Culture of the Don Land. Учебное пособие

victorious; they would construct a Cathedral in the name of the Christ Resurrection.

In defending Azov, the Cossacks affirmed their Oath but did not remember it until 1649. With the support of the Moscow Tsar, Alexei Mikhailovich and the Patriarch Neon, the first wooden Cathedral was built in 1653.

The authorities in Moscow wanted to strengthen the influence of the Orthodox Church among the Cossacks, but the Cathedral was burned and in 1706 the corner-stone of the new Cathedral was laid.

The exciting events of this period in history are connected with Peter 1. Three times he visited Cherkassk (1694, 1696 and 1709) and thanked the Cossacks for their services in the subjugation of Azov. According to the legend. Peter I sent the design of the future Cathedral, builders, two bells, iron, money, books and church utensils to Cherkassk.

The reason for such attention was to turn it into the safe bulwark of the official Orthodox belief on the Don and to show the Turks and Crimean Tatars that Russia was not going to leave the conquest. The construction of the new Cathedral, rebuilt of stone, began in 1709 and ended in 1719. It is a remarkable architectural landmark. The monument to the glory of Russian weapons. The bell-tower of the Cathedral symbolized the Cossack's firm position on the banks of the Don. The decor of the Cathedral – stucco, ceiling and wall painted, the golden five tiered iconostasis – was executed by the best Russian artists of the 17th century. The floor of the cathedral is paved with metal plates on which there are inscriptions indicating the places where the emperors and great princes had prayed.

Upon entering the Cathedral, one can see one more striking sight: the fetters and chains in which Stepan Razin had been put before sending him to Moscow.

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The Cherkassk Cathedral is a very popular place on the Don Land. Each year more than one million Russian and foreign visitors come to see the Cathedral as each stone is evidence of the history of the Don region, Cossacks and their struggle for freedom.

Vocabulary notes:

ancient – древний cathedral – собор cupola – купол adornment – украшение

picturesque – живописный erect – строить

subjugation – покорение, подчинение bulwark – (крепостной) вал, бастион, оплот conquest – завоевание

stucco – штукатурка, (v) – штукатурить execute – исполнять, казнить

pave – мостить, выстилать (пол) inscription – надпись

fetter – ножные кандалы evidence – свидетельство

Activities:

1.Make up a dialogue between an English tourist and a Russian passenger. They both are on board the ship to Cherkassk. They discuss the ancient town Chercassk.

Use the following expressions: attracts all the visitors, it was erected, they confirmed, the first stone was laid, according to the legend, to enjoy great popularity, to be evidence of, with the support.

2.Ask your partner:

1) if he knows something about Voskresensky cathedral in Cherkassk;

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2)about the history of this cathedral;

3)about the role of Peter I in the construction of this cathedral.

3. Give a variant of a newspaper article (a radio program) on this topic.

Text 11. Veshenshaya

North of the Rostov Region the Don flows only for a distance of 120 kilometres through the two northern districts: Verkhnedonskoy and Sholokhovsky. The centre of the latter is stanitsa Veshenskaya. Its name is known to the whole world due to the life and activities of the great Russian and Don writer and legendary personality Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov. He was born on this land and lived here for almost 60 years and wrote many of his novels that made him an inter- nationally-known writer. Here Sholokhov is buried on the high bank of the Don River. Veshnskaya is now a state preservemuseum of M.A.Sholokhov. The years he spent here were the years when his talent as a writer flowered. This place was visited by many prominent men: A.S.Serafimovich, English writer Charles Snow, the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. A literary exhibition has opened in the former building of Veshenskaya gymnasium. Its five halls exhibit documents, manuscripts, photos, letters, the first editions of Sholokhov's books, personal belongings of the writer, the diploma of the Nobel Prize winner, his writing-desk and other things.

Any tourist will be shown the places mentioned in the book «And Quiet Flows the Don». Such as the Maidens' glade, hayfield, Cherny Yar (Black Bank) where Grigori Melekhov and his father went fishing at dawn, the forest of Aksiniya; farm-stead (khutor) Lebiazhy which is the prototype of Gremiachy Log in the novel «Virgin Soil Upturned». On the right

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bank of the Don near Veshenskaya one can see a small but very expressive monument «Eagle».

Just 3 kilometres from Veshenskaya grows a giant oak, a unique natural landmark. Its height is 23 metres; circumference is 6, 6 metres. It is estimated to be 400 years old.

Veshenskaya is a place far from the big cities. Here is a wonderful display of the Don nature where you can enjoy magnificent landscapes or spend your spare time forgetting about the hectic life in the cities. This is our land.

Vocabulary notes: the latter – последний (из упомянутых)

а state preserve-museum – государственный музейзаповедник

personal belongings – личные вещи

the diploma of the Nobel Prize winner – диплом Нобелевского лауреата

Maidens' glade – Девичья поляна hayfield – сенокосный заливной луг

«Virgil Soil Upturned» – «Поднятая целина»

unique natural landmark – уникальный природный объект

circumference – окружность

it is estimated – (зд.) считают, что ему hectic – суматошный

Activities:

Discussing points:

1.What books by M.A. Sholokhov do you know? Which of them do you like and why?

2.What monuments to the characters of M.A. Sholokhov's books do you know? Where are they situated?

3.Do you know when M.A. Sholokhov became the Nobel Prize winner?

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4. Have you ever gone fishing at dawn? Describe your impressions.

Read and translate the text:

Shchukar's Story (from «The Virgin Soil Upturned» by M.A.Sholokhov) (supplementary reading)

...Before I was nine, dogs had bitten me, a goose pecked me, and a young foal nearly kicked me to death. And after that age the things that happened to me got more and more serious. And in my tenth year I was cauhgt, yes, caught in the natural sense of the word, on a hook... Just an ordinary hook, they catch fish with. In those days there used to be a deaf and shaky old fellow in Gremyachy called Kupir... And under the dam the carp used to breed, and some great big pike. So the old fellow sat there by the bush with his fishing-rods. And we, youngsters, had found a way of biting off his hooks. The old fellow was deaf as a post, you see, if you poured water into his ear, he still wouldn't notice anything. So we'd go down to the stream together, take off our clothes behind a bush, and one of us would creep quietly into the water without making any ripples. Then he'd dive under the old fellow's lines, get hold of the outside one, snap it off with his teeth and swim back behind the bush. And the old fellow would put in his line with trembling hands and then shout: «Eh, you devil, bit it off again? Holy Mother of God!» He'd thought it was pike, you see, and of course he was wild because he'd lost his hook. He used to buy his hooks in the shop, but we hadn't got anything to buy hooks with so we pinched his. Well, one time I had bitten off one hook and was thinking of taking another... And I'd only just got hold of the line and put it in my mouth, when the old fellow, he gave it such a pull! The line slipped out of my hand and the hook got caught in my upper lip. I tried to shout but the water poured

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into my mouth. And there he was... trying to pull me out. And I was kicking my legs in great pain... Then I came up on a top and gave a terrible yell. The old fellow was struck dumb, he tried to make the sign of the cross and just couldn't, and his face turned black with fear. And how could he help being scared to death? He'd been fishing for pike and fished out a boy! He stood there a bit, then how he ran!.. And I went home with that hook still in my lip. Father cut it out, then thrashed me till I passed out. But what was the use? My lip healed up again, but ever since I've been called Shchukar.

(Translated by Robert Daglish. Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1979).

Vocabulary notes:

pecked – щипал foal – жеребенок

in the natural sense of the word – в буквальном смысле слова

deaf and shaky old fellow – глухой и ветхий дед dam – плотина, запруда

used to breed – нерестился deaf as a post – глухой

Text 12. Tanais

Find the answers to the following questions:

1.Are there any signs of the ancient settlements near

Rostov?

2.When was Tanais built?

3.When was the town completely destroyed?

4.What can you say about the ancient history of Tanais? There are signs of the ancient settlement on the bank of

the River Myortvy Donets, near Rostov. But the exact location of Tanais, the characteristics of the life of Tanais ancient citi-

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zens, is not exactly known. The first attempt to find Tanais was made by impassioned archaeologist, I.Stempkovsky, who was at the time a colonel in the Russian Army. He visited the Don Mouth in 1825. The ruins of ancient Tanais were said to be found to the north of the village Nedvigovka. Excavations in the area proved this.

Judging from results of the excavations, Tanais was built in the III Century B.C. by the Greeks of Bospor Kingdom on the high bank of the Myortvy Donets.

In 1955 an expedition under the supervision of D.Shelov was organized by the Institute of Archaeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Rostov Museum of Regional Study and Rostov University.

The population of Tanais was mixed and consisted of Greeks, Scythians, Sarmats and Meats. The Moot Sea (Now the Azov Sea), where the River Myortvy Donets flows, was near the town and created favorable conditions for the development of trade, not only with Bospor, but also with the other towns of continental Greece and small Asia. Numerous remains of ceramics found during the excavations bear witness to the full flourish of Tanais during the ancient times. The town was completely destroyed by the Khun tribes in 375 A. D. The population left the town and it ceased to exist.

In Tanais a historical-archaeological museum reserve was set up that occupies the territory of 20 hectares. One can see the Fortress walls, remains of towers, streets, yards, houses, wells and cellars. The museum shows different things found during excavations. The most striking are amphorae of different sizes. They were brought to Tanais in the Ill century B.C. from the island Rodos. There are also different samples of local ceramics: plates, mugs, lanterns, beads.

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Each exhibit taken from the ruins carries the unique features of its time and says much of the population.

Many things are made of silver. Visitors are interested in examining the remains of the iron swords, arrowheads, an axe, bells and scissors. The well-known ancient Greek writer and traveller, Strabon, characterized ancient Tanais «as the Centre of Civilization in the Don Region», the largest commercial center of barbarians after Pantikapei. Our Don Region is a «fantastic region» as Chekhov called it, rich in legends and history.Tanais is one of the wonderful sights of our Region.

Vocabulary notes:

attempt – попытка impassioned – страстный excavation – раскопки

(v) judge – судить

under supervision of – под руководством flourish – расцвет

A.D., anno Domini – нашей эры cease – прекращать, переставать reserve – запас, резерв

well – колодец

cellar – подвал, винный погреб B.C., before Christ – до нашей эры samples – образец

mug – кружка lantern – фонарь beads – бусы

Activities:

1. Make up a dialogue between an English and a Russian passenger. They both go by electric train in the direction of Taganrog. They discuss the ancient town Tanais, which lies between Rostov and Taganrog.

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Use the following expressions: I say, I have been there before, I wonder, if you come over there ...; You wouldn’t have a chance to enjoy..., Moreover; If you are interested in ...; that’s the very reason why I’m undertaking it; To take snapshorts, the west type of camera, is this your first trip to ...

2. Express your pride in our «fantastic region».

Text 13. Liventsovskaya Fortress

Find the answers to the questions:

1.What is the most ancient construction in the Don Re-

gion?

2.How old is it?

3.The construction of the fortress is typical on the Don steppe, isn't it?

4.What purpose was this fortress built for and why?

5.What is characteristic of this construction and why? One of the most interesting historical monuments in the

Don region is Liventsovskaya Fortress located on the right bank of the river Myortvyi Donets near the village of Karatayevo. The construction is not typical on the Don steppes: the powerful walls of the Fortress are built of huge, monolithic stones. The Liventswskaya Fortress is of the same age as famous Troy and was discovered years ago by the tireless Don archaeologist S.Bratchenko. The fortress dates back to the Bronze Age (II-III millennium B.C.) Archaeologists don't know what tribes inhabited this steppe. But according to excavations it is clear that the Fortress was built by the tribes of cattlebreeders for the purpose of protecting their cattle grazing in the Don delta. The cattle were their main source of income. The fortress was originally in a semicircle, its moats and passages were cut in the limestone rocks. Judging by archaeological finds, the fortress stood the siege of warlike tribes more than

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once. Archaeologist found arrowheads imbedded in the walls of the Fortress. Russian scientists continue studying the unique defense system used almost 5 thousand years ago.

Activities:

1.Discuss the text in the form of a dialogue. Ask your partner:

a) if you know something about Liventsovskaya fortress; b) about the unique form of this fortress;

c) about the purpose of this ancient construction.

2.Speak about:

a)the geographical location of Liventsovskaya fortress;

b)the originality of the construction;

c)the inhabitants of the steppe where this fortress is situ-

ated.

Post-reading activities:

1.Read and discuss the texts given above in the form of a group dialogue.

2.Round table. Take the roles of British and American young tourists and Russian students of the Rostov Pedagogical Institute who have come to the meeting with foreign guests. Discuss some interesting places of the Rostov Region with them.

3.Make groups of 3 or 4. Choose a city and make a presentation of it in the form of an advertisement.

4.Work in pairs. Imagine one of you is a foreign tourist and the second is his guide. Make up a dialogue on the given topic.

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