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A
note by shalava, the commissioner
“The violent Russian
spring, that seemed to start in an hour and was like the
whole Earth cracking.”
The Goddess, Regal, Noble and Sublime, Owner of serfs,
inspects Her Estates. This is Maslenitsa, when the
arrival of spring is celebrated. The skylark sings to
herald the warmth of the sun after the long, grey
winter, and we, Her worthless possessions, toil naked
and collared in the chill of the April air to till Her
fields and prepare Her lands for planting. But when
Mistress passes by we must stop all we do to offer Her
bliny and vodka. These symbols of the renewal of the sun
and the water of the Earth – the bliny are as the disk
of the life-giving, golden orb - will bless our labour
for Her and, we pray, temper Her natural sadistic
inclination to punish us. A slave bows, subservient
beside the stallion on which She rides side-saddle,
resplendent in Her warm fur-lined riding habit. One
graceful foot rests on the slave’s hands, the other upon
his head. He bears an elaborate, barbed table on his
back and yearns only to press his worthless lips to Her
divine boots. Mistress is indifferent to his aching
need. She will abuse him if it pleases Her; and perhaps
at any moment the cruel riding crop She holds with the
reins will lash his grateful body into submission.
She owns us; we are Her possessions, and every second of
every day of every year we rejoice that we are Hers to
torment as She desires.
She is the Sun that rises at the end of winter and
brings the warmth of spring to Her slaves.
By the bond of Her
ownership we are reborn - thank You Wonderful Gaspazha!
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