Born in the southern Russia, the modern-day Ukraine, I have always honoured my heritage. Ukraine is a country of diverse ethnic and cultural traditions, many of which have roots in the times when the Kyiv Rus fell under the rule of foreign powers of the Golden Horde Mongol Tatars. These nomadic tribes of Central Asia under Genghis Khan invaded Russia in 1228 and established a vast and powerful empire until 1552. Tatar dominant influence over the Russian lands lasted about two and one-half centuries and had far-reaching consequences. Throughout my life, especially in its early phase, I had been haunted by the exotic charms of the mystified Mongolian tribes that always stirred up in my mind a mental picture of an untamed race of people of athletic prowess, great dignity and unrestrained nature, who learned to ride a horse before they could walk. Russian artist Vassily Kandinsky's (1866- 1944) paternal grandmother is believed to have been a Mongolian princess, which the artist considered quintessentially exotic. I also find it intriguing that I am the descendant, on the paternal side, of the Kotchoubey noble family of Crimean Tatar origin, feeling a deep connection to the distant world of sophisticated nomadic warriors.
Princess Nirgidma of the Torghut Mongols with her hooded hunting eagle at Urumqi. 1932. Photo by Maynard Owen Williams/The National Geographic.