Tomsk Polytechnic
University
Mediateka
Department of
International Management
WHAT IT IS LIKE IN RUSSIA
TOMSK – 2002
7
МЕДИАТЕКА
КАФЕДРА МЕЖДУНАРОДНОГО МЕНЕДЖМЕНТА
«УТВЕРЖДАЮ»
Заведующий кафедрой
международного менеджмента
_______________Кириллов Н.П.
«___»__________________2002 г.
WHAT IT IS LIKE IN RUSSIA
Томск – 2002
8
ББК
Ануфриева В.П., Казарина Т.В., Перовская З.Ф., Лахотюк Л.А., Ястребова
Л.Н., Сапунова Ю.Ю., Печкин И.Ю., Жалнина О.С., Барсукова О.А. «What it
is like in Russia ».
Учебное пособие. –
Томск: Изд. ТПУ, 2002 - с.137
В учебном пособии собраны тексты на английском языке,
содержащие информацию о России, Сибири и Томской области (География.
Экология. Экономика. Образование. Здоровый образ жизни. Национальная
кухня. Праздники и др.). По каждой теме предлагаются контрольные
вопросы, многие из которых носят проблемный характер. Все тексты
сопровождаются
лексическими
блоками,
включающими
как
общеупотребительную лексику, так и специальные термины (1200-1500
лексических единиц). Учебное пособие имеет коммуникативную
направленность и предназначено для активизации устноречевых навыков
иноязычного общения.
Учебное пособие подготовлено на межфакультетской кафедре
международного менеджмента ТПУ и предназначено для студентов,
аспирантов и других лиц, изучающих английский язык.
Печатается по постановлению Редакционно-издательского Совета
Томского политехнического университета.
Р е ц е н з е н т ы:
Гаврилов А.Н., к.п.н., доцент, заведующий кафедрой английского языка
Томского государственного архитектурно – строительного университета.
Бердюгина Л.А., к.фил.н., доцент кафедры иностранных языков Кузбасского
государственного технического университета.
Ануфриева В.П., доцент кафедры методики преподавания иностранных
языков Института языковой коммуникации Томского политехнического
университета.
Темплан 2002
© Томский политехнический университет, 2002
9
Chapter 1.
Chapter 2.
Chapter 3.
Chapter 4.
Contents
V.P.Anufrieva The Russian Federation……..
Geographical Position……………………………..
Economy…………………………………………….
European North and Central Russia……………..
Western and Eastern Siberia and
the Far East…………………………………………
Western Siberia....................................................
Eastern Siberia.....................................................
T.V.Kazarina Cities (Moscow,
St.Petersburg, the Golden Ring, Novosibirsk,
Tomsk). History, sightseeings………………….
Moscow……………………………………………...
Moscow’s Places of Interest………………………
A Visit to the Tretyakov Gallery…………………...
My First Visit to the Bolshoi Theatre……………..
Saint Petersburg……………………………………
Architectural Monuments of St. Petersburg……..
The Golden Ring……………………………………
Novosibirsk………………………………………….
Tomsk………………………………………….…….
Tomsk - A University City…………………………
Wooden Architecture………………………………
The Tomsk Theatre………………………………...
Z.F.Perovskaya Ecology & Environment.......
Pollution........................................................……
Conservation………………………………………..
State of Atmospheric Air…………………………..
Water Resources of Tomsk Oblast……………….
Natural Resources: their State, Use and
Protection……………………………………………
Forest Resources: their State, Use and
Protection……………………………………………
Wild Animals and Game Resources: their State,
Use and Protection…………………………………
Objects and Areas of Preferential Protection……
Tomski Rayon………………………………………
State Regulation of Environmental
Protection………………………….………………..
O.S.Zhalnina
Youth & Education……………
Nursery School……………………………………..
Prymary School…………………………………….
Secondary School………………………………….
Higher Education…………………………………..
Student’s Life……………………………………….
10
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Chapter 5.
Chapter 6.
Chapter7.
Chapter 8.
Chapter 9.
I.J.Pechkin
Standards of Living………….
Population and density…………………………….
Living conditions……………………………………
Expenditure…………………………….…………...
Employment………………………………………...
Housing……………………………………………...
The telephone……………….……………………...
An Important Element of Social Integration……..
Free Time……………………………………………
Prevalence of Smoking ……………………………
L.A.Lakhotyuk
Holidays and traditions…….
National Traditions…………………………………
Modern Holidays……………………………
Ancient Religious Holidays in old Russia..
Traditions concerning private people’s life
Wedding
Birth..…………………………………………
Funeral ……………………………………...
Leisure pursuits....................................................
Banya........................................................
Vodka………………………………………..
L.N.Yastrebova Food and Drink……………...
Attitudes to Food……………………………………
Russian Cuisine…………………………………….
Russian Meals………………………………………
Eating Out…………………………………………...
Festive Table………………………………………..
Some recipes……………………………………….
J.V.Sapunova
Sport, popular kinds of
sports……………………………………………….
Sports in Russia…………………………………..
Summer Olympic Games ……………….………..
Football………………………………………………
Basketball …………………………………………..
Sport in Tomsk ……………………………………..
Yegorova, Lyubov ……………..…………………..
No doubt about it…………………………………...
O.A.Barsukova Cinema, Television and
Theatres in Russia………………………………..
Cinema………………………………………………
A Survey of Russian Television ………………….
Theatre………………………………………………
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Предисловие
Учебное пособие, которое Вы держите в руках, не претендует на
серьезное научное исследование. Создать его нас побудило наблюдение за
речевым поведением наших студентов во время зарубежных стажировок.
Мы, преподаватели иностранных языков, сделали для себя любопытные
открытия. Студенты достаточно легко адаптируются к условиям жизни за
рубежом; быстро привыкают к темпу речи, который, конечно же, отличается
от «учебного»; имеют определенный запас страноведческих знаний
по
истории, культуре, искусству и т.д. И при этом мало что могут рассказать
о родной стране, своем крае, традициях, обычаях. Почти любой вопрос,
задаваемый иностранцами о России или Сибири, ставит наших учеников в
тупик. Создается впечатление, что об Америке, Германии или Франции они
знают больше, чем о крае, в котором живут и учатся.
Цель данного учебного пособия состоит в том, чтобы обеспечить
обучаемых
некоторой
информационной
межкультурного общения на
наиболее часто задают
основой
для
поддержания
иностранном языке. Вопросы, которые
иностранцы, немного знающие о России, но
проявляющие познавательный интерес к ней, помогли определить его
содержание. Это и традиционные вопросы о суровом сибирском климате и
медведях, бродящих по улицам,
проблемами
безработицы,
и
уровня
вопросы, связанные с экологией,
жизни,
свободного
времени,
особенностей национальной кухни и многие другие.
Структура данного учебного пособия проста: набор текстовых
материалов
на
английском
необходимая лексическая
располагает
языке
информационного
характера;
поддержка (с учетом того, что читатель
определенным словарным запасом); и, наконец, блок
вопросов по каждому разделу. Авторы намеренно исключили всякого рода
тренировочные упражнения, предоставив преподавателям и студентам
12
свободу
выбора приемов и способов актуализации предоставленной
информации.
Надеемся, что «проработав» содержание данного учебного пособия,
Вы сможете более уверенно поддержать беседу на английском языке и
рассказать немало интересного о нашем крае. Желаем успехов!
Авторский коллектив
13
7
The Russian Federation
Geographical Position
1.
2.
3.
4.
Russia is an immense country. What area does Russia cover?
What seas is Russia washed by?
What countries does Russia border on?
The immensity of the Russian Federation is hard to imagine. How long
does a flight from Moscow to Magadan take?
5. What can you say about mineral resources in Russia?
6. What are the longest rivers in Russia?
7. What is the role of the Volga in Russian culture, economy?
8. Lake Baikal is unique. What do you know аbоut Lake Baikal?
9. What can you say about the relief of Russia?
10. Lots of foreigners like hiking and climbing. What mountains in Russia can
you recommend for this?
11. What are the Urals famous for?
12. How long does winter last in different regions of Russia? What would you
advise a foreigner to wear?
13. Can you name the main vegetation zones in Russia?
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is the largest state in the new
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It covers a total area of over 17
million square kilometers – about one seventh of the earth’s surface. It covers the
eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. The population of Russia is
about 157 million people. Over 80 per cent of them are ethnic Russians. 70 per
cent of the population live in cities.
The country is washed in the North by the Arctic Ocean and its seas: The
Barents, Chukchee, East Siberia Kara, Laptev and White Seas; in the South by
the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas; in the East by the Bering Sea, the Sea of
Japan and Okhotsk Sea; in the West by the Baltic Sea.
The immensity of the Russian Federation is hard to imagine. A flight from
Moscow to Magadan takes eight hours. In the south Russia borders on China,
Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on
Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a seaborder with the USA.
Russia encompasses within its territory immense differences in climate,
economic conditions and cultural traditions. It is one of the largest administrative
areas in the world.
Russia is rich in mineral resources. It has deposits of coal, oil, natural gas,
iron, gold, nickel, etc.
7
Physical Features
Russia is a land of long rivers and large lakes. The North Dvina, the three
mighty Siberian rivers: Ob, Lena and Yenisei, and the Amur rank with the Nile
and the Amazon among the world’s longest rivers.
The largest of all Russia’s rivers is the Volga. This river is a major
transport route from the North to the South and a source of hydroelectric energy.
It originates north of Moscow in the Valdai Hills.
The three largest lakes in Russia are Baikal in South-Eastern Siberia and
Ladoga and Onega in Northern Russia. Baikal is the world’s most ancient lake
and the deepest one. It contains one-fifth of the world’s fresh water.
The relief of Russia is mostly flat. Russia is located on two plains: the
Great Russian Plain and the Western Siberian Plain. There are three main
mountain chains in Russia. The Caucasus is a range of mountains which extends
from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The highest mountain in the Caucasus,
in the Russian Federation and in all of Europe is Mount Elbrus.
The Urals extend from the Arctic Ocean to the steppes. This mountain
chain divides the European and Asian parts of Russia. The Urals are famous for
their valuable minerals and gemstones.
There are various types of climate within the territory of Russia. Russia is
one of the world’s coldest and northern countries. Winter lasts five months in St.
Petersburg (from November to March), but up to nine months in Siberia with
snow falling even in May and frosts starting in August. The brief Siberian summer
is a time of heat with temperatures reaching over +30 degrees centigrade.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and
vegetation can be found. Corresponding to climate there are six vegetation zones
stretching across the country. From North to South these are: the tundra, the
taiga (or pine forest), mixed forest, steppe, semi-desert and desert. Each
vegetation belt has its own flora, fauna and natural resources.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) - Содружество Независимых
Государств (СНГ) to encompass - содержать, заключать в себе
immensity - необъятность
former - бывший
deposits - залежи
mighty - могучий
to rank - стоять в ряду
route - путь
source - источник
relief - рельеф, характер местности.
range of mountains = mountain chain
to extend - простираться
gemstone – драгоценный камень
vegetation - растительность
semi-desert – полупустыня
8
The Economy
1. Compare and contrast the economic position of Russia in the former
USSR and now?
2. What industries and crafts were encouraged in Russia under Peter the
Great? What else do you know about that tsar?
3. What do you know about Russian economy in the second part of the
19th century?
4. Russia was one of the biggest grain producers and exporters before
the revolution. What about now?
5. Was the quality gap between native and western products an
important factor for economic reforms in Russia? Why? Give your
reasons.
6. People all over the world are afraid of Nuclear Power Stations
because of the Chernobyl disaster. What do you think about the
nuclear waste disposal and power problem?
Russia is a country blessed with astonishing resources and was the most
populous and wealthiest state of the former USSR. It produced 78 per cent of all its
natural gas, 60 per cent of its steel, 80 per cent of its timber and 91 per cent of its
oil. It also has one of the world's largest fishing industries.
The history of Russian industry goes back to the middle of the
seventeenth century. The development of new industries and crafts - metal
working, textiles, brick making and china manufacture - was encouraged under
Peter the Great. During the reign of Catherine the Great, the Urals became the
focus for iron industry and Russia became the world's largest iron producer.
After 1870 the fast railway engineering in Russia was stimulated by an
industrial boom. Some deals were made with western companies to develop
Russia's immense oil resources. By 1903 Russia had been the world's largest oil
producer.
Before the Revolution, Russia was one of the world's largest grain
producers and exporters. But recently Russia has become one of its biggest
importers as a result of collectivization and agricultural mismanagement.
In Soviet times, the central planning system was inefficient in regards to
both the production and distribution of goods. By the 1980s, the quality gap
between home and western products could no longer be ignored and called for
reforms. Entering the world market demands from Russian economists the
creation of effective industrial and agricultural management.
Until its industry can be modernized, Russia will remain dependent on the
energy sector. Before 1986 it was planned that an expanded nuclear programme
could help the conservation of other energy resources. But after the Chernobyl
disaster, these plans were sharply curtailed.
However, the disposal of nuclear waste and the closing down of old power
plants remain major problems not only for Russia but for other industrial
countries as well.
9
Living standards for the average Russian are bleak in monetary terms.
Pensioners are lucky to receive $20 a month. The average wage for workers is
$50 a month and a quarter of the population is owed back wages. About 44
million people live below the official poverty line of $32 a month and at least nine
million are unemployed, although many others considered 'employed' have jobs
with little work and less pay. Life for the average Russian has become much
harder since 1991 with the prices of most goods far higher and incomes much
lower. One consequence of these declining living standards is that the best and
brightest young Russians are emigrating with their talents.
One important way that people survive is by growing all types of produce
on small plots of land. On sunny summer weekends you'll see hordes of people
carefully tending the food they'll be eating all winter. Over 100 million people feed
themselves this way.
timber — лесоматериал
craft — ремесло
china — фарфор
to encourage — поощрять, поддерживать
reign—царствование, власть
deal—сделка
grain — зерно
goods — товары
gap — расхождение
expanded — расширенный
nuclear — ядерный
to curtail —сократить
disposal — размещение
waste — отходы
to decline – снижать
The European North and Central Russia
1. European Russia is the heartland of this country. What information
about the population in this part of Russia surprised you?
2. Russia is a land of lakes and rivers. What can you say about the Volga
river?
3. They say that bears are walking all over Russia. Is this true?
4. If you could say something about the contrast between the European
North and Central Russia now, what would you say?
The Northern Economic Region stretches over a vast land from Finland to
the Urals and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean. It is the most sparsely
populated area of European Russia. Oil, gas, coal and timber resources and the
fishing industry make the region economically important.
10
The Central Economic Region has the typical Russian landscape of birch
trees and plains.
European Russia is the heartland of the world’s biggest country and contains its
two major cities Moscow and St Petersburg and four-fifths of its population.
Moscow, situated in the centre of European part of Russian Federation, became
the ruling centre of the country in the 15th century under Ivan the Great, who
rebuilt the Kremlin as a symbol of his power. In the beginning of the 18th century
Peter the Great moved the capital to the new northern city of St. Petersburg. In
1918 Lenin transferred the capital back to Moscow.
Moscow is the political, administrative, economic, educational and cultural
centre of Russia. Here 20 per cent of the entire industrial output of the former
Soviet Union was concentrated.
East of Moscow lie Suzdal and Vladimir with their beautiful typically
Russian architecture. Suzdal, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Rostov.
Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Sergiev Posad enter the number of famous old towns
forming the so-called Gold Ring of Russia. Nearby Kostroma is the village of
Pelekh, famous for its craftsmen working in lacquer.
St. Petersburg is the second largest city in the Russian Federation. It was
founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. Variously called-Petersburg, Petrograd and
Leningrad - it became St. Petersburg once again in September 1991. Formerly
the capital of the Russian Empire, the city has a major river, sea port and railway
terminal. St. Petersburg is famous for its historical and architectural monuments.
The city has a lot of museums with art treasures, palaces, cathedrals and many
beautiful buildings. Also within European Russia, is the Volga river, a historic
highway whose basin is home to many non-Russian peoples such as the Muslim
Tatars; and the northern side of the spectacular Caucasus mountains striding
across from the Black Sea to the Caspian.
Some 112 million of Russia's 147 million people live in European Russia.
Three-quarters of European Russia's people live in towns and cities - the most
densely populated areas being around Moscow (population nine million) and St
Petersburg (five million), and the areas stretching east of Moscow as far as
Kazan and Samara, and south to Voronezh and Saratov.
This is a land of snow and deadly winters, but also of rivers that meander
across meadows and 24-hour midsummer daylight in northern latitudes. A
composite of the extravagant glories of old Russia and the drab legacies of the
Soviet era, it's home to the mysteries of the Orthodox Church, to many industrial
cities and millions of people who still work the land, and to the 'New Russians',
the flashy capitalists making the most of the anything-goes post-Soviet era. Its
people, in the words of one of their own proverbs, 'love to suffer', yet they also
love to party and can be disarmingly warmhearted and hospitable.
From Russia's European heartland the old tsarist empire spread out to
absorb hundreds of neighbouring peoples - across Siberia to the Pacific,
westward into Ukraine and Belarus, and south to other areas now again
independent of Russia, the Transcaucasus and Central Asia.
meander across – извиваться, виться
11
latitudes – широты (геогр.)
drab – серый, тусклый
legacy - наследие
sparsely – редко
Western and Eastern Siberia and the Far East
1.Into what regions is
Asian Russia divided?
2.Where does the economic
region of Western Siberia lie?
3.What are the biggest cities
of Western Siberia?
4.Why is Tomsk called the
first university city of Siberia?
5.Tuva’s main city is Kysyl,
situated at the confluence of
the rivers Bolshoi Yenisei &
Maly Yenisey. What is it
famous for?
6.Where does the economic region of Eastern Siberia lie?
7.Siberia is very exotic. What can you say about it to a foreigner so
that she (he) would visit?
8.When was Irkutsk founded?
9.What is special about the Sakha Autonomous Republic?
10.What is the geographical position of the Far East Economic
Region?
11.What is Wrangel Island of particular interest for?
12.What is the Kamchatka peninsula economy based on?
13.Why has Sakhalin Island been a bone of contention between
Russia & Japan?
14.What kinds of unique flora and fauna does Ussuriland have?
15.What can you say about Khabarovsk?
16.Where does the Jewish Autonomous Oblast lie?
17.What city in the Far East is Russia's main Pacific port and naval
base for the Pacific fleet?
Asian Russia is divided into the following geoeconomic regions:
Western Siberia, Easten Siberia and the Far East. The rivers Yenisei and
Lena are taken as the demarcation lines.
Siberia, the land beyond the Urals, is almost the size of Europe and
larger than the USA.
Siberia ('Sibir' in Russian from the Mongolian Altay language,
meaning 'Sleeping Land') takes in essentially, the entire North Asian
12
continent, east to the Pacific and south to China and Mongolia. This means
BIG - 7000 by 3500km; wrapped around a third of the northern hemisphere.
Viewed from the air, the flat land goes on and on, punctuated by
meandering rivers, slashes of development and long banners of industrial
smoke.
This huge area has immense mineral & other natural resources.
In terms of raw materials, Russia is the richest country on earth, and
much of this natural wealth lies in Siberia and the Far Eastern territories.
The gold and diamond seams there exceed those in South Africa. The oil
and gas fields are as bountiful as those in the Arabian Gulf and there is
more timber than in all Brazil. The region also holds a third of the world's
proven coal reserves. Traditionally, Siberian society was agrarian, although
as early as 1740 its precious metal mines were making a significant
contribution to the wealth of the Russian Empire. Large-scale
industrialisation began under the socialist government facilitated by the
development of the Kuznetsk coal basin which fuelled growth along the
route of the Trans-Siberian rail line. Iron foundries were established at
Magnitogorsk, an enormous tractor factory at Chelyabinsk, locomotive and
aircraft works in Ulan Ude, and so on. The town of Norilsk, now the largest
anywhere within the Arctic Circle, was founded in 1922 to exploit the
copper, nickel and other deposits of the far Taymyr Peninsula. WWII
hastened the industrial revolution when many of European Russia's large
manufacturing plants were dismantled and moved east of the Urals, well
out of reach of the advancing Germans. Oil was first discovered in Siberia
in 1965. In 1990 it was estimated 12 tonnes of oil every second were
pumped out of the Tyumen region alone. The world's largest gas deposits
lie even farther north.
About 30 million people live in Siberia and the Russian Far East –
just 22% of Russia’s population in 75% of its territory.
On a map, Siberia's dominant geographical features are its 53,000
rivers and more than one million lakes. From west to east the major rivers
are the Ob, Yenisey and Lena - all of which flow north to the Arctic Ocean and the Amur, which flows east towards the Pacific. These four drain about
two-thirds of the entire area of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Siberia, for generations a place of snowbound exile for those out of
favour with the rulers in Moscow or St Petersburg, today has its share of
industrial development and cities. It's also dotted with some of the globe's
major natural wonders - the exquisite Altay Mountains; serene Lake Baikal,
the world's deepest and, some say most beautiful lake (holds nearly onefifth of all the word’s fresh water), the volcanoes and geysers of
Kamchatka, and unexpected pockets of non-Russian culture such as those
of the Buddhist Buryats and Tuvans or the shamanist Yakuts.
13
WESTERN SIBERIA
The economic region of Western Siberia lies between the Urals and
the Yenisei River. Its biggest city, Novosibirsk is situated on the right bank
of the River Ob. It is an important railway junction and river port and a big
industrial centre.
Novosibirsk is the seat of the Siberian branch of the Russian
Academy of Science. It has an opera house bigger than Moscow's Bolshoi
Theatre.
Other major cities include Tobolsk on the River Irtysh, Omsk and
Tomsk on the River Tom. Tomsk became the first university city of the
Siberia in 1888.
From Novosibirsk, by Trans-Siberian express, one can get to
Krasnoyarsk, the capital of the immense Krasnoyarsky Territory.
Krasnoyarsk stands on the banks of the Yenisei, which divides the Western
and Eastern Siberian economic regions. It rises in the wooded Sayan
Mountains of the Tuva Autonomous Republic, home of the Turkic-speaking
native Tuvinians. Kyzyl, Tuva's main city, situated at the confluence of the
14
rivers Bolshoi Yenisei and Maly Yenisei, is the geographical centre of Asia.
Between the Yenisei and Lena and north of the Sayan highlands, the
mineral-rich economic region of Eastern Siberia is situated. It includes Lake
Baikal and the autonomous republics of Buryatia and Sakha (formerly
Yakutia). Buryatia lies around the eastern and northern shores of Lake
Baikal and borders on Mongolia. Its capital and main industrial city, UlanUde, originated in 1666 as a cossak wintering fortress at the confluence of
the rivers Uda and Selenga.
To the north of Buryatia on the other side of Lake Baikal stands the
city of Irkutsk on the River Angara. Founded in 1652, it is one of the most
important administrative centres of Eastern Siberia.
EASTERN SIBERIA
To the north-east of Irkutsk, is the Sakha Autonomous Republic, a
region of vast natural resources. The main wealth of the republic is the
extraction of diamonds. Extracting the diamonds is not easy as Sakha is
one of the coldest inhabited regions of the world. Winter temperatures often
drop to 45 degrees below zero centigrade.
The traditional occupations of Yakut people are hunting, fishing and
raising cattle. As craftsmen, they are known for their bone carvings:
delicately fashioned boxes, pipes, chessmen, etc.
The main city of the region, Yakutsk, stands on the left bank of the
River Lena, one of the world's longest rivers. One of the town's big
attractions is the museum of permafrost. The Far East Economic Region
extends from the Arctic tundra of the Chukot and Koryak autonomous areas
in the North to the forests of the Kamchatka peninsula and Ussuriland in
the South. The region is known for its large fishing industry. Of particular
interest for its wildlife is Wrangel Island -a natural reserve of the Chukotka
coast.
Chukotka is the home of the Chukchi, numbering only about 13, 600
who speak a Paleo-Asiatic language.
15
South of Chukotka is the Kamchatka peninsula - a land of smoking
volcanoes. The economy is based on salmon fishing, oil and coal
extraction, and mercury and silver mining. The main city is PetropavlovskKamchatsky founded in 1740 on the Bering Sea coast. The Sakhalin Island
has considerable investment potential owing to its reserves of oil, gas and
minerals, and to the abundance of crab and salmon. Ever since it was
declared a joint Russian-Japanese possession in 1855, it has been a bone
of contention between the two countries.
Ussuriland, in the southern part of the Russian Far East, has junglelike forests with the rare Amur leopard and Siberian tiger. Delicate pink
rhododendrons, magnolias, exotic orange irises, and lilies are an attraction
of the Cedar Ravine nature reserve in the very south, a few kilometres from
the North Korean and Chinese borders.
Khabarovsk, a major road, rail and river transport centre of the Far
East, is situated on the Amur in the Ussuri lowlands. From here the great
river turns west and forms the border between Russia and China. The city
was named after the seventeenth-century Russian explorer, Yerofei
16
Khabarov. His monument stands in the square by the railway station.
Not far from Khabarovsk, in the middle of Amur valley is the Jewish
Autonomous Oblast. Its main city is Birobidzhan, a stop for the TransSiberian Railway.
Next in importance after Khabarovsk is Vladivostok founded in 1860.
It stands at the end of a short peninsula overlooking the Sea of Japan. The
city is Russia's main Pacific port and naval base for the Pacific fleet and
also the terminus of Trans-Siberian Railway.
As you travel across Siberia, one overwhelming impression you get is the
taiga – the dense, swampy forests of birch, pine, spruce and larch that
Trans-Siberian passengers watch for days on end. In parts of the south are
areas of flat, dry steppe reaching southwards into Central Asia and
Mongolia. To the north there is tundra, or “cold desert”, with shallow,
delicate vegetation. Much of it is on the permanently frozen bog called
permafrost which is hard as rock to a depth of hundreds of meters with, at
most, the top few metres thawing in summer.
Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in
the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East. Siberia is
a land able to encompass the serenity of Lake Baikal, the pristine geometry
of the Altay Mountains, the fiery volcanic landscapes of Kamchatka, the
sparkling, blue brilliance of the Arctic and the lush semitropical forests of
the Pacific coast.
immense — огромный
confluence — слияние
to drop — падать
to fuel – обеспечивать
raising cattle — скотоводство
bone carvings — резьба по кости
chessman — шахматная фигура
permafrost — вечная мерзлота
exile – ссылка
share – часть, доля
exquisite – изысканный, совершенный
serene – ясный, тихий
wildlife — животный мир
salmon — лосось, сёмга
mercury — ртуть
mining — рудник, добыча руды
abundance — изобилие
joint — совместный
possession — владение
bone of contention — яблоко раздора (предмет спора)
to hasten – ускорять
spruce – ель
larch – лиственница
17
thaw – таять, оттаивать
cedar—кедр
ravine — ущелье
Cities (Moscow, St.Petersburg, the Golden
Ring, Novosibirsk, Tomsk)
History, sightseeing
MOSCOW
1. What are the most famous Russian cities?
2. What is the first word or sentence which comes to your mind at the
mention of the word Moscow?
3. How can you get to Moscow?
4. Is Moscow an old city?
5. Can we compare the population of Moscow with any other large city in the
world?
6. Are there any industrial enterprises in Moscow?
Moscow is the capital
of Russia, it's a political,
economic, commercial and
cultural center. It was founded
8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri
Dolgoruky. Historians have
accepted the year of 1147 as
the start of Moscow’s history.
Gradually the city became
more powerful. In the 13th
century. Moscow was the
center of the struggle of
Russian
lands
for
the
liberation from the tartar yoke.
In the 16th century under Ivan
the Terrible Moscow became
the capital of the new united
state. Though Peter the Great
moved the capital to St
Petersburg in 1712, Moscow
remained the heart of Russia. That is why it became the main target of
Napoleon’s attack. Three-quarters of the city was destroyed by fire during
18
Napoleon’s occupation, but by the mid-19th century Moscow had been completely
restored. After the October revolution Moscow became the capital again.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about
nine hundred square kilometers (ancient Moscow occupied the territory of the
present-day Kremlin). The population of the city is over 9 million.
A capital city, a business city, a working city, almost as large in population
as New York.
Every day about one million people come to Moscow from all over Russia and
other countries. Moscow is the heart of our country. The President of Russia
lives and works there. Moscow is the port of five seas. Four airports connect
Moscow with other parts of the country and many other countries. There are 9
railway stations in Moscow. Traffic in Moscow is very heavy. There are the
underground subways, buses, trolley-buses, trams and taxis in Moscow. There
are many plants and factories in Moscow that produce machinery, motor cars,
transformers, motors, TV sets, watches and other goods. Moscow is a city of
students. There are over 80 higher educational institutions in it, including several
universities. Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the
center of political life of the country.
commercial – коммерческий, торговый
to accept – принять
gradually – постепенно
powerful – мощный
liberation – освобождение
the tartar yoke – татарское иго
new united state – новое объединенное государство
to remain – остаться
the main target – главная цель
completely restored – полностью реставрированный
Moscow’s Places of Interest
1. What would you advise your friend to see to make the best use of his free
time in Moscow?
2. Big Ben is the symbol of London and Great Britain. What is the symbol of
Russia and Moscow?
Moscow is known for its beautiful old cathedrals, churches and
monasteries. Some of them date from the 15th to the 17th centuries. The oldest
part of Moscow is the Kremlin. This is the main tourist attraction in Moscow. The
Kremlin stands in the heart of the city. The word "Kremlin" means "fortress", and
the Moscow Kremlin used to be a fortress. In 1156 a small settlement of Moscow
was surrounded with a wooden wall, and became a Kremlin. The town and the
Kremlin were burnt in 1237 and 1293 during the Tatar invasion, but they were
rebuilt.
19
Twenty towers of the Kremlin wall were constructed at the end of the 17th
century. By that time Moscow had already ceased to be a fortress. The towers
were built for decoration and had no military significance. Five of the towers were
gates. The Tainitskaya Tower had a secret passage to the Moskva river. The
Spasskaya Tower is the symbol of Russia and Moscow. It has a famous clock;
one can hear its chimes on the radio. The clock which we can see today was
installed in the middle of the 19th century.
The buildings inside the Kremlin wall were built between the 15th and the
17th centuries. There are the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great (16 У), and a famous
group of churches. The Uspensky Cathedral is the largest one. It was built in
1479; there Russian tsars and emperors were crowned. In the Archangel
Cathedral one can see tombs of Moscow princes and tsars. Among them are the
tombs of Ivan the Terrible, his sons Ivan and Tsar Fyodor. Blagoveshensky
Cathedral was built in 1484. It is noted for its frescoes by Andrei Rublyov and his
pupils.
Granovitaya Palata is another masterpiece inside the Kremlin wall.
Moscow tsars held magnificent receptions in honour of foreign ambassadors
there. The Tsar Cannon (16c) and the Tsar Bell attract crowds of tourists, too.
Ivan the Great Bell Tower – колокольня Ивана Великого
Tsar Bell — царь - колокол
Tsar Cannon — царь - пушка
to crown — короновать
Archangel Cathedral — Архангельский собор
cease –прекращать
tomb – надгробие
masterpiece – шедевр
in honour of –в честь
A Visit to the Tretyakov Gallery
1. Do you often go to the museums or galleries?
2. Is it better to have a guide or to visit a museum alone?
3. Have you ever been to the Tretyakov Gallery?
4. What paintings did Tretyakov collect?
5. What is the real masterpiece at the exhibition of Russian icons?
6. Are there modern Russian paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery?
Ksenya Polteva
12 Shiroky Pr.. p.75.
Chimki, Moskouskaya oblast, Russia
Sunday, January 22nd
Dear Susan!
You asked me to familiarize you with Russian painting. I have got an idea!
I'll take you to the famous Tretyakov Gallery. As I have been there already four
times I can very well be your guide.The State Tretyakov Gallery is situated in the
20
centre of Moscow. The Gallery was founded in 1856 by Pavel Tretyakov who
collected the works of Russian realist artists. The facade of the Gallery was built
in Russian style in 1902 There are many halls in the Gallery. Some of them are
devoted to the great Russian painters of the 18th and 19th centuries. Here we
can see the pictures by Serov, Surikov, Kramskoi, Gay, Ivanov, Levitan,
Shishkin, Repin and many others. These painters belonged to the well-known
Society of the Wanderers (Peredvizhniki) who held wandering exhibitions of their
pictures in various Russian towns in 1870—1923.
My favourite Russian painter is Ilya Repin. Repin's big interest in people
led him to devote most of his time to painting his contemporaries. Repin created
many amazing portraits of Russia's prominent personalities of the 19th century.
Very famous are his historical paintings, for example, his outstanding work was
“Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan”.
In the Tretyakov Gallery, you can see a beautiful exhibition of Russian
icons. The real masterpiece is the Trinity by Andrei Rublev.
Modern paintings are displayed on the first floor. There is a wonderful
collection of Russian art of the early 20th century.
Unfortunately, I have to stop our excursion now as I am in a hurry to my
father's birthday. I will put off the continuation of our visit to the Tretyakov Gallery
till my next letter to you. See you soon in Moscow.
Yours, Ksenya Polteva.
to familiarize — познакомить
to collect — собирать
to devote — посвящать
to belong — принадлежать
wandering exhibitions — передвижные выставки
contemporary — современник
amazing — поразительный
prominent personalities – выдающиеся личности
masterpiece — шедевр
to display — выставлять
to put off — отложить
My First Visit to the Bolshoi Theatre
1.What Moscow theatres would you recommend your friend from America
to visit?
Andrei Chernov
10 Novaya Ul.. ap. 14, Irkutsk. Russia
Wednesday. April 27th
Hello, Ken!
You asked me to tell you about my hobby. You know, it is theatre. Theatre
is my dream. At school I take an active part in amateur theatre activities.
21
Besides, I am a frequent theatre-goer. And what about you? Do you prefer
theatre to cinema? Are you interested in musicals and dramas? Do you like to
visit opera and ballet?
I'd like to share with you my impressions of the Bolshoi Theatre. There are
a lot of popular theatres in Moscow, as for example "Taganka", "Lenkom",
"Sovremennik", Moscow Art Theatre, Maly Theatre. etc. But among the theatres,
the Bolshoi occupies, of course, a special place.
I visited the Bolshoi Theatre a month ago during my spring holidays in
Moscow. The Bolshoi Theatre is a beautiful building with columns in front. It is
situated in the centre of Moscow on Teatralnaya Square. This theatre is world
famous for its dancers and singers and also for brilliant stagings and settings.
The atmosphere in the auditorium is electric. However, the 18th century
theatre was due to close for restoration in 1999 (but this keeps being pushed
back), with performances shifting to a new auditorium adjoining Teatralnaya
ploshchad.
Both the ballet and opera companies with several hundred artists between
them, perform a range of Russian and foreign works. Sometimes other Russian
companies perform here too. It's always wise to check that it's the actual Bolshoi
Ballet or Opera that you're paying to see. Big names to watch for in the Bolshoi
company include Nina Ananiashvili, Dmitri Belogolovtsev, Sergei Filin and
Svetlana Lunkina.
I’ll never forget my first visit to the Bolshoi Theatre. These are the most
pleasant memories that I brought away from Moscow.
Ken, tell me, please, what theatrical performance has impressed you
recently.
With best regards,
Andrei Semionov.
amateur— любительский
I am a frequent theatre-goer —я часто посещаю театр
to share impressions —поделиться впечатлениями
staging — постановка
setting— декорации и костюмы
memory — воспоминание
recently — недавно, в последнее время
many happy returns of the day — поздравляю (с днем рождения)
glittering –сверкающий
six-tier – шестиярусный
to push back –задерживать
restoration – реставрация
to shift –переносить
adjoining –примыкающий, прилегающий
a range of –ряд
wise –мудро
Saint Petersburg
22
1.
2.
3.
4.
What do you know about the “ Window to Europe”?
What are the places of interest to visit in St. Petersburg?
Where is it possible to rest after a hard working day?
Is there anything interesting in the suburbs of St. Petersburg?
St. Petersburg is the second
largest city in Russia, and
one of the most beautiful
cities in the world. It was
founded in 1703 by Peter
the Great as the "Window to
Europe". St. Petersburg was
the capital of Russia from
1712 till 1918.
The city was built on
the swampy land at the
mouth of the River Neva.
Prominent European and
Russian architects worked
here. The new capital grew
rapidly in wealth and beauty.
When World War I
began in 1914, the Germansounding
name
St.
Petersburg was changed to
Petrograd. After the October
Revolution the city was
renamed in honour of Lenin.
In 1991 the old name, of St.
Petersburg was returned to
the city.
When the Germans
attacked the USSR in June 1941, it took them only 2.5 months to reach
Leningrad. As the birthplace of Bolshevism, Hitler swore to wipe it from the face
of the earth, but not before his expected New Year's victory ball in the Hotel
Astoria. His troops besieged the city from 8 September, 1941 until 27 January,
1944. Many people (and three-quarters of the industrial plants) were evacuated.
Nevertheless, approximately one million died from shelling, starvation and
disease in what's called the 900 Days'. By comparison, the USA and UK lost
about 700,000. Now St. Petersburg is an industrial, cultural and scientific centre.
There are over 80 museums, more than 20 theatres, a lot of exhibitions, clubs,
universities, colleges, schools and parks. The Alexandrinski Drama Theatre, the
Bolshoi Drama Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre of Opera and Ballet are pearls of
the Russian art.
In St. Petersburg there are a lot of parks and gardens where citizens
spend their free time. The Summer Garden is the oldest and most fascinating
park.
23
St. Petersburg is famous for its magnificent architectural ensembles of the
18-th and 19-th centuries.
The most famous square in the city is the Palace Square with its
magnificent ensemble. Here one can see the Winter Palace built by Rastrelli.
Before the revolution it was the residence of the Russian Tsar. Now the Winter
Palace and four other buildings are occupied by the Hermitage, one of the oldest
art museums in Russia.
The city is often called the Venice of the North, because there are 65
rivers and canals with artistically decorated cast iron bridges. One of the most
beautiful is the Anichkov Bridge. Citizens and tourists enjoy visiting the suburbs
of St.Petersburg: Petergof, Pushkin, Pavlovsk with their wonderful palaces, parks
and fountains. St. Petersburg inspired many of our great poets, writers, painters,
sculptors, composers and actors. Much of the life and work of Pushkin,
Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Repin and Kramskoi was connected with the city.
It has more than a million residents, including 400,000 students.
swampy – болотистый
mouth –устье
prominent – выдающийся
to wipe – стирать, уничтожить
troops –войска
to besiege – окружать, осаждать
shelling –обстрел
pearl –жемчужина
starvation –голод
to suffer – страдать
fascinating -очаровательный
Venice –Венеция
cast -отлитый
suburb –пригород
to inspire –вдохновлять
to decorate – украшать
Architectural Monuments of St. Petersburg
1. What city would you like to live in and why ?
During the reign of Peter the Great the construction both of secular and
religious buildings was encouraged. Churches and monasteries changed in
appearance with adoption of the western Baroque style. Great parks and
gardens were laid out widely in new ways.
Peter the Great, the founder of St. Petersburg, envisaged the new capital
as a purely western city. St. Petersburg raised with astonishing speed along the
banks of the Neva and its tributaries. The town was intersected by wide canals
and streets were regularly planned.
24
The Peter and Paul Fortress, founded in 1703, is the oldest building of the
city. Its massive walls enclose the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, built by the
architect Domenico Tresini between 1714 and 1725.
On the other side of the Neva stands the Admiralty building with its golden
spire, visible from afar. The Admiralty that also played a defensive role, was the
second major building in St. Petersburg. Originally a wooden structure, it was
rebuilt in stone in the 1720s. The present neo-classical Admiralty, dating from
1806—1815, was designed by Adreyan Zakharov.
In the middle of the eighteenth century the celebrated Italian architect,
Bartolomeo Rastrelli working in Baroque style, came to St. Petersburg. His
buildings include the grand imperial residence at Tsarskoye Selo, the Winter
Palace, the Smolny Convent and many other palaces. The Winter Palace built
between 1754 and 1762 is his most remarkable achievement, a brilliant example
of Russian Baroque.
During the reign of Catherine II the Winter Palace was altered and extended. The
Frenchman Vallin de la Moth designed the Small Hermitage for her. Then Yuri
Velten, a German by origin, built the Old Hermitage, facing the Neva. Between
1782 and 1785 the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi added the Hermitage
Theatre in neo-classical style exists to the eastern side of the palace. The
extensions to the eastern side were done for housing the Empress's growing
collection of European art.
The Winter Palace remained an imperial residence until 1917, after which
it was turned into a museum. The State Hermitage is one of the largest art
galleries in the world.
By the end of the eighteenth century, St. Petersburg had become a
majestic city, being dominated by the neo-classical style. The most
famous architects at that time were Ivan Starov and Italian Carlo Rossi. Ivan
Starov designed the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery
(Lavra). Carlo Rossi designed several grand classical buildings around the city.
25
The city’s main highway was Nevsky Prospect extending from the
Admiralty to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Many fine buildings were erected
on Nevsky Prospect. Oustanding among them is the great colonnaded Kazan
Cathedral, built at the very beginning of the nineteenth century by the architect
Andrei Voronikhin. From the late eighteenth century, building work in St.
Petersburg proceeded on a broad scale.
secular—светский
Kazan Cathedral — Казанский собор
to proceed — продолжать
to encourage — поддерживать, поощрять
to lay out —планировать, разбивать (сад)
to envisage — рассматривать (вопрос)
Peter and Paul Fortress — Петропавловская крепость
to enclose — окружать, заключать
Admiralty building — здание Адмиралтейства
Smolny Convent — Смольный монастырь (женский)
achievement — достижение
to extend — расширять
to house — размещать
Holy Trinity Cathedral — собор Святой Троицы
outstanding — выдающийся
on a broad scale — в широком масштабе
purely - чисто
spire — шпиль
to alter — переделывать
26
extension — расширение, продление
The Golden Ring
1. What old Russian cities would you recommend your friend to visit, if he
could stay in Moscow for a fortnight?
2. What is the Russian “Golden Ring”?
3. What souvenirs can we bring from the Golden Ring trip?
The 'Golden Ring' (Zolotoe Koltso) is a modern name for a loop of very old
towns north-east of Moscow, that preceded the present capital as the political
and cultural heart of Russia. The towns' churches, monasteries, kremlins (city
forts) and museums make an
incredibly picturesque portfolio of
early Russian craftwork. Another
attraction of the region is that
some of the towns are really little
more than villages, providing a
peaceful glimpse of country life as
it is lived all over European
Russia.
Best known is little Suzdal,
officially
protected
against
industrial development and littered
with so many protected buildings
that it's almost one big museum.
The other towns are more lived-in
but are equally rich in old buildings
such as churches, monasteries or
kremlins. Made from stone, these
buildings have outlived most
wooden structures.
The most visited places are Sergiev Posad and Suzdal, but Vladimir and
Bogolyubovo, Plyos, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Rostov-Veliky and Pereslavl-Salessky,
in their different ways, all have big attractions, too. The Golden Ring's main
towns began as outposts of the Kyivan (Kievan) Rus state and grew as people
moved north as Kyiv (Kiev in Russian)) declined. At the start of the 12th century,
Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kyiv founded a fort at Vladimir and gave the
Rostov-Suzdal principality, in which it lay, to his son Yury Dolgoruky. Yury made
Suzdal his capital but concentrated his energies down south, eventually winning
the title of Grand Prince of Kyiv and installing himself there. He still took the
precaution of fortifying the settlements of Pereslavl-Zalessky and Kostroma in his
original territory, along with a small western outpost called Moscow.
Wooden Architecture. Along the roads and in the villages of this region are
many northern-style houses, decorated with bright paintwork, carved doorways
and window frames.
27
At Suzdal, Kostroma and Palekh, old wooden houses and churches are
assembled in museums of wooden architecture - a convenient way to see some
beautiful features of 16th to 19th century carpentry.
Crafts. The region is also famous for art on another scale. The villages of
Palekh Mstyora and Kholuy, all north-east of Vladimir, became centres of icon
painting as early as the 13th century and later developed special skills at working
in miniature.
Nowadays, most people know these tiny works of art as 'Palekh boxes'.
Other regional traditions include the crystal and glasswork of GusKhrustalny near Vladimir, the textiles of Ivanovo, and finift, the finely painted
enamelware of Rostov-Veliky.
The Golden Ring – «Золотое Кольцо »
loop – петля
to precede – предшествовать
incredibly – невероятно
picturesque – живописный
graftwork – ремесленная работа
glimpse – впечатление
to outlive – пережить
outpost – застава, поселение
to decline – приходить в упадок
to install – располагаться, устанавливать
precaution – предосторожность
carved - резной
doorway – дверной проем
frame – рама, оправа
carpentry – плотницкое дело
scale – масштаб
icon – икона
palekh box – Палехская шкатулка
glasswork – стекловыдувание
finift – финифть (название эмали)
enamelware –покрытие эмалью
Novosibirsk
1. What are the largest Siberian cities?
2. How can you get to Novosibirsk from Tomsk?
3. What would you advise your friend to visit, if he could stay in
Novosibirsk for a few days?
28
Novosibirsk,
Siberia's biggest city, is a
fairly common stopover on
Trans-Siberian packages,
being conveniently about
half-way between the Ural
Mountains
and
Lake
Baikal. Novosibirsk was
founded
at
the
rail
crossing of the Ob River
in 1893, which makes it
the youngest of Siberia's
big cities. Until 1925, it
was
known
as
Novonikolaevsk. The city
straddles the Ob River,
with the centre on its east
side.
Now it is a big
industrial center with the
population of over 1.3
million
people.
Novosibirsk has always
been
the
city
of
intellectuals,
businessmen, scientists,
artists
and
students.
Novosibirsk is known as a
great cultural center of
Siberia. There are several
theatres, concert halls,
museums and galleries in
Novosibirsk. One of the
best-known is Opera and
Ballet Theatre.
With
its
silver
dome, giant portico and rich interior, it is indeed grand; many residents consider
it the city’s main attraction. The classical ballet and opera are good, too, and it’s
easier to get to see them here, than it is in Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Novosibirsk takes ballet seriously and its school is among Russia’s best. Aside
from opera and ballet, the big theatre on ploshchad Lenina also houses the
concert hall of the excellent Novosibirsk Philharmonic Society. Pop and rock
concerts are sometimes held here. The Art Gallery (Kartinnaya galereya)
includes numerous works by the 19th century Russian mystical painter Nicolay
Rerikh (donated by him), plus changing exhibitions. Rerikh, who now enjoys
international cult status, was obsessed for a while by the beauty and mystical
29
qualities of the Altay Mountains south of Novosibirsk. The Union of Artists’
Gallery (Vystavochny zal Soyuza khudozhnikov) shows ongoing exhibitions of
local talents.
Novosibirsk's Russian Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography, well known
for its archaeological discoveries in the Altay Mountains, has two interesting
museums:
one with archaeological and ethnographic collections from Siberia, the other an
open-air museum of Siberian wooden architecture.
There are a lot of beautiful cathedrals, churches and monuments in
Novosibirsk. The pretty little Chapel of St. Nicholas (Chasovnya Svyatitelya
Nikolaya), in the middle of Krasny prospekt, two blocks south of ploshchad
Lenina, is reckoned to be at the geographical centre of Russia. Originally built in
1915 to celebrate (two years late) 300 years of the Romanov dynasty, it was
rebuilt in 1993 for Novosibirsk’s centenary. About 700m farther down Krasny
prospekt is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Sobor Alexandra Nevskogo), one of
the city's first stone buildings.
Novosibirsk is famous for its “academic township”.
This 'academic township' nestled in the" taiga, 30km south of Novosibirsk,
was founded in the 1950s by the Siberian branch of the Soviet Academy of
Science as a think-tank. It is an elite city with 23 highly prestigious institutes. In
Novosibirsk there are a lot of parks and gardens where citizens spend their free
time.
fairly – довольно, достаточно
to stopover – остановка в пути
package – (зд). магистраль
to straddle – пересекать
dome – купол
giant – гигансткий
portico – портик, галерея
to house – включать в себя, размещать
branch – отделение
to donate – дарить, жертвовать
exhibition – выставка
to obsess – преследовать
ongoing –проходящий
throughout –со всей
to reckon – считать
centenary – столетие
academic township – академгородок
to nestle –устраиваться
TOMSK
1. Tomsk – where is it?
2. Why is the city called Tomsk?
30
3. Is it possible to see a bear walking along its streets?
4. Are there any industrial enterprises in Tomsk?
5. What is the best season to visit Tomsk?
''Tomsk is an old Siberian town. It is situated on the bank of the river Tom,
in West Siberia. Tomsk got its name from the name of the river on which it
stands. In the Ket language Tom means "river". Kets, one of the most ancient
people of Siberia, are supposed to have put a special sense into this name: main
river, big river, the centre of life.
The name has also another translation: "Tom" means "dark". Haven't you
noticed that deep water always seems dark? "Dark" means "clean,
mountaneous".
In the winter of 1604, from the banks of the "Dark river", the chief of
Eushtin Tatars, Toyan, arrived in Moscow and addressed the Russian tsar, Boris
Godunov, with a request to defend his tribe from the enemy. Therefore, in
September of 1604 by order of Boris Godunov Russian soldiers began' to build a
fortress intended to defend Russian borders at the highest place, on the
Voskrescnskaya Mountain. So, Tomsk was founded,
Tomsk is a well-known city far outside Russia. It differs from other cities.
Old wooden architecture make up special images for Tomsk: merchant buildings
with rich carving, little towers and balconies. Tomsk was the center of trade roads
for taiga forest gifts. The City is surrounded by taiga. The surrounding nature is
the finest in all seasons: snowy fir trees and cedars are very beautiful in
winter. In autumn, red rowan and gold birch impress you very much. Although
the city is surrounded by taiga, you can hardly see a bear walking along its
streets. The only place you can see a bear is in the local zoo. The Siberian gold
industry is connected with Tomsk. Stone buildings of millionaires situated in the
old part of Tomsk remind us about "gold fever" today. Now Tomsk is a big
industrial, scientific, cultural and educational centre with population of about 500
thousand. There are many industrial enterprises in Tomsk. Among them are the
Tomsk Lamp Plant, a Ball-Bearing Plant, a Plant of Manometers, Sibcable, an
Electro-Mechanical Plant and a Chemical Combine and others.
Tomsk is a beautiful Siberian city. It has its own appearance which is
particular only to Tomsk. You can not mix up Tomsk with any other Siberian city.
The center of the city is rather old and streets are narrow which create difficulties
for the traffic. In summer it is especially beautiful because we have a lot of parks
and green alleys in our city. Among them is the Lagerny Garden, the City Park,
the area near the White Lake. Tomsk is also famous for its wooden architecture.
The real masterpieces can be found on such streets as Shishkova St.,
Krasnoarmeiskaya St., and others. But to get the best impression of Tomsk, one
should see everything with his own eyes.
kets –кеты
tribe –племя
merchant – купец
carving – резьба
31
cedar – кедр
rowan –рябина
birch – берёза
“gold fever” – золотая лихорадка
TOMSK - A UNIVERSITY CITY
1. Why do many people consider Tomsk to be an educational center of
Siberia?
2. “Siberian Athens” – what does it mean?
3. What are the most famous educational establishments in Tomsk?
Tomsk is the first city of higher educational establishment in the East of
Russia. There are two of the oldest Universities in Tomsk: the State University
(classic) and the Polytechnic University giving Tomsk the name of "Siberian
Athens".
Tomsk is often called a Students' Town. It is really so. Tomsk University,
the first in Siberia, was founded in 1880. There are now seven higher education
establishments in Tomsk; State University, the Medical University, the University
of Civil Engineering, the Pedagogical University, the University of Automated
Control System and Radioelectronics, and the Polytechnic University.
The Tomsk Polytechnic University was founded on April 29th, 1896 as the
Nicholai II Tomsk Engineering Institute. Classes began Oct. 9th, 1890. Thanks to
Director Zubashev E.L. efforts, the University began to develop as a polytechnic
one.
Since that time, Polytechnic has graduated more than 100 000 engineers.
Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) was recognized as one of the leading
engineering institutions of our country. According to the authorized rating of the
Russian Ministry of Education, TPU takes third place among 48 polytechnic
higher schools and is also among the best ten Russian technical universities. In
1997 TPU had been recognized as special valued object of Russian culture by
the President's Decree.
The students in Tomsk have everything at their disposal to live and study:
dormitories, workshops, libraries, laboratories, sport palaces and clubs.
higher education establishment – высшее учебное заведение
“Siberian Athens” – Сибирские Афины
effort – усилие
to recognize – признавать
special valued object – особо ценный объект
decree - указ
32
WOODEN ARCHITECTURE
1 Tomsk is famous for its wooden architecture, isn't it?
2 Where can you see houses with "gingerbread architecture"?
3 Who are the masters of these wooden palaces?
4 How did these Russian masters live and work?
5.Are these wooden monuments under state protection?
Do you like fairytales? I suppose you do.
And what about a real life
fairy-tale? Do you believe in
it? Do, please. Let's come
along the old streets of
Tomsk,
for
example,
Krasnoarmeiskaya, Gagarin,
Shishkov and you will see a
wooden fairy-tale. You will
see
wonderful
wooden
palaces
with
numerous
cupolas, windows, balconies
richly
decorated
with
traditional
Russian
woodwork, the so-called
"gingerbread architecture".
Tomsk is famous for its
wooden
architecture.
It
makes a great impression
on everybody. All these wooden wonders were made by unknown Russian
masters. They worked from early morning till late at night, but lived under very
difficult conditions. They did not leave their names for us, but left these
masterpieces for us to admire. Now all these monuments of wooden architecture
are under state protection, and are being carefully restored for people to admire
for centuries.
fairy-tales – сказки
cupolas – купола
gingerbread architecture – деревянные кружева
to admire – восхищаться
carefully –осторожно
THE TOMSK THEATRE
1. Where do people usually spend their free time in Tomsk?
2. It there any theatre in Tomsk?
33
3. How often do the young people go to the theatre in Tomsk ?
4. What plays are staged in Tomsk theatres?
Tomsk is an old theatre town. The first theatre in Tomsk was opened in
1850. It was a wooden house. The first stone theatre was built in 1885 by a rich
merchant Korolev. The theatre was always full. There were always many
theatre-goers in Tomsk. Many outstanding actors and actresses such as
Komissarhgevskaya, Davidov, Yablochkina and others came on tour to Tomsk,
and they were a great success. The plays by N. Ostrovsky, M. Gorkey, A. P.
Chekhov were staged in Tomsk. The modern building of the theatre was built in
the 1970 s. It is situated on the bank of the Tom river. The seats in the stalls,
boxes, and balconies are comfortable. Tomsk people like their theatre and their
actors and actresses. The name of T. Lebedeva, L. Dolmatova. A.Arkin are wellknown. Their performances are always popular with the public. Besides the
drama theatre, there is a Puppet Theatre, a Young Spectators’ Theatre, the Intim
Theatre, the Seversk Theatre of Musical Comedy, and the Skomorokh
Puppet and Actor Theatre in Tomsk.
merchant –купец
theatre – goer – театрал
success – успех
to be staged – ставить на сцене
stall – партнёр
performance –постановка
puppet theatre – кукольный театр
Young Spectator’s Theatre – театр юного зрителя
Ecology & Environment
Pollution
1. What caused the most serious environmental problems?
2. What makes people poach?
3. What urgent measures must be taken to prevent ecological catastrophe
in Russia?
During Soviet rule, the drive to industrialise was ruthless and exploitative,
with little foresight or care given to environmental damage.
In 1992 Russian scientists calculated that 15% of the country was
“ecologically unsafe” for people. In that year it was also reported that the
average 40-year-old would have consumed 28kg of toxic chemicals in Russiagrown food.
34
Many of the most polluting factories have gone bankrupt, but what little
environmental protection existed has been overshadowed by graft and
corruption. And there is no money to take care of long-standing ecological woes
dating from the Soviet era. The problems that need addressing include:
up to 2.7 million people still living in areas of Russia affected by the
Chernobyl disaster (mostly in the west around Bryansk); 400,000 of them are
in areas from which it is recognized they should be moved; there are
increased rates of cancer and heart problems among these people;
at least 120 underground and atmospheric nuclear tests on the Arctic
Novaya Zemlya islands, and abnormally high cancer rates among the local
Nentsy people and their reindeer herds;
Russia’s nuclear power stations are widely regarded as accidents waiting to
happen, especially as money to run and maintain them becomes scarce;
- desertification of the Kalmyk Steppe areas around the northern Caspian Sea
because of overgrazing by sheep;
- erosion of fertile black-earth steppe lands because of excessive cultivation;
severe pollution of the Volga by industrial waste, sewage, pesticides and
fertilizers; and a chain of hydroelectric dams along the river, blocking fish
spawning routes and slowing the current and encouraging fish parasites (it
now takes water 18 months to flow from Rybinsk to Volgograd, instead of the
one month it used to take);
- all main rivers, including the Volga, Don, Kama, Kuban and Oka, have 10 to
100 times the permitted viral and bacterial levels;
- chronic overfishing of the Arctic Barents Sea, pollution of both the Baltic and
Black seas, and the near extermination of life in the Sea of Azov as a result of
overfishing and industrial pollution;
- many cities with excessive toxins in the air.
Conservation
Russian wildlife has always been hunted – for furs as much as for the
meat – and some species are now also threatened by pollution. Poaching is one
of the greatest threats, and a plethora of species of game and fish are suffering
from rampant poaching. Often the worst offenders are the former conservation
officers themselves.
to gaze – пристально смотреть
penchant for – склонность к чему-либо
ruthless – безжалостный
to overshadow – затмевать
graft – взятка, подкуп
long-standing – давний
woes – горести
cancer – рак
reindeer – северный олень
herd – пастух
35
scarce – недостаточный, скудный, редкий
desertification – запустынивание
to graze – пасти, держать на подножном корму
fertile – плодородный
severe – резкий, сильный
sewage – нечистоты
fertilizer – удобрение
to spawn – метать икру
viral – вирусный
extermination – уничтожение, искоренение
conservation – заповедник
(rampant) poaching – (сильно распространенное) браконьерство
plethora – изобилие
offender – нарушитель, преступник
State of Atmospheric Air
1. Do you consider air pollution an urgent problem? Give your reasons.
2. What are the main types of legislation breaches concerning air
protection?
3. What measures are being taken to prevent air pollution?
4. What is your reaction to this information?
a. You already knew.
b. You’re surprised and shocked.
c. You don’t believe it.
d. You’re not very interested.
e. Other.
According to statistical report data, 1,058 enterprises in Tomsk Oblast
were registered and submitted reports concerning air pollution last year. The total
number of pollution sources amounted to 15,371, with 11,717 out of them having
been “detected” and only 1,450 equipped with gas cleaning facilities.
In general, for the last decade the total amount of registered air discharge
has declined. But in 1999 there was a higher level of air pollution (by 25,6% as
compared to the previous year) due to the increase of the discharge level from
point sources (by 62,9%) and the reduction of pollution from mobile sources (by
2,9%).
In 1999 the total amount of polluting substances discharged by the point
sources and transport into the air was 380,9 thousand tons.
The major polluters in 1999 were: agricultural enterprises (41% of overall
air pollution), oil and gas industries (29,3%), housing utilities and public services
(12,5%), electric power (7,4%) and forestry industries (1,8%).
Transport produced 37,3% of the total amount of polluting substances
discharge.
86,3 thousand tons (26,6%) of polluting substances out of the total
discharge for the whole oblast (325 thousand tons) were collected and processed
36
in 1999. About 6 thousand tons were recycled. The highest rate of recycling was
in the industries producing power and building materials (81,6% and 41,6%
respectively), the lowest – in oil and gas extraction and agricultural enterprises
(0,015% and 0,38% respectively).
The amount of discharge from agricultural enterprises has risen by 83,223
thousand tons due to the detection and inventory of emission points.
The higher level of discharge from petrochemical industries (an increase
by 749 tons) was caused by the speed-up at Tomsk’s largest petrochemical
plant, “Methanol”.
The increase of discharge by 38 tons in chemical and engineering
industries was generated by the production growth. At the same time the
installation of new treatment facilities at Tomski Instrument (cutting tools
production) reduced emission.
Due to the reconstruction of boiling stations and their transmission to gas
fuel, the reduction of discharge from housing utilities and public services
amounted to 97 tons.
The reduction of discharge by 2,113 tons in power industry was achieved
mainly due to the growth of gas share in the total amount of fuel utilized and
technical re-equipment of ash collectors at the city power station.
The reduction of polluting substances discharged by forestry industries
amounted to 1068 tons and was caused by production slowdown.
The same phenomenon (reduction by 245 tons) was observed in building
materials productions.
In other industries, the lower level of production and re-structuring of
construction enterprises, the installation of new treatment facilities and
reconstruction of the older ones, the transmission from solid and liquid fuel to
gas, and the lower level of food processing production caused a reduction of
discharge.
Pollution standards were defined for 768 out of 1047 enterprises. 504
enterprises achieved the specified maximum permissible levels of discharge.
In 1999, 845 inspections were undertaken at various enterprises to check
their compliance with the environmental legislation on air protection. There were
501 breaches revealed (608 in 1998) and 348 eliminated (352 in 1998). 26
enterprises and 58 officials were fined.
The main types of the legislation breaches on air protection were as follows:
· absence of permission to discharge polluting substances into air
·
inefficient operation of gas cleaning facilities
·
defective gas cleaning facilities installed
·
absence of positive state environmental expertise decisions
37
There have been 6 shutdowns at industrial enterprises due to the
breaches revealed in 1999. The only case of emergency emission was registered
in 1999.
It should be mentioned that no systematic monitoring of air pollution was
undertaken on the territory of Tomsk Oblast apart from the city of Tomsk.
In 1999, with 165 412 thousand roubles invested in environmental
activities, the prevented environmental damage amounted to 3 625 thousand
roubles.
to equip – оснащать
gas-cleaning facility – газоочистная установка
discharge – выброс (отходов)
point source – стационарный источник
housing utilities – жилищно-коммунальное хозяйство
installation – установка
to process – обрабатывать
to recycle – перерабатывать
to commission – заказывать
oil well – нефтяная скважина
flare – вспышка пламени
to result in – приводить к
transmission to – переход на
treatment facilities – очистные сооружения
permissible level – допустимый уровень
breach – нарушение закона
shutdown – закрытие (предприятия)
Water Resources of Tomsk Oblast
1. Do you consider water pollution an urgent problem? Give your
reasons.
2. What is the main source of drinking water in Tomsk?
3. What are the ways of water resource exploitation?
4. Does the water supply of the population meet sanitary
requirements?
5. What measures must be taken to prevent water pollution?
State of Water Resources
Surface water
The Tomsk oblast is situated in the Ob river basin. Surface waters
(rivers and lakes) of the Tomsk oblast are fresh, of natural origin, and take
up 2,5% of the total area. There are 18100 big, medium and small rivers
having a total length of 95 thousand kms.
The rivers Ob, Tom, Chulym, Ket, Tym, Vassuygan, Parabel and
Chaya have the greatest importance for the development of the social
38
economic and ecological situation in the region. There are about 95
thousand lakes; many of them are located in river floodplains. The number
of lakes grows to the north as the degree of moistening increases. Ponds
are not numerous and are located in the south of the oblast.
River waters are characterized as fresh, calcium bicarbonate, neutral
and alkalescent.
Groundwater
Groundwater is the main source of water supply in the territory of the
Tomsk oblast. Aquiferous layers of palaeogenic deposits are widely used for
household water supplies.
Fresh water resources make up 98% of the total amount of groundwater.
At the beginning of 1999 there were 29 explored fresh groundwater deposits and
1 mineral water deposit on the territory of the Tomsk oblast.
78% of explored fresh water goes for household needs of the population,
22% - for production and technical needs. 75% of the total amount of explored
water fall to the share of the Tomski district, from 8 to 0,2 % - to other rayons.
The river Tom right-bank waters are exposed to pollution through effluent
water losses, and stack (fumes) discharge from operating enterprises and boiler
rooms.
Groundwater analysis in 1998 showed, that the percentage of radioactive
elements did not exceed the levels of specific activity.
Water Resources Exploitation
The Tomsk oblast water resources are used for household, industrial,
agricultural and other needs, collection of wastewaters and exploitation of rivers
as transport waterways.
Water consumption
Water consumption is mostly carried out through the exploitation of
surface water sources, mainly of the river Tom. Household water supply is
accomplished predominantly from groundwater sources.
Water drainage
Waters are mainly drained to rivers. Wastewaters contain a considerable
percentage of pollutants. Industrial growth of certain branches caused the
increase of drained waters and, as a result, the increase of discharges.
Water Supply of the Population
525 household water pipelines were exploited on the territory of the Tomsk
oblast in 1998. 10,8% (87) of the total amount did not meet the sanitary
39
requirements because of the absence of sanitary protected zones, 87% (457) –
due to the absence of necessary treatment facilities.
In 1998, the lowest quality of piped water by microbiological indicators was
registered in Kozhevnikovski rayon – 30%, Kargassokski – 19%, Zyryanski-17,
7%, Shegarski – 11,1%.
For household needs the Tomsk oblast rural population mostly uses water
from public shaft wells.
Treatment facilities must be built to improve the quality of water. The draft
programme “Drinking Water” was developed with the involvement of all the
services dealing with such issues. The programme contains information about
the state of the drinking water supply and identifies concrete improvement
measures.
Protection Measures and Balanced Exploitation of Water
Resources
The complex of protection measures and balanced exploitation of water
resources comprises surveys on the state of water bodies, nature protection
activities, control of enterprises, measures on the prevention of pollutants
ingress, construction and exploitation of treatment facilities and implementation
of environmentally safe technologies.
In 1998 the bodies dealing with state environmental control and water
resource exploitation in the Tomsk oblast have greatly increased their activities.
781 inspections on the observance of water legislation were carried out, with 678
breaches revealed. Later on, 316 of them were eliminated. The activities of 4
operating entities have been suspended. Three lawsuits were submitted to the
Public Prosecution Department. Claims and fines to the amount of 157,4
thousand roubles were brought forward for the pollution of water bodies. The
prevented ecological damage amounted to 537,5 thousand roubles.
In 1998, the Ecofund and nature users allocated 20 mln roubles to build
and reconstruct treatment facilities. But this money was not sufficient to improve
the protection measures of the water bodies. At present there are 79 treatment
facilities in the Tomsk oblast, but 90% do not operate properly and are on the
verge of shutdown.
As a whole, the state of surface water is assessed as unsatisfactory
because of the high percentage of petrochemicals, phenols and other
substances. In some cases groundwater pollution results from economic activity.
Water sources close to the populated areas and big industrial enterprises are
notably of low quality. As compared to 1997, the deterioration of water quality in
the river Tom and other rivers has been observed, presumably due to the
production capacity build-up at the Siberian Chemical Plant.
household – домашнее хозяйство
effluent – просачивающийся
discharge – выброс
stack – большое количество
40
consumption – потребление
to drain – фильтровать
survey – съемка
ingress – доступ
treatment facilities – очистные сооружения
to result from – являться результатом
economic activity – хозяйственная деятельность
Natural Resources: their State, Use and Protection
1. What are the problems discussed?
2. What needs to happen in order to enhance the social development of
the Tomsk Oblast?
3. What are the main solid natural resources?
4. What deposits is Tomsk Oblast rich in?
5. What is being done to protect the natural resources?
The Tomsk oblast occupies 2% of the total area of the Russian
Federation. 97% of the total Tomsk oblast territory is situated on the WestSiberian lowland.
As of 01.01.1999, 98 deposits were prospected: 76 oil fields, 7 gascondensate fields and 15 oil and gas-condensate fields. 69 deposits were
designated for exploitation.
Oil fields are exploited by 3 oil-producing companies: TOMSKNEFT,
TOMSKNEFTEGASGEOLOGIYA
and
TOMSK-PETROLEUM-UND-GAS.
VOSTOKGASPROM deals with the exploitation of gas fields.
To provide for the social development of the Tomsk oblast on the account
of hydrocarbon resources, it is necessary to keep the achieved level of oil and
gas production. This will require expanded reproduction of mineral and raw
material sources and the exploitation of new deposits.
The diversity of solid natural resources of the Tomsk oblast is represented
by:
sedimentary iron ores
complex zirconium and ilmenite placers
gold and platinum traces
stibium traces
zinc traces
bauxites traces
non-metallic deposits (kaolin clay, glass-making and molding sands, mineral
colours, timber)
brown coal deposits
peat and sludge deposits
41
Lately, the prognosticated oblast solid natural resources have been
estimated and monetary valuation of both prospected and not prospected
resources has been carried out (app. 800 mlrd dollars).
The Tomsk oblast deposits make up more than 57% of the Russian
Federation iron resources, zirconium -18%, titanium - 9%, aluminium - 6%, brown
coal - 5%, zinc - 4% and besides, considerable groundwater resources.
Moreover, the southeastern part of the oblast is perspective for gold and stibium.
Deposits of non-metallic resources are concentrated there as well.
Zirconium and titanium placers are the priority solid resources of the
oblast. The recoverable and predicted resources of the two main deposits –
Tuganskoye and Georgievskoye – were estimated. These resources are
sufficient for putting big mining enterprises into operation. Other metallic minerals
are not extracted due to ecological, geological and economic reasons.
There are 98 discovered deposits of non-metallic resources and 29 of
them are being exploited.
The discovered deposits of brown coal in the Tomsk oblast belong to the
second and third resource categories.
The use of paludal phosphates, marl, peat and sludge is a topical
question. License issuing procedures are of considerable importance for the
development of this branch.
The Tomsk oblast ranks second in Russia in peat resources - 20% of
Western Siberia peat reserves are concentrated there. 1 505 deposits were
discovered, but only 74 were properly investigated.
The reserves of lacustrine sludge are very big, but one can only assess
them roughly because they have been neither prospected nor estimated until
recently. The lakes of the southern part of the oblast are more perspective as
regards sludge. About 70% of freshwater lakes contain sludge and peat-sludge
reserves.
The biggest deposits are Gussevskoye (12,9 mln tons), Bolvan (2,5 mln
tons) and Kochiyadrovskoye (4,03 mln tons).
At the beginning of 1999, 4 licenses for exploitation of peat deposits were
issued. Peat extracted is used for agricultural needs only.
Along with groundwater resources used for industrial and household
needs, there are also huge mineral water resources. In addition to waters with
composition similar to famous sorts, there are rare ones with a lithium and
potassium content.
The Department of State Geological and Water Control at the Committee
of Natural Resources maintains control over the use of reserves on the territory
of the Tomsk oblast.
Exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits that belong to the joint-stock
company TOMSKNEFT, forms the oblast taxation basis. During a course of
inspections, numerous breaches and cases of non-fulfilment of licensing
agreements were revealed. After the transition of the company under the
jurisdiction of oil company YUKOS, investigations of oil fields carried out by the
departmental control bodies were stopped. Thus, the fixed rates of oil extraction
may be not attained. Insufficiencies of extraction accountability and utilization of
42
dissolved and free gas are also a serious problem. Gas is burnt in flares without
any control. It causes a huge environmental impact and damage to deposits.
Only 20% of gas extracted in the latest 3 years was utilized, the remaining 80%
was burnt.
Because of the breaches revealed in the norms of subsoil resource use,
the exploitation of 4 oil fields belonging to TOMSKNEFT must be terminated
before an appointed time.
At present, the procedure of resource provision for exploitation is kept
more strictly. Nevertheless, there are cases of unauthorized exploitation of oil
fields. Besides, there are such breaches as inobservance of contractor designs,
absence of relevant documentation, delays in provision of contractor designs for
the approval to controlling bodies and ecological expertise.
The most specific cause of license inobservance is the absence or the low
level of survey control. The accountability of extraction losses is formalistic or, at
best, is based on indirect control methods.
sedimentary – осадочный
placer – россыпь
clay – глина
ilmenite – ильменит, титанистый железняк
color – краска
peat – торф
lacustrine – озерный
sludge – шлам, ил
to put into operation – ввести в строй
on the score of – по причине
paludal – болотный, болотистый
marl – известковая глина
joint-stock company – акционерное предприятие
breach – нарушение закона
accountability – подотчетность
flare – вспышка, язык пламени
to cease – приостанавливать
inobservance – нарушение (постановления и т.п.)
Forest Resources: their State, Use and Protection
1.
2.
3.
4.
What do you know about forest resources in the Tomsk Oblast?
What problems do the Federal Forestry Service face?
What is being done to solve these problems?
What is the Tomsk Air Protection Service used for?
Forest resources in the Tomsk Oblast include forest areas (aimed at
forest planting) and non-forest areas (marshlands, water areas, etc.) that
are under the control of the Federal Forestry Service and owned by
agricultural enterprises, state enterprises and municipalities.
43
The State forest area has been reduced by 3,1 thousand hectares
due to partial exploitation for roads, oil pipelines and the construction of
production sites.
Forests cover 63.1% of the whole territory of the Tomsk Oblast. The
growth of the forestland share is explained by the implementation of the
new land inventory and forest restoration. 9 119 hectares of forest were fell
in total.
The development process of artificial reforestation was steady. 2 707
hectares of forest cultures were planted. That is, 51 hectares more than in
1998. But the overall volume of reforestation activities has declined due to
a drastic slump in the volume of work aimed at natural reproduction.
During 1999 the amount of forests that died (11 688 hectares,
including 1 499 hectares of cedar forests) was bigger than the amount
deforested during the final felling operation. The main reasons for forest
failure are forest fires, blow-downs and insects.
544 forest fires were recorded among an area of 30 815 hectares
(including 27 298 hectares of the forest area). The damage caused by the
fire amounted to 1731 thousand roubles.
At the beginning of 1999, forest pest centres covered 6 412
hectares. By the end of the year the forest pest centres were located on 6
145 hectares of territory (including the centres recently set up). To
undertake pest control measures, 2120 hectares of forest territory should
be used.
40 forest husbandry units and 133 wood farms were operating on the
territory of Tomsk Oblast in 1999.
294 breaches of forestry legislation were revealed which included
265 cases of uncontrolled felling of 8462 cubic meters (960.6 thousand
rubles). The uncontrolled felling is common even within the city of Tomsk.
The Forest Protection Service carried out 806 inspections of timber logging
companies. Breaches were revealed in 454 cases. The amount of penalties
imposed on the enterprises made up 3.3 million roubles, and 239 fines
were imposed amounting to 386 thousand roubles.
The aviation forest protection is undertaken by the Tomsk Air
Protection Service, which is composed of 11 squadrons, 1 air group and 2
mechanized groups. As a result of their work, 43% of forest fires were
eliminated. Most of the fires were caused by population activities. 35% of
the fires happened due to thunderstorms. 503 people were incurred to
disciplinary action for breaching fire precaution safety rules. 9 initiators of
forest fires were found.
Mostly fires start in the southern districts of the Tomsk oblast that
has the highest population density. The main typical forest offences were
discovered in these districts. At the same time, no forest protection is
organized on reserve land and municipal land.
Forest resources – лесной фонд
Federal Forestry Service – Федеральная служба лесного хозяйства
marshland – болотистая местность
44
oil pipeline – нефтепровод
production sites construction – строительство промышленных объектов
to fall – рубить (лес)
felling – (вы)рубка
artificial reforestation – искусственное восстановление лесного фонда
drastic slump – резкое снижение
cedar – кедр
to disforest – вырубать леса, обезлесеть
blow-down – ветровал
pest – вредитель
to undertake control measures – предпринять меры по борьбе
husbandry – хозяйство
forest husbandry unit – лесхоз
wood farm – лесничество
breach – нарушение (закона)
timber logging company – лесозаготовитель
fine – штраф
squadron – авиаэскадрилья, авиаотряд
offence - нарушение
Wild Animals and Game Resources: their State, Use and
Protection.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is being done to use and protect animals in the Tomsk Oblast?
What causes animal species to become endangered?
What animals are at risk?
What causes people to poach?
What is your attitude toward hunting animals?
a. for sport
b. for their fur
c. for food
6. Do you think that protecting animal species is necessary and
important? Why or why not?
According to landscape and ecological characteristics, the Tomsk oblast is
a low taiga zone. Wild animals of the Tomsk oblast number about 2000 species.
1,5 thousand of them represent different groups of invertebrates, 33 – fish, 6 –
amphibians, 4 – reptiles, 326 – birds, 62 – mammalians. The fauna of vertebrates
of the Tomsk oblast is well studied owing to many years of investigations by
zoologists and ichthyologists at the Tomsk State University and the Tomsk
Pedagogical University. The groups of invertebrates are less investigated.
The list of game animals includes 28 species of mammalians and 38
species of birds.
Hunting for ungulate animals, bear, hare, upland and waterfowl, and fur
trading are very popular among the population.
45
The Tomsk Hunting Administration carries out an annual assessment of
the total number of wild animals and their stock dynamics. In 1998, for the first
time, the Hunting Administration made up a record of animals for the Red Data
Book of Russia.
To reduce the damage caused by wolves, there are annual competitions
to exterminate this predator. Last year 58 hunters participated and killed 122
wolves. The total number of animals killed in the oblast amounted to 250. The
prevented damage made up 9 125 000 roubles.
According to the findings of the Tomsk Oblast Hunting Administration,
there was a marked increase in the number of elks, bears, foxes, hares, otters,
sables, minks, beavers, squirrels and black grouses. A relative stabilization in the
number of roe deer, wolves, gluttons and hazel grouses was registered. The
number of lynxes, Siberian weasels, polecats, ermines and muskrats has
declined.
There are two types of impact upon wildlife: a direct impact on wild
animals, and an indirect impact - on habitation areas. Indirect impact is
determined by the complication of the economic situation. The amount of sanitary
cuttings in backcountry districts is reduced, villages die away and the population
thins out. On the other hand, more and more land areas are used for common
gardens and dachas; forest felling is not restricted.
Oil and gas extracting is also reduced. The perspective for the
development of the oil and gas industry is not yet clear. The complicated
economic situation produces a direct impact on wild animals. People living in
villages in the taiga cannot make their living and must exploit taiga resources
intensively, game animals included, which inevitably leads to poaching.
invertebrate – беспозвоночное животное
mammalian – млекопитающее животное
game – дичь, зверь
ungulate animal – копытное животное
waterfowl – (обыкн. собир.) водяные птицы
extermination – истребление
predator – хищник
otter – выдра
mink – норка
beaver - бобр
black grouse – тетерев-косач
glutton – росомаха
hazel grouse – рябчик
lynx – рысь
weasel – ласка
polecat – хорек
ermine – горностай
musk-rat – ондатра
back country – глушь, отдаленные от центра районы
livelihood – средства к жизни
46
poaching - браконьерство
Objects and Areas of Preferential Protection
1. Is it a good idea to create preserves?
2. What is the responsibility of the preserve’s staff?
3. What measures should be undertaken to protect national
monuments?
4. What are the advantages of creating the programme?
5. Why is the legislation on biodiversity conservation necessary?
6. Why is education of great importance? Give your reasons.
During 1999 no new natural areas of preferential protection were
established. According to regulative documents, there are 164 preserves
covering 1 372.9 thousand hectares of land in the Tomsk Oblast.
According to the value and significance, there are the following types of
preferential protection areas:
· 1 preserve of federal value
· 16 preserves, 1 recreation area, 145 national monuments and 1 botanical
garden of regional value
The establishment of a new state conservation area in the Teguldetski
rayon was postponed by the RF Government till 2004 because of lack of money.
The documentation on the establishment of the regional zoological preserve has
been prepared and submitted to the Administration of the Tomsk Oblast.
The Red Book of the Tomsk Oblast is being developed and is to be
published in 2001.
In order to protect the existing preserves and create a network of
preserves, the State Environmental Protection Committee submitted the
feasibility study to the Governor of the Tomsk Oblast for an oblast target
programme on supporting preserved territories of the Tomsk Oblast in 20012006.
Preferential Protection Activities of State Natural
Areas
There are 17 preserved areas in the Tomsk Oblast, including one
zoological preserve of federal value and 16 preserves of regional value. These
preserves occupy 4.3% of the Tomsk Oblast territory.
The preserves’ staff produced and installed 259 signposts, equipped and
maintained monitoring stations, winter cabins, environmental routes and bridges.
103 reports on breaching the preserved area regime were made. In 1999, the
money collected in the form of fines and penalties amounted to 6 293 roubles. 7
people were sued. The preserves’ staff also undertook bio-technical fire
prevention activities.
47
Special investigations on preserved territories were carried out (for
example, in the Larinski preserve, archaeological, zoological, botanical and soil
surveys were conducted). The staff also delivered lectures, held meetings with
the local population and prepared reports for mass media.
In 1999, the work of including animals in the Red Book of the Russian
Federation continued.
The major problems concerning preserve management in 1999 were:
-the contradiction between regulative and legal basis of preserves and the
requirements of current legislation
-the lack of cadastre information on natural complexes in preserves and the
absence of scientifically based recommendations for preserve
establishment
- the insufficient material and technical provision of preserves.
National Monuments
To date, 145 national monuments have been established in the Tomsk
Oblast. There are 20 geological, 26 water, 92 botanical and 7 zoological national
monuments.
Most of the national monuments were established 20-30 years ago without
setting the boundaries and determining the conditions for using the nature.
In order to protect the unique natural objects from depletion, it is
necessary to undertake the following measures:
-to collect information on the owners, proprietors and users of land areas with
national monuments
-to prepare technical documentation for fixing the boundaries of the land areas
which have national monuments of regional value
-to develop regulations on National Monuments in the Tomsk Oblast, contracts
on the assignment of protection obligations to owners, proprietors and users
of land areas with national monuments
-to authorize action plans on implementing the protection obligations imposed
on the legal or natural person
-to enact regional regulations regarding the boundaries and protection
obligations
The Tomsk Oblast State Environmental Committee submitted the Action
Plan for 2003-2005 on Protection and Development of National Monuments in
the Tomsk Oblast and Top Priority Activities Plan for 2000-2001 on
Documentation Revision to Tomsk Oblast authorities.
The measures on national monuments protection shall be as follows:
-collecting cadastre information on existing national monuments
-exploring and registering new national monuments
48
Perspectives
Development
for
Biodiversity
Conservation
System
The preserves are mainly aimed at protecting and reproducing game
animals. In many cases the national monuments exist only on paper. There is no
data available on their current state, boundaries and location.
Regulative and legislative basis at the regional level, methodical and
financial provisions of the preserves do not allow for the goals of preserve
establishment and enhancing their prestige to be reached.
It is necessary to develop the concept of regional preserves network
development, as there are no scientifically based priorities for the assessment of
the preserves environmental value.
With the view to implement the concept and development scheme, the
oblast programme for preserve development must be approved. The programme
would enable the creation of a network of oblast preserves and efficiently use the
potential of preserves to support the natural balance, conservation of typical and
unique natural complexes and ecosystems and to create the basis for research,
recreation and information dissemination.
Legislation on Biodiversity Conservation
The legislation regulates the establishment, protection and exploitation of
specially protected areas to conserve the unique and typical natural objects,
fauna and flora, to explore natural processes in biosphere and monitor its
alteration, to educate the population and develop regional and federal Red
Books.
The issues of land or natural resources ownership and interaction
between owners on the establishment, operation, conservation and financing of
preserves are not well regulated.
The uncertainty in the ownership issues on the federal level does not allow
developing the regional legislation on specially protected areas. Therefore, the
Tomsk Oblast Law on Specially Protected Areas adopted on the 18th September
1998 does not regulate these issues at all.
The Tomsk Oblast Law on Specially Protected Areas provides solutions
for pressing problems on the regional level. The most valuable issues regulated
by the law are:
- the division of executive and legislative powers in the establishment and
financing natural areas of preferential protection in the Tomsk Oblast
- the allocation of money from oblast and municipal budgets for financing the
preserves of regional and municipal significance, respectively
- the extension of the category list of Tomsk Oblast preserves having regional
and municipal significance with the specification of categorial features.
49
Educational Activities in the Tomsk Oblast Natural
Areas of Preferential Protection
The educational function is of great importance in implementing activities
in natural areas of preferential protection.
TOSEC possesses the film collection about the preserves in the Tomsk
Oblast. In collaboration with non-governmental organizations 6 projects on
Tomsk Oblast natural monuments and preserves protection were implemented in
1996-1999. The following activities were undertaken:
·
·
·
·
carrying out the Tomsk Rayon water national monument inventory
assessing ants habitation and development of the Passport for Kislovski
Bor national monument
setting up the environmental camp in Larinski preserve
organizing environmental mass activities
The results of these activities proved that schools and NGOs could collect
valuable data on preserves and inform environmental authorities about the state
of national monuments and the threat of their depletion. They are also capable of
highlighting the pressing problems, managing national monuments according to
experts’ recommendations and establishing the collaboration with mass media
and sponsors. Youth organizations can also develop and implement programmes
on cedar parks protection.
preserve – охотничий или рыболовный заповедник
to postpone – откладывать, отсрочивать
to submit – представлять на рассмотрение
network – сеть
fine – штраф
breach – нарушение (закона)
survey – съемка
cadaster – кадастр (систематизированный свод сведений, составляемых
периодически путем непрерывного наблюдения за водой, землей и т.п.)
diversity – разнообразие, многообразие
to enact – постановлять, вводить закон
obligation – обязательство
to enhance – увеличивать
assessment – оценка
dissemination – распространение
legislation – законопроект
alteration – изменение
allocation – ассигнование
collaboration - сотрудничество
TOMSKI RAYON
50
1. What is the peculiarity of the Tomsk rayon?
2. What solid natural resources is Tomsk rayon rich in?
3. What statistical data indicate that living in the Tomsk rayon is
dangerous to health?
4. What are preserves aimed at?
5. What is being done to protect the environment in the Tomsk
rayon?
The Tomski rayon is located in the southern part of the oblast and
occupies 10,06 thousand square km.
There are 21 rural districts in the rayon with more than 140 populated
areas. The population was 84,9 thousand people as of January 2000.
The peculiarity of the rayon is that it is located around the cities of Tomsk
and Seversk, the cities with a total population of over 600 thousand people and
hundreds of industrial enterprises. This determines the increased anthropogenic
load on the environment of the rayon.
Forests amount to 72% and the degree of peat formation is 18–20%.
Thousands of cubic meters of sand, gravel, clay and stone are extracted
from the Tomski rayon. Timber production is developed as well. The territory is
widely used for recreational needs. During the summer-autumn period
townspeople collect mushrooms, berries and cedar nuts. The network of motor
roads and railways is well developed in the rayon (the total area is more than
2000 hectares). These roads connect Tomsk and Seversk with the rayons of the
oblast.
The forest fund of the rayon makes up 500 thousand hectares and bogs
occupy 33 thousand hectares. The total area of farmland, as of 1999, was 187
873 hectares.
The disturbed lands occupy 2,0 thousand hectares, including 0,9 thousand
hectares of peat extraction lands.
Re-cultivation of building pits and the prevention of rainsheet and gully
erosion is a crucial issue. The loss of the fertile soil layer and yield depression
are registered annually. On some farms, 80% of plowable land suffers from
erosion.
There are 34 agricultural cooperatives, 210 farming companies, and
about 100 000 lawn-and-garden sites united in 450 communities.
According to the TOSEC data, water consumption in the Tomski rayon in
1999 made up 7632,834 thousand tonnes.
Unauthorized solid waste dumps are located on the territories of different
districts. The main problem is that there is still no optimal decision on waste
disposal in the southern part of the Ob-Tom Interfluve. Disposition of dumps and
cattle burials is unacceptable because populated areas and the adjoining storage
sites are located in the water protection zone of the rivers Ob and Tom near the
specially protected natural areas of the Tomski and Kaltaiski reserves. The
remaining land areas of the Tomski rayon are widely used for agricultural
purposes.
51
According to nature users returns, 15 611 tones of production waste were
utilized in dumps, 805 tones are temporarily kept on the territory of nature users
and 25 were recycled.
Local investigations in the zone of agricultural complex around the city of
Tomsk have detected soil contamination with heavy metals and radionuclides.
This was the consequence of technological impact produced by industrial
enterprises and the Siberian Chemical Plant (SCP). The percentage of the
technological substances in the soil within the 3 – 100 km radius around Tomsk
exceeds the ambient level by a factor of 2 or 3. These are such elements as
manganese, barium, chromium, vanadium, copper, lead, zinc, nickel and other
rare-earth elements. The northern part of the Tomski rayon is mostly
contaminated with caesium-137 and other technological radionuclides.
The highest percentage of radionuclides was detected in the sanitary
protection zone of the SCP.
The percentage of caesium-137 in farmlands near the SCP is two or three
times larger than the average oblast level.
On the territory of the rayon there are Kaltai, Tomski (zoological) and
Larinski (landscape) reserves with a total area of 92,5 thousand hectares. Also,
there is a specially protected natural area of recreational significance, dozens of
natural sanctuaries, small rivers, water protection zones, etc. Game resources of
the Tomski rayon are widely used by hunters.
Works on environmental impact abatement are carried out in the rayon:
development of polygons, building of treatment facilities, installation of dust
catchers etc.
The amount of payments due through the Ecofund of the Tomski rayon in
1998 made up 699,6 thousand roubles. Financial resources of the Ecofund in
1998 made up 530 thousand roubles, comprising offsets to the amount of 236
thousand roubles. The funds spent for nature protection measures undertaken
totalled 286 thousand roubles.
The following measures are included in the program of nature protection
for the Tomski rayon:
·
development of sites for temporary storage of solid waste, building
of polygons in populated areas, liquidation of unauthorised dumps;
·
gasification of villages, transfer of boiler rooms to gas;
·
planting of valuable wood species (cedar);
·
reconstruction and repair of treatment facilities (especially those
situated in the Ob-Tom Interfluve).
In 1999, with capital investments in the amount of 2788,2 thousand
roubles, the prevented ecological damage made up 5901,5 thousand roubles.
peat – торф
gravel – гравий
clay – глина
timber – строевой лес
cedar – кедр
52
bog – болото, трясина
disturbed lands – нарушенные земли (карьеры, отвалы)
pit – яма
rainsheeet – дождевой поток
gully – овраг
a topical question – злободневный вопрос
fertile – плодородный
yield – доход
plow = plough – пахотная земля
lawn – газон
unauthorized – несанкционированный
dump – свалка
waste disposal – уничтожение отходов
burial – место погребения
soil contamination – загрязнение почвы
reserve – заповедник
sanctuary – заповедник
game – дичь, зверь
State Regulation of Environmental Protection
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Do you know anything about the State Ecological Fund of the
Tomsk Oblast?
When was it established? What for?
What are the main functions of the Ecological Fund?
What are the Ecological Fund sources?
What top priority programmes does the Ecological Fund
participate in?
What activities has the Ecological Fund been financing for the
last 8 years?
State Ecological Fund of the Tomsk Oblast
The State Ecological Fund was established upon the decision of the
Tomsk Oblast Council of Deputies on December 27, 1991. In November 1998
new regulations issued by the Tomsk Duma determined ways to spend the
assets and the mechanism of fund functioning. All the money is to be
accumulated into the oblast budget with further transfer to a special State
Ecological Fund account.
The distribution of funds is done according to the programmes developed
by local executive authorities of the corresponding level and is approved by the
Committee.
The Ecological Fund Board provides technical, organizational and
methodical management. The members of the Board and the Chairmen are
approved by the head of the Committee and by the head of Oblast Administration
(the Governor). The representatives of state authorities, municipalities and NGOs
53
with environmental protection functions are the members of Ecological Fund
Board.
The main functions of the Ecological Fund are:
·
·
·
·
financial support, development and implementation of programmes,
scientific and technical projects aimed at improving the quality of the
environment and providing ecological safety to the population
money mobilization to undertake environmental protection activities and
implement the programmes
providing economic incentives for the efficient use of natural resources,
the implementation of environment friendly technologies and the
installation of cleaning facilities
assisting in environmental education development and environmental
knowledge propaganda
Ecological Fund Sources
The Ecological Fund comprises sources resulting from:
·
·
·
·
·
discharge and waste disposal payments from enterprises, organizations
and individuals
fines and penalties for breaches of environmental legislation
cash obtained from the realization of confiscated illegal hunting and fishing
tools, and illegally gained products
bank deposit dividends
other sources (return of loans, payments for tree cutting, etc.)
Emission charges are aimed at the reparation of economic damages
caused by discharges. It also covers the compensation for discharge impact and
stimulates the reduction of the pollution level. Due to environmental protection
activities costs charging the indexation factor on emission charges has been
introduced in Tomsk Oblast.
Ecological Fund Spendings
Spendings are determined by the Regional Ecological Programme,
approved by the Deputies Council in 1992. This programme is based on the
concept of the sustainable development of the Tomsk Oblast. Every two years
the priority actions plans to provide ecological safety and the rational use of
natural resources are designed and approved by the Head of Oblast
Administration.
The Ecological Fund participates in financing the following top priority
programmes:
54
·
·
·
·
“Wastes” (the programme is aimed at stabilization and further reduction of
industrial cycle and pollution wastes
“Cleaner production of discharged waters” (restoring the water quality in
rivers, lakes, etc.)
“Biodiversity protection and restoring”
“Environmental education and training, ecological knowledge propaganda”
Financing particular environmental actions is undertaken by the decision
of the Board. All materials to be submitted to the Board are previewed by
preliminary state ecological expertise. If the action is accepted by the members
of the board, the Committee signs the agreement with the initiator of this activity.
For a period of 8 years since its foundation, the Ecological Fund has been
financing the activities in the following areas:
1. Rational use and conservation of water resources
· construction of main treatment facilities in the towns of the Tomsk
Oblast
· reconstruction and capital repairs of water treatment facilities in the
Tomsk and Verhneketsk areas
· Reconstruction of the Tomsk city sewage system
2. Construction of Landfills
· standard design of solid wastes landfill for the implementation
in the areas of the Tomsk Oblast
· arrangement of additional places for industrial and domestic waste
landfills in water protection areas and small towns
· recultivation of unauthorized dumps and landfills
3. Air protection
· boiler rooms conversion to cleaner types of fuel
· construction of dust and gas cleaning facilities
· implementation of ecologically safe technologies at different Tomsk
enterprises
4. Research activities
·
development of consolidated registering of the maximum
permissible discharge levels
· Survey on the updated state of the ecosystem
· assessment of oil and heavy metals pollution
5. Development and preservation of specially protected territories
· Financing 4 reserves in the Tomsk Oblast
· Assisting Fishing and Hunting Inspections
6. Ecological education and propaganda
55
·
The Ecological Fund finances school conferences and seminars,
Earth Day events, regional meetings of young ecologists, foresters,
etc.
The Ecological Fund is the main source of financing the environmental
protection activities in Tomsk region. As the amount of funding is not sufficient to
implement the environmental recovering programme, additional sources of
environmental investments are needed.
assets – (фин.) активы
executive authorities – исполнительные власти
incentive – стимул
implementation – осуществление, выполнение
installation – установка
cleaning facilities – очистные сооружения
to result from – являться результатом
fine – штраф
penalty – наказание, взыскание
illegally gained – нелегально приобретенные
emission – (фин.) выпуск, эмиссия
treatment facilities – оборудование для обработки
sewage system – канализация
clean-up – уборка, чистка
discharge – выброс
consolidated register – журнал сводных данных
Youth & Education
NURSERY SCHOOL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Do most children go to nursery school?
What age do most children start primary school?
When do children go to secondary school?
Are there any private schools in your country?
How many lessons do pupils have every day?
How many days a week do pupils go to school?
When can you leave school?
How many terms are there in a school year?
When do pupils have vacation?
Do you need to pass entrance examinations for the university?
How many years do you study at university?
Is there any further postgraduate education?
56
In Russia the system of nursery schools is spread all over the country. The
first nursery schools were opened in the 1960’s and these were state schools.
By 1985 such schools were common in almost all living areas of the country and
people got used to them. Now days almost all children go to nursery school when
they are from 2 to 5 years old. Usually this type of school is free of charge.
Sometimes a nursery school can offer additional services such as an extra
course for children who want to learn a foreign language, or swim in a pool, etc.
At the same time, private schools are presently organized and provide better
buildings, better classrooms, better facilities to bring up children, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean a better staff.
The time for nursery school is normally from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. When
children come to school, they have breakfast. During the day their teachers play
with the kids, tell them interesting stories and fairy-tales, sing with them, draw
and paint, teach them to model with clay and plasticine and do some physical
exercises. Every day, if the weather is not too bad, children go for a walk, usually
before lunch. On warm sunny days the walk can be repeated after the sleeping
hour (the time when all children have a nap). When children get up, they have a
meal called ‘poldnik’. Then they may play with their friends, or do something else
till the time when parents come and take them home.
The groups for children from 5 to 6 are called preparatory. Children in
these groups are taught to read easy texts, to do simple sums and to write
letters, words, and even short sentences. Thus, children gradually approach
entering primary school.
To be spread – быть распространенным
Nursery school – детский сад
To get used to (smth) – привыкнуть к чему-либо
To offer – предлагать
Additional service – дополнительные услуги
To provide – предоставлять
Plasticne – пластилин
Preparatory group – подготовительная группа
Mildly – потихоньку
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Primary school is completely different from nursery school. While children
visit nursery school all year round, without any holidays, in primary school
children have four terms and holidays. The school starts from 1 September and
goes to the end of May. The admission age for primary school is 7 (6) years old.
In some schools it is possible for parents to choose how many years their
children are going to study at primary school: 3 or 4 years. Generally schools
offer a three-year course and after finishing the third form children go straight into
the fifth form. A four-year course is easier, and it is usually for children who didn’t
go to nursery school, or for those who have certain difficulties with adaptation to
57
new conditions. Still, three years of nursery school is enough time to get used to
new environments and learn everything you have to know at primary school.
At present, before starting primary school, children with their parents have
an interview with a school psychologist and the head of the school. Children are
asked general questions, such as: where his/her parents work, what fairy-tales
he/she likes, and others. They are also given some psychological tests in order
to learn more about his/her abilities and temperament. Before the school year
begins, all children are streamed according to their ability to learn.
In primary school pupils usually study 6 days a week, excluding
September and May, when they go to school 5 days a week. Lessons are usually
conducted by one teacher in the same classroom every day. Pupils have 4 or 5
lessons a day and they are given regular homework for which they are given
marks. During a lesson they are also given marks from 1 to 5, 1 being the worst,
5 being the best.
Note: a three-year course at primary school is usually for 7-year-old
children, and a four-year course is for children at 6.
Completely – полностью
Certain – определенный
Adaptation – адаптация
General questions – обычные вопросы
Environment – окружение
Psychological tests – психологические тесты
Excluding – исключая
Mark – оценка
To conduct lessons – вести занятия
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Secondary education generally starts at the age of 10 and continues up to
the age of 14 (the 9th form), when teenagers have to take their first state
examinations: two written, in mathematics and literature, and two subjects
chosen by a pupil. The results of the written examinations are sent to the
governmental authorities, where they are checked and marked. After the 9th form
you can go to a specialized school or to a training college, which give you skills
necessary for your future profession. After that you may apply for a job or enter a
university. But the majority of the pupils continue their education at school up to
the 11th form and take school state examinations at the end of the year, before
which they study hard, because these examinations can influence, in some
cases, their entrance examinations at the university.
The curriculum of a state secondary school includes such subjects as the
Russian language, Russian and foreign literature, mathematics, foreign
languages, chemistry, physics, biology, history, geography, art, music, physical
training, and other subjects. In secondary school pupils have different teachers
for different subjects, and they move from one classroom to another. Methods of
58
teaching vary, depending on the preferences of the teacher, though usually the
lessons are taught in a formal way with the teacher in front of the classroom.
The school week is very informative and long, pupils go to school 6 days a
week and have 6 lessons every day. As there isn’t enough space, pupils study in
shifts: the elder start their day at 8 or 9 a.m. and end it at 2 or 3 p.m., whereas
the younger study between 2 p.m. and 7-7.30 p.m. A school year lasts from 1
September to the end of May, when all pupils take examinations. There are four
terms a year, and by the end of each term special tests, or control works, are
given to check pupils’ knowledge. The holidays occur immediately after the
autumn, winter and spring terms.
Private schools, called gymnasiums or lyceums, are for people who are
ready to pay for the education of their children. In private schools different
additional subjects are taught and, in most cases, there is only one shift. Very
often lecturers from universities are invited to teach pupils in private schools.
Some of these schools have a special aim, e.g. to prepare pupils for entering a
university for a humanitarian department. As many parents can’t send their
children to better schools but feel that their children can learn more, many state
schools started organizing courses which offered additional subjects and not
much is paid for it.
As it has already been stated, many graduates of secondary schools
prefer to continue their education and they go to a university or an institute after
10 (11) years at school.
To take an examination – сдавать экзамен
State examinations – государственные экзамены
To influence (?smth) – влиять на что-либо
Preferences – предпочтения
To study in shifts – учиться в разные смены
Gymnasium – гимназия
Lyceum – лицей
Additional – дополнительный
HIGHER EDUCATION
In Russia there are a lot of higher educational institutions all over the
country. Tomsk universities are well-known in the country and abroad. Tomsk is
often called a Students’ Town, as there are six higher educational faculties: the
Tomsk State University, the Tomsk Politechnic University, the Siberian Medical
University, the Tomsk State Pedagogical University, the Tomsk Architectural and
Building University, the Tomsk Radio-Electronic Academy and more and more
new departments are being opened. There are also over thirty technical colleges.
The fame of Tomsk educational establishments is constantly growing, and every
year a greater number of school graduates from other cities and countries come
to get further education.
Every 8th person in Tomsk is a student? In the streets of the town you can
see many young people. The students here have everything at their disposal:
59
dormitories, sport places and clubs; libraries, laboratories, well-equipped
workshops. In the evening young people may have a good time in numerous
cafes, discotheques and theatres.
Now days Tomsk is known as a center of science. Its higher educational
establishments were famous for their scientists long before the establishment of
the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Science. Tomsk scientists have
contributed much to the development of science. Our science is proud of the
names of G. Potanin (a biologist), V. Obruchev, M. Usov (geologists), N.
Burdenko, A. Savinikh (surgeons) and many others who worked in Tomsk and
gave fame to it. The oldest in Siberia, the Polytechnic and Medical universities
became the bases for the development of academic science in Tomsk and in
1999 the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences was founded under
their leadership. At present we can observe the economical crisis in the country.
Many research institutions have been closed and some scientists have left the
country looking for work or have changed their specialties.
University life is different from the one at school. School graduates start a
new life, which is more serious and demands more responsibility. Before entering
a university everyone has to pass entrance examinations, which are very difficult
and need good preparation. Admission examinations are usually held in summer,
and special preparatory courses, lasting from two months to a year or two, are
often provided by universities. The courses are usually paid. There are also
spring admission exams, where pupils can enter a higher educational institution
before they have passed their state exit examinations.
University entrance examinations are normally of two types: oral and
written. During an oral exam a person is given a paper, on which questions are
written, he/she takes a seat and thinks over the questions for 20 – 30 minutes
(he/she is allowed to note something down). After that, he/she goes to the
examiner and answers the questions. There are sometimes additional questions,
which the examiner may ask to check the knowledge of the examinee, or to clear
out some points. Written exams may require a written composition, or choosing
the right answer to the question, or doing a certain task.
In Russian universities students study for 5 years. The program of the first
2 years consists of required humanities, socio-economics, natural sciences, and
some general professional subjects. Some universities, e.g. the Tomsk
Politechnic University, gives the First Level Diploma, which testifies, that the
graduate has raised his/her level of education and culture to a degree greater
than before. After two years of study he/she may leave the university and change
the direction of his/her training.
The next two years of study consist of general professional courses and
training, elective humanities, socio-economics, natural sciences, and electives
from special courses. At this point one may also stop his/her higher education
with a bachelor’s degree and find work as a specialist of a middle rank. Still, it will
be easier to find a job with a specialist’s diploma, which implies one more year of
study at a university. Thus, a full educational course is five years. There are also
postgraduate courses, called ‘aspirantura’. One can also study for the Master of
60
Sciences/Arts (two years after Bachelor of Sciences/Arts) and Doctor of
Philosophy (three years after Master of Sciences/Arts).
Establishment – учреждение, заведение
To contribute to smth – делать вклад
Development – развитие
Responsibility – ответственность
Examinee – зкзаменуемый
Examiner – экзаменатор
Provide – предоставлять
Demand – требовать
Bachelor – бакалавр
Master – магистр
STUDENT’S LIFE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Where do students live?
What problems do young people have with parents?
Where do students work in your country?
Is it difficult to find work?
Are there any big health problems?
Are there any problems with drug abuse?
When are young people allowed to start drinking alcohol?
A young person in this country is considered to be between the age of 16
and 30, generally a student or a postgraduate, a person who hasn’t gained yet
his/her position in life.
As family relations are very tight, and the income of the family is low,
young people do not leave their parents immediately after leaving school. Very
often they stay with them for many years. This can turn out to be a great problem
for the young, as now days more and more young people want to be independent
and live apart from their parents. Some try to find a job, studying at the same
time, some go away and live in dormitories, provided by the university or institute
they study in. Still many parents don’t forget about their children and try to help
them whenever they can. This is good, on the one hand, as parents take care of
their children and don’t let them make mistakes and help them with money or
accommodations. On the other hand, it prevents young people from thinking
creatively and acting independently. Some don’t mind it, but some find it a
burden.
Looking for a job is a hard problem to solve not only for the students, but
also for experienced professionals. This problem is considered to be a social
one. You can see students working as DJs, waiters or waitresses, shop
assistants, etc. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to find a proper, well-paying job.
Studying at a university, or taking any preparation course, or working
somewhere, young people don’t forget about their hobbies and pastimes. The
most popular pastimes are: watching TV, listening to the music, chatting to
61
friends, going to discos. There are a lot of people, who have special interests,
like cooking, knitting, collecting (e.g. dolls, stamps, postcards), studying French
history. At present it is very popular to participate in sports, because everyone
wants to be fit and healthy. Thus, many young people join fitness clubs, bodybuilding societies; play football, tennis, volleyball, basketball, swim, jog, ski,
skate, etc. Young people’s interests vary greatly, as there are as many hobbies
as people. To the regret of the elder generation, young people don’t read much
these days, they prefer watching TV, or working at the computer.
To be fond of sports is very important nowadays. Young people’s health
leaves much to be desired. If we look back at the middle of the 20th century, we
find out, that young people were healthier, than they are now. This is influenced
by many factors: poor environment, bad habits, and irregular meals. Under their
influence such maladies are developing as heart and vascular system diseases,
environmental diseases, cancer, allergies, asthma. The most horrifying fact is
that alcohol, drugs, smoking, AIDS have become the reality of our life. Now it is
very hard to find a young man who doesn’t smoke, and, what’s worse, there is an
increasing number of smoking among young women, and that may lead to the
unhealthy future of their children.
Drug addiction is being spread in all its types, and this leads to the
development of criminal situation and supports the spreading of AIDS. A sad
statistic points out that almost 900 people in the Tomsk region are infected (this
is the 4th place in Russia), and every 7th person in Russia is addicted to a
certain drug, and these are mostly young people.
Alcohol is a very common form of drug abuse. Teenagers, to show that
they have already grown, start taking it in and this leads to troubles. Students
also abuse alcoholic drinks. They like beer very much, and as it is thought of as a
light drink, they think it won’t do any harm. Nevertheless, it is alcoholic and is
dangerous.
Another problem is that playing computer games can also be addictive.
This may lead to serious problems. In recent years certain researches have been
carried out. These researches involved many young people. The results are not
at all consoling. Real life is very often hard to control, but a computer will always
do exactly what you tell it to do. For some, to sit in front of a screen is to be
secure. People who spend a lot of time in simplified, virtual worlds might not
develop many of the skills they need to deal with the uncertainties of real life.
People become extremely addicted, and that makes them behave like drug
addicts. Teenagers and adults start spending all their money on arcade games,
and sometimes turn to crime to pay for their habit.
Maladies of the 20th century, stresses, drug addiction, social problems
influence the lives of young people, and this is a dull heritage which they are
given to solve in the 21st century.
Postgraduate – выпускник
Accommodation – жилье
Preparation courses – подготовительные курсы
To be considered – считаться
62
To join – присоединяться
To abuse – привыкать
Abusive – вызывающий привыкание
To bring to smth – привести к чему-либо
Under the influence – под влиянием
Irregular meals – нерегулярный прием пищи
Horrifying - ужасающий
To lead to smth – вести к чему-либо
To do smb good – приносить пользу
Heritage – наследиие
Consoling - утешающий
Virtual world – виртуальный мир
To be infected – быть инфицирванным
STANDARDS OF LIVING
Population and density
1. What is the population of Russia?
2. How much money do you make?
3. What is an average salary in Russia?
4. Where do you go on vacation?
5. What is the cost of living in Russia?
6. On what do you spend money?
7. What is the poverty rate?
8. Do you have a phone (mobile phone)?
9. Do you smoke?
10. What do you do in your free time?
The population of Russia was estimated at about 145 million. The number
of households in Russia has fallen since 1989, and at the same time the average
household size has fallen. These changes are linked to the increase in the
number of one-person households. The proportion of single parent households
with dependent children has increased. The climate ranges from steppes in the
south to humid continental in much of European Russia; sub arctic in Siberia to
tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea
coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along
the Arctic coast. Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area but
unfavorably located in relation to major sea-lanes of the world; despite its size,
much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for
agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak.
There is a complete range of mining and extractive industries producing
coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling
mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail
transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery,
tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting
63
equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles,
foodstuffs, handicrafts.
Living conditions
A decade after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling
to establish a modern market economy and to achieve strong economic growth.
In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able to
overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market
reforms within three to five years - Russia saw its economy contract for five
years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many
of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery
in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor
business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept
through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a
debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for
most of the population. The economy rebounded in 1999 and 2000, buoyed by
the competitive boost from the weak ruble and a surging trade surplus fueled by
rising world oil prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in
2000 to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor
confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet,
serious problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of
commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for
over 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices.
Russia's agricultural sector remains beset by uncertainty over land ownership
rights, which has discouraged needed investment and restructuring. Another
threat are the negative demographic trends fueled by low birth rates and a
deteriorating health situation - including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that
have contributed to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's
industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if
the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include
widespread corruption, capital flight, and “brain drain.”
Households are not equal in terms of material welfare, whether in terms of
their housing conditions, durables or consumption. Welfare varies from one
region to another in terms of both intensity and type. In Russia, many of
households are considered to be “poor in terms of living conditions”. All of these
households have significantly lower living conditions than their compatriots. In all
the regions studied, poor living conditions are concentrated in the same
households: people living alone, single-parent families and large families. Lastly,
they are also often poorer than average in monetary terms, although these two
forms of poverty are not synonymous. There was also a growth in rent in 19992002. This growth was higher than in the previous year. It remained higher than
inflation, which showed a year-to-year increase of 20%-30%.
During 1991-2002 different reforms were carried out. “Privatization“ was
the next great reform effort: getting the economy out of government direction and
into private hands. Those hands proved, however, to belong to well-connected
64
operators who bought state properties at bargain rates and stripped their assets
becoming, in the process, notorious oligarchs who own the big banks,
newspapers, TV companies and so on. It wasn’t a just privatization at all, but a
set of sweetheart deals that made the bankers partners with their cronies in the
government focusing on exports, imports, loans and currency speculation. The
result is an almost cashless society where business is transacted mostly by
trading goods and services. Since most firms and citizens have no money, they
can't pay their taxes. That means the government is always short of funds and
the deficit keeps growing.
In 1998 an economic crisis happened in Russia. “In many countries, the
pitch of chaos Russia reached in1998 would have produced panic, fury,
demonstrations, even riots. The street value of the ruble halved. Banks were
tottering and closing, and the Moscow stock market had all but evaporated. The
crash had shaken investors and governments around the world. But in Russia,
home of the stolid and the depoliticized, the streets were calm and there was no
sign of unrest. Russians were nervous and asked one another what was going to
happen. But the only visible reaction was at the banks, where the relatively few
citizens who trusted other people with their money had formed slow moving and
sometimes unruly lines. For the most part, ordinary people seem not merely
restrained but numb. In fact, the foreign reaction was more appropriate. What
was happening in Russia was a disaster, a frightening one that threatens the
world with prolonged instability at best, and the rise of an increasingly isolated
and hostile state armed with about 22,000 nuclear warheads at worst.”
COST OF LIVING IN TOMSK REGION 2001
CITIES
of
REGION
TOMSK Per
person
Kolpashevo
Strezhevoy
Asino
Tomsk
1794
2452
1629
1540
Ablebodied
citizens
1916
2674
1737
1624
Pensioners
Children
1303
1761
1178
1151
1816
2337
1671
1603
Expenditure
Over the last years, per capita consumer expenditure has risen. The
consumer environment has changed with a growing number of large chain
stores, changing lifestyles and consumer behavior altered by the appearance of
new products (frozen food). Nevertheless, the bulk of the household budget
continues to go for food and housing. It is well known that poor families spend
the main part of their budget on food. In Europe, for example, housing overtook
food nearly twenty years ago as the number one consumer-spending item.
65
Lifestyles and leisure activities are influenced not just by the amount of time
people spend working, but also by the availability of, and access to, consumer
durables. As the standard of living rose for many people, spending on leisure
activities such as holidays went up, and items which had previously been
considered luxuries were seen as necessities.
The number of people owning consumer goods such as washing
machines and video recorders increased as did the number of households with
telephones, televisions, and computers. The percentage of households with
Internet connections increased. More and more people have mobile phones.
More people drive cars.
Population,
(thousand)
Income per
month ($)
Consumption
of meat per
person (kg)
Unemployed
(thousand)
Dollar rate
(rub/$)
Inflation (%)
Oil
production
(million
of
tons)
Newspaper
output
(million)
The number
of marriages
(per 1000)
Cars output
(thousand)
Academies
(Universities)
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
148704 148673 148366 148306 147976 147502 147105 146693
9,65
36,25
58,11
111,08
137,79
156,68
48,37
59,58
60
59
57
55
51
50
48
46
3877
4305
5702
6712
6732
8058
8876
9094
414,5
1247
3550
4640
5560
5960
20,65
27
2508,8
399,5
839,9
354,6
215,1
317,8
131,3
306,8
21,8
301,2
11
305,6
84,4
303,3
36,5
305,2
925
411
306
299
388
520
659
601
7,1
7,5
7,4
7,3
5,9
6,3
5,8
6,3
963,1
965
797,9
835,1
867,7
986,2
840,1
954
535
626
710
762
817
880
914
939
AVERAGE INCOME PER PERSON IN 2000
66
Average incom e per person in 2000 .
3000,1-4500 rub.
12,5%
more 4500 rub.
6,9%
less 700 rub.
8,9% rub.
700,1-1200
20,9%
2000,1-3000 rub.
20,9%
1600,1-2000 rub.
13,4%
1200,1-1400 rub.
8,6%
1400,1-1600 rub.
7,9%
NOTE:
Cost of living in 2000 was 1210 rub., floor cost of the food stuff set –704,7 rub.
EMPLOYMENT
The labor market in Russia has undergone major changes, with many
more women in the workforce, increased levels of part-time working and the
continuing move towards employment in service industries. Where you live can
make a big difference: men in Moscow earn several times as much.
Unemployment in Russia has risen since 1989. During the last years, high
unemployment is a political and social problem which refuses to go away. In the
early 1900’s many people who previously thought that they were secure in their
own flats suddenly faced the prospect of homelessness. Poverty is difficult to
measure. No exact government statistics are available.
POVERTY RATE IN 1992-2001
POVERTY RATE in 1992-2001.
численность (млн.чел.)
60
50
49,7
40
30
доля населения (%)
46,8
33,3
33,5
36,6
32,7
30,7
31,5
20
22,4
24,7
22,1
20,8
34,3
23,4
42,0
28,7
44,0
30,2
43,9
30,2
10
0
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
HOUSING
67
1998
1999
2000
2001*
Many people in Russia live in their own flats, but also now days more and
more people rent flats. Buying a house is a large financial investment for many
people. Only a few people can afford to buy a flat.
The number of houses built during the last 5 years went up in Tomsk.
Tomsk has the most expensive cost per square meter among regional cities. The
standard of housing has improved, but while most the old slum areas in cities
have been cleared, many of the large square blocks of flats which replaced them
as part of the high-rise housing program of the 1960-70s have been criticized as
being badly designed and built. Historically, there is more rented housing in
Moscow and St. Petersburg . Yet ownership has now overtaken renting virtually
everywhere. Depending on the region, households spend 15% to 50% of their
final consumption expenditure on current housing expenses (rent, energy and
charges).
The telephone
The telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s.
There are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services
(but in the most cities one phone company has a monopoly and it can rule the
market); access to digital lines has improved for the last 10 years, particularly in
urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving (Tomsk is one of ten
most computerized cities in Russia); Russia has made progress toward building
the telecommunications infrastructure that is necessary for a market economy.
However, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfactory (now to
set up a phone will cost you about 3000 rub.) Cross-country digital trunk lines
run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the
telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures;
cellular services, both analog and digital, and are available in many areas; in
rural areas, the telephone services are outdated, inadequate, and low in density.
Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables;
digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international
calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat,
Inmarsat, and Orbita systems.
An important element of social integration
A study of telephone interaction rounds out our knowledge of the
sociability of the Russian population. Telephone sociability is found to be more
restricted and less diverse than face-to-face sociability. The telephone is used in
such a way as to maintain only a core of close friends from among the circle of
social contacts. The frequency of telephone contact is a less partial indicator of
the quality of a social link than the frequency of face-to-face encounters. Firstly,
the telephone link reinforces the face-to-face link (the more you see people, the
more you call them). Secondly, the telephone can also replace face-to-face
contact, especially for the old people. The telephone link contributes to social
integration in cases of solitude or isolation from face-to-face contact. The
68
telephone plays a compensatory role. The social groups that spend the most
time on the telephone are those at risk of more fragile face-to-face relationships
(people living alone or without work). Lastly, the telephone increases a strong
pre-existent integration. This is especially the case for people with a high level of
education, whose telephone use covers a wide and diverse network of contacts
(extensive use) and adds to other highly intensive forms of sociability.
FREE TIME
In 1996-2002 cinema and theatre attendance increased (especially
cinema).
The number of films made with some Russian investment and production
involvement rose in 2000-2001. Half of the Russians read books regularly. Many
of these adults started reading books at 8 to 12 years old. At that age, parents
had a great influence. Their schoolwork had a high level of culture and were
themselves readers. However, this parental influence has decreased with the
new generations.
There are many public holidays in Russia (New Year is the main one).
With the improving of living standards many people can afford to go abroad on
holidays.
The most popular holiday resorts are Cyprus, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Egypt,
and Finland (in winter). But still many people can’t afford to go on holiday. The
main reason given is financial; way ahead of professional, family and health
reasons. Children and adolescents form the largest group of holidaymakers.
Senior citizens are still among the least mobile, but are gradually catching up.
The number of days spent on holiday has decreased and trips are increasingly
fragmented. Over eight in ten holidays are taken in Russia in both winter and
summer. However, holidays abroad, especially winter holidays, have developed.
The proportion of seaside holidays in the summer season has dwindled.
PREVALENCE OF SMOKING
Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of preventable illness and
death in Russia. Adult smoking rates rose slightly in the 1990s. More and more
children and young people are starting to smoke and this upward trend is
particularly noticeable among girls. Today, over one-quarter of the Russian
population, aged 15 and over, state that they smoke daily. This figure breaks
down into one in three men and one in five women. Over the last twenty years,
tobacco use has decreased across all generations of men. The proportion of
male smokers has increased recently, but only among young men aged 15 to 19.
Also the proportion of female smokers has risen over the last twenty years.
Situations conducive to nicotine addiction are unemployment, divorce and
insufficient income to cover current expenses.
living standard - жизненный уровень, уровень жизни, материальное
благосостояние
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Population - население; жители
Density - густота, плотность, сосредоточенность (определенного количества
каких-либо единиц в определенном районе); концентрация
Household - (домашнее) хозяйство; двор, дом (как предмет хозяйственных
забот)
material welfare - материальное благополучие
Consumption - потребление; затрата, издержки, расход
Compatriot - соотечественник
Expenditure - потребление, расходование, трата, затраты
durable goods - товары длительного пользования
Income - доход, приход, прибыль; заработок
floor cost - минимальный уровень (о ценах)
poverty - бедность, нищета, нужда, скудость
labor market - рынок труда
Employment - служба; занятие; работа (по найму)
Unemployment - безработица
market economy - рыночная экономика
Holiday resorts - курорт
Holidays and traditions
Today I am going to talk to you about the topic that greatly interests me.
The reason for this interest lies in the fact that I have a pen friend in Great
Britain. His name is Tony. He is an ethnographer by profession, also by nature.
He travels a lot and believes that visiting other countries and investigating
cultural differences broadens intellectual horizons. His grandmother was from
Russia, so he is especially interested in the Culture of Russia. One of the
important factors constituting Culture is a nation's customs and traditions. He is
sure that these are the traditions that help understand a nation's soul. That's why
he often asks me questions about people's lives in this country. Sometimes his
questions sound strange and naive, sometimes they baffle me as I don't know
much myself about some ancient religious traditions of Russia. By the way, how
much do you know about Russian holidays and traditions? Can you answer my
friend's questions?
1. Is Constitution Day celebrated on October 7?
2. What's the difference between Santa Claus and Father Frost?
3. Could you tell me what the difference between sauna and banya?
4. When was the Day of Independence established and what event is this
holiday connected with?
5. What are possible ways of painting eggs at Easter?
6. Do you know what beliefs are connected with painting eggs? I wonder
what the difference between paskha and kulich is?
7. Do you happen to know when else except pominki the kutya is served?
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8. What is said about Ivan Kupala's Day in old legends?
9. What was the purpose of dancing around bonfires and jumping over
them on Ivan Kupala's Day?
10.What are the beliefs which are connected with the ritual of ‘pominki’ on
the 9th and 40th day ?
11. Do you happen to know what the rules of drinking vodka are?
Look at the questions again. There are 4 types of questions here. What
are they? What can you say about word order in Questions? Which Questions
sound more polite? Please distribute them into 4 columns.
We begin our talk about Russian traditions. Traditions can be divided into 2
types:
I. National traditions (Holidays and ceremonies )
II. Traditions concerning people's private life
Modern
I. Holidays and ceremonies
Q-n (from Tony's letter) I wonder how many public holidays there are in
Russia? I hear that Labour Days tend to extend to Victory Day and the other
holidays seem often to run several days. Besides, every 2 weeks there are the
so-called professional holidays such as Rangers' Day, Marines' Day and so on.
On these days, rangers and marines or whoever gather and get extremely drunk
and begin to fight amongst themselves and throw bottles at passers-by. Could
you tell me how many days a year you work?
Answer
Official Russian holidays are: New Year's Day (December, 31-January, 1-2),
Orthodox Christmas (January, 7), Day of the Defender of Motherland (February,
23), International Women's Day (March, 8), International Labour Days (May, 1-2),
Victory Day (May, 9), Independence Day (June, 12 ), Constitution Day
(December, 12), Day of Agreement and Reconciliation (November, 7). On these
days people don't work.
The year is also informally punctuated with celebrations such as
Maslenitsa (Shrovetide), a week long welcome to spring as well as Lent
culminating in the celebrations of Easter. Some other notable dates are April
Fool's Day, (April, 1), Day of Ivan Kupala (July, 7), Forgiveness Sunday (which is
celebrated on the last day of Shrovetide Week), Tatiana's Day or Students' Day
(as Tatiana is considered to patronize students - January, 25), Day of Knowledge
(September, 1 - when an academic year begins).
All these holidays as well as professional holidays you mentioned which
always fall on Sundays are not public holidays. By the way, I've never seen
somebody throwing bottles at passers-by. It is not a scientific approach to
generalize something by one fact. Mention should be made that we are now
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adopting some Western holidays such as Halloween and St. Valentine's Day.
Now I'd like to say some words about each of the holidays.
Winter holidays
Constitution Day
Is celebrated on December, 12.
New Year's Day
The first holiday of the year and everybody's favourite one is New Year's
Day. People see the New Year in at midnight on the 31st of December. There
are lots of New Year traditions in Russia. Flats are decorated with New Year
trees glittering with coloured lights and Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz) gives out
presents to the children. Unlike Santa Claus, Grandfather Frost comes
accompanied by his granddaughter called Snowmaiden, a charming young girl
wearing a short fur-coat and knee-high boots. Many people consider New Year's
Day to be a family holiday but the young prefer to have New Year parties of their
own. Everybody gathers round the television to listen to the Kremlin chimes
striking midnight, or they go to Red Square if in Moscow. The magic moment
comes with the 12th bong. People make a wish they want to come true in the
year coming and raise glasses of champagne while greeting the New Year. It is
the custom between adults to give a little gift. It has become smart to offer a gift
representing the Chinese animal associated with the year ahead (a dog, a
monkey, a rooster). It became the in-thing in 1988. One more tradition began in
1976. On December 31, a film called "Fate Twist" was shown for the first time on
TV and since then it has been broadcast every year on New Year's Eve. It's a
fairy-tale for adults - a wonderful combination of comedy and melodrama which
tells us about people who found their true love at magic New Year's night. The
next 2 days (January, 1,2) are the days off.
From Tony's letter. Do you celebrate Christmas? If yes, then when?
Orthodox Christmas
It is a renewed holiday in this country. It is less popular than New Year's
Day though it is a national holiday now. Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on the
7th of January (the 25th of December according to the Julian Calendar which
was in use in Russia before 1918). As it is a religious holiday, people go to
church services on that day. However, one should say that the number of these
people is not high.
Q-n. Could anybody explain to me what Old New Year is?
I quite agree with you that the name of this holiday sounds pretty strange.
Old New Year is celebrated on January 13, i.e. at the night from December 31 to
January 1 by the Julian Calendar. It is not a national holiday. Even so, many
people tend to lay the table and open a bottle of champagne on this day. TV
broadcasts programs which were shown at New Year's night (maybe because on
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December 1 most people were more involved into singing and dancing, letting off
fireworks, etc. than watching TV).
Some people think that it is the right thing to celebrate at first Christmas
and only then New Year as they believe we must see the New Year in with Christ
already born. What do you think?
Q-n. As far as I know you celebrate Women’s Day but you don't have
Father’s Day as we do. Is it fair?
Yes, it is. We’ve got a fairer holiday. It’s called Day of the Defender of
Motherland (used to be called Day of Red Army).
It concerns all males, not only fathers: former, present and potential
defenders of Motherland. In spite of the fact that we have been celebrating it only
since the Year 2002 as a national holiday, it has always been considered
popular though men used to think it wasn’t fair that their holiday was not a ‘red
day of the Calendar’. Girls at schools and Institutes, female colleagues at work
give boys and men presents on this day and wish them to be strong and
courageous.
This Holiday also concerns women who fought during the Great Patriotic War.
Day of the Defender of Motherland is followed by a first
SPRING holiday,
i.e. Women’s Day which is celebrated on the 8th of March. Men are supposed to
do everything about the house on this Day. It’s the only day a year they hoover,
do the washing up, go shopping and cook all the meals. Besides, they should
give a present and a bouquet of flowers (Flowers are given a great deal: an odd
number on a joyful occasion, an even number on a sad one). Nobody remembers
nowadays that this holiday was established to demonstrate women’s
achievements in the constructing of socialism.
One of the major spring holidays is
EASTER
Though Easter is not a national holiday, we’ve always considered it to be
the most important festival in the church calendar because it marks the rising of
Jesus from the dead. On Easter Eve there is a church service when
everyone proceeds around the outside of the church with lighted candles. It looks
very beautiful and solemn. I remember that when it was banned we used to go to
the church to enjoy the beauty of this process as well as because it was
forbidden.
At midnight and during Easter Day and afterwards everyone greets each
other with the words ‘Khristos Voskrese” (Christ is Risen). The reply is “Vo istinu
voskrese” (He is risen indeed). Having said this people usually give each other a
kiss. At Easter time we eat special food after it has been blessed in church:
paskha, a sweet pudding made with eggs, sour milk and raisins in a tall
rectangular wooden mould, the top patterned with the Orthodox cross, and
73
koulitch, that is a sort of cake. Eggs – the symbol of fertility and the cycle of life –
are coloured by being boiled in vegetable dyes. (Beautifully hand-decorated
wooden eggs are widely sold in Russia at all times of the year).
Day of Spring and Labour
(used to be called Day of International Solidarity)
is celebrated on May, 1-2. On the 1st of May we used to go to demonstrations. It
was fun. It was the brilliant opportunity to meet people you had not seen for ages.
Besides, you knew that in the evening you’d go the party). Now it is just the day
off, though some people celebrate it.
Victory Day
Definitely the greatest national holiday in this country is Victory Day (which
is celebrated not on the 8th of May as in Europe but on the 9th). The country
remembers one of the greatest triumphs in its history.
This is the holiday which unites the whole nation (unlike the former
Revolution Day). Many veterans, their children and grandchildren, sons and
daughters of those who were killed in this war take part in the military parade and
lay wreaths on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All stand in silence for a
minute. Radio and TV broadcast war songs, plays and films all day long.
Recently it has become a tradition that the President of the country congratulates
veterans personally.
Summer holiday
Independence Day
Is a new holiday. It was established on the 12th of June 1992 when the first
President of Russia was elected. Unlike one-named holiday being one of the
most popular ones in the USA, our Independence Day can hardly be called a
holiday that is widely celebrated. Most of the people think it is just a day off,
sociological polls say..
Autumn holiday
Day of National Agreement and Reconciliation
(used to be called Revolution Day)
is celebrated on November, 7. In spite of its present name it still causes much
debate. Some people believe it's a crime to celebrate this holiday, some people
(mostly elderly ones) still go to demonstrations, some people think it's just a good
reason to relax. How do you feel about this holiday? What do you think about the
statement, “If we forget our history it will take revenge on us?”
74
While telling about modern national holidays, we tried to show people’s
attitude to them spread in the society rather than to give much factual historical
information (about Rosa Luxemburg and first ‘maevki’).
In conclusion, one should emphasize that to celebrate in Russian mostly
means to prepare as much food as possible, to lay the table and talk, talk and
talk, often about fundamental things concerning the meaning of life. The
Russians value posidelki: the business of being in touch with people, such as
sitting together in the kitchen drinking tea and talking. We also value sobornost the feeling of togetherness, while people abroad live according to apartness
rule1. What for a rule is it? To be brief, it says about the tendency of Russians to
do together what English, with remarkable frequency, do apart. This basic
contrast of togetherness and apartness will be found throughout the cultures from
their senses of self to the concepts of privacy and even to their social and
economic systems. This togetherness/apartness conrast is probably the clearest
theme that runs through all levels of culture: both internal and external which is
reflected in behavioral peculiarities as well as psychology and a nation’s
mentality. Russian culture is described as a seal culture2 and English as a bird
culture3, the first characterized by a great deal of physical contact and the
second, by relatively little. This is confirmed by the principal culture shocks4
experienced by members of each group when first arriving in the other culture:
Russians feel lonely and isolated, and the English feel crowded and trampled.
This is usually the first and perhaps the strongest and most frequent example of
the togetherness/apartness contrast of the two cultures. We must understand
that every cultural shock has its equal and opposite shock and it’s not right to
consider strange mode of life as wrong only because it differs from ours. By the
by, as far as togetherness/apartness rule is concerned, don’t you think that soon
it won’t work? Ideas of individualism are beginning to flourish in this country. Do
you consider these changes as positive?
Hospitality is another traditional feature of Russians. If you ask people to
write 5 character adjectives which are typical of Russians, “hospitable” will
definitely be on the list. The custom to meet people with bread and salt is one of
its manifestataton. A beautiful girl wearing a traditional folklore costume who
holds a tray covered with embroidered towel with bread and salt cellar on it is
one of the stereotype images of Russia.
Comments:
1 – автор говорит о коллективисткой основе национальной психологии и
поведении русских, а также об индивидуалистический основе психологии и
поведении англо-говорящих иностранцев;
2 –этим термином автор образно называет русскоязычную культуру, в
которой традиционно сложились правила общения, предполагающие
физический контакт и не запрещающие прикосновений;
3 –автор образно называет англоязычную культуру, где традиционно
сложились нормы общения, ограничивающие
физический контакт
(прикосновения) и предполагающие значительную дистанцию при общении;
4 –ощущение психологического дискомфорта (культурный шок).
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Some other notable dates.
April Fool's Day
The custom of April jokes is known to all Europeans. The origin of
this holiday is obviously connected with the fact that the weather in April
was changeable and would evoke great anxiety in farmers and they
consequently desired to laugh at a threat.
Tatiana's Day
is celebrated on January, 25. It is a holiday of students as well as all females
named Tatiana as St. Tatiana is considered to patronize students.
Day of Ivan Kupala
is celebrated on June, 7. On this day children have always poured water over
each other but nowadays also over passers-by. This is what most people are
surely outraged about. There are people who even take the day off in order not to
appear outside on this Day though it is believed that to be “watered” on this day
is a good luck. Recently it has become popular with adolescents to demolish
cars, wreck telephone booths, etc. While doing this they believe that they follow
old Russian traditions to cause rioting and disturbance at this night. We'll learn
whether they are right or not when we are reading the text about old traditions of
this holiday. In spite of the fact that some holidays are being renewed now, we’ve
lost many old traditions. So, I believe it would be interesting to learn about
Ancient Religions Holidays in Old Russia
WINTER HOLIDAYS
CHRISTMAS IN RUSSIA
January 6 was Christmas or the Eve of the Nativity of Christ according to
the Julian Calendar used by the eastern Orthodox Church. It was said on that
day “It's good to have kutya (ritual boiled rice) on Christmas Eve” Now we can try
the kutya only during pominki. Why do we see the same symbols on the Eve of
the Nativity and on the Day when man goes to Heaven. It’s not a coincidence.
Corn soaked in berry’s juice symbolizes eternal change of life and death.
Besides, the kutya was respected as the keeper of good health. On the evening
of January 6 the hostess of the house would put the grains of rice into a mortar,
take off the husks, and mentally wish her kith and kin good health. In the
meantime, the master would go to fetch water. The rice was then boiled, and
honey and butter were added to it. The kutya was kept in a hot oven for some
time, and had a sweet, slightly intoxicating aroma, for it contained both sunshine,
as it were, and the purity of natural water.
If the kutya was good, the day would also be good, and it was believed
that the coming year would be a happy one. If the kutya was without a crisp,
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browned skin, it was thought to be unsuccessful, and this meant that a bad year
was coming.
Supper on Christmas Eve was a solemn occasion. The hut was cleaned
thoroughly beforehand, and the table was covered with a clean cloth. The whole
family would gather at the table, and everyone would eat in solemn silence. The
master would go out to the inner porch and shout to the frost, “Hey, frost, come
and eat kutya with us. Walk about in winter, and lie under a log in summer!” The
purpose of the ritual was to propitiate the frost so that it would not freeze the
sprouts in the field and in the garden in springtime.
An oatmeal jelly was made and pancakes baked in the same evening. The
first pancake was taken to the sheep, and the housewife would break it on a
sickle so that the evil spirit did not take the sheep's wool away. The cattle were
given plenty of food that night.
Christmas Eve was the beginning of a time for fortune-telling. Girls would
find out from which side the dogs started barking. It was believed that from that
side you could expect the matchmakers to come.
On Christmas Eve girls would also gather in a bath-house.
Unlike the hut, the bath-house was not protected against the evil spirit by
any magic signs. There were only bunches of herbs hanging on the walls, while
the small window and the door remained unprotected. The evil spirit was
supposed to fly in at the very moment when it was called and tell them about the
future.
January 7 is Christmas Day by the Julian Calendar.
The sun was expected to appear on that day. In the morning of January 7
you could ask the person you cared for “Do you love me?” And the answer had to
be honest, it was forbidden to tell a lie on such a day. “On this day the earth will
hear you”, old people used to say.
On January 7 you could also unburden you heart, and get rid of sorrow
and anguish. For example, a girl, who had suffered a great deal because of her
unhappy love, would take the stone placed to press the lid down on pickled
cucumbers and put it into a burning stove to make it very hot. Then she would
put it on a scoop, run to an ice-hole on the frozen river and throw it into the cold
water. As soon as the stone started to hiss, scattering about its hot droplets and
crashing, the love that had burdened her heart would go away of its own accord,
On January 7 it was improper for either the mistress or the master to leave
home, to leave the house neglected. They had to warm themselves at their own
hearth, to bake their own bread, to celebrate the holiday in their own home and to
eat the Christmas kutya in a homely manner.
NEW YEAR IN OLD RUSSIA
New Year time. It was said in the old days that “at this time winter with its
snowstorms lets the evil spirits out from under the forest log. And these evil
spirits gather for their feasts”. So a good housewife would always remember that
she should not leave either an empty bowl or cup on the table overnight – an evil
spirit was sure to enter an empty vessel. You were not supposed to leave a knife
on the table overnight either. The first day of the year was used to forecast the
77
coming summer, the outlook for the harvest, and for one’s own future. A bit of
fortune-telling was done to guess what kind of year it was going to be. Water was
poured into a shallow bowl, which was then placed on the porch in the open air.
In the morning one of the family would go to have a look at it. If the water was
flat, it meant your life would be smooth. But if the ice had frozen in a concave
shape, it spelled a bad year, and you could see the face of approaching trouble
in it.
Another custom on New Year’s eve was to tie the feet of the people sitting
at the table. It was said about the table as follows: “It came to the house and
gathered all around itself”. The whole family would sit down at the table to the
New Year porridge. In the meantime children would crawl under the table to tie
together the feet of everyone sitting at it. This was to make sure that they would
get together again at this table the following year and that no misfortune could
part them.
SPRING HOLIDAYS
SHROVETIDE IN OLD RUSSIA
Shrovetide in old Russia was one of the most ancient festivals of the
pagan Slavs. The most important God in the pagan Slav pantheon was Yarilo,
the God of the Sun and Fertility. The Slavs believed that the change of seasons
was the struggle between Yarilo the Sun and the evil spirits of cold and darkness.
The God would die in the fight against the cold in winter but come back to life in
spring.
According to ancient beliefs, it was necessary to help Yarilo in his fight
against winter, and accordingly the rituals of calling in the spring were
observed. In fact, the whole week was filled with festive rituals, fun and
games.
The custom was to build a straw effigy of the Shrovetide Maid and put
a loose summer dress and a kerchief on it. The effigy was then raised on a
pole and carried around the village. On the last day of the festival the effigy
would be taken to the edge of the village where the peasants would burn it,
saying, "We are seeing off Shrovetide, waiting for the sun to come! O, spring,
come to us with your joy and good graces!"
The main element of Shrovetide week was pancake-eating.
Pancakes were baked in every home and in large quantities. They were
served with butter, sour cream, honey, jam, caviar, or salted fish. Meat was not
eaten during Shrovetide, the custom was to eat it in the weeks preceding the
festival.
Pancakes, round and hot, symbolised Yarilo, the god of the sun. The
Slavs believed that by eating pancakes they received the vital powers, light, and
warmth of the sun.
Every day of the week had its special name and rituals.
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The first day was called "Greetings". Kids would go from door to door,
wishing everybody all the best on the holiday and asking jokingly for pancakes.
Another custom was also to visit friends in other villages.
The second day was called "Games". Mummers with effigies would play
their games near houses, asking the hosts to come out of the house and invite
the Shrovetide Maid in.
Wednesday, the third day, was known as "Sweet Tooth".
Everyone coming out of their houses had to bring a dish of pancakes with
them and having met their neighbour would ask him to help himself.
The fourth day was called "Lavish Thursday". It was a day of lavish
feasts.
Friday was called "Mother-in-Law's Evenings". If the son-in-law was
invited, his mother-in-law would arrange a big feast for him. It was joked that a
son-in-law was the most desired guest if he lived separately, but became the
most hated enemy when living together with his mother-in-law.
Shrovetide Saturday was called "Daughter-in-Law's Parties". On that
day young daughters-in-law were supposed to invite their husbands' relatives to
treat them to pancakes.
The seventh day was called "Forgiveness Sunday". On that day
everybody both young and old would ask one another to forgive and forget
offenses and not to bear grudges. The standard phrase is, "Please forgive me for
all my sins: voluntary and involuntary". It was also customary to visit cemeteries
to pay respects to deceased relatives.
The ritual had a logic of its own. Shrovetide was celebrated before Lent
and people sought to cleanse themselves of everything sinful. "Forgiveness
Sunday" was followed by "Pure Monday", the first day of Lent in the Eastern
Orthodox Church.
Easter, Shrovetide and Pancake Day is widely celebrated in many
countries. This holiday can be called international.
EASTER IN OLD RUSSIA
Easter was celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring new moon.
It was usually in April. Resurrection is the revival of life, spiritual renovation, and
this belief has its incarnation in the feast of Easter, the day of the resurrection of
Our Lord. On meeting, people would exclaim on that day: “Christ has risen!".
At Easter the sun shines brightly. Its bright beams bring purification and
joy. In the morning it was required to consecrate the kulich and paskha in the
church. Kulich is a tasty Easter loaf flavoured with sweets and raisins. Paskha is
a ritual dish made from sour cream, sugar, eggs, raisins and butter. The kulich
was round in shape and the paskha – sguare. There were decorations on the
walls of the house, which symbolised the feast of Resurrection.
Having consecrated her kulich in the church, the mistress would hurry
home.
It was believed that grain would grow as fast in the field as the mistress
returned home. At Easter all the family members would wash their hands and
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face from a silver bowl into which the housewife would drop a consecrated hardboiled egg she had brought from the church.
The joyous Easter feast continued for a whole week. The bells would ring;
people would congratulate and kiss one another, go to each other’s houses and
exchange gifts including painted eggs.
Eggs would be painted on Friday of the last week of the Great Lent
preceding Easter. The eggs were put into a pot together with onion peel and
boiled. People believed that the onion peel protected against all types of illness
and the evil eye. The eggs were painted also using birch leaves, in the belief that
this made you stronger. If thyme were used, then the eggs would help against
nervousness. Should a child become scared at night, his grandmother would
place one such egg in his cot beside his head, and all his night fears would
disappear.
Eggs were exchanged so that only good would stay in people’s souls and
that all that was evil, like the egg shell, would disappear. Since time immemorial,
the egg was worshipped as a symbol of life and fertility. The peasants believed
that the egg could save you from an evil eye. And when you had a headache,
you had to pass the egg over your head in the same direction as the Sun moves
and it would take upon itself all pain and torment that was there.
The favourite pastime at Easter was egg rolling. Chutes would be made of
wood, then laid on a slope, and hard-boiled eggs would be rolled down the
chutes. Climbing up the slope one after another, people would roll an egg each
down the chute. If it struck another egg of several at the end of the chute and
smashed it while remaining intact itself, the one who rolled it took the smashed
eggs as his prize.
SUMMER HOLIDAYS
WHITSUNDAY (TRINITY SUNDAY)
The seventh week after Easter is of special significance in the Russian
folklore calendar. It was called the "seventh" or "mermaids" week as it fell on the
seventh Thursday after Easter and was marked as a big folk holiday. It was
followed by Whitsun always celebrated on the 50th day after Easter. So in the old
days it was also called Whitsun or green week.
This was a time when people said goodbye to spring and greeted the
summer with its green lands and its symbol, the birch. The cult of the birch at
Whitsunday is the cult of plants, the forces of the earth, being in full bloom at this
time and helping people to grow, to gain strength and health.
The custom was to cover the floors in houses with fresh grass and decorate
houses and streets with birch branches. Grass and flowers were also brought to
churches and icons were decorated with green branches.
The birch played the key role during Whitsun week. Many rituals, fortunetellings and songs are linked with it.
Girls would go to "curl a birch-tree", or plait its branches. They believed that by
tying together the branches of a birch-tree and decorated them with ribbons they
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would link their thoughts with the young men they liked, and dreamed of the
future.
On Whitsunday girls went to birch groves to make wreaths out of birch
twigs. After that they would go to the river and standing with their backs to the
water toss the wreaths from their heads into the river. It was a kind of fortune
telling ritual. The girls watched the wreaths to see how they would behave. If the
wreath sank, it meant the water was telling the girls that her dream would come
to nothing. But it a wreath reached the other bank it was a sign that the girl's love
would evoke a warm response in the heart of her beloved.
It was also believed that during Whitsun week mermaids liked to perch on
the branches of birches, swing on them and watch the girls' round dances with a
heavy heart. During these few days mermaids could enjoy the beauty of the
earth's grass, flowers and everything else, and perhaps even the love of a strong
young man. It was believed that with their laughter mermaids would entice young
men, trying to drag them into deep river pools.
Many stories, some of them real, some purely fictional, were told about
drowned girls and mermaids in the villages to help young women in their fortunetelling, and that's why young women would bring them things to eat and drink
from the festive table.
IVAN KUPALA
July 7 was St John”s Day according to the Julian calendar. This coincided
with the pagan festival of Ivan Kupala. It was one of the most – loved holidays of
the year. Many rituals, tricks, and special rules of behaviour were associated with
this holiday.
It was believed in ancient
times that the magic flower of a
fern blossomed on the night of Ivan
Kupala. It was called a fire flower.
Anyone who wanted to pick it on
the night was supposed to do so
with a clean conscience and pure
thoughts. The fern was guarded by
hordes of witches and evil spirits. It
was believed that whoever picked
the flower of a fern would have
power over the dark forces and be
able to see treasures hidden in the
ground, and understand the
languages of grass, animals, birds
and winds.
The most daring people, who
were desperately and hopelessly in
love, would go in search of a fern
flower on this night. They had to
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wear a wreath of nettle and carry a twig from a rowan. They were not supposed to
look back in response to various cries heard in the woods, nor show any fear.
Then the still of midnight came, they had to keep their eyes open for a ringshaped fire flower which might start in the lace of the wood thicket, then go
towards it.
While the flower gathered strength, for it blossomed for just a few minutes
of the night, they had to draw a circle around the fern bush with the rowan twig
which no evil spirit would dare to cross. Then they had to turn to the flower and
look steadily at it. They should not draw back from the heat of the fire flower, but
pick it up by the stem and wrap it up in a clean cloth. Then they had to stay inside
the circle till the cocks first crow and after that cross it without fear.
The flower would serve them faithfully, helping them to avoid trouble and
bringing happiness. That is what is said in old legends.
Ivan Kupala’s Day was also called a clean day. It was customary to bathe
in the morning and wash your face with dew. There was also a playful ritual of
pouring water over anyone you met on your way.
On the night of Ivan Kupala villagers would make purifying bonfires outside
their settlements, dance around them and jump over them. It was believed that
fire would cleanse your body and soul of every possible filth.
The holiday was also called Ivan the Herbalist’s Day. The belief was that
herbs picked at night or bearing morning dew possessed special magic powers.
They were dried and carefully preserved because they were believed to be more
healing than those gathered in other seasons. On this day girls would make
wreaths of magic grass and let them float down the river, watching their progress.
A sunken wreath spelled unhappiness in love.
Although it was a holiday, the farmer”s concern about the harvest never
abated, and so he would make a note of the weather on this day:
Plenty of dew on St John”s Day means a good harvest of cucumbers.
A starlit sky on St John’s night is a sign of many mushrooms in autumn.
A thunder-storm on St John”s Day signifies that nuts in the woods would
be scarce and most would be without kernels.
In Britain they also used to have a belief that fern-seeds possess a magical
power: on the night the tiny fern-seed (which grows on the back of the leaf) is
supposed to be ripe, good fortune will follow the lover who can catch some of the
seeds as they fall by holding under it a bag or a white napkin – on no account
must it be touched by the hands. This magic seed, which must be gathered alone
at midnight, will ensure success in love and bring wealth.
II. Traditions concerning private people's life
Wedding, Birth, Funeral
There is no custom of being engaged in Russia. When young people make
a decision to get married they go to a Palace of Wedding where they fill in an
application form. They are given the so-called probation period and if they don't
change their minds they are registered 2 months later. After being registered
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young people usually go to a Tomb of Unknown Soldier to pay tribute to those
who were killed for us to be free.
The bride has one bridesmaid who is usually the best friend and the
groom’s best friend is the best man. They are called svideteli - "witnesses" - the
same as "witness in a court". Their duties are to prepare some funny tasks for a
bride and groom, make different wallpapers and posters as well as propose
toasts, the most popular one being “Gorko” (bitter). One of the guests might say
that some dish is bitter and bride and groom should give each other a kiss after
these words. The longer they kiss (guests count 1, 2, 3, 4) the stronger the
marriage is supposed to be. When bride and groom arrive at a place of
celebration they are awaited with a tray, on which karavai (a loaf of bread)
stands. They should bite off a karavai from different sides. Who manages to bite
a bigger piece off is supposed to be a leader in the family. Unlike Western
wedding bride and groom don't leave quests for a honey moon trip. It may be
one of the manifestations of the Togetherness/Apartness Rule. The wedding
usually lasts 2 days.
Alternatively, you can go now through a religious ceremony the attitude to
which in the society is considered to be more serious.
Birth
Parents usually name their baby either in honour of grandparents or a
Saint on whose Day a baby was born. For example, if you were born on
September, 30 there is a great chance to be named Lyubov, Vera or Nadezhda Love, Faith and Hope. The Russians celebrate their Name-day as well as their
birthday. On your Name-day you get little presents such as chocolates or a
bunch of flowers and you may have a party. The proper greeting is 'S imeninoi'
(Happy Name-day!) I don't think that most people are christened in the first
months of their life. . But if they are they get a godfather and a godmother whose
true role is to watch over the spiritual welfare of their godchildren as well as show
interest in them throughout their childhood.
Funeral
When people die and are awaiting burial, their corpse lies in an open coffin
either at home or at place of work (which is more honourable) to enable friends
and colleaques to take their solemn leave before it is removed for the burial
service. After burial service people go to pominki - a ritual meal which takes
place 3 times: on the Day of funeral as well as on the9th and 40th day after
death. The ritual dishes are soup or bortsch for a first course, the kutya - a dish
made from rice, raisins and honey, which symbolizes a circle of life and compote
with dried fruit and berries which also symbolize the change of life and death
(maybe because they were given by Gods as a present to Christ baby). It is
believed that for 9 days the soul of a dead person is still with us and finds it very
pleasant to hear warm words about it. On the 40th day the soul is considered to
appear before the God in the court and the God will decide whether it will pass
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into paradise or hell, and people's speeches about a deceased person during
pominki help it to pass easier into paradise.
Traditions concerning people's life
Leisure pursuits
It’s impossible to tell about all the traditions, so we decided to restict ourselves
only to the two which first came to our mind.
Russian Banya
1. I wonder what the difference between Russian banya and sauna is?
Russian banya is a traditional place for pleasant and healthful leisure time.
Russian banya has a long history. It existed already in the 12th century. What is
the difference between sauna and banya? Unlike sauna where the heat is dry,
people take a steam bath in Russian banya. That's why banya's major
components are: heat stove
with a curbstone ("kamenka"),
a high bench called "polok"
where people take a steam
bath, benches at the walls
where they have a wash, big
buckets with a cold and hot
water, oak or birch bunches.
A combination of dry
sauna, steam bath, massage
and plunges into ice-cold
water, the banya is a weekly
event that is a much part of
Russian life as say, pubs in
England.
Russians
say
there's a level of cleanliness
that can only be attained
through the … action of a
ritual Russian banya. The
word ‘banya’ has come to
mean far more than its
dictionary definition, which is bathhouse.
Russian banya has always been not only a hygiene procedure but a ritual
making the flesh clean and raising a spirit high at the same time. There was a
custom established to have parties, business meetings or even love dates in
banya. Though traditional Russian banya is a small wooden house, there are
banyas that look like palaces (the famous Sandunovski banya in Moscow).
Luxurious rooms, swimming pools, jakuzzis, circular bath and massageur's
service are at client's disposal. And now some more details about the procedure
itself.
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After stripping to your birthday suit, there's a 'warm up' in the dry sauna
where the temperature is in the low 100s Celsius (lower 200s Fahrenheit), and
then you're ready for the parilka - the steam room.
The parilka will have a furnace that's heating rocks. Onto these rocks,
bathers throw water, usually mixed with eucalyptus oil, with a long-handled ladle.
When the room's got a good lead of steam going, the bathers grab bundles of
dried birch leaves (veniki) which they previously soaked in hot water and ... well...
beat each other with them. The beating (which feels a lot better than it sounds) is
said to rid your body of toxins. This is a northern addition to the bathing tradition,
one purportedly started in Novgorod; Russians in ancient Kyivan Rus would
make jokes about their northern, masochistic brethren beating each other with
branches - before trying it themselves ... and liking it.
After the flagellation, the air gets so unbearably hot that everyone runs out
coughing. And as if the relatively cold air outside the parilka isn't enough of a
shock to one's system, the next step is a plunge into the icy cold waters of the
basseyn (pool), whose health benefits have yet to be worked out (they're
probably incredibly important).
After the plunge, it's out to the changing room, where the events of the
world are discussed over the tea or some stronger drinks. Then the process
begins again; sessions can go on for two or three hours.
Baths are segregated by sex, and depending on the size of the place,
there are either separate sections for men and women or the baths admit
different sexes on different days. One more thing: alcohol affects you faster in a
banya, so if you do partake, be careful and do it slowly. It's considered bad form
to lose your lunch in a steam room!
In doctor's opinion the washing in Russian banya increases metabolism,
facilitates the work of kidneys, improves circulation of blood (though it is not
desirable to be in a steam-bath more than half an hour).
Vodka
This beverage is associated with Russia the same as cognac with France,
whisky with Scotland and port with Portugal. According to the latest historical
research, production of vodka began in Moscow probably in one of the cloisters
in the middle of the 15th century. However the roots of drinking habits in Russia
are much deeper. The Russian chronicles say that, when at the end of the 10th
century Grand Prince Vladimir the Red Sun was choosing a religion for his
country, he rejected Islam because it banned alcoholic beverages.
‘Drinking is the joy of Russians. "We cannot live without that pleasure", he
stated as early as A.D. 988. Foreigners believe that the Russians drink morning,
noon and night. Many observers think that Gorbachev’s single greatest mistake,
leading to his unpopularity among the Russian people and his eventual downfall,
was caused by his unsuccessful campaign against the wholesale consumption of
alcohol. What was, in your opinion, the real reason for Gorbachev’s downfall?
According to the decision of International Arbitration Court adopted in
1982, it was the USSR that had the priority of producing vodka. An advertising
85
slogan had been introduced ' Only vodka from Russia is a genuine Russian
vodka!'. But what is genuine vodka? The secret of the unique taste of a product
lies in a perfect rectification. A great contribution to the research of processes
connected with the production of vodka was made by the world-famous Russian
chemist D.I.Mendeleyev. In 1865 (4 years before he published his Periodic
Table) the outstanding scientist defended a thesis under the title 'About alcohol
and water combined' (he had been involved in doing research on this topic for 10
years). It was Mendeleyev who proved that optimal percentage of alcohol in
water should be 40 degrees, this composition having been patented in 1894 as a
Russian national vodka called '
Moskovskaya special".
Russian vodka comes in
flavours such as pepper or lemon as
well as straight. We’d like to give you
some practical pieces of advice for
those who don't know how to drink
vodka.
Drink with measure. Chekhov
once said: Vodka is white but it
reddens a nose and blackens
reputation. According to some
scientists 50gr a day can't do you
any harm, on the contrary it
stimulates purifying processes, more
than 150gr a day is harmful. Since
the 16th century a goblet of 143,5gr
has been considered to be a norm.
Nowadays a Russian standard is 0,5
l for three people.
You should eat when you
drink. Traditional Russian snacks are
mushrooms and cucumbers, pickled
tomatoes, sour cabbage as well as
herring with oil and onion.
Never mix. Vodka and sweet wines mixed can lead to terrible hangover.
The following cocktails are very popular, also very dangerous.
a) vodka with tomato juice (Bloody Mary)
b) vodka with champagne (White Bear)
c) vodka with beer (Yorsh)
Don't buy cheap vodka. In a restaurant require that a waiter should open a
bottle in front of your eyes.
As one British book says the Russians seal business deals with a
colossal binge and only feel really comfortable with a man if they have got
extremely drunk together. I believe that people now drink less than they used to.
In my opinion, it’s due to the fact that the young are more pragmatic and
86
reasonable nowadays. They tend to lead a healthy life and are more concerned
about career though to be perfectly honest there is a severe alcoholism problem
in the villages. Nevertheless, ‘the years of democracy’ have greatly influenced
the nation’s mentality. For better or for worse? That is the question.
Russians have always prized the quality of ‘soul’ (dusha) above all others.
People with masses of dusha tend to drink too much, cry, fall in love and suffer, that’s how foreigners understand it. In fact, the concept of soul is of paramount
importance in this country which has also found its reflection in the language. In
Russia where the national system of values places emphasis on spirituality, ‘soul’
is a key term prevailing over ‘mind’ whereas the English-speaking world, on the
contrary, has taken its Majesty Sensibility as a principle of its existence and that’s
why in English, ‘body’ is opposed to ‘mind’ but not ‘soul’ as it is in the Russian
language (compare collocations: ‘dusha’ (on the first place) and ‘telo’ in Russian
and ‘body and mind’ in English). The person whose behavior is in opposition to
social norms adopted in a society is called ‘dushevnobolnoy’ in Russian (a
person with sick soul) while in English we consider this person to be mentally-ill
(with sick mind). ‘Dushevny pokoi’ is translated into English as ‘peace of mind’.
Definitely all these words form people's perception of life though they don’t notice
it.
It’s noteworthy that when mind and heart are at odds with each
other, Russians are more likely to prefer heart unlike other nations. Kindheartedness and conscience are the main features of Russian people. In every
day life, the Russian people look for harmony at home, at a festive table, in
friendship and in society. Never are they satisfied with strict, reserved, businesslike communication. All Russian culture is based on ‘feeling and heart’ as well as
contemplation, freedom of conscience and freedom of prayer which set the form
of a powerful Russian temperament
The great Russian philosopher N.I.Berdyaev explained ‘the mystery of
Russian soul’ with its irrationality which is, in its turn, due to its proximity to
Nature. ‘Russian people are more inclined to communication than people of
western civilization,’ he said. Peculiarity of Russia also results from its
geographic position. We are too Oriental for Europeans and too European for
Asian people. By the way, who, do you think, are we closer to? It’s without doubt
that all peoples seem mysterious from the others’ point of view because they are
strange and that’s why difficult to understand. But we should try to get rid of
Xenophobia – an irrational fear of foreigners. It’s possible to develop emphatic
attitude towards a strange culture. If we learn historical reasons for this or that
phenomenon, we’ll have a chance to understand foreigners’ customs and habits
as well as their psychology. In spite of all cultural differences, people as human
beings have much in common. This gives us hope for a peaceful and
harmonious life in the century of globalization on the condition we shouldn’t
forget our own Culture and language as its main constituent.
Modern Holidays in Russia
To see the New Year in
To make a wish
To be the in-thing
встречать Новый Год
загадывать желание
быть модным
87
A renewed holiday
Orthodox Christmas
To let off fireworks
To do everything about the house
To hoover
To do the washing up
To go shopping
Odd number
Joyful occasion
Even number
Sad occasion
To be blessed in a church
An Orthodox cross
Fertility
Vegetable dyes
To congratulate on
возобновленный праздник
Православное Рождество
запускать фейерверк
делать всё по дому
пылесосить
мыть посуду
ходить по магазинам
нечетное число
радостное событие
нечетное число
печальное событие
быть освященным в церкви
православный крест
плодородие
растительные красители
поздравлять с
Ancient Holidays in Old Russia
Winter holidays
Christmas
Nativity
Mortar
Husks
Kith and kin
Solemn occasion
Hut
To propitate
Sprouts
Oatmeal jelly
A sickle
A matchmaker
To care for
To unburden heart
To get rid of
Of its own accord
Рождение Христа
ступка
шелуха
знакомые и родня
торжественное событие
хижина
умилостивить
побеги
овсяный кисель
серп
сват
нравиться
облегчить сердце
избавиться от
само по себе
New Jear
To let the evil spirits
To forecast
The outlook for the harvest
Fortune-telling
A bowl
A porch
Smooth
A concave shape
To spell a bad year
выпускать злых духов
предсказывать
виды на урожай
предсказание будущего
миска
крыльцо
ровный
вогнутая форма
предсказывать плохой год
88
To crawl under the table
забраться под стол
Spring holidays
Straw effigy
Kerchief
To raise on the pole
To see off Srovetide
To precede
A mummer
Lavish
Voluntary
Involuntary
To cleanse oneself of
Resurrection
Spiritual renovation
Incarnation
To consecrate in the church
To protect against
Evil eye
A cot
Since time immemorial
To worship
To take upon oneself
Torment
Chute
A slope
To smash
To remain intact
соломенное чучело
платок
надевать на шест
провожать праздник
предшествовать
мим
щедрый
вольный
невольный
очиститься от
воскресение
духовное возрождение
воплощение
освятить в церкви
защищать
сглаз
детская кровать
с незапятных времен
благословлять
брать на себя
мучение
крутой скат
склон
разбивать
оставаться неповрежденным
Summer holidays
Trinity Sunday
A mermaid
To mark
To be in a full bloom
To play the key role
To be linked,( connected ) with
To curl
To plait
A birch grove
to perch
to entice
A festive table
Троица
русалка
ознаменовать
цвести
играть ключевую роль
быть связанным с
завивать
плести
берёзовая роща
сидеть наверху
завлекать
праздничный стол
Ivan Kupala's Day
To coincide
A fern
совпадать
папоротник
89
Dark forces
Twig
Rowan
To look back
In response to
Wood thicket
Faithful
Dew
Bonfire
Filth
To abate
A seed
тёмные силы
прутик
рябина
оглядываться
в ответ на
лесная чаща
верный
роса
костёр
грязь
уменьшать, ослаблять
семя, зерно
Traditions concerning people's private life
Wedding
свадьба; венчание, бракосочетание
To be engaged
быть помолвленным
To make a decision
принимать решение
A Palace of Wedding
Дворец Бракосочетаний
To fill in an application form
заполнять заявление
A probation period
испытательный срок
A bridesmaid
подружка невесты
The best man
шафер
Birth
To name in honour
A proper greeting
A name-day
To christen
To watch over the spiritual welfare
To show interest in
называть в честь
соответствующее приветствие
именины
крестить
следить за духовным
благополучием
проявлять интерес к
Funeral
A corpse
A coffin
To take a solemn leave
Burial service
A funeral
A ritual dish
Rice
Raisins
Honey
Berry
Circle of life
Paradise
Hell
труп, тело
гроб
попрощаться
похоронные услуги
похороны
ритуальное блюдо
рис
изюм
мёд
ягода
круг жизни
рай
ад
90
To pass into paradise
Leisure pursuits
Banya
Steam bath
To have a wash
Hygiene procedure
A love date
To be at one's disposal
Metabolism
To facilitate
To strip to birthday suit
A long-handled ladle
To rid a body of
Brethren
Flagellation
A plunge into icy water
To partake
To lose one's lunch
Vodka
A binge
A beverage
Genuine vodka
To be involved into research
A rectification
Flavour
Straight vodka
To drink with measure
To do harm
A goblet
Hangover
To fall in love
Its Majesty Sensibility
To take as a principle
Perception
In one’s turn
Proximity
To be inclined to
To result from
It’s without doubt
To be at odds with
contemplation
prayer
попасть в рай
парная
мыться
гигиеническая процедура
любовное свидание
предоставлять в распоряжение
обмен веществ
облегчать
раздеться до костюма Адама и Евы
ковшик с длинной ручкой
избавить тело от
собратья
истязание
прыжок в ледяную воду
выпить, съесть ч-л
буквально – потерять ланч
идиома: вытошнить
большое
количество
выпитого,
съеденного
напиток
настоящая водка
проводить исследование
ректификация, очистка
привкус
водка без вкусовых добавок
пить, зная меру
приносить вред
бокал
похмелье
влюбиться
Его Величество Здравый Смысл
положить в основу
восприятие
в свою очередь
близость
быть склонным к
являться результатом ч-л
несомненно
находиться не владу
созерцание
молитва
91
to be due to
to set the form
быть обусловленным ч-л
задать тон
FOOD AND DRINK
Attitudes to Food
FWhat do foreigners think about our food?
Vodka, sputnik, … These are common associations with Russia.
Unfortunately, they not only have become a part of the English vocabulary, but
also have brought very poor, even wrong images about it. Not having the
slightest idea of Russia, many foreigners believe that its people are able only to
produce weapons, launch rockets and drink vodka till getting legless…
Nevertheless, most visitors to Russia despite their widely varying (often
extremely low, if any) opinions about all sorts of aspects of the country (politics,
economics, lifestyle, leisure, etc.) seem to agree that the food is delicious. Why?
One reason could simply be that Russian cuisine is so varied that it can cater to
people with different tastes. However, Russian eating habits are different from
everybody else’s and some dishes, for example, pelmeni, can make some
people sick. Another explanation may be that most visitors to Russia do get the
opportunity to sample home cooking. The Russians have a well-known reputation
of being hospitable. “Russian food is of extremely good quality, and it really
tastes of something – unlike American food, for instance, which all tastes the
same”, says a famous English television cook who has visited our country.
Besides, most restaurants, cafès and even canteens are definitely the places
where you can get to know and love Russian cuisine.
F What do the Russians think about their food?
Cooking food has always been of major importance in Russia and is often
treated as science.
& One of the most important state affairs under Ekaterina the
Second became the programme of preparing cookery books
that had never before been published in Russia. One of the
first publications in this non-traditional sphere was ‘Cookery
notes’ (‘Povarennye zapiski’) by Sergey Drukovetz,
published in 1768.
It is no exaggeration to say that many famous people were keen cooks.
Thus, Natalya Nikolaevna Pushkina used to write recipes of different dishes into
92
her notebook. The outstanding count S. G. Stroganov himself created new
dishes, one of which got his name ‘beef-Stroganoff’. Even men of science
devoted their works to cooking. For example, the greatest Russian scientist D. I.
Mendeleyev was the author of many articles on chemistry and technics, as well
as notes like “Vareniki”, “Jam”, “Compote”, etc. In a business-like manner he
gave detailed advice about how to make jam, what berries should be selected for
that, how to cook fruit in sugar.
& The name of Elena Molohovetz was legendary in the history
of Russian cookery. She contributed to its development by
having written a remarkable guidebook ‘A present to young
hostesses, or A means of cutting household expenses’. The
author kept on improving the main book of her life.
Therefore it used to be reprinted several times.
Unfortunately, after the death of Elena Molohovetz (1918),
this name was forgotten because another era – the era of
plain and fast food – began. Soon the place in printing was
occupied by the book ‘How to cook on a cooker and a
primus’ by K.Y. Dezrina which was repeatedly edited.
In the Russia of today, many ordinary people, as well as celebrities, are
keen on cooking. The latter can often be seen on TV screens (for example, in the
Saturday programme called ‘Smak’) sharing their recipes with others.
It’s common knowledge that ‘the way to the man’s heart lies through his
stomach’. Russian women, sooner or later, are sure to find this way. But how do
they make excellent cooks? Surely, any woman if asked this question would
remember her first recipes written in an illegible* childish handwriting, her first
dishes (usually fried eggs), her first school lessons of housekeeping where
cooking is the most important part, her mother’s advice on cookery given to her
before getting married…. This preparation for the future married life contributes
much to the girl’s ability to cook, which has always been highly appreciated in
Russia. Those, who cannot prepare meals and don’t want to, risk getting into
trouble with their husbands. Not without reason, there are so many funny stories
connected with food and drink! Consider, for example, the following English
anecdote.
Husband: No dinner ready! I’m going to a restaurant.
Wife: Could you wait a few minutes?
Husband: Will it be ready then?
Wife: No, it won’t. But I’ll be ready myself to go with you.
What would a Russian couple do under the circumstances? They are most
unlikely to go to some restaurant. At best the husband will help his wife, at worst
he will swear and go to his mother…Alas, it is Russian reality – all duties about
the house are shared, often not in the woman’s favour. The man is considered
the bread-winner and the woman is the homemaker. The bulk* of the housework
is preparing meals, of course. As typical Russian cooking involves a lot of
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peeling, chopping, boiling and frying, women have to spend most of their free
time in the kitchen. Moreover, as food should, according to the Russian people,
be eaten while hot and fresh, meals are difficult to arrange while working all the
time. But the picture is not entirely negative. Enterprising hostesses stuff their
fridges with made beforehand pelmeni, cutlets, meat pies, bought sausages,
convenience foods, etc. which are easy to cook or warm up and are always to
their household’s taste.
Weekends and especially holidays are normally centered around food and
are informally called ‘holidays of the stomach’. Meals tend to be eaten slowly
combining the pure enjoyment of eating and a pleasant conversation at table. It’s
the time when each hostess reveals her cooking talents trying partially to
compensate for her non-attention to her household on other days.
Russian women, it should be noted, are different from others in their talent
to produce a delicious meal from simple ingredients and even with a practically
empty fridge: each hostess has several unfailing recipes (mostly using potatoes)
at hand. When guests drop in even a box of chocolates or a packet of biscuits
will do. Another thing that differs the Russians from foreigners is their love for
creating new, often exotic, dishes: they never stop experimenting with new
ingredients when cooking even traditional Russian dishes. This can simply be
explained by desperate living conditions rather than the hostess’s eagerness for
success.
The country’s history shows that the Russian people have been mostly
rural*, having much contact with ‘the land’. Perhaps this is why the range of
plants and animals, which they eat, is so wide. To most foreigners, the idea of
going out to pick wild plants for the table is exotic. Growing your own vegetables
in the garden may seem ridiculous. Meanwhile, in Russia picking up berries and
mushrooms, digging in the garden are favourite pastimes, as well as another way
to enrich and vary everyday meals. It is perhaps significant that each hostess
considers it her duty and a matter of pride to preserve fruit and vegetables, which
are going to be eaten all the year round.
The attitude to alcohol in Russia is ambivalent*. On the one hand, it has
been accepted and welcomed as an integral part of Russian culture since time
immemorial.
& They say Vladimir of Kiev, the father of the Russian state,
rejected abstinent* Islam on his people’s behalf* in the 10th
century admitting their addiction* to alcohol.
On the other hand, more and more people are realizing that drinking is
something potentially dangerous and should therefore be restricted. Many people
still remember an attempt of the government to ban alcohol and its
consequences. During the perestroyka time it passed the so-called ‘dry law’
aimed at discouraging* people from this bad habit. The result turned out to be the
opposite one: the production of underground spirits became multimillion business
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and the number of hard drinkers increased drastically* in all parts of the formerUSSR. One reason could simply be that for the mysterious Russian soul what is
forbidden is most wanted. Another explanation must be that in this way the
people drink their troubles away.
It’s been estimated that the average Russian drinks more than 12L of pure
alcohol a year – equivalent to over a bottle of vodka a week. It is regular drinkers
(many in number) who have contributed a lot to this data. Nevertheless, there are
still many people who drink in moderation* and only socially, especially on
holidays. Strong drinks are not as much a part of home life as they are in some
European countries (except Great Britain) and, as a rule, are confined* to
restaurants. Some cafès are not allowed to serve even beer. Moreover, drinking
and driving is still considered the most serious break of traffic rules and is strictly
punished.
When abroad, you may be asked the most bewildering questions
concerning the best types of vodka, our drinking habits, etc. The Russians have
become notorious* for their addiction to alcohol. Although it will be difficult to
persuade them in the contrary, it’s worth trying some witty repartee* like: ‘If you
asked me about the pies (chocolates, teas, etc) that I like best of all, I’d ….’
The Russians are also open to the cuisine of other countries. The
country’s supermarket shelves are full of the spices and sauces needed for
cooking dishes from all over the world. By now, however, homemade products
are undoubtedly the most wanted (the advertising campaigns aimed at
boycotting, for example, ‘Bush’s legs’ have helped in this respect).
cater for - угождать
dignitary - вельможа
illegible - неразборчивый
bulk – большая часть
rural - сельский
ambivalent - противоречивый
on smb’s behalf – от имени кого –л.
addiction (to) – пристрастие (к)
abstinent - трезвый, непьющий
discourage – отбивать охоту
drastically – решительно, круто
in moderation - умеренно
be confined (to) – ограниченный ч.-либо
notorious – пользующий дурной славой
repartee – остроумный ответ
Russian Cuisine
F What do Russian people eat and drink?
Russian cuisine is rich, varied and, contrary to rumours*, its food is
delicious.
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In Russia there is a large variety of milk products: tvorog, thick sour cream
– smetana, cheese, syrki and many fermented milk drinks, such as kefir,
ryazhenka, prostokvasha, varenets, pahta, snezhok and yogurt, which can take
bio- or flavouring dobavki.
A few words about buckwheat or rice ‘kasha’, which may be eaten with
meat, like potatoes as well as a cereal with butter or milk.
The number of salads served in Russia is amazingly great. They vary from
simple salads made with basic ingredients like fresh tomatoes or cucumbers to
mixed ones consisting of lots of items like fresh, boiled or pickled vegetables,
mushrooms, cold meat, seafood, tinned foods, eggs, greens, etc. Here belong
such traditional salads as ‘Vinegret’, ‘Winter Salad’, ‘Herring under a coat’ and
some new exotic salads with seemingly unmixable products, for example, tvorog
and fresh cucumbers, sausage and bananas, sauerkraut and cranberries and the
like. Russian salads differ not only in their ingredients, but also in the way they
are served. Many-layered salads in crystal bowls, salad-cocktails in wineglasses
or even mixed salads carefully laid on deep dishes of different shapes and sizes
or simply on pieces of bread and beautifully decorated are sure to make your
mouth water.
Cold meats are very popular. One can taste different pвtйs, smoked
chicken, jellied tongue, holodets, buzhenina, ham, kolbasa, which can go down
pretty well with bread, tomato and raw onion.
How about soups? Russian lunch can’t do without them. Our cuisine has
dozens of varieties, often served with a spoonful of sour cream – shchi, borscht,
solyanka, harcho, rassolnik, fish soup, chicken noodle soup, pea soup, milk
soup, and soups in season – okroshka, svekolnik, sorrel shchi, etc.
& The most famous soup is undoubtedly borscht but it is isn’t
Russian. Moreover, many Slavic peoples wrongly consider
borscht to be their national dish. Where does it come from
then? Actually, borscht came to the south of Russia and
Siberia from the Ukraine where it was cooked in XIV-XV c.
already. Borscht is made from any clear soup, meat or
lenten, and can include up to 20 different ingredients! The
only constant component is beetroot.
& “Although there are Greek olives and Viennese sausages in
it, solyanka is a purely Russian dish” (I. Selvinsky)
& Being one of the tastiest Russian dishes, solyanka was first
mentioned in the XVII c. It appeared to counterbalance*
everyday shchi and was mainly meant for lenten days
numbered 192 –216 a year (!). That is why there were only
fish and mushroom solyanki at that time. The best solyanka
was cooked the next day after receiving a visit. Apart from
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slightly fried onion and salted cucumbers, the people put
into strong clear soup the remnants* of the feast*, i.e. boiled
beef, buzhenina, smoked foods, pieces of kolbasa and
sausages, poultry. The mixture was seasoned with tomato,
lemon and sour cream. Nowadays solyanka is associated
with a ‘mixed meat’ dish.
The Russians usually have fish or meat dishes to follow. For the main
course you can take your choice*: world-known Siberian pelmeni, manty,
golubtsy, stuffed pepper, beef-Stroganoff, roast beef, entrecфte, chicken Tabaka,
chicken Kiev, cutlets, chops, tefteli, bitochki, zrazy, stewed meat, goulash, plov,
shashlyk, etc.
& Despite the fact that pelmeni are truly believed a national
Russian dish, they, however, are traditional in China as well.
& There are two types of Russian pelmeni: Siberian and Ural.
They differ only in size – Ural pelmeni are much larger.
The most common side dishes are: mashed potatoes, stewed vegetables,
rice, noodle, all types of pasta – macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli of various
shapes and sizes.
& According to the country’s history, homemade noodle has
long since* been cooked. As to macaroni, they appeared in
Russia in the comparatively recent past – a little more than
200 years ago. This great event was connected with Peter
the First’s name. It is known that he used to hire
shipbuilders abroad. Among them there was an Italian,
named Fernando. Being a keen lover of macaroni, the
shipbuilder revealed the secret of their cooking to some
Russian enterpriser. The latter seized the opportunity of
making a profit from the sale of homemade macaroni, which
cost five-six times as much as the best flour. Soon, in 1797
in Odessa the first macaroni factory was officially registered.
From fish dishes you can recommend your guest, black or red caviar
spread on buttered toast or bliny, salmon, hot and cold smoked sturgeon, pikeperch in aspic or stuffed pike, salted, marinated fish or fried in batter, stewed in
beer, … It is worth mentioning that the Russians often wash down some sorts of
fish with beer and caviar is a good appetiser to vodka.
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Bread is an accompaniment to every meal and is normally on the table. It is often
eaten with butter and almost anything else for a snack, for example, as a
sandwich. Best is Russian ‘black’ bread, a vitamin-rich sour rye.
Meanwhile bread is poetically referred to as ‘the staff of life’, potato is truly
considered ‘the second bread’ and isn’t filed under ‘vegetable’ in the Russian
mind. The number of dishes that take potato as the basic item can amount to
115!
& The first bad of potatoes was brought under Peter the First
and immediately caused tension towards this product. The
hidden reason of that was the form of the potato. It was
believed to be born with a head and eyes like man; eating a
potato meant eating man’s soul. Some people saw in them
‘devil’s apples’ having seduced* men’s fore-parents – Adam
and Eva.
Bear in mind that despite the people’s being great lovers of meat, Russian
cuisine is considered to be vegetable, due partly to such high popularity of
potato. Another reason is that vegetables are used to cook both cold and hot
dishes, and even sweet dishes: ersatz caviar, salads, sauce, soup, garnish, as
well as jam, cakes, candied vegetables (zukaty)… However, you can hardly find
a vegetarian restaurant in Russia, except some private ones in large cities. The
only items on the menu, which can cater for vegetarians are zakuski because
they include a lot of meatless things like eggs, salted fish and mushrooms.
Before the end of the XVII c. the only vegetables known in Russia
were cabbage, garlic, onion, cucumbers, black radish and turnip.
The latter partially replaced potato, which hadn’t been brought to
Russia yet.
It is common in most households for a family meal to finish with a
prepared sweet dish. This is called either ‘sweet’ or ‘dessert’. There is a great
variety of well-known dishes for this purpose, many of which are served hot.
Having a very sweet tooth, Russian hostesses use a lot of flour for making pastry
dishes, both savoury* and sweet, normally called ‘pies’ or ‘tarts’, and for making
cakes. Among these pastry dishes which were baked in good old times and do
remain popular nowadays you can name: kulebyaka, rasstegai, vatrushki,
krendeli, boubliki, baranki, sooshki, honey-cakes, bliny, Russian Easter cakes
and many others.
The Russians are also great consumers* of sugar and love sweets and
chocolate. From one small Scottish firm alone, for example, they import four
million chocolate bars a month. However, it is popularly believed that homemade
chocolate, especially ‘Russian Classical’ is of higher quality.
Both children and adults love ice cream, bought anywhere you see the
label Мороженое. There is a lot of imported ice cream now, but the Russian
variety is good too. Some of the best are the simple pre-filled cones* sold by
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street vendors*. Sadly, in Moscow you can no longer get the traditional variety –
only Nestlè-made copies that cost more but aren’t as creamy.
& The history of Russian cookery is unthinkable without the
so-called ‘Russian oven’: you can still see it nearly in each
village. According to some research done by Russian
scientists the Russian oven in its traditional construction has
existed for about 4000 years! It has no match in universality
as it serves many purposes at the same time: it warms the
house and dries the linen, it is slept on and washed in, it
bakes bread, boils, fries and stews. That is why Russian
cuisine has plenty of baked, steamed and stewed dishes.
Tea has always been considered a traditional Russian hot drink.
& Russia first got acquainted with tea in 1640 when the
members of the Russian embassy brought 200 tea leaf-buds
among other presents of the Mongolian Horde. Its first bush
was planted in Nikitsky Botanichesky Garden in the Crimea.
The beverage was praised for its remedial characteristics (to
freshen and clean blood), as well as the ability to prevent
from dosing during church services. By the XVIII c. tea had
become a traditional Russian drink once and for all.
& Spreading of tea throughout the country favoured the
invention of the samovar, an urn with an inner tube filled
with hot charcoal. The pot is kept warm on top of the
samovar. Modern samovars have electric elements, like a
kettle, instead of the charcoal tube.
& The phrase ‘Come to tea!’ in the Russian mind originally
denoted an invitation to come without any formalities, just to
sit by the samovar, drink tea with what the host had in his
sideboard at that moment. Later another purely Russian
word-expression came into being – ‘gonyat chayi’ hardly has
any English equivalent, it means ‘to have tea many times a
day’.
& The first tea-shop was opened on August 28, in 1882 in St
Petersburg.
The people have tea with cold milk (the so-called ‘English tea’) or lemon
(‘Russian tea’), honey or sugar. Putting jam, instead of sugar, in tea is quite
common. You may add dried herbs, flowers, berries and leaves of mint, black
currants or raspberry, etc. to tea and get tea balsam. Russian tea usually comes
with a little side-dish varenye, which is eaten with a teaspoon while sipping tea.
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The Russians adore tea and claim that it tastes best if it has not crossed water
until the boiling hits it – i.e. it has come overland from the Caucasus, the Crimea,
India or China. Fewer people have coffee, often - instant coffee and cocoa.
Various pasties and chocolates are often served to these drinks.
As well as large amounts of hot drinks, Russian people – especially
children – drink compote, kissel or mors. The traditional Russian drink in season
– kvas – has the reputation of being very good for quenching* the thirst. It is sold
in the street for a few roubles a dose from big, wheeled tanks with Квас printed
on the side. Juice, mineral and soda water (Pepsi, Coke and their Russian
relatives) are widely available. The Russians also expect to be able to drink
water straight from the tap, although it is becoming dangerous in some regions of
the country because of their ecological problems.
Vodka is still the most popular alcoholic drink. It is distilled from wheat, rye
or occasionally potatoes. The word comes from ‘voda’ (water), and means
something like ‘a wee drop’. Its flavour (if any) comes from what’s added after
distillation. Three common ‘plain’ vodkas are Pshenichnaya, Stolichnaya, which
is in fact slightly sweetened with sugar, and Moskovskaya, which has a touch of
sodium bicarbonate. Tastier, more colourful and rarer are Kremlevskaya, Zolotoe
Koltso (Golden Ring), Pertsovka (pepper vodka), Starka (with apple and pear
leaves), Limonnaya (lemon vodka), and Okhotnichaya (Hunter’s), which has
about a dozen ingredients, including peppers, juniper* berries, ginger and
cloves*.
Sure enough, the fashion for Western products has extended even into
vodka. The more popular imports are Smirnoff (made in the USA), Absolut (and
all its varieties), Gorbachow, Rasputin and New Yorkskaya.
However, some Russians have more confidence in home-distilled vodka,
known as samogonka (moonshine). Boot-leggers*, as a rule, have their own
regular customers among locals.
In the last five years, beer has increased enormously in popularity,
especially among young people. There is a disturbing phenomenon among
advertising companies to encourage them to try it.
The market leader is Baltika, a Scandinavian joint-venture with Russian
management based in St Petersburg. It makes nine excellent brews, fittingly
labelled ‘1’ through ‘9’. They represent every brewing style: No 3 is the most
commonly sold throughout the country and is a light and clear lager; No 5 is a
full-bodied ale; No 9 is believed to be only half beer having comparatively high
alcoholic content. There is also No 0 which is a non-alcoholic drink.
Western brands being brewed in Russia include Belgium’s Stella Artois,
Germany’s Holsten and Turkey’s Efes.
Champagne (it is still frequently called ‘Soviet Champagne’) comes very
dry, dry, semidry, semisweet and sweet. Most other wine comes from outside
the CIS (Eastern European brands are the cheapest), though you can find
Georgian, Moldovan and Crimean wine.
Brandy is popular and it’s all called konyak, though local varieties certainly
aren’t Cognac. The best non-Western konyak in Russia is Armenian, and
anything classified five star is usually fine.
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Less common are nastoyki and nalivki infused* on herbs or berries.
It should be noted that alcoholic drinks can be bought everywhere –
kiosks, shops, bars, restaurants. Apart from genuine* drinks there is a lot of
faked*, bad and cheap, stuff that can make you ill.
rumours – слух, молва
counterbalance – служить
remnants - отстаки
feast - застолье
take one’s choice - выбирать
long since - давно
seduce - соблазнять
savoury – острый, солёный
consumer – потребитель
cone – мороженое в стаканчике
vendor - торговец
quench – утолять (жажду)
juniper - можжевельник
clove – гвоздика (пряность)
boot-legger – торговец самогонными спиртными напитками
infuse – настаивать
genuine - подлинный
faked – поддельный
Russian Meals
F When and what do people eat?
Again, generalizations are dangerous. Below is described what
everybody knows about – but this is not necessarily what everybody does!
Breakfast is a big meal. It can include cottage cheese, fried eggs, omelet,
sliced cheese, cold ham, sausages, kasha, vareniki, sweet buns, pancakes,
syrniki, blinchiki and ordinary bread, coffee, tea or juice. But some people can do
with only a snack for breakfast.
Lunch (or ‘dinner’, to be exact) tends to be at about 2 o’clock or a bit
earlier for schoolchildren and those who start work at eight o’clock. It is expected
to be the heaviest meal of the day for those who eat at home and much lighter (if
any) for working people. The fact is that the concept of fast food is catching on*,
but it is not fast enough to find somewhere to eat at midday on every street
corner as in Paris or New York, so it is vital* to stoke up* at breakfast time. Some
people are used to eating in their canteens. Others prefer having just a snack or
a bun and tea or coffee. In fact, people make such ‘breaks’ whenever they feel
like it.
& After a substantial* dinner people used to take a nap. A
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foreigner could witness the absolute emptiness of the town
of the XII-XVI c. During an after-dinner hour, all the stalls
and houses were closed, both rich and poor.
The Russians often have a light supper. It is usually a cold meal, eaten as
soon as they get home from work (at around seven o’clock or later). For other
people supper means something hot and substantial, often left after dinner. It is
noteworthy that a night-out supper can go on and on.
catch on – становиться модным
vital – жизненно важный
stoke up – зд. поесть
substantial –сытный
Eating out
F Where do people go out to eat?
Things keep improving for dining out in Russia. Restaurants serving
decent and reasonably priced food have appeared in many towns. Travellers to
Moscow, St Petersburg and other large cities will find a choice of good places for
eating out.
Meals in some of the better new restaurants can be fine samples of
Russian classics made with fresh and tasty ingredients. Food in such old-style
Russian restaurants tends to be rich, heavy on meat, potatoes and pickled
vegetables, and light on fresh vegetables, dairy products and fresh fruit. The
most interesting items on the menu are often hors d’oeuvres (zakuski). ‘Main’
courses are smaller than Westerners are used to. In addition, there is a fine
selection of hard drinks available.
The Western-run luxury hotels have a choice of fine and expensive
restaurants. Sometimes they offer lunch buffets that are good value.
There’s been a big growth in non-Russian restaurants and in Moscow or
St Petersburg you can eat Georgian, Armenian, Chinese, Italian, Indian, French
and many other cuisines. Most of these have foreign management and foreign
standards of service – though at a price. Actually, Moscow is one of the world’s
most expensive cities for a restaurant meal.
& According to the history of St Petersburg, the most famous
restaurant, due to its bar, was Phyodorov’s in Malaya
Sadovaya. Without putting off his clothes, one could get a
wineglass of vodka and a sandwich with buzhenina. That
cost him 10 kopecks only. The customers could take
sandwiches themselves and pay for them afterwards. No
wonder there used to be a crowd of people there in the
evenings. Some people used to pay for one sandwich and
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eat more remaining unnoticeable in such crowdedness.
They say some of them, nevertheless, after mending their
finances, sent money for unpaid sandwiches with a
thankyou note addressed to Phyodorov.
Western fast-food chains have hit Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities,
where they’re incredibly popular. McDonald’s is expanding rapidly. Russian
imitators may be a street kiosk or even a van, or a cafй with tables. These cheap,
often stand-up places are normally located around parks and markets, on streets
and near train and bus stations and sell one or two items plus a drink. Pizza and
kebabs (often the Russian shashlyk form) are favourite foods too.
Much more common are street cafès with plastic furniture provided by soft
drink companies and simple menus of drinks and snacks.
Outside the major cities, entrepreneurs have started restaurants, many of
which are excellent. Local variants of fast-food restaurants have gotten a purely
Russian name ‘bistro’. Having become a part of the universal vocabulary of
eating, this word has its own history.
&
They say, after the victory over Napoleon, impatient
Russian soldiers in Paris cafès would bang their tables and
shout bystro, bystro! (quickly, quickly!), from which came the
word ‘bistro’.
Merely being in an inexpensive eating place sometimes seems to be more
important to people than the food eaten in it. For example, it is very popular with
the young to gather in such places and enjoy themselves there until they are
closed. Extremely informal and relaxed atmosphere, rapid service and
comparatively low prices make these places convenient for meeting. Food on
offer includes cold meats, hamburgers, french fries, salads, cheburyata, pelmeni
and fizzy* drinks. There is a choice of bottled beers too. Older people, however,
usually prefer to eat somewhere else as they do not consider junk food*
appealing and find such places too noisy and overcrowded.
Being very close to nature, the Russians are fond of going on a picnic,
especially with children. If there is a spell of good weather (not only in summer),
women start cooking snacks beforehand and men are busy with preparing meat
for shashlyk and buying drinks. There is nothing like relaxing after work enjoying
food and drink in the fresh air! Actually, this may happen every weekend as
nearly each family in Russia has a dacha (or michurinsky) and has meals
outdoors if the weather permits.
However, the picture of eating out in Russia is not entirely positive.
Statistics show that in all of Russia less than 1% of the population eat
more than one meal at a restaurant each year. Not only can’t people afford to eat
out, but there aren’t many places in which they could eat out even if they could
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afford to. Things are different in Moscow and St Petersburg, where there are
scores of good – if pricey – places to eat. Regular restaurant-going remains,
nevertheless, a comparatively rare event for most Russian people and is
confined mostly to the richest section of society – the so-called ‘new Russians’.
Some Russian restaurants have become notorious for being a place
where the ‘mafia’ (underworld criminals) can sit in the warmth and discuss their
affairs at table. Customers, of course, are not welcome at these places.
In comparatively cheap eating places like fast food restaurants and every
day cafès the quality may turn out to be lower than it is in equivalent places in
other countries. These are places for those who are not over-worried about
cleanliness and seem to be conservative about ingredients. People who are
concerned about their health will never risk going to low-class eating places.
Unfortunately, it has become a tradition in Russia to raise prices on the
eve of public holidays. So the Russians seem to have got used to eating
overpriced food in overcrowded places on holidays (if they are lucky enough to
find a table).
fizzy –шипучий
junk food – нездоровая пища
Festive Table
F What are the rules of laying the table?
First you spread the table-cloth and then put out table-mats to protect the
table from the hot dishes: a tureen of soup, a bowl hot vegetables, a platter of
meat, a boat of sauce, etc. Then you take out of the drawer in the sideboard
soup spoons for the soup, spoons for the sweet and all the cutlery – knives and
forks, including a small knife for the butter, a small knife and fork for the hors
d’oeuvres and a fruit knife for the dessert.
& They say that before Peter the First it was usual to serve
dishes in common bowls and drinks – in common goblets
what could explain their large sizes. The reason for that lies
in the fact that common dishes could help to prevent
poisoning. It is noteworthy that when going on a visit people
used to take their own spoons with them.
& There was a time when in so-called ‘high society’ the food
was taken from the common bowl with hands. The clergy
was totally against using forks considering them to be the
‘devil’s weapon’.
You should put the knives and the soupspoon on the right-hand side and the fork
on the left, except the spoon for the sweet, which you should put across the top.
Then you put out the breadboard and a knife to cut the bread.
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On the left of each guest you put a small plate for bread and on his right a
wineglass (or wineglasses if there is more than one wine). Don’t forget to put out
the table napkins for each guest and place several salt-cellars.
& It was Peter the First who established the custom of wiping
the mouth and hands with linen napkins. As earlier men
used their beards for this purpose, the tsar ordered to shave
them off. In poorer homes an ordinary cabbage leave
became a napkin.
Once again have a look at the table and see if it is laid for each person.
Then you are ready for the friends to come in. But where are the flowers? You
shouldn’t forget to put a bowl of beautiful flowers on the dinner table.
F How does a festive meal differ from a weekday one?
The number of holidays celebrated in Russia is so great that its people
may seem to drift from holiday to holiday all the year round. On the one hand, it
is traditionally the time of the busiest shopping days when crowds of women
mostly ‘invade*’ markets and food shops. On the other hand, this shopping
frenzy* can be rewarding afterwards: the table is laid, smartly-dressed guests
have come and everyone including a little bit tired hostess is ready for pure
enjoyment of eating and drinking.
What is the typical menu of the dinner-party on such a grand occasion? In
fact, preparing holiday meals is rather time-consuming* and may take two days.
Not only the process of their cooking is cumbersome*, but the choice of dishes
going to be served is extensive. A guest should beware of overdosing on the first
course (zakuski), with its tempting array of smoked fish, caviar, cold meat, 3-5
(even more) salads, pickled mushrooms, cucumbers and tomatoes and so on –
all washed down with vodka. Next comes soup, usually clear, meat (roast
chicken or duck) or fish, veal cutlets with potatoes or rice. Then a cake or a pie to
tea and ice-cream and fruit for dessert.
Although the choice of items on the menu from holiday to holiday tends to
be rather traditional, there is always a speciality* on each holiday:
christening and engagement – kasha;
wedding – chicken with kasha (the symbol of fertility*);
name-day – name-day pie or krendel;
funeral repast – kutya and bliny;
New Year – kurnik, kulebyaka;
Christmas – roast goose or turkey, baked gammon*;
Easter – curd paskha, kulich, painted eggs;
Shrovetide – bliny.
105
& In old Russia people used to see New Year in with some
unusual dish. In XIX c. it was cooked in aristocratic houses, cost
a fortune and required much skill and a rich imagination from its
cook. Consider this recipe: first you put pieces of anchovies into
fleshy olives instead of their cores. The olives are a filling for a
drawn* lark, which is put into a fat partridge which, in its turn, is
put into a pheasant. The last cover is a pig. This original dish
was devoted to Ekaterina the Second by her French chef. Then
the secret of its cooking was wormed out* by some rich dignity
man at court*. To find out the recipe from his kitchen was an
easy task. So, the invitation of guests for the roast meat
‘Impress*’ became a matter of prestige for nobility. This
interesting fact from the country’s history may perhaps explain
the Russians’ love for stuffed foods: you can easily notice stuffed
eggs, tomatoes, peppers, fish, chicken, bliny, etc. on the menu.
& The food in a peasant’s house was always plain and healthy. On
New Year’s Day people used to serve kutya (a ritual meal), fried
sausages, svezhenina, krovyanka, cheese, bliny. In the centre of
the table there was swine’s flesh, which due to its fertility was
considered the symbol of beauty.
& The first pie that used to appear on the table in New Year was
kurnik (with chicken filling or a whole fish inside), but more often
it was kulebyaka. The latter when cut could reveal 10-12 layers
(!) from insipid* rice to spicy salted cucumbers. Nowadays
kulebyaka could substitute a substantial second course if not a
whole dinner. It is noteworthy that no modern oven can make
this compound pie so delicious and beautiful as the old Russian
oven did.
& Bliny originated from sacrificial* bread of pagan Slavs – a circle
was believed to be the Sun’s sign. By the way, they appeared
earlier than leavened* bread. Bliny have got their name since
XVI c. There were many varieties of bliny in old Russia: rye,
oatmeal, with potatoes, tvorog, hemp*... They were eaten with
butter, sour cream and honey. Shrovetide was famous for its fun
and customs. One of them was visiting the wife’s relatives from
which the phrase ‘to go on the mother-in-law’s bliny’ came into
being.
invade - оккупировать
frenzy – зд. суматоха
time-consuming – отнимающий много времени
cumbersome - громозкий
speciality – зд. фирменное блюдо
fertility – плодородие, плодовитость
gammon – окорок
106
drawn - выпотрошенный
worm out - выведывать
at court – при дворе
impress - императрица
insipid - пресный
sacrificial - жертвенный
leavened - заквашенный
hemp - конопля
F What are Russian ABC of table manners?
Being similar in many aspects, Russian table manners, however, have
several striking* peculiarities*. Here are some of them.
The first thing that foreigners usually notice is that the table-talk tends to
come to the same thing – discussing food. The Russians while tasting a new dish
keep on praising* the hostess and asking its recipe in detail. The host, in her
turn, willingly shares it with her guests.
Visitors to Russia are also struck* by the habit of proposing toasts before
each shot. They fail to understand that proposing toasts are rather a mere
formality than something meant from the back of the heart. It’s worth noting that
the famous toast ‘штрафной’ for a person coming late is dying off now. There
are also toasts connected with way: ‘Ну, поехали!’, ‘За приезд гостей!’, ‘На
посошок!’, etc. Bear in mind that it is Russia that has a tradition to see off and
meet with feast.
Any feast is usually accompanied by drinking-songs. Singing songs at the
table is a clear signal to the hosts that the meal is to their guests’ liking. As a rule,
everyone takes part (or tries at least) in this fun, despite his or her musical
talents, if any. The repertoire of songs is large though rather traditional. Apart
from singing, the Russians are fond of dancing (modern, as well as folk). Those
who are shy or simply don’t want to dance are never left in peace.
A meal in Russia has been compulsory* for ages: the guest couldn’t
refuse it fearing to offend the hosts. Meanwhile, according to modern European
traditions when an offer meets with a refusal it is considered impolite to force a
person, for example, to drink tea. That is why foreigners are astonished and even
annoyed with such pressure. It refers, in the first place, to drinking alcohol.
Refusing a drink can be very difficult. The Russians may continue to insist until
they win you over. Women are usually excused.
striking - поразительный
peculiarity - особенность
praise – хвалить
be struck - поражаться
compulsory - принудительный
Some recipes
C VINERGET (Russian Salad)
107
Ingredients:
40g sauerkraut, 40g beetroot, 50g potato, 20g carrot, 30g salted
cucumbers, 40g onion, 10g parsley, 30g oil or mayonnaise
Instructions:
Boil potato, beetroot and carrot and cool them. Cut all the vegetables into
cubes and mix them. Dress the mixture and decorate it with greens and pieces of
boiled vegetables.
C SIBERIAN PELMENI
Ingredients:
Dough – 1-2 eggs, 3-4 glasses flour, 1-2 tablespoons of sour cream
dissolved in 100g water
Filling – minced meat (beef or pork or both), 2 large onions, salt, pepper
Instructions:
Stir thoroughly minced meat with chopped onion. Salt and pepper to taste.
Knead stiff dough from the ingredients. Divide it into several clots. Make a
plait from one of them and slice it. Roll out each slice and put the filling in its
middle. Make a pelmen.
Cook ready-made pelmeni in boiling water with a few slices of onion.
Serve them with butter, sour cream or ketchup.
C BLINY
Ingredients:
500ml milk or water; 1 egg; 1-2 tablespoons of oil; flour to make
batter; salt; sugar.
Instructions:
Put flour, salt, sugar, egg and milk into a bowl and mix them with a
fork. Heat the frying pan and oil it. Pour some batter in the pan. Fry it on
both sides for two-three minutes. Put the blin on the plate. Pour some
melted butter or squeeze lemon on it.
Bliny are good with any filling – meat, liver, fish, salted mushrooms,
egg with rice or cheese, card, jam, apples or without them. Bliny with red or
black caviar, however, have always been considered a delicacy in Russia.
tМолочные Продукты – Dairy Products t
Варенец– varenets, fermented baked milk
Кефир- kefir, yogurt-like sour milk
Пахта– pachta, buttermilk
Простокваша– prostokvasha, sour clotted milk
Ряженка– ryazhenka, fermented baked milk
Сметана– smetana, thick sour cream
Снежок- snezhok, sweetened kefir
Сырок– syrok, cheese curd
Творог– tvorog, cottage cheese, card
t Закуски– Appetisers t
108
Буженина– buzhenina, cold boiled pork with spices
Бутерброд– (often open) sandwich, a single piece of bread with various foods on
top of it
Икра баклажановая– ersatz caviar made entirely from eggplant or other
vegetables
Икра красная (кетовая) – red (salmon) caviar
Икра чёрная (зернистая) – black (sturgeon) caviar
Колбаса– kolbasa, a salami-like sausage, which comes in various types and
guises – thin or fat, herby or garlicky, but always long; (варёная) boiled sausage;
(копчёная) smoked sausage; (кровяная или кровянка) blood-pudding or black
pudding
паштет– pàtè, made from the liver of a chicken, goose or swine
рыбные закуски – tinned, preserved, salted, smoked, etc. fish
салат – salad, a mixture of various raw or cold cooked food, dressed with sour
cream, mayonnaise or some sauce
свеженина – svezhenina, cooked fresh meat
соленья – pickles, salted vegetables (sauerkraut, tomatoes, cucumbers,
vegetable marrow, etc.) and mushrooms
строганина– stroganina, raw fish with spices
холодецГ – holodets, jellied minced meat, jellied fish
t Супы– Soups t
Борщ- borscht, beetroot with vegetables and meat
Гороховый– pea soup
Грибной – mushroom soup
Лапша – chicken noodle soup
Молочный – milk soup with pasta or rice
Окрошка - okroshka, cold or hot soup made from cucumbers, sour cream,
potatoes, egg, meat and kvas
Рассольник - rassolnik, pickled cucumber and kidney soup
С клецками – meat soup with klotski (kind of dumplings)
С фрикадельками – soup with meat- or fish-balls
Свекольник– svekolnik, cold beetroot soup with salted cucumbers, sour cream,
egg, meat
Солянка - solyanka, sharp-tasting thick meat or fish soup with salted cucumbers
and other vegetables
Суп - пюре– potage, thick soup
Уха– fish soup with potatoes and vegetables
Харчо - harcho, garlicky mutton, Caucasian-style soup
Щи- shchi, fresh cabbage or sauerkraut soup (many varieties)
tГотовые Блюда – Dishes t
Антрекот- entrecфte, boned sirloin steak
Бефстроганов - beef Stroganoff, beef slices in a rich sauce
Биточки – bitochki, ball-shaped minced meat fried in oil
Бифштекс - beefsteak, a thick flat piece of meat
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Вареники – vareniki, curd, fruit or vegetable (potato or cabbage) dumplings
Голубцы - golubtsy, cabbage rolls stuffed with meat
Гуляш - goulash, meat cooked in liquid with paprika
Жаркое - zharkoye, meat or poultry stewed in a clay pot; most common is
‘home-style’ zharkoye, with mushrooms, potatoes and vegetables
Запеканка – baked pudding, sweetened or unsweetened (curd, kasha, pasta,
fruit, vegetables)
Зразы – zrazy, meat pies stuffed with rice, buckwheat, mashed potatoes, eggs,
etc.
Каша – kasha, hot dish of cooked grain or groats; (манная) cooked semolina;
(гречневая) boiled buckwheat; (рисовая) boiled rice; (овсяная) porridge;
(пшенная) millet porridge; (ячневая) cooked fine-ground barley; (перловая)
boiled pearl-barley; (гороховая -горошница) - boiled pea; (жидкая) gruel
Котлета– usually a croquette of ground meat; (отбивная) chop; (руленая)
rissole; (мясная) meat risolle; (рыбная) fish cake; (картофельная) potato
cake
Котлета пожарская – cutlet pozharskaya, minced chicken
Котлета по-киевски – chicken Kiev, fried boneless chicken breast stuffed with
butter
Макароны по - флотски– naval macaroni, boiled with minced meat or tushyonka
(tinned stewed meat)
Манты– manty, mutton ravioli, steamed in a mantobarka (a special pan)
Мясной рулет– beef-roll, meat loaf
Осетрина отварная – poached sturgeon
Пельмени - pelmeni or Siberian-style meat dumplings
Пицца – pizza, usually with remnants of sausages, meat, mushrooms, cheese,
tomato, etc.
Плов - plov or pilaf, rice with mutton bits, from Central Asia
Рагу – ragout, a mixture of vegetables and pieces of meat boiled together
Ромштекс – rump steak, beef fried in breadcrumbs
Солянка - solyanka, stewed meat and cabbage with spices
Тефтели - tefteli, small meat-balls
Фаршированные перцы - stuffed peppers, stewed peppers stuffed with meat
Цыплёнок табака - chicken Tabaka, grilled chicken Caucasian-style
Чебурята – cheburyata, deep-fried meat dumplings
Шашлык - shashlyk, skewered and grilled mutton or other meat, adapted from
Central Asia and the Caucasus
Шницель - schnitzel, fillet of pork or veal
Щука фаршированная– stuffed pike
t Гарниры– Side Dishes t
Жареный картофель – fried potatoes
Картофельное пюре – mashed potatoes
Картофель – фри – french fries
Каша – usually boiled rice or buckwheat
Отварной картофель – boiled potatoes
110
Отварные макароны (спагетти, вермишель, лапша)– boiled macaroni
(spaghetti, vermicelli, noodles)
Тушеные овощи – stewed vegetables (cabbage, vegetable marrow, etc)
tВыпеченные изделия – Pastry Dishes t
Баранка – baranka, ring-shaped roll
Беляш – belyash, deep-fried meat turnover (open-topped)
Блин(чик) – blin(chik), kind of pancake
Бублик – boublik, bagel
Булка – bulka, small loaf; () bun
Булочка – bulochka, roll
Ватрушка – vatrushka, curd tart
Драник – dranik, potato pancake
Калач – kalatch, kind of fancy loaf
Кекс - keks, fruit-cake
Коврижка – kovrizhka, honey-cake
Коржик – korzhik, flat dry shortbread / shortcake
Крендель – krendel, knot-shaped bun
Кулебяка – kulebyaka, pie with meat, fish or cabbage filling
Кулич – kulich, Easter cake
Курник – kurnik, pie with chicken filling
Оладьи – oladyi, thick pancakes
Пасха – paskha, rich mixture of sweetened curd, butter and raisins eaten at
Easter
Пирог – pirog, pie; (открытый) tart
Пирожок - pirozhok, deep-fried meat, vegetable or sweet turnover
Пончик – ponchik, doughnut
Пряник – pryanik, spice-cake; (на патоке) treackle-cake; (медовый) honeycake; (имбирный) ginger bread
Расстегай – rasstegai, open-topped pastry
Рулет – rulyet, Swiss roll
Слойка – sloyka, puff
Сочень – sochen, curd pie
Сушка – sooshka, small ring-shaped cracker
Сырник– syrnik, cottage cheese pancake
– cheburek, spicy, deep-fried mutton pie eaten in the Crimea and the Caucasus
tНапитки– Beverages t
Квас– kvas, fermented rye bread water, cool and refreshing in summer
Кисель– kissel, kind of starchy jelly with berries, milk, honey or oatmeal
Компот– compote, stewed fruit (dried, fresh or tinned)
Морс– mors, fruit drink/water
Сбитень – sbiten, honey drink with various spices
tСладкие блюда – Sweet Dishes t
Варенье – varenye, kind of jam but thicker and with more berries or fruit
111
Пастила– pastila, kind of sweet made from fruit and berries
Сгущенное молоко – condensed milk which may also be boiled or with berries
Халва – halva, paste of nuts, sugar and oil
Цукаты – zukaty, candied fruit or vegetables
Sport, popular kinds of sports
SPORTS IN RUSSIA
1. Many foreigners believe that after the collapse of the USSR, sports had
lots of troubles and even stopped existing. They are sure it is a reason
why Russia didn’t take the 1st place in team placing at XIX Winter Olympic
Games. What is your opinion about Russian sports?
2. Your pen pal wants to know if such kinds of sport as golf, cricket, baseball,
rugby are popular in Russia as well as in England and America. And if
they are unpopular explain why. Tell him what kinds of sports are popular
in Russia.
3. Your foreign friend is crazy about football and he is interested in
everything connected with football. Tell him about football in Russia.
Sports played a major role in the Soviet State in the post-World War II
period. During Soviet times there was a popular slogan: ‘From mass physical
exercises to Olympic victories’. There was a certain system: sports sections for
children, youth leagues, amateur sports clubs, town’s – region’s – republic’s
tournaments, sports festivals, Tournaments of Nations of the USSR and
Championships of the USSR. Sports talents selected and trained in national
teams, take part in European and World Championships and Olympic Games.
After the collapse of the Soviet empire, Russian sport had some economic
troubles. Many of the sports halls and stadiums have found new uses as
shopping complexes and nightclubs. Nevertheless, the system of children sports
sections, clubs and sports schools exist nowadays and every person can afford
to train there. We pay much attention to sport in our secondary schools. Sport is
an important part of the system of education. In every school pupils spend much
time participating in sports. First of all they have their physical training lessons (23 times a week). And when school is over they may train at different sports clubs
and sections in different kinds of sport. You can hardly find a school without a
gym or a sport ground. Moreover, every city and town has a few stadiums and
swimming pools where one can train and where local competitions are usually
held.
Also today there are a lot of sports groups, the training in which must be
paid. In these groups you can go in for such popular kinds of sport as tennis,
swimming, ballroom dancing, etc. As a rule parents pay a small fee. Children’s
sports are supported by the Russian Sports and Tourism Committee. It is not rich
and has no money to pay for sport facilities, coach’s salaries, new sporting
equipment and so on.
112
In Russia there is a sports classification system. After fulfilling certain
standards a sportsman gets a sport grade – from youthful grade till the first adult
grade, then Master of Sport and Master of World-class.
Practically all kinds of sports are popular in this country but football, figure
skating, ice hockey, basketball, skiing enjoy the greatest popularity. Such sports
as alpine skiing, lawn tennis, aerobics have become popular lately. B.Yeltsin
liked playing tennis, whereas V. Putin prefers alpine skiing. Such popular sports,
as golf, baseball, cricket, horse-racing are not popular in Russia.
It is a tradition in this country to divide sport into professional and amateur.
There are a lot of amateur clubs and keep-fit centers in Russia, where
people go in for aerobics, yoga, body-building, swimming, skating, jogging.
Sports help people to stay in good shape, keep them fit, healthy and makes them
more organized and better disciplined in their daily activities A lot of people are
fond of jogging. In the morning and in the evening we can see people jogging in
the parks, stadiums and even in the streets. Thousands of people go to the
stadiums to support their favorite team and many many thousands more prefer to
watch the games on TV.
On the professional level, the achievements of Soviet athletes in the
international arena, particularly in the Olympic Games (the Soviet first
participated in the 1952 Summer and the 1956 Winter Olympics), were a source
of great national pride. Although athletes were technically amateurs, they were
well supported by the Sports State Committee. A great number of world records
have been set by Soviet sportsmen: gymnasts, weightlifters, swimmers, figure
skaters, skiers, runners, high jumpers, wrestlers, etc. Nowadays there are
different sporting societies and clubs. After the collapse of the Soviet empire,
Russian athletes have continued to dominate international competitions and
tournaments in different areas and to participate in the Olympic Games and win a
lot of gold, silver and bronze medals.
This country is proud of its sport heroes. Here are some names wellknown throughout the world.
Track and field athletics – Valery Brumel, who was titled as the best
sportsman of the World three years running (1961-1963).
Artistic gymnastics – Olga Korbut
Ice hockey – Vladislav Tretjak, an outstanding goalie
Greco-Roman wrestling – Alexander Karelin, who won nine consecutive World
Championships and three Olympic gold medals (Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta).
Weightlifting – Yuriy Vlasov.
The list of sport stars can be endless. Let’s review the last Winter Olympic
Games, which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, the USA in 2002. In the XIX
Winter Olympic Games Russia won 6 gold medals, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals.
The three-time World Champion Russia’s Alexei Yagudin won the Olympic men’s
figure skating title. He joined 1994 Olympic gold medallist Alexei Urmanov and
’98 winner Ilia Kulik as Russian champions.
Plushenko won the silver medal in men’s figure skating.
113
Elena Berezhnaya and A. Sikharulidze won the Olympic gold in figure skating
pair teams. Russian pair teams have won the Olympic gold medal every four
years since 1964.
Larisa Lazutina took the silver in the women’s 15 kilometer freestyle crosscountry race and became the fifth-time Olympic Champion.
Olga Pyleva of Russia won the gold medal in women’s biathlon 10 km and
Michael Ivanov – men’s biathlon 50 km.
In the XXVII Summer Olympic Games (Sydney, 2000) Russia won 32 gold
medals, 28 silver medals and 28 bronze medals, total – 88.
The 22nd Summer Olympic Games were held in Russia, Moscow in 1980. It was
the first time that the Olympic Games were held in this country.
Football (soccer) is the most favorite sport for millions of people in
Russia. Tremendous crowds of enthusiastic fans fill the stadiums. The Premier
football league, Vysshaya Liga, consists of 16 teams, the best of which include
Moscow’s Spartak, Lokomotiv, TsSKA, Torpedo and Dinamo as well as Alaniya
(Vladikavkaz), Rostselmash (Rostov-on-Don), Zenit (St. Petersburg), another
Lokomotiv (Nizhni Novgorod). Each has a very loyal following and interesting
history: Spartak reached the semi-finals of the 1998 UEFA Cup and was the
USSR Champion 12 times and Russian Champion 9 times; Lokomotiv recently
joined the Vysshaya Liga; TsSKA has winning tradition that goes back to its days
as the official Red Army team; Mayor Luzhkov loves Torpedo; and Dinamo was
once sponsored by the KGB. Russia has an annual national soccer
Championship. Matches between teams collect a lot of the public.
Today many clubs (teams) sell top-players to European first division and
buy top-quality players. Actually many Russian footballers play for the most
popular European soccer clubs successfully.
Spartak is the most famous soccer team in Russia. There is a tremendous
number of Spartak fans. They have their own fan club, Web-site, newspaper;
there is a cafe ‘Spartak’ in the center of Moscow; Spartak’s fans wear red-white
caps, scarves, T-shirts with a symbol of their favorite team on them. They go to
see each football match and even go to other cities and countries to watch an
important game. As a rule Spartak’s fans are teenagers, they can be very
aggressive and belligerent, they behave in an angry, threatening way, moreover
they can be instigators of fights among fans of different teams.
In Russia most soccer teams are non-professional and they belong to
Universities, colleges, schools. Or say some friends can be in a team. Also
schoolboys and teenagers play the game as often as possible – in vacation time
and after school.
In team sports the U.S.S.R. was especially successful in ice hockey. In
the former-USSR everybody knew such names of hockey stars as V.Fetisov,
V.Tretjak, V.Starshinov, B.Mayorov, V.Harlamov, A.Firsov, etc. The Soviet ice
hockey team was the strongest in the world. Previously Soviet and now Russian
team won the World Championship title 18 times and the Olympic Games 7
times.
114
After the collapse of the USSR many Russian top-players could be found
in the American Hockey League and in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Today more than 70 Russian players succeed on famous NHL teams. As a rule,
top-players meet only to take part in the Olympic Games or World
Championships.
The last World Championship was held in St.Petersburg in 2000. Russia,
which had not reached the medal round in the last six championships, put
together a powerful roster for the tournament that included Pavel Bure of the
Florida Panthers, who led the NHL with 58 goals the 2000 season. Russia,
playing at home, ended up in the 11th place – their worst finish ever – after losing
four consecutive games in qualifying rounds.
In the XIX Winter Olympic Games (Salt Lake City, the USA, 2002) Russian
ice-hockey team won the bronze, but the players had never played together (as a
team) before.
In Russia the top ice hockey league (Super Liga) has 20 teams. The
perennial top 10 are: Ak Bars (Kazan), Amur (Khabarovsk), Metallurg
(Magnitigorsk), Dinamo (Moscow), Metallurg (Novokuznetsk), Avangard (Omsk),
Molot-Prikamye (Perm), Lada (Tolyatti), Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) and Torpedo
(Yaroslavl).
Basketball is the third in popularity. The top Moscow team CSKA does
well in European League play but all too often serves as a retirement home for
the NBA, which poaches the best players.
SPORT IN TOMSK
1. Your foreign friend is going to study in Tomsk. He is fond of different kinds
of sports. He wants to know what kinds of sports are available and where he
can go in order to be involved. He is afraid that in a small Siberian town there
are no possibilities for participating in sports. Persuade your foreign friend to
come to Tomsk.
2. A long, cold and severe Siberian winter scares him greatly. What winter
activities can you suggest to him so that a Siberian winter becomes
interesting and exciting for him?
Tomsk townsmen like sports very much. In Tomsk there is everything one
needs for professional sports and active recreation: tennis courts, swimming
pools, fitness-halls, saunas and tanning facilities, private and municipal sports
complexes, including fitness centers for aerobics and body building. Tomsk
Universities (including TPU) have sports clubs, sports complexes and facilities for
indoor and outdoor activities. Some clubs and groups are free of charge, but
most of them are for a fee.
115
Every University has sport
teams in basketball, volleyball,
skiing, football and they compete
with each other in inter-university
competitions.
As the winter in Siberia lasts
6 months and Siberia is covered
with snow during this period, there
are good conditions for winter
sports in Tomsk. The most popular
sport in Tomsk is cross-country
skiing. Every weekend you can
see people with skis. Children,
teenagers and adults go skiing in
the forests, surrounding the town. I
think every townsman can ski. In
winter
schoolchildren
ski
at
physical training lessons 2 – 5 times a week. Students can train in skiing
sections. Also there are some special skiing bases not far from Tomsk. You can
go there, rent skis and boots and train as long as you want. By the way, every
weekend some skiing competitions are held in Tomsk.
As I have mentioned, the winter is cold and snowy. In town squares and
playgrounds you can see big slides made of wood and snow and covered with
ice. Both children and adults enjoy sliding down. Sledges are great fun as well.
Many like snowball fights and making snowmen. Also “snezhnije gorodki”(small
snow towns) are built in the town. They are made of snow and ice cubes and you
can find snow figures of Father Frost and Snow Maiden as well as figures of
animals and characters of different fairy-tales.
In Tomsk there are some big and small skating-rinks. Children and grownups enjoy skating. They like to spend their time in the skating rinks, especially
on weekends.
Many have their own skates, but if you haven’t got them you can come to the
skating-rink and rent skates. On weekends you can skate to music coming from
loudspeakers. Boys like to play hockey on the ice. Tomsk ice hockey teams are
non-professional. Nevertheless they play in tournaments around Russia.
Another popular sport is football. Tomsk has got its own soccer team
“Tom”. The team plays in the First League, but every Tom’s fan dreams to see
“Tom” in the Premier football League. Matches, where “Tom” takes part, collect
tremendous crowds of enthusiastic fans.
Highly popular in Siberia is “winter football (soccer)”; snow is a
wonderful substitute for sand or grass, snow is soft enough and it isn’t dangerous
for falling down on it. There are special tournaments for winter soccer in Tomsk
(e.g. tournaments of the newspaper ”The Krasnoe Znamja” (“The Red Banner”),
TV-2 Cup and so on. Almost every Tomsk man plays winter football. Most soccer
teams are non-professional and they belong to Universities, schools, firms. Or
friends can be on a team and play in their spare time. TPU students like playing
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“winter soccer” very much. TPU soccer championships are held among Faculties,
among Departments, among teachers and lecturers and even TPU
administration headed by the Rector take part in these battles. After playing a
winter soccer match it is a tradition to go to the sauna or banya to relax and
recreate.
In Tomsk you can also meet fans of alpine skiing, freestyle and
snowboarding. In Tomsk there are no ski resorts, but there are some alpine
skiing tracks, unfortunately they are too short. In order to enjoy alpine skiing, you
can go to the other Siberian towns, e.g. Krasnoyarsk, Divnogorsk, Novokuznetsk,
Mezdurechensk, or to Altay or Sayany, where there are small mountains and
good ski slopes with chairlifts.
In Tomsk there are many clubs of mountaineering, climbing and
tourism. These sports are very popular among students. TPU has a few such
clubs and has a sports complex with a special wall covered with artificial ledges
for climbing (TPU building №9). Also Tomsk climbers and mountaineers go
climbing to rocks, situated on the bank of the Tom river not far from Urga (a small
town,100km south of Tomsk). Sometimes they go training to Stolby Nature
Reserve (Zapovednik stolby), a hilly area of woods and strange rock pillars
(stolby) on the south-west edge of Krasnoyarsk. Possibilities for climbing exist in
the Ural Mountains, the Altay (south of Novosibirsk on the Kazakhstan and
Mongolian borders), the Kuznetsky Alatau (a range north of the Altay with less
elevation but easier to reach from the Kuznetsk basin cities), the Sayan
Mountains (on the Mongolia border) and so on. Tomsk mountaineers have been
to all the mountain regions of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent
States and conquered a great number of summits in the Altay, Pamirs, TienShan, Caucasus. Tomsk is proud of “snezniy bars” (“snow leopards”- the title of
mountaineers, who have been to the tops of 5 highest peaks of CIS , the altitude
of which is more than 7000 meters above the level of the sea).
Also our mountaineers took three summits in the Himalayas: the highest
peak in the world Everest (8848m), Dhaulagiri (8172m) and Cho-Oyu (8153m).
Rafting and Canoeing. Siberia has plenty of potential for water
adventuring. As a consequence most tour companies offer some kind of rafting,
canoeing or boating program.
International competition in ballroom and sports dancing in Tomsk is a
tradition. Tomsk dance school is one of the strongest in Russia. The young
dance couples pass qualification rounds successfully, enriching the class of
international masters.
There are a lot of renowned names that have brought fame to Tomsk:
Yuri Pavlov, a student of Tomsk Polytechnic University, being a part of the
Russian representative basketball team, became a world champion.
Nikolay Kolesnikov – a sprinter, a student of Tomsk Polytechnic University
– is a champion of the Summer Olympic Games.
Ivan Utrobin – who is a world champion in ski racing.
Lubov Yegorova – “Tomsk legend”- is a six-fold winner of Olympic Games.
We have people to be proud of.
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1. The Americans are proud of their sport stars and they consider them like
pop- and film stars/ Name famous Russian sportsmen. What do you know
about them? What are their achievements?
Yegorova, Lyubov
Yegorova Lyubov was born May 5, 1966, Tomsk, Russia, U.S.S.R.
She is a Russian cross-country skier who was one of the two most decorated
performers at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. She won
three gold medals and a silver in 1994, adding to the three gold and two silver
medals she collected at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Her total of nine
medals was surpassed only by her former teammate, Raisa Smetanina, who had
10 medals
Yegorova, like many children in Siberia, took up winter sports at a young
age. She soon became proficient in cross-country skiing, and, at the age of 16,
she was sent to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to train with the best Nordic
skiers in the country. Joining the World Cup circuit in 1987, she did not make a
notable impression until she finished third overall in 1991 and then repeated the
feat the following season. She won the World Cup title in 1993 and finished
second in 1994. Between 1991 and 1994, she won 10 World Cup events; she
also won the 1991 30-km freestyle world championship, and she was part of two
world champion relay teams (1991 and 1993).
Blessed with great stamina and versatility, Yegorova excelled at both short
and long distances at the Winter Olympics. At the 1992 Games she won gold
medals in the combined pursuit, 15-km race, and 4×5-km relay, and she was a
silver medalist in the 5-km and 30-km competitions. At the 1994 Games she
battled in event after event with Manuela Di Centa of Italy, coming away with gold
medals in the 5-km race, the combined pursuit, and the 4×5-km relay, and a
silver medal in the 15-km race.
No doubt about it
Russian Yagudin takes gold; American Goebel bronze
Friday February 15, 2002 2:17 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – With his bronzed
breast plate and imaginary sword, Alexei
Yagudin swashbuckled his way to perfection,
and Olympic gold.
Skating as the “Man in the Iron Mask,”
Yagudin left no doubt Thursday night, winning his
duel
with Russian teammate and rival Evgeni
Plushenko. Tim Goebel finished third, the first time
since 1992 an American man won a medal in the
event.
Yaguin received all 5.9s on the scoreboard –
except for four perfect 6.0s for artistry. No other man
had ever earned more than one perfect mark at the Olympics.
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On this night, the figure skating world could celebrate a champion and
forget about a judging controversy.
“It was like in some good dream up there,” said Yagudin, who was fifth in
the Nagano Games, skating with a high fever. He also was plagued by injuries
last season. “I was just thinking of the hard times I went through. Last season
was like hell, but I am strong and I just showed that. It is one of my best.”
Yagudin sealed the victory with an impressive display in the men’s free
program. The three-time World Champion landed two quadruple jumps, one in
combination with a triple toe-loop and a double loop, a triple axel and four other
triples. Not only did Yagudin execute all the difficult moves, he did so with a flare
that has made him a crowd and judge favorite.
The 21-year-old left out a second triple axel attempt, but did not need it
after landing the two difficult quad toe-loops.
Yagudin even took a swipe at former coach Alexei Mishin, who works with
Plushenko. “It was really hard for me,” Yagudin said, referring to constant
criticism from Mishin, “but still that was stimulating me for four years.”
Goebel showed why he is the “Quad King,” becoming the first Olympian to
hit three of the four-revolution jumps in the Games. His improved artistry helped
him become the first American medallist since Paul Wylie won silver at the
Albertville Games. “I skated as well as I can skate, and I was just so happy to go
out there and put it out under pressure,” Goebel said. As for getting a medal, he
added: “I was sweating it a little bit.” But when Alexander Abt and Takeshi Honda
couldn’t match Goebel’s performance, he was on the podium.
Yagudin
stood
proudly on the top step as
the third straight Russian
men’s champion. For the
three-time world champion
who finished fifth at the
Nagano Games, it was a
dynamic showing. “I began
to dream about this four
years ago when I went to
Nagano,” Yagudin said.
“There, I finally realized I
can do it.” He did it by nailing everything, including two quads, one as part of a
three-jump combination.
When the 21-year-old Yagudin was done, he collapsed to his knees, then
kissed the ice. He knew this was a moment of a lifetime, and by the time he
reached the “Kiss and Cry” area, he was bawling.
The quick-witted Yagudin, who spends much of his time in the United
States, said he was showing his appreciation for his part-time home. “I just fell to
my knees and kiss the ice because I live here and won the gold medal here,” he
said. His head was buried in his hands while the 5.9s and 6.0s flashed across the
scoreboard.
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He joined 1994 Olympic gold medallist Alexei Urmanov and’98 winner Ilia
Kulik as Russian champions. The 1992 gold medal went to Victor Petrenko of
Ukraine, who was trained in the same system that has produced the current
men’s dynasty.
World champion Plushenko didn’t mess up his free skate the way he botched the
short program on Tuesday night. There were no falls and he also did a triple
axel-half loop-triple flip, a very rare and difficult combo. The complexity of his
moves lifted the 19-year-old Plushenko to the silver.
Goebel did all three quads with ease: two salchows and a toe loop. With
15 seconds remaining in his routine, to “An American in Paris,” the crowd already
was standing in raucous celebration. His coach, Frank Carrol, was jumping in the
air at the sideboards as Goebel hit his third quad. And to chants of “U-S-A, U-SA,” Goebel’s marks gave him the bronze. “It’s great we’ve got an American man
back on the podium,” Goebel said. “Any of the three of us could have medalled,
and I’m really happy it’s me.”
alpine skiing – горнолыжный спорт
alpine skiing track – горнолыжная трасса
amateur – любитель, непрофессионал
artificial ledges – искусственные зацепы
belligerent – агрессивный, воинственный, драчливый
chairlift – подъемник
climbing – скалолазание
climber – скалолаз
competition - соревнование
consecutive – последовательный, следующий друг за другом
display – выступление
elevation - возвышенность
facilities – оборудование, приспособления
goalie = goalkeeper – вратарь
gymnasium (gym) – спортивный зал
jogging – бег трусцой
mountaineering - альпинизм
mountaineer – альпинист
municipal – муниципальный,городской, общественный
Olympics =Olympic Games – Олимпийские игры
peak – пик, остроконечная гора
physical training lesson – урок физкультуры
pillar - столб, опора
race – состязание в беге, скорости, гонки
range – цепь гор
recreation – отдых, восстановление здоровья
relay – эстафета
Russian Sports and Tourism Committee – Российский Комитет по Туризму и Спорту
scoreboard – табло
skiing base – лыжная база
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sledges – санки
slide – горка
snow leopard – снежный барс
sport facilities – спортивные сооружения
sporting equipment – спортивное снаряжение
summit – вершина
three-time champion – трехкратный чемпион
the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – (СНГ) Содружество
Независимых Государств
teammate – игрок той же команды
to participate – легкая атлетика
rack and field athletics – участвовать, принимать участие
tournament – турнир
tournaments of Nations of the USSR – Спартакиада Народов СССР
to support – поддерживать, «болеть»
wrestling – борьба
Cinema, Television and Theatres in Russia.
Cinema
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Brainstorm the names of Russian directors and actors. Who is your
favourite?
Which films about Russia would be interested for foreigners?
Do you remember any Russian movies awarded with an Oscar? Do
you like them?
What movies do you think are most popular at present? Do you
recommend seeing them?
Are there any Russian movies that you think are well known abroad?
How did Charlie Chaplin describe Sergey Eisenstain’s Battleship
Potemkin?
To understand the significance of the budding new Russian cinema, it is
necessary to view the background from where it came. After the revolution, the
Bolsheviks were the first to recognize the cinema’s value as a propaganda tool.
In the post-Revolutionary period the most celebrated director was Sergey
Eisenstein, whose great film The Battleship Potemkin (1925) remains one of
the landmarks of world cinema. Charlie Chaplin described it as “the best film in
the world”.
Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky (1938) contains one of the cinema’s great
battle scenes; his Ivan the Terrible (1945) shows the coming to power of the
great tsar amid intrigues and his eventual triumph over his enemies – a discreet
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commentary on Stalinism. In the 1930s, an attempt was made to combine
ideology and Hollywood-style entertainment, typified by Grigory Alexandrov’s
musical comedy Jolly Fellows.
Mikhail Kalatozov’s The Cranes are Flying (1957) – a love story set
during WWII – was judged Best Film at Cannes in 1958. Film making didn’t
escape the structures of Socialist Realism, but this style was artistically
successful.
The 1960s celebrated the triumph of intellectual directors such as Andrey
Tarkovsky, whose films include Andrey Rublyov (1966), Solaris (1972) – The
Russian answer to 2001 – and Stalker (1980), which summed up the Brezhnev
era pretty well with its characters wandering puzzled through a landscape of
clanking trains, rusting metal and over-grown concrete. In the early 1980s,
another attempt was made to emulate Hollywood having produced the Oscarwinning dramatic comedy Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears (directed by
Vladimir Menshov) - a classic story about a provincial girl trying to win the big
city. Such Hollywood adaptations of Soviet realities were declared the new
pattern for the industry.
In Russia, Alexey German’s My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1982) is widely
reckoned to be one of the best Soviet films: set in 1935, it shows with a light
touch the amorous and professional ups and downs of a provincial police
investigator, yet catches the real horror of life under Stalin with its underlying
sense of impending terror.
Glasnost brought new excitement as film-makers were allowed to
reassess Soviet life with unprecedented freedom. Vasily Pichul’s Little Vera
caused a sensation in 1989 with its frank portrayal of a family in chaos
(exhausted wife, drunken husband, rebellious daughter) and its sexual frankness
– mild by Western standards but startling to the Soviet audience.
Russian film production suffered during the 1990s. Most films were hastily
made by upstart private companies as production soared to 400 films a year.
Russia’s perestroika cinema was a theatre of horror. However, some brilliant
movies are being made at present. Nikita Mikhalkov – known to many in the
West with the Russian film industry – is currently the only successful director. His
film Sibirsky Tsiryulnik (The Barber of Siberia) is the most expensive movie
production in Russian cinema history. Another Mikhalkov’s film Burnt by the
Sun (1994) won an Oscar. This is a brilliant film about the Stalinist Russian dark days.
It focuses on a small, elite gathering of family and friends who appreciate the
idealism of Stalin’s visions because they do not have to experience its darker
side of gulags and purges. The story focuses upon a single day in Soviet
revolutionary hero Serguei Kotov’s life. Kotov lives an idyllic country life with his
lovely wife Maroussia and their feisty daughter Nadia. He is highly respected by
the locals. On this day, the Kotovs are visited by the roguishly handsome Dimitri,
who was a former lover of Maroussia. Dimitri is on a dark mission that may have
profound effects on Kotov’s peaceful, happy, and idealistic existence. The film
flirts with sentimentality, but after all, the filmmaker’s goal is to show the toll that a
repressive political regime can exact on the lives of individual citizens.
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At the end of the decade NTV launched its own studio. NTV-Profit and
ORT has financed various films. Indicating Russian cinema’s transformation
from perestroika’s theatre of horrors to one of hope and pride, these days
there is often patriotic applause when the symbol of the former state film
company, Mosfilm, a giant Soviet sculpture of a factory and a collective farm
worker, appears on the screen.
Now a new Russian cinema concentrates on making films. The influx of
Hollywood films, together with a mood of nostalgia, has revived interest in
moviegoing. Last year production jumped with the release of 50 films. Today, a
younger generation of filmmakers dominates. They use contemporary plots and
characters but borrow themes from classic film and literature. The industry is
slowly moving towards making films with universal and commercial appeal.
The recent string of good films and the surge in production has proved the
vitality of the Russian film industry. Its strong emergence from the chaos of
perestroika is a good reason for optimism.
scene – сцена, место действия
attempt - попытка
entertainment - развлечение
celebrated – замечательный, прославленный
director – (зд.) режиссер
film-maker – кинорежиссер, создатель кинофильма
regime - режим
appeal – (зд.) привлекательность
chaos - хаос
plot - сюжет
to award with – награждать (чем-либо)
to be one of the best – быть одним из лучших
ups and downs – превратности, взлеты и падения
focus on (upon) – сосредоточить внимание на…
to appear on the screen - появляться на экране
A Survey of Russian Television
1. What do you think about TV in your country?
2. Which types of programmes are most popular? Which are least
popular?
3. Which Russian TV programmes do you prefer?
4. Should sex and violence be censored, or at least restricted to certain
times?
5. What is your attitude to the statement that people never discovered
their talents because they were to busy staring at the screen
thoughtlessly? What about you?
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Television is one of the primary sources of news and entertainment in
Russia. In Soviet times there were five full-time channels in the USSR. All of
them were under the government’s control. Channel 1 and Channel 2 were
broadcast throughout the Union. Channel 4, the educational channel, was
broadcast in European Russia and Ukraine. The St. Petersburg channel was
available in European USSR and the Moscow channel in the Moscow oblast.
Each of the 14 non-Russian republics had its own national channel which
broadcasted regional programming, often partially in the local language.
Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the television industry in
Russia has experienced remarkable changes. Six years ago virtually all
television in Russia was owned and operated by federal and regional
governments. All domestic programming came from government production
companies or film studios.
In the last six years, all sectors of the television industry in Russia have
seen tremendous growth and change. Nowadays, television news on the national
level is more editorially independent than in Soviet time, but is still strongly
influenced by the interests of the government, and increasingly, by the interests
of the financial shareholders in national channels and networks. At present,
Russia’s TV networks are part of the nation’s power structure. Various
governmental bodies own at least 20 % of the stations.
Historically, television set ownership is high in Russia, and has remained
so since the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a survey of eight regional cities,
73% of households have had a color TV set since 1993, and around 43% have
two or more televisions. Other statistics claim that in European Russia, 93%
have television. Many of the new television sets are imported from Japan, South
Korea, and other East Asian countries. The most popular foreign brands are
Sony and Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Funai, Daewoo, JVC, Sharp, Akai, and
Goldstar have also entered the Russian market.
ORT is a national channel. After the 1991 coup, the new Russian
government renamed Channel 1, or “Central Television”, as it was called during
Soviet times, Ostankino TV. It remained Ostankino, a state channel that also
accepted commercials, until early 1995 when the Yeltsin government took away
control of channel 1 from Ostankino TV and created a new company, called ORT
(Russian Public Television). The state owns 51 % of ORT, while 49 % is owned
by private and public corporations which were invited by the Russian
Government to invest. ORT still broadcasts its signal throughout the CIS.
Different statistics claim that ORT has a potential audience of either 141 or 200
million viewers. The programme Vremya (Time), on ORT remains the most
popular newscast in Russia, with an estimated audience of 14 million viewers
nightly, and around a 26% rating.
RTR is the other government-controlled channel. It is still 100% state
owned.
As the USSR began to disintegrate in 1990, Yeltsin insisted that Russia
acquire its own TV station for Russia, arguing that the other republics had their
own channel. After the coup in 1991, Channel 2 was officially closed, and
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"Russian TV" took its place. Today the official name of Channel 2 is The AllRussian State TV and Radio, but is commonly known as RTR
RTR officially reaches 98.7% of the Russian population through a system
of five satellites and it has 140 million potential viewers in Russia. RTR is also
responsible for one of the three national radio stations broadcast throughout
Russia, Radio Rossii.
Despite being completely owned by the government, RTR is considered
one of the more independent voices in television media. RTR has traditionally
been more critical of the government than ORT.
NTV is a private organization, which means not government controlled but
it supports the president. NTV was created in October 1993 when news
correspondent Evgenii Kiselev left Ostankino and founded his own station with
the help of independent financing. In 1996 NTV received exclusive rights to
channel 4. It currently broadcasts 20 hours per day. Its programming is available
in European Russia, the rest of Russia, and parts of Kazakstan, Belarus, the
Baltics, and Ukraine. It has an estimated potential audience of 100 million
viewers. Probably 30% of all watching television hours at peak times in Russia
comes from non-governmental broadcasters.
NTV is considered the most visible and most successful independent nongovernmental broadcaster in Russia. Its popularity is especially high in Moscow
and in European Russia, where its reputation, viewer ship, and consequent
advertising revenue can be attributed to its strong news and information
programming. Segodnya ("Today"), its flagship news show, and Itogi ("Results"),
its weekly news commentary program, beat state news and commentary
programs on a regular basis in those regions. At present it produces about seven
news programs daily. Other programs, such as the satirical Kukli ("Puppets"), as
well as interview program Geroi dnia ("Hero of the Day"), also consistently
receive top ratings.
Political programmes always occupy prime time on most channels, as
politics have always been a major form of entertainment in the country.
NTV+ is NTV's attempt to create a DBS network. It began broadcasting in
the fall of 1996 on two satellites--GALS-1 and GALS-2. This is significant
because the GALS satellites are the first Russian-made digital-capacity DBS
satellites. NTV+ began with one movie channel, Nashe Kino, and by the end of
1996 had four channels, including two movie channels, a sports channel, and an
entertainment channel. NTV+ is the first serious attempt to offer a
comprehensive, nationwide DBS service and its success is far from guaranteed.
Its expensive viewers pay $239 up front for a dish, receiver, and decoder, and an
additional $12 per month to receive the signal.
During the decade, cable and satellite TV both appeared in Russia
providing a greater choice for those prepared to pay for it. Residents can
subscribe to various satellite systems that bring English language life
everywhere.
A recent survey says that 15% of residents of provincial cities watch local
cable, most between the ages of 25 and 40. A Russian Research survey found
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that cable penetration was 12% nationwide, but varied widely by region. In
Moscow cable reaches 50% of households.
TV-6 Moskva has become one of the more successful non-governmental
networks.
It began operations in January 1993, took its name from the sixth knob on the old
Soviet television and was the sixth channel available in much of the city. TV 6
shows lots of US-style talk shows and series. Recently an especially popular
programme among young people became a new project on TV, called Za
Steklom (Behind the Glass). This was one of the highest-rated television shows
of this year, and it was inspired by the European and American reality
programming of the “Survivor” genre. The concept was sublimely idiotic: a group
of people are watched and videotaped 24 hours a day in a small apartment, and
an edited version is broadcast on Russia’s TV6. Viewers vote out contestants
gradually over the course of a month. The final male and female survivors each
win a flat in Moscow. However, sexual intrigue and raunchy incidents have led to
criticism in the Russian press.
This kind of thing is the last thing Russians need. But success of “Za
Steklom” and the new “Survivor” show on ORT make more of them inevitable.
TV-6 claims to reach some 80 million potential viewers. In Moscow, TV-6
is on the air 20 hours per day. It transmits 15 hours per day to the regions.
Kultura (Culture) is heavy on classical music, theatre, culture news and
old Soviet and Western movies. It claims to be the only noncommercial channel,
as it doesn’t show any commercials.
NTSC is a grouping of stations from four major Siberian cities and
produces original programmes and distributes programming to a network of
about 20 local television stations.
REN-TV was formed in 1991 as a private production company supplying
programmes to Ostankino. It became known for the high quality of its cultural
programming, eventually producing shows for both ORT and NTV. Then in 1996
REN-TV network began broadcasting.
Now it broadcasts a mix of Russian and foreign programming. Although
REN-TV's own programmes have received the most press, about 50% of the
schedule is foreign. REN-TV currently produces some of the more popular talk
shows and cultural programming in Russia.
It has an estimated 45 million viewers across the CIS and broadcasts
seven hours per day on weekdays, nine hours per day on weekends.
CTC (Commonwealth of Television Companies) is a satellite-based
network financed by the American company StoryFirst. CTC transmits six hours
of programming on weekdays and eight hours on weekends. Half of its
programming is western, half is Russian. It does not produce news, claiming that
it does not want to get involved in politics. CTC reaches around 20-25 million
potential viewers.
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TV3 Russia was launched in June 1995. It broadcasts for 10 hours per
day. Most of its programming is entertainment, especially old Soviet films. It
reaches 10 regional stations by satellite, and claims to have 22 million potential
viewers. TV3 has financial backing from two foreign companies, which together
have a collective 50% of the company. Russian government broadcast
companies own the other 50%.
Nowadays a big problem with Russia’s TV is the increase in the amount of
advertising. Advertising messages are usually presented as 15, 30, or 60-second
commercials or announcements before, during, and after programmes. Foreign
advertisers and foreign ad agencies, especially on the national level, dominate
the television ad market. Commercial broadcasting is a huge industry; most
channels get their income from advertisements.
Since 1995 the Federal Law had regulated advertising in Russia. This law
banned the advertising of tobacco and alcohol products on children’s and
religious programmes. Besides, advertising cannot run more than once every 15
minutes.
Local non-governmental television has appeared throughout Russia,
offering not only new sources of entertainment but local, independently operated
news programming. Each region or territory also has its own TV channel –
usually a mix of local news and imported soaps.
Every major city and many small communities are served by at least one
local non-governmental commercial television station, and many cities have
numerous competing channels.
Who watches what?
One of the biggest changes in the way people in Russia have spent their
leisure time in recent years has been the increase in the amount of time spent
watching television. As you might expect, television viewing is less popular in
summer than in winter and more popular with old people than with any other age
group. Viewing also varies according to social class, with professional and
managerial classes watching less than the unskilled and unemployed. On
average, women watch more than men.
However, more TV doesn’t mean better TV and the standard of
programmes drops, at present, with companies concentrating on making
programmes with a mass appeal such as soap operas, quiz shows and situation
comedies. Today it is a typical feature of Russia’s TV.
Many critics complain that producers should be more sensitive to the
effects of television violence on children and adults. In connection with it until
nine o’clock adult programmes containing violence and sexual suggestiveness
are kept to a minimum.
influence – влияние, воздействие
channel – ТВ канал
commercials – ТВ реклама
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advertising messages = advertisements = ad - реклама
broadcast – ТВ вещание, вещать
complain – жаловаться, критиковать
subscribe - подписываться
satellite – спутник, спутниковый
local - местный
feature – характерная черта
violence - насилие
prime-time = peak-time – время, когда наибольшее число зрителей
смотрит телевизор
leisure time – досуг, свободное время
on average – в среднем
mass appeal – притягательный для большего количества людей
Theatre
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Is theatrical life an important part of life in Russia?
Which Russian theatre do you recommend that foreigners to visit?
What is the meaning of the abbreviation MkhAT?
What famous Russian theatre is known all over the world?
What genre of art do you prefer: opera, ballet, drama, or operetta?
Do you know about the unique puppet theatre in Tomsk?
Theatrical life is popular throughout Russia. Russia has around 489
professional and numerous amateur theatres.
The performing arts of the 19th century and the dramatic and ballet
theatres were entirely under government control until the end of the 19th century.
Theatrical life was quite active throughout the century. Famous Russian actors
and dancers of the early part of the century included the ballerina Istomina and
the actor Mikhail Shchepkin. From an international perspective, however, the
greatest success of the Russian theatre was in the area of classical ballet. Since
the 1820s, Russian dancers have reigned supreme on the ballet stage. Many
great choreographers, even those of non-Russian origin, worked for the Russian
Imperial Theatres, including Marius Petipa who choreographed Tchaikovsky's
ballets Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty and developed ballet as a largescale spectacle.
Diaghilev was a brilliant organizer and impresario whose innovative Ballets
Russes premiered many of the most significant ballets of the first quarter of the
century. Although the company was based primarily in Paris, Diaghilev employed
major Russian composers (particularly Stravinsky), artists (e.g., Alexandre
Benois, Goncharova, and Larionov), and dancers (including Vaslav Nijinsky and
Tamara Karsavina) in his legendary company. Ballet was one of the great
successes of the Soviet period as well, not because of any innovations but
because the great troupes of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Kirov
(now Mariinsky) Theatre in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) were able to
preserve the traditions of classical dance that had been perfected in pre128
Revolutionary Russia. The Soviet Union's choreography schools produced one
internationally famous star after another, including the incomparable Maya
Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. In the Bolshoi Theatre,
under artistic director Vladimir Vasiliev, the Bolshoi has staged a remarkable
turnaround from the chaos which marked the final years of the authoritarian rule
of its previous director, Yuri Grigorovich. Big names to watch for in the Bolshoi
company include Nina Anaishvili, Dmitri Belogolovtsev, Sergey Filin and Svetlana
Lunkina. Nowadays, both the ballet and opera companies, with several hundred
artists between them perform a range of Russian and foreign works.
The Moscow Art Theatre (later called the Moscow Academic Art
Theatre), abbreviation MKhAT, is an outstanding Russian theatre of theatrical
naturalism founded in 1898 by two teachers of dramatic art, Konstantin
Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko . Its purpose was to establish
a theatre of new art forms with a fresh approach to its function. Sharing similar
theatrical experience and interests, the cofounders met and it was agreed that
Stanislavsky was to have absolute control over stage direction while NemirovichDanchenko was assigned the literary and administrative duties. The original
ensemble was made up of amateur actors from the Society of Art and Literature
and from the drama classes of the Moscow Philharmonic Society where
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko had taught. Influenced by the German
Meiningen Company, Stanislavsky began to develop a system of training for
actors that would enable them to perform realistically in any sort of role and
situation. After some 70 rehearsals, the Moscow Art Theatre opened with
Aleksey Tolstoy's Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich in October 1898. For its fifth
production it staged Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. The theatre was known
particularly for its productions of the plays of Anton Chekhov whose The Seagull
was the hit of the theatre’s inaugural season. With its revival of The Seagull, the
Art Theatre not only achieved its first major success but also began a long artistic
association with one of Russia's most celebrated playwrights: in Chekhov's
artistic realism, the Art Theatre discovered a writer suited to its aesthetic
sensibilities. In The Seagull, as in all of Chekhov's plays, the Art Theatre
emphasized the subtext - the underlying meaning of the playwright's thought.
Artistically, the Art Theatre tried all that was new. Its repertoire included works of
Maksim Gorky, L.N. Andreyev, Leo Tolstoy, Maurice Maeterlinck, and Gerhart
Hauptmann, among others, and it staged works of political and social
significance as well as satires, fantasies, and comedies. After the Russian
Revolution, it received crucial support from V.I. Lenin and A.V. Lunacharsky, the
first commissar of education in the Soviet Union. In 1922 the Art Theatre toured
Europe and the United States garnering critical acclaim wherever it performed.
Returning to Moscow in 1924, the theatre continued to produce new Soviet plays
and Russian classics until its evacuation in 1941. Two successful tours of
London in the late 1950s and early '60s reestablished its preeminence in world
theatre. The Art Theatre has exercised a tremendous influence on theatres all
over the world: it fostered a number of experimental studios (e.g., Vakhtangov
Theatre, Realistic Theatre, Habima Theatre, Musical Studio of Nemirovich-
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Danchenko), and, today, virtually all professional training in acting uses some
aspects of Konstantin Stanislavsky's method.
At present MkhAT,is also known as the Chekhov Art Theatre and you can
watch the English-language version of Russian classics performed here by the
American Studio.
The Moscow Theatre of Young Spectators, one of the oldest Moscow theatres
began its history in 1918. Today you can watch ‘The Dog’s Heart’ by M.
Bulgakov. It has become a Manifest of the theatre.
Another extremely successful area of theatrical performance was puppet
theatre.
The State Central Puppet Theatre founded by Sergey Obraztsov in Moscow
continues to give delightful performances for patrons of all ages.
Live theatre is popular throughout Russia. Every major city has at least
one theatre and many cities have numerous ones. For example, Tomsk is one of
Siberian’s oldest cities. It has seven various theatres. The Theatre of the Young
Spectator is always an experiment from reading well-known authors to the
searching of new forms. The Theatre of Classical Drama is one of the strongest
theatre groups. Especially popular among young people is the Chamber Theatre
‘Intimacy’. Its actors play within a hands-reach of the spectators. That’s why
their play is filled with special authenticity. The Theatre of Puppet and Actor
‘Skomoroch’ attracts all ages.
Also Tomsk has a unique theater: The Young theatre of puppet plastic arts
‘2+Ku’ is able to perform Shakespeare using children’s material. This theatre is
probably the only one of its kind in the world because, to animate the mechanical
puppets, robotics and computer technologies are used.
theatrical – театральный(ая)
amateur - любительский
dancer – танцор, танцовщица
success - успех
stage - сцена
famous - знаменитый
to give a performance – давать представление
to be founded – быть основанным
to be known – быть известным
hit - хит
repertoire – репертуар
Puppet theatre – кукольный театр
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Учебное пособие «What it is like in Russia ».
Компьютерная верстка Сулаймановой С.И.
Подписано к печати 06.2002г.
Формат 36x25/16. Бумага писчая №2
Плоская печать. Усл. Печ. 4,65. Уч. изд. л. 4,21
Тираж 300 экз.
ИПФ ТПУ. Лицензия ЛТ №1 от 18.07.94
Типография ТПУ. 634034 Томск, пр.Ленина,30
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