Text 13. Standard Russian

The standard well-known form of Russian is generally called the Modern Russian Literary Language. It arose in the beginning of the 18th century with the modernization reforms of the Russian state by Peter the Great. It developed from the Moscow (Middle or Central Russian) dialect substratum under some influence of the Russian chancellery language of the previous centuries. It was Lomonosov who first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755. In 1783 the first explanatory dictionary of Russian by Russian Academy of Science appeared. During the end of the 18th and 19th centuries Russian went through the stage (known as "Golden Age") of stabilization and standardization of its grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, and of the flourishing its world-famous literature, and became the nationwide literary language. Also until the 20th century its spoken form was the language only of the upper noble classes and urban population, Russian peasants from the countryside continued speaking in their own dialects. By the middle of the 20th century Standard Russian finally forced out its dialects with the compulsory education system, established by the Soviet government, and mass-media (radio and TV). Though some dialectical features (such as fricative /ɣ/) are still observed in colloquial speech.

Central or Middle Russian dialects is one of the main groups of the Russian dialects. Being of Northern Russian origin, however assumed many Southern Russian features.

The official dialect (Standard Russian) originates from a dialect from this group.

The territory of the primary formation (e.g. that consist of "Old" Russia of the 16th century before Eastern conquests by Ivan IV) is fully or partially modern regions (oblasts): Moscow, Tver, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Pskov, Novgorod, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl (in Rostov), Ryazan (in Kasimov) and the enclave of Chukhloma.

The territory of the second formation (e.g. where Russians settled after the 16th century) consist of most the land to the South-East of Moscow, that is the middle and lower Volga, Ural as well as Siberia and Far East.

Central Russian is the transitional stage between the North and the South, so some of its dialects closer to the North has northern features, and those closer to the South has the southern ones.

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Text 14.

A.S. Pushkin

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin 6June[O.S. 26 May]1799 – 10 February[O.S. 29 January]1837) was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

Born into the Russian nobility in Moscow, Pushkin published his first poem at the age of fifteen, and was widely recognized by the literary establishment by the time of his graduation from the Imperial Lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo.

While under the strict surveillance of the Tsar's political police and unable to publish, Pushkin wrote his most famous play, the drama Boris Godunov. His novel in verse, Eugene Onegin, was serialized between 1825 and 1832.

Notoriously touchy about his honour, Pushkin fought a total of twenty-nine duels, and was fatally wounded in such an encounter with Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès. D'Anthès, a French officer serving with the Chevalier Guard Regiment, had been attempting to seduce the poet's wife, Natalya Pushkina. Pushkin's early death at the age of 37 is still regarded as a catastrophe for Russian literature.