THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



119 



Photograph by Nevin O. Winter 



A STREET SCENE IN ODESSA, THE CITY CREATED BY CATHERINE THE GREAT AS A 

 STEPPING STONE TOWARD CONSTANTINOPLE 



With wide and well-paved streets, many of them bordered with trees, Odessa is one of 

 the most beautiful as well as one of the greatest commercial cities of Russia. Situated on 

 the shores of the Black Sea, 20 miles north of the mouth of the river Dniester, it has a 

 population slightly larger than Baltimore. Before the war, the value of its exports averaged 

 more than eighty million rubles annually. With Bucharest it shared the questionable dis- 

 tinction of being one of the gayest cities of Europe. 



is the case with the Great Russian. They 

 have a buoyancy of temperament which 

 leads to a light-hearted gaiety of spirits, 

 such as one does not find among the 

 Muscovites. 



THE HOME OP RUSSIAN FOLK-LORE 



In so far as outside influences have 

 affected the Slav temperament in the 

 Ukraine, it has been that of the Greek and 

 the Tatar. The warm and bright colors 

 of their costumes are somewhat remi- 

 niscent of the Orient. They are great 

 lovers of beads, of which they will wear 

 many strings, and the national costume 

 of the women includes a wreath of flow- 

 ers worn on the head. 



A vein of romance and poetry runs 

 through the Little Russians. It may not 

 be very deep, but it is wide-spread. It 



is the home of Russian folk-lore. Lyrical 

 ballad and improvised ballad still spring 

 almost spontaneously from the lips of the 

 peasants. Their nature is rather poetical 

 and they are very musical. The love 

 songs of Little Russia are distinguished 

 by their great tenderness. They have 

 songs for all occasions, sacred and pro- 

 fane. They are also great lovers of 

 flowers. 



BRILLIANT COLORS MAKE NATIVE COS- 

 TUMES A DELIGHT TO THE EYE 



The lover of peasant costumes will be 

 in his glory here in the Ukraine. No- 

 where in Russia is there so much color 

 in costumes as here, and the general ef- 

 fect is extremely pleasing. The market 

 in Kiev or Kharkov is a study in color. 



Red is the prevailing color among the 



