Red Square

The heart of Moscow is Red Square. And the heart of Red Square is the Kremlin. The first wooden Kremlin was built by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, then it was rebuilt in the reigns of Ivan Kalita, Dmitri Donskoy and Ivan III. By the end of the 15th century new brick walls completed the construction of the present Kremlin with its beautiful red walls and towers crowned with ruby stars. The Spasskaya Tower is the symbol of the Kremlin. It was built in 1491 and is 71 metres high. The tallest Trinity Tower, the Kutafia Tower, the Tower of the Senate, the St. Nicholas Tower are unforgettable for everyone. Near the Kremlin you can see Pokrovsky Cathedral which is also known by its folk name- the Vasili Blazhenny Cathedral. It was built at the end of the 16th century by architects Barma and Posnik in memory of Russia’s conquest of the Kazan Kingdom in 1552.

In front of this ancient Cathedral you can see a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. It was designed by I. Martos in 1818 to commemorate the Russian victory over the Poles in 1612. In the middle of Red Square there was a special place of execution- Lobnoye Mesto.

There are some other places to see in Red Square. They are Mausoleum, the State History Museum, the Great Kremlin Palace with its armoury and Granovitaya Palata, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, Annunciation and Archangelsky Cathedrals and some others.

3. Find the answers.

1. It is the heart of Moscow.
2. It is the heart of Red Square.
3. It was built in 1491.
4. It is the tallest tower of the Kremlin.
5. This cathedral was built in memory of Russia’s conquest of the Kazan Kingdom.
6. It was a special place of execution.
7. This monument was designed to commemorate the victory over the Poles.

4. Quiz

1. What circus is the oldest in Moscow?
2. What was Yuri Nikulin?
3. Most people are greatly fond of circuses, aren’t they?
4. How many different arenas are there in Vernadsky Prospect Circus?
5. Which tower is the symbol of the Kremlin?
6. What is the folk name of Pokrovsky Cathedral?
7. Who built Pokrovsky Cathedral?
8. What was Lobnoye Mesto used for?
9. Where is Granovitaya Palata located?
10. What museum is the largest museum of European art in Moscow?
11. Whose father was Professor Ivan Tsvetayev?
12. What was the original name of the museum?
13. What museum gave a basis for the Pushkin Museum’s collections of Western Art?

5. Home assignment: Any country has its own symbols and images which are usually a part of its history and traditions, and I am sure you have heard many names out of the list given below. Look at the list attentively and try to arrange them in the right columns according to the countries they are located in. Be attentive and try to fill in the table as quick as possible.

The Elisseysky Palace;
Red Square;
The Louvre British Museum;
The Tretyakov Gallery;
Houses of Parliament;
South Carolina University;
Oxford;
Harvard;
Gorky Park;
Cambridge;
The White House;
Moscow State University;
Hyde Park;
Times Square;
The Kremlin;
American Museum of Natural History;
The Sorbonne;
Bolshoi Theatre;
Central Park;
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Table “Symbols, images of Russia and other countries”

Government Office

Educational

Institute

Entertainment Centre

National

Parks

Britain

France

Russia

the USA

​

dimar3256    3   22.03.2020 02:36    10