From the magazine “Capital and Estate” 1914)
A happy accident gave me the opportunity to visit Pershino several times , this magnificent hunting estate of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. I was there at the cages, I was on hound hunts and even once in a distant field , and I cannot forget these glorious days, this is a reflection of a completely different life. What a beauty! What a wonderful legacy our great-grandfathers left, the Russian hunter left such a subtle and complex hunt in which man, horse and dog merge into one and overcome the tirelessly – frisky hare and the evil, smart and strong seasoned wolf!
Everything that the Grand Duke, this first Russian hunter, created in Pershino is difficult to imagine.Anyone who is interested in the wealth of the Pershinsky hunt, its structure and how the passionate and tireless august owner again brought back to life hunting, which had almost disappeared, and brought it to a state in which it had hardly ever been – I will refer him to serious labor of D.P. Valtsovo, who wrote “Hound Hunt in the Village of Pershina.”
I can only share my impressions.
When I went to Pershino for the first time, it was autumn. Wonderful, golden autumn, when our Russian landscape is so beautiful, when the cold, turquoise-blue sky further sets off the brilliance of the last forest harvest, when the bright greenery of winter crops seems even brighter next to the plowed fields. The endless violet distance, the cut-out ravines and the haphazardly scattered huts of poor Russian villages spread out before me. Three rather strong horses tiredly pulled my carriage through the mud, the driver lazily waved his whip, shouted at the horse and muttered something to himself. We had already traveled about thirty miles from Tula along a bad road, when, at a turn, on a high hillock, when the exhausted horses were dragging us in with difficulty, my driver suddenly cheered up and, pointing far ahead, said: “Pershino.”Finally, I saw the palace. It depicted its beautiful white façade against the backdrop of a centuries-old park, standing on the high bank of the Upa River. In front of it there was a small old church, and on the sides there were buildings and outbuildings.
The Pershinsky Palace, built during the reign of Catherine the Great by the then much sensational banker Lazarev , has changed its appearance almost in no way and its architecture is one of the most magnificent examples of Catherine’s times . And the closer I got to him, the more beautiful and stern he became, the more attractive his lines were. Having crossed the wooden bridge over the Upa, my carriage almost walked up a high hill, passed a church, a simple but beautiful stone fence with a grating, near which a guard was walking, and, turning into the courtyard, was in place.
In the evening, in the so-called club, where everyone gathers after dinner and where until late at night there is conversation and stories about hound hunting, greyhounds, hounds, wolves, foxes and hares, I learned that the next day was scheduled for a “riding” – the most exciting type of hunting , He takes the fields without a hound, and passing them on horseback with a greyhound, he picks up hares lying along the boundaries, in holes, ravines and potholes and hunts them cleanly, still fresh, not tortured by the pursuit of a hound pack. In such a hunt, the field strength of the dogs is best reflected, their agility, intelligence, agility, and besides, it’s fun to watch the loser, how here, now here, poisoning one or the other.
It was a bit frosty at night and therefore the departure was a little late. They waited for the ground to move a little under the rays of the cold October sun – it would be easier for the greyhounds to gallop. At 10 o’clock we went out into an old park with half-bare lindens and fruit trees. The horses were waiting for us here. Following the Grand Duke, we left the garden gates and a picturesque panorama of the entire hunt, lined up in a semicircle, opened before us on a mown field. Up to thirty greyhounds stood near their roan half-breeds, keeping packs of greyhounds of every possible color. Dry, tall, with long silky dogs, these graceful animals were amazingly beautiful and picturesque. Their shape and colors gave the overall autumn picture a special charm that the special one brought.
The hunt manager, Ya.I., drove up to the Grand Duke. Golovin, who reported which dogs, despite
the order, could not be taken into the field: one that was limping, the other, “something sluggish…” Some hunters were already sitting on their horses to the side, who had come here earlier and had already examined their dogs , and there were quite a few of them, too, since many had one or even two spare packs.
On this day, His Serene Highness Prince D.B. went hunting. Golitsyn, beautiful rider and passionate hunter M.A. Boldareva with her husband A.K., Prince V.E. Golitsyn, Adjutant General A.A. Greenwald, Earl D.G. Mengden, Prince Cantacuzene, D.D. Osipovsky and D.P. Rollers.
The Grand Duke said how and where the ride would go, took two greyhounds into the pack, indicated which of the greyhounds should be with him, and set off.
A wide, mown field spread out before us;further on, in some places, small islands of birch forest were visible, again mown and plowed fields, green winter fields, sparse villages, ravines with lonely birch trees… The hunt stretched out in a line for almost more than a mile, all the time moving forward at a step and all the time aligned with the Grand Duke , It’s fun to look at this beautiful picture. A mass of riders, in a pack – a slender, all colors, borzois, barely walking on the ground, a magnificent autumn landscape, illuminated by the pale sun, and wonderful air, a light wind rushing at the meeting. We moved like this for a quarter of an hour, looking far ahead, looking around.
Suddenly a fast hare, about fifty steps away, jumped up in front of us and, flashing his larger hind legs, rushed off like an arrow. Several dogs squealed, the nearest horsemen danced, holding back the rushing greyhounds… Everyone’s eyes were focused on the hare going further and further away. The Grand Duke, spurring his horse, let the pack loose and galloped after him. Crawling along the very ground, the borzois chased the hare. The distance between them decreased more and more and it was clear that the dogs were in shock and the hare could not escape. He began to make unexpectedly sharp turns and the dogs, almost already hanging on him and several times ready to take him, missed and, trying to make the same sharp turn as him, fell. I was already beginning to think that the hare would leave, that the exhausted borzoi would give up.But then, unexpectedly, one of them, which all the time seemed to be lagging behind, picked up speed, got ahead of the others and, making a desperate throw, rolled over their heads, managing to take the hare at the moment when he wanted to turn again. The borzoi galloped up, almost at a gallop, jumped off his horse, leaned on the hare, shielding him from the terrible dog’s teeth. At this time, someone away from us was already poisoning another hare, but to no avail. The seasoned hare easily escaped from his pursuers, and the new pack thrown only led the beast off the straight path, unwittingly sending it to the island, where it disappeared. The greyhound, rushing there, soon came out at the call of the borzois at the edge of the forest, tenderly wagging its luxurious rules, as if apologizing for its mistake – for missing the animal.leaning on the hare, he covered it from the terrible dog’s teeth. At this time, someone away from us was already poisoning another hare, but to no avail. The seasoned hare easily escaped from his pursuers, and the new pack thrown only led the beast off the straight path, unwittingly sending it to the island, where it disappeared. 
One of them did not want to go to the pack and , making light big leaps, as if playing, headed towards another borzoi, who, jumping off his horse, held her back.
Suddenly, one of the borzois, who was quite far from us, stopped and raised his hand up.
“They suspected,” said the person riding next to me.
The Grand Duke, having inquired which of the guests had not yet been poisoned today, ordered the hare to be handed over to him. The borzoi galloped. I walked towards the one standing motionless. Soon a young hunter cautiously approached us and, despite the instructions of the “suspecter,” he could not see the hare pressed tightly to the ground. I looked with all my eyes and I didn’t see. So he shrank and his color matched the color of dry grass. Finally, the borzoi slammed his arapnik on the ground and no further than five or six steps from us a hare jumped out and rushed back. The dog squealed, almost broke away from the pack and rushed after him in a completely different direction from us. But the hare was seasoned, experienced and, apparently, already familiar with borzois.He walked at an even pace, slowed down when he was almost overtaken, and they went further and further.
Little by little the dogs fell behind. Confused and exhausted, they were reluctant to join the pack. The hunter was gloomy.
That day there were many hares in the field. They constantly jumped out here and there, all the time forcing the hunters to be on guard so as not to miss, have time to “show” the beast to the dogs and release the pack in time.
Hunting wolves worries dog hunters most of all. Nowadays, this animal has become rare and, moreover, extremely cautious and daring . No matter how experienced hunters-handlers, who have perfectly studied his nature, do not play tricks with him, the wolf still very often deceives everything and leaves when it seems that he is already in his hands.
It was cold and a strong wind was blowing. We drove about 15 versts from Pershino, passed several villages with original old churches , young oak forests in a wonderful crimson attire, some kind of estate closed on all sides and arrived at an “island” where there was supposed to be a brood of fourteen wolves. Even earlier, two packs of hounds and a snare were brought here on carts and about three hundred different people were gathered for a roundup.
The Grand Duke, who knew perfectly all the places for many miles around Pershino, himself arranged the guests and borzois with packs, and then, showing me a place not far from him, ordered the packs to be started. For a long time there was complete silence and only a strong wind rustled through the yellowed and reddened foliage, and sometimes a stale horse snorted or jingled its bits. Oak leaves were falling, dry grass was rustling… So an hour and an hour and a half passed. Suddenly, from somewhere far away, a dog barked… and again everything became quiet. I sat as if chained to the saddle and looked into the forest. I don’t know why, my eye stared at the same place with the thinning bushes. There appeared a small dark silhouette of a dog. It was far from me, two hundred fathoms, maybe more.She carefully came out, slightly raising her thick tail, raised her head a little, as if she was sucking in air, and then confidently ran forward at a small trot. It was a wolf. He ran and kept looking ahead, and in front of him in an open field about a hundred yards away, like statues, at an equal distance from each other, stood hunters on horses, greyhounds and wary dogs with their ears raised up. Nobody moved. The wolf ran straight at one of them and looked. Then he stopped, looked to the right and to the left, and suddenly turned and walked back in the same direction.
I was waiting for someone to rush after me, shout “hoot”, release the pack – nothing like that. Everyone seemed petrified. Soon the wolf disappeared among the small birch trees.But it seemed to me that he would come out again and this time from our side. And I was not mistaken. He appeared almost where I expected him and, without haste, we went straight to the Grand Duke, who stood in the edge of the forest, hidden by a young oak tree. Before I had time to make sure that the Grand Duke had noticed him, the wolf, trembling, turned and rushed back. Following him, the black and piebald handsome men were already rushing, spread out on the ground, and behind them, on his short roan horse, rushed the Grand Duke, the borzoi breeder and borzois released from another pack. Several times, with his ears flattened, the wolf turned his head in one direction or another, and each time some dog jumped away, giving way to another, more vicious one.One of them, a dry, handsome black man, suddenly leaned forward and ate itself into the wolf’s neck on the right side. Almost immediately another grabbed him from the left and they all rolled to the ground together. The others arrived in time. When I galloped up, one greyhound was already lying on the wolf, firmly pressing its head with his right hand, and with the other, driving away and tearing the greyhounds away from the wolf, he took out the string. The wolf lay motionless, and I was struck by his left eye with a fixed, clear, greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The hunter tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them.Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. suddenly leaned forward strongly and ate into the wolf’s neck on the right side. Almost immediately another grabbed him from the left and they all rolled to the ground together. The others arrived in time. When I galloped up, one hunterwas already lying on the wolf, firmly pressing its head with his right hand, and with the other, driving away and tearing the borzois away from the wolf, he took out the string. The wolf lay motionless, and I was struck by his left eye with a fixed, clear, greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The hunter tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them.Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. suddenly leaned forward strongly and ate into the wolf’s neck on the right side. Almost immediately another grabbed him from the left and they all rolled to the ground together. The others arrived in time.
When I galloped up, one hunter was already lying on the wolf, firmly pressing its head with his right hand, and with the other, driving away and tearing the borzois away from the wolf, he took out the string. The wolf lay motionless, and I was struck by his left eye with a fixed, clear, greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The hunter tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them.Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. The others arrived in time. When I galloped up, one greyhound was already lying on the wolf, firmly pressing its head with his right hand, and with the other, driving away and tearing the greyhounds away from the wolf, he took out the string. The wolf lay motionless, and I was struck by his left eye with a fixed, clear, greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The Greyhound tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them. Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. The others arrived in time.When I galloped up, one greyhound was already lying on the wolf, firmly pressing its head with his right hand, and with the other, driving away and tearing the greyhounds away from the wolf, he took out the string. The wolf lay motionless, and I was struck by his left eye with a fixed, clear, greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The Greyhound tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them. Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference.Thehunter tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them. Finally, they pulled him down, tied his legs, and two men carried him to the truck. greenish pupil and a small hole in the middle. He did not move, and seemed to express nothing or express complete indifference. The Greyhound tried to open his mouth with a stick to insert the string, but the wolf clenched his teeth tightly and still lay motionless under them. Finally, he was mocked.
They caught dogs all around, took them into the pack, mounted their horses and, riding off to their places, passed on the details to each other.
On the other side of the wide ravine they were poisoning again. Soon it was seen how the wolf, dogs and galloping greyhounds huddled together in one heap. So they took it!
The Grand Duke raised his silver horn and raised his voice . The clear sound of the call told us that the hunt was over and that a delicious breakfast and good wine were waiting for us somewhere, in a cozy place, over which I, a beginner, would have to hear many new and interesting details…
N. Kravchenko
Reproduced with kind permission of Svetlana Abashina
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