The Land of White Nights

The town of Petersburg was founded on May 16, 1703. Several generations of talented Russian and foreign architects were engaged in the planning and construction of Petersburg’s downtown. Petersburg is one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

The Summer Garden, the Winter Palace, the Hermitage, the monument to Peter I, the Russian Museum are the city’s remarkable architectural sights.

Soon after Petersburg appeared, it turned into the main center of Russian science and culture. Outstanding scholars like M.V.Lomonosov, D.I.Mendeleyev, I.P.Pavlov and many others engaged themselves in activities of the Academy of Sciences and the University. A.S.Pushkin, M.Y.Lermontov, N.A.Nekrasov glorified the city in many of their works.

St Petersburg today is a center of science and culture, well-developed industries including shipbuilding, a large international port on the Baltic Sea.

Speaking of St.Petersburg one may not omit mentioning its famous suburbs. Petrodvorets (Peterhof), Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo), Pavlovsk, Lomonosov are museums of history and art. Russian and foreign tourists visit St.Petersburg suburbs to see outstanding pieces of Russian art.

Magnificent architectural ensembles, sculptures, a unique water-duck system for numerous fountains, fine examples of park-landscape art make one solemnlyproud of the generations of Russian people who have managed to create in rotten swamp such great masterpieces of human genius.

Anyone who visits Karelia will always be tempted to come back. Karelia is a country of one thousand lakes, and more than 23 thousand rivers. Almost all of them are less than 10 km long.

About half of Karelia’s territory is covered with woods, mostly pine and fir. Let’s start on a voyage by the Neva River and Ladoga and Onega Lakes to the famous islands of Valaam and Kizhy, to see the charming nature of the northern land.

Kizhy is a small island (7 km long and about one and a half km wide) in lake Onega. The Kizhy is called “Russian Wonder”.

The most precious thing in Kizhy is 22–cupola Cathedral of the Transfiguration built in 1714. Its walls, ceilings and roof were made of pine trees without any nails, using only an axe. The twenty-two cupolas are of different size. They give the cathedral a fairy-tale look.

We don’t know anything about the man of genius who built it. There is a legend in Kizhy that this church was created by master Nester. Having built it, he threw his axe into Lake Onega with the words: “There has never been, there isn’t and there will never be anything like it”.

There is another legend that says that the construction of the Church is connected with Peter the Great, who drew up the design himself. However there is no documentary proof to these two legends.

The island Valaam is the biggest on the Ladoga. There is a monastery on the island. It was founded by Novgorod townsfolk and stood to defend Russian land borders and many times repelled Swedish attacks. The monastery was ruined in the early XVII century, but restored in the XVIII century. Along with trees that are common to these latitudes, you can see oak, cedar groves, and alleys of silver fir and fruit gardens. The magnificent nature of these parts has inspired many Russian painters: I.I.Levitan, I.I.Shishkin, A.I.Kuindzhi. One will never forget the vast, deep rivers and lakes as great as sea.

The walls of northern structures were always made of pine. The carpenters always tried to make the building stand as long as possible. 22 domes are reliable protection against the wet. When it rains, water falls from the upper to the lower domes, which throw water far away from the walls. That is why the wooden church has managed to survive so long.

There are also other interesting wooden constructions, small chapels, living houses, etc.

Kizhy! People from every corner of the world keep coming here. They speak different languages but all agree on one point: Kizhy is incomparable!

Exercises

1. Suggest the Russian for:

generations, were engaged in the planning, downtown, remarkable sights, turned into the center, one may not omit mentioning, suburbs, magnificent ensembles, managed to create, rotten swamp, masterpiece of human genius, is covered with woods, mostly pine and fir, charming nature, start on a voyage, the most precious thing, using only an axe, man of genius, cathedral, church, chapel, however, drew up the design himself, to defend land borders, to repel attacks, cedar groves, to inspire painters, made of pine, as long as possible, reliable protection, upper dome, lower dome, that is why, managed to survive, wooden constructions, keep coming.

2. Suggest the English for:

архитекторов привлекали к строительству, превратился в главный центр русской науки, выдающийся ученый, прославить город, развитая промышленность, выдающиеся памятники русского искусства, великолепные архитектурные ансамбли, уникальная водная система для многочисленных фонтанов, образцы парково-ландшафтного искусства, вызывать чувства необыкновенной торжественности и гордости, гнилые топи, великие творения человеческого гения, захотят вернуться вновь и вновь, хвойные леса, познакомиться с прекрасной природой, русское чудо, Преображенский собор, придавать сказочный вид; не было, нет и не будет; документальное доказательство, отражать нападение, рядом с обычными для этих широт деревьями, кедровые рощи, великолепная природа, вдохновить художников, просторы полноводных рек, отбрасывать воду далеко от стен, удалось сохранить, жилые дома, такого не увидишь нигде.