Enlightening in Turkistan

With a famous Russian artist Vasiliy Vereshchagin Mikhail Skobelev got acquainted in 1870. This meeting took place at a unique restaurant of Tashkent. Attractive appearance of Mikhail Skobelev, skill to keep without show-off, an open having sight, frankness in statements and judgments - all this made possible acquaintance which turned into a strong men's friendship later.

Vasiliy Vereshchagin made an industrious trip over Turkistan to embody in his pictures that new territory, its historical past, original culture, people, beauty of ancient architecture, eastern landscapes. But many other things attracted him in Turkistan. He came to find out the truth about a war about which he read and heard much on Caucasus. Vasiliy Vereshchagin took part almost in all large battles, for what he was awarded with the Cross of Saint George.

Exercise № 69. Translate into English a profile on Vasiliy Vereshchagin.

А) Василий Васильевич - знаменитый русский художник, путешественник и писатель. Он родился в Новгородской губернии в 1842 году, и начал рисовать с детства. По окончании курса в московском кадетском корпусе, он в 1860 году поступил в Академию Художеств. В 1867 году он отправился в Туркестан. Там он состоял при туркестанском генерал-губернаторе Кауфмане и в 1868 году отличился в боевом деле, отразив нападение неприятелей на Самарканд.

Весной 1869 года в Санкт-Петербурге, на туркестанской выставке помещены были этюды В. В. Верещагина и три картины: "После удачи", "После неудачи" и "Опиумоеды", а также фотография с уничтоженной им же самим картины "Бача со своими поклонниками". С 1870 по 1873 год Верещагин работал в Мюнхене над картинами из Туркестанской войны и туркестанского быта. В 1873 году выставил в Хрустальном дворце в Лондоне всю коллекцию своих туркестанских картин; В 1874 году Совет Академии Художеств возвёл Верещагина в звание профессора живописи.

Б) Study these pictures of Vasiliy Vereshchagin from his Turkistan collection. Try to describe the situations shown on the pictures. Also, try to predict what might have happened after the shown scene.

а ) b) c)

Many other Russian people came to Turkistan to help these lands to overcome difficulties. Among them there were scientists and professors, sculptors and poets, engineers and business people. For instance, as literacy of Turkistan at those years equaled only 3 per cent, the Russian educational mission were establishing primary and secondary schools and were doing their best at teaching local people to write and read. During the 1920s the Russian government sent a train filled with talented and well-experienced professors, teacher and researchers who assisted much in establishment of the first university and a medical institute in Tashkent and later on the Academy of Sciences. Among these people we should mention famous Russian mathematicians and geologists, poets and writers, historians. Alexander Uspenskiy, Sergey Taratunin and others prepared a larger number of scholars at various higher institutions. Many streets and avenues carry names of these people.