Tight Belt for Lefty: A Forgotten Element of the Road Tradition of Russia

Abstract

This paper examines one of the elements of the so-called road tradition of Russia. Road tradition is a combination of material and spiritual aspects of an overland travel (both on foot and by horse-drawn transport). In the climate of northern Eurasia and under the socio-economic conditions inherent in the Russian state in the 18th–19th centuries, the transport routes, which were unusually long, could not be well equipped. When driving fast on bad roads, people suffered very much: painful concussions of the body’s internal organs and even motion sickness (nausea) occurred. In the story “Lefty” by Nikolai Leskov, such a travel attribute as the special tight belt is mentioned. By analyzing other and more reliable narrative sources, it turns out that Russian travelers really used this method to protect themselves from unpleasant sensations during a long journey. Contemporary medical research also confirms that, for example, wearing a wide, tight belt is recommended when swaying at sea. Consequently, the memory of various elements of the road tradition has well preserved in fiction. Therefore, fiction is a specific source, but quite suitable for ethnographic, historical, and anthropological reconstructions.