The city receives honour to its resistance to Nazis

The city of Tula with its population doubled to 500,000 since World War II was awarded the ‘Hero City’ honour, the eleventh city to get it. The award was given for Tula’s role, as a defense bastion against the Nazis as they neared Moscow from the south. It was under siege for 45 days, but the fascists were not able to step into city limits. The city takes pride that throughout its 800-year history, no enemy has ever penetrated it. Historically, the city was famed as the samovar manufacturing center and for its gun-making for the armies of Czar.

But its metal-working history, whether on samovars or guns, has also made it a city famed for metal mechanics. Today Tula is one of the major machine manufacturing cities.

In Tula, as in most old cities of Russia, the people cherish their history and tradition, and stress it to visitors. And it is not only good-natured talk about the superiority of tea from their charcoal-burning samovars, with the special Tula cakes. They take pride that Tolstoy lived and wrote in Yasnaya Polyana, his estate just outside Tula. ‘You must see it!’ they tell every visitor.

XVI. Read the following selections using a dictionary.

DO YOU KNOW THAT …

… the Tula guberniya was established in 1777, and in 1937, it was renamed Tula region. The region’s coat of arms, inherited from the former guberniya and officially approved in 1778, shows crossed silver blades, a rifle barrel and two hammers on a field of red, which symbolizes Tula as a weapons forge and Russia’s defender.

… the region’s inhabitants revere their cultural heritage. Major historical and cultural relics and monuments include the Kulikovo Field (the site of the historical battle in 1380 between the troops of Moscow’s Prince Dmitry Donskoi and Tatar-Mongol hordes), the Kremlin (1514-1521) with an Assumption cathedral (1762-1764), an Annunciation church (1692), the museum estate of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy at Yasnaya Polyana, and the national reserve and memorial museum of the outstanding Russian artist Vasily Polenov at Polenovo. There are many memorials associated with heroic deeds performed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

… the bathing health resort at Krainka, 107 km west of Tula, offers a network of rest homes, boarding houses and tourist centres on the banks of rivers in the vicinity of Yasnaya Polyana.

… many legends are associated with Tula skilful workers. Nikolai Leskov’s tale ‘Levsha’ is an example.

… not a single enemy has ever been to Tula. Our city has always been a fortress in the defence of our Motherland.

… Leo Tolstoy lived in Yasnaya Polyana for 60 of his 80 years.

… the famous composer Dargomizhsky and the well-known pedagogue Ushinsky were born in the Tula region.

… not far from Tula is the village of Mishenskoye – the native place of the great poet of the 19^th century V.A. Zhukovsky. Many years of his life he spent in Tula.

… to the South of Efremov there was an estate of M. Lermontov’s father. Near the railway station Chern there was an estate of I.S. Turgenev’s father. Many great Russian writers and poets visited our city.

… the famous Russian artist Polenov lived and worked in the Tula province. Not far from Tula on the banks of the Oka river is the Museum of Polenov.

… the history of Tula pryanic begins in the 17^th century. At present as in the old days the traditions of Tula pryanic makers are still alive. Tula printed pryanic is not only tasty but a beautiful souvenir and a present.

XV. Speak about:

1) the past of Tula;

2) the industries of Tula;

3) Tula of today;

4) the places of interest in Tula;

5) the educational establishments in Tula.

XVI. Imagine you are a guide. Make a tour around Tula. Invite your friends to follow you. The plan of the centre of Tula will help you.

XVII. Ask your friend to give you as much information as possible about his (her) native town.

XVIII. Write the composition ‘The town (city) I was born in’.