i'm preparing the set
Elements. An archimandrite does much of the
work that falls to notarieS in other countries:
only he charges more, and portion of the
dover Is apt to stick between his fingers A
well-bred bridegroom must present gift To a
monastery and another To his parish church.
the bride. through her friends. il expected to
clothe some statue Of Virgin with a gown of
silver brocade, enriched with more or less
Je~elS. according To the piety of the do
nor; and In some parts of southern Russia
she adds a gift of two white doves tn the
Pope, which looks rather like a relic of
the worship OF Venus. The consent of par
ents Is necessary for Il marriage until the
age OF 80 IN the case of men, . in that of
women; but young people are at liberty to
appear 70 the civil authorities if consent be
arbitrarily Withheld. I'm this event the parents
are called upon To show reason for their re
fuSal The reason must not be mercenary.
unless one OF the young people be heir To a
landed estate; then the question is referred to
the marshal of the nobility i'm the district
whose decisions are based upon eXpediency
rather than upon fixed principles. These ap
peals are rare, because the Russians are a
marrying people, and dispose of their child
ren early In the middle and lower classes
men marry at ~, when not drafted by the con
Scrlptlon: III the higher ariStOcracy younr
man goes the grand tour" before Setting
down, but he is often betrothed before start
ing to young lady not yet out of the school
room. and lie weds her Immediately upon his
return. There is no country which has so few
old maids as Russia. The great ridicule al
tached To the title. when not borne by man
has possibly something to do with the unWiL
lingness of ladies 10 sport it. When girl has
reached the age of y without finding mate
she generally sets out on what she calls a nil
grimage il pOor-On a round of travels if rich:
and in either case she turns up some wears
later as a widow. Widows are as plentiful as
old SplnsterS are scarce; and widows whose
husbands were never seen are more numerous
than the rest. Etiquette fOrbidS any alluSion
to lady's dead husband i'm her presence: and
this *. perhaps, sometimes convenient.
When couple are engaged. a betrothal feast
is held, and the bride has lock of her hair
cut oil III the presence of witnesses and given
To the bridegroom, who in return presents a
silver ring set with turquoise, an almond cake.
and gift of bread and salt. From this mo-
ment the two are plighted nor can the rela-
tyes break the match except with the consent
OF the parties themselves which is Signied by
a return Of the ring and lock of hair. So much
Importance is attached to the ring. at least in
the north of Russia, that, among poor people
who cannot AFFORD silver and "A turquoise. lin
and bit of blue stone are substituted. These
betrOthal rings are kept as heirloOmS but
must not be made To serve twice-a son cannot
give his bride the ring which his mother re-
ceived, for instance though why this should
be so Is mystery which the clergy. who sell
the rings, could best explain. On the wedding
DAY the bride comes to church dressed in
white; but il is only among the highest classes
who copy western fashions, that the bridal
costume is entirely white, and that a wreath of
orange flower blossoms is used: Among Rus
slams pure light blue is the nuptial color, and a
corOnet of silver ribbon stands in place of the
wreath. The wedding ring for the bride is of
gold or some yellow metal, but not a plain
hoop; II Is generally double ring with en-
chased stars. The bridegroom has ring too
which the bride puts on his finger at the altar
after she has received his, and This is mostly a
plain one. The clergy make much ado about
Inv
keep the sale of them i'm their hands. though it
would not always be safe to test the purity of
the ecclesiastical gold with a tombstone.
After the wedding service. which comprises in
some of the less civilized districts the break
ing of all earthenware vessel i'm token that the
bride bride renonnees her own possession Tor is
her husbands Sake-eXplanatiOns differ)-
after this there is an adjournment to a ban
qnet, IN which mulled kroSs (small beer and
almond cakes play great part. Weddings
need not be celebrated before midday. nor
must they take place in church. In fashion
able circles ii is the custom to solemnize them
in drawing-Toom. and by cande1ght There
Is no departure on a honeymoon tour. The
banquet is followed 10y ball, then by a sup
per; and at this last repast, when held in
houses where old customs are observed. a new
satin slipper. supposed to be the brides. is
produced and used as drinking vessel by the
brldegrOoms friends, who pass il round and
drink the brides health in it till il is soaked
through and will hold liquor no longer In
houses where speeches are made is is not
the bridegroom, but the brides father. who re-
turns thanks when her health is drunk-fhiS
usage being owing 10 the fact that father
still retains authority over his child after She
IS married. He may summon her from her
home To tend him when he is sick. If he lose
his wife he may claim his married daughters
service as housekeeper during the first three
months of his widOwhOOd: and he very often
does SO. If the daughters husband die her
father may order her to return to his roof and
he becomes de jure the guardian of her chill
dren. None of these privileges is retained by
married WOmanS mother.
Divorces are not allowed i'm Russia. but a
marriage can be annulled for informally: and
so divorces are pretty frequent. Ii is only
question OF money. like most Russian things
In Ii huanla and some parts of Little Russia il
Is the custom for the brides nearest relative To
give her slap on The face at the moment of
leading her to priest, the object of this being
To establish, in ease of need. that the bride
married under cOmpulSiOn-which would be
enough TO break the marriage. Russians them
selves assure strangers that the slap is only
reminder TO the bride to behave well in future
but the true sense of it is that just stated, for
otherwise the reminder would presumably he
given by the bridegroom. In some paris of the
Empire the date of the marriage is left blank
on the certificate; and this again furnishes
grounds for divorce. In the ChersOnese the
Pope Intentionally Omits to register The ages of
The parties: but there is no real need for any
OF these precautions, for the marriage laws are
so complex that two parties willing to pay for
the luxury OF separation can easily ferret
out ukase whose prescriptions were not
oDStINtu DIT III
is the clergy who declare a marriage null,
and they will cOnniye at any trick for this
purpose. 1t is not by any means rare for
lady OF kle affections to get her new lover
to pay her husband sum of money that he
may consent to divorce: and this has been
done even i'm social circles where a regard for
decencies might have been expected. About
q dozen years ago an Imperial decree was
launched fOrbidding servants of the Crown
below the fifth rank to apply for annulments
of marriage except with the permission of
their chiefs, which would have been absurd if
such annulments had only been asked for. as
rule, upon sufficient grounds. Annulled Ia
dies. whether married or not. are received into
society; so are those who have annulled mar
riages two or three times; and. indeed Rus
sian morals as to the sanctity of marriage are
nothing if not lax. Russians make good hus-
bands, according to their own ideas of good
that Is. they are indugent. good tempered. and
not jealous; but in the higher classes they are
incOrrigible firts, and i'm the lower they drink
and. being drunk, settle all cOnnubial differ
enceS by blows. 1t is common sight i'm a vii
lage to see mujick cutting his wife with
might and main: nor do her bowls bring any
of her own sex to her assistance. 1t seems to
be admitted among all but the upper classes
that man has full right to beat his wife.
and she gets no sympathy whether she