Faraway in Mintslov’s Vyborg

by admin | Apr 25, 2016 | Blog

On a cold, blustery late autumn day, I am on the shore of a body of water, probably part of the harbour or river, in Vyborg. A place that I had never imagined that I would ever visit until, whilst in St Petersburg, I received an invitation to come to Vyborg to do a book presentation about Sergei Mintslov.
Together with Michail Efimov, Julia Moshnik and my wife Jay, we walk toward the medieval castle that seems to be far away, when our attention is drawn in a direction that neither of us had thought of looking towards. Then we see the reason for the excitement of our hosts. It is the Clock tower that features on the cover of my translation of Faraway Days, by Sergei Mintslov, my grand uncle’s book.

English Translation of Faraway Days by Igor Labzin

We both stop in our tracks, staring unbelievingly at the structure, which hitherto had been nothing more than a photograph on the front of my book. Vyborg was until then just a name on a map.
So why Vyborg, a city in Russia, not far from the Russian Finnish border?
This is where my grand uncle, Sergei Mintslov, who wrote Faraway Days back during the early days of the Russian Revolution, comes into the picture. You see, he wrote it in on his estate in Kamere, which these days, is an outlying suburb of Vyborg.
The couple, Michail and Julia, that have met us at the railway station and who are now escorting us, via a walk around the old part of Vyborg to the 13th century Castle that is now a museum, are a husband and wife team of local historians who have a keen interest in Sergei Mintslov.

Inside the walls of Vyborg’s Medieval Castle

Vyborg Castle Museum

After a quick orientation tour of the city centre with them, we arrive at the Castle and warm up over a cup of tea with biscuits, before taking a close up look around the back corridors, rooms and staircases of the castle. It is the first ever experience for both of us to be able to see at such close quarters the inside of a castle, rather than the usual few rooms that are made available for viewing by tourists.
This castle has not yet been totally refurbished and “polished up” so as to become part of the global tourist track. Its floors and walls still show the wear and tear of the many years of service as a fortress manned by soldiers. We are then left to our own devices for a few hours before the commencement of the presentation of my book, Faraway Days, in the main hall of the castle that evening. Probably the very same room where in days of old, the Swedish and Teutonic knights would while away the night prior to setting off for a battle in the morning.
Vyborg certainly has a lot of history behind it. Founded by the Swedes in 1293 by Torkel Knutsson, whose statue still stands in the main square, it changed hands numerous times between the Swedes and the Russians and between Russia and Finland in the period of the Russian Revolution and the end of World War II.

Statue of Knutsson in Vyborg

Mon Repos

We wander off to Mon Repos park, a good half hour walk from the city centre. It is considered to be one of the jewels in the crown of the city. The land was bought by Ludwig Heinrich von Nicolai in 1788 and remained in the family until 1943, when Soviet Russia retook Vyborg.
Mon Repos, on a cold autumn day is somewhat daunting but fascinating with its autumn colours, piles of chopped wood, old tumble-down timber buildings and lichen and moss covered tree trunks.  It is the very epitome of not only Russia but also of northern Europe. Its large rock outcrops are a rarity in this part of the world and are much admired by the locals who flock to the park in summer.

Mon Repos rock garden

Slavjanskaja Trapeza Restaurant, Vyborg

Having had as much cold fresh air as our bodies could stand, we seek shelter in a bistro recommended by Michail and Julia, the couple that met us at the railway station. It is fantastic!
The Slavjanskaja Trapeza restaurant is located in a basement carved out of stone in the old part of town. Crouching slightly so as not to hit our heads on the low stone ceilings, and having been at first mistaken for Finnish tourists, but then feted for coming all the way from Australia, we settle into a real Russian culinary journey of fish soup, grilled salmon and of course, to keep a grip on reality, a plate of potato chips.
All this quaffed down with a bit of the local beer, and tea, but not too much, as we have to keep our wits about us for the evening presentation. It’s top notch.

Books by Sergei Mintslov

My presentation on Sergei Mintslov starts with great promise and proceeds to get better and better as the event proceeds. The director of the museum, Vladimir Tsoy, just like all his colleagues, has no air of stuffiness about him. Au contraire, they are young, smart and energetic! An absolute delight to be in their turbo-charged atmosphere, juxtaposed with the 13th Century Castle in which they work.

The Director of the Castle Museum

The locals have also turned out in force for the presentation, the local Vyborg Times, the Local TV station and all the Mintslov aficionados of the district, including a local scholar, Michail Kostolomov, who is a recognised scholar of all things Mintslov, including Mintslov’s eccentric, as some would have it, sister Anna.

Article in the Vyborg Gazette November 2015

Following the end of the presentation and interviews with the local media, we walk the quiet streets along the river, under the streetlights, to the railway station with Michail and Julia. On the train, which travels at speeds of up to 150 km per hour, we arrive in St Petersburg an hour or so later.
Back in our hotel room just off Nevsky Prospect, we are both dazed, not only with the rapidity of the day’s events but also with the discovery of an unknown part of the world and its attendant history that was hitherto unknown to us.
A day never to forget and always to cherish!

Vyborg Castle