Shismatchevsky: no such painter existed
cockade on my cap: worn by civil servants in Russia
passport: Russians were required to have passports to travel within Russia
free Cossack: around the 16th century, before the Cossacks were brought under Russian control, some dissatisfied Russian peasants ran off to join the Cossacks
koumiss: kymis, fermented mare's milk, often prescribed for victims of tuberculosis
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Mon, Aug 13th, 2012, via SendToReader
