THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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women, but there are many other bright 

 bits. The costume is also extremely ar- 

 tistic. The red turbans of the women 

 have embroidered borders and their skirts 

 also have a border which reaches almost 

 to the knee. The women generally wear 

 their skirts rather short, scarcely reach- 

 ing to the ankles — a style becoming more 

 and more popular the world over today. 

 The blouses are made out of pretty pat- 

 terns, with unique and original designs 

 worked into the material. Even the 

 heavy coats, which they wear for warmth, 

 have their own design, and all will fol- 

 low practically the same pattern. 



Even the men have their little vanity, 

 having their shirts embroidered in red 

 and blue designs, and the younger men 

 have quite a dandified look. 



GO BAREFOOTED TO SAVE THEIR BOOTS 



Both sexes wear coarse boots, many of 

 them being made of plaited leather, if 

 they are able to purchase them. In sum- 

 mer many will come to the city bare- 

 footed, for in that way they save their 

 boots ; and leather boots, even in peace 

 times, cost many rubles. In war times 

 they are beyond the reach of the ordi- 

 nary peasant. 



On festive occasions many of the young 

 women are wonderful to behold. They 

 don highly colored dresses and have long 

 bright pink, blue, and red ribbons tied 

 in their hair, which stream behind them 

 as they walk. Oftentimes they wear gar- 

 lands of real or artificial flowers. Sev- 

 eral strings of large and small coral or 

 glass beads complete this pretty outfit ; 

 and many of the maidens, with their 

 gypsy-like complexions, look very charm- 

 ing when attired in this manner. 



These people have a great love for 

 vivid colors in everything arid even deco- 

 rate their rooms with striped or checked 

 red and white towels. The icon (holy 

 image) shelf is sure to be decorated with 

 these fancy towels and paper flowers. A 

 guest of honor would be given a seat 

 under this little domestic shrine. 



KHARKOV, THE SECOND CITY 



Kharkov is the second city of the 

 Ukraine and is almost two-thirds the size 

 of Kiev. Its long, broad, and dusty 

 streets, rather roughly paved, are flanked 



by houses of a nondescript architecture. 

 They are usually two stories high and in 

 colors red, yellow, blue, and magenta 

 stucco predominate. 



Huge signboards prevail everywhere 

 in the business section on the stores with 

 samples of the goods sold therein painted 

 upon them. The peasant who cannot 

 read can understand the pictures at least. 



The glittering domes of a number of 

 large, flamboyant Orthodox churches give 

 a semi-oriental general effect. 



Kharkov's importance is due to the 

 fact that it is the center of a large agri- 

 cultural district, one of the most fertile 

 sections in all Russia. 



There is a very large bazaar here, which 

 draws thousands of visitors on several 

 occasions during the year. It is a great 

 distributing center for agricultural sup- 

 plies and is also quite an educational 

 center, with one of the greatest universi- 

 ties in all Russia. 



ODESSA, CATHERINE THE GREAT'S 

 CREATION 



By the new alignment Odessa and the 

 province of Kherson have been added 

 to the Ukrainian Republic. This city of 

 half a million is one of the newest cities 

 in Europe. While Moscow can boast 

 of a thousand years of history, Odessa 

 is only a little over a hundred years of 

 age. Its rapid growth will compare with 

 the cities of the new world. It dates 

 from 1794 and it owes its existence to 

 Catherine the Great. Just a few years 

 before that this territory had been ceded 

 to Russia by Turkey. Her purpose was 

 to establish a strong city as near to Con- 

 stantinople as possible. A magnificent 

 statue of the empress, representing her 

 as trampling the Turkish flag scornfully 

 beneath her feet, now adorns one square. 



Odessa is not a typical Russian city. 

 Mark Twain said that the only thing truly 

 Russian about it was the shape of the 

 droshkis and the dress of the drivers. 

 One might add the gilded domes of a few 

 churches. It is an attractive city in many 

 ways and it has the reputation of being 

 a very fast city. It has been in recent 

 years a very important post. 



The business of the city is largely in 

 the hands of the Jews, who comprise a 

 third of the population. There has not 



