anglysky

alternative is the Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest continuous railway in the world, a journey which is one of the greatest travel adventures. The most scenic part of the journey is between Irkutsk and Khabarovsk.

5.Project work. Have a look at the advert below. Design a similar ad about any place you have already visited or would like to visit. Mind your target audience! Mind that your ad should be attractive for customers! Add photos!

Visit St Petersburg!

This is Moscow’s elegant cousin, with a great amount of palaces, superb museums and restaurants, all spread over 42 islands, giving it its nickname of the “Venice of the North”. In comparison to Moscow, which tends to be more Eastern in character, St Petersburg has always retained a European flavour. The Palace Square and the Winter Palace are among the most popular attractions. Tired of the city? Head to the shores of Lake Ladoga for a picnic…in the right season of course!

UNIT 3

Famous Russian Museums

Lead-in

1.Answer the questions.

a)How often do you visit museums?

b)Which museums seem most interesting to you?

c)What is the role of museums in the development of our culture?

2.Think of as many words concerning museums as you can. Write them down. Share your experience with your partner.

Reading

1.Read the texts quickly and say what each museum has on display.

2.Read the texts more carefully and answer the questions.

a)When was the State Russian Museum established?

b)What was its original collection composed of?

c)What is the history of the main building of the museum?

d)What did this building become famous for?

e)How did the Ethnographic department start?

f)When was its status changed?

g)Why is the Russian Museum of Ethnography important? Give five reasons.

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3.Explain the words in italics.

4.Work in pairs. Each student chooses one of the texts and retells it in 5–7 sentences to the partner.

The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of the Russian fine art in St Petersburg. The museum was established on April 13, 1895, upon enthronement of Nicholas II to commemorate his father, Alexander III. Its original collection was composed of artworks taken from the Hermitage Museum, Alexander Palace, and the Imperial Academy of Arts. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, many private collections were nationalized and relocated to the Russian Museum.

The main building of the museum is the Mikhailovsky Palace, a splendid neoclassical residence of Grand Duke Michail Pavlovich, was built in 1819–25 according to Carlo Rossi’s design on Square of Arts in St Petersburg. After the death of the Grand Duke the residence was named in his wife’s honour as the Palace of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and became famous for its many theatrical presentations and balls.

Some of the halls of the palace retain the Italianate opulent interiors of the former imperial residence. Other buildings assigned to the Russian museum include the Summer House of Peter I (1710–14), the Marble Palace of Count Orlov (1768– 85), St Michael's Castle of Emperor Paul (1797-1801), and the Stroganov Palace on the Nevsky Prospekt (1752–54).

Ethnographic Department

The Ethnographic Department was originally set up in a building specially designed by Vladimir Svinyin in 1902. It occupied the place which previously was eastern service wing, the stables and the laundry of Mikhailovsky Palace. The museum soon housed gifts received by Emperor's family from representatives of peoples inhabiting various regions of the Russian Empire. These were supplemented by regular expeditions to various parts of the Russian Empire which began in 1901. Further exhibits were purchased by Nicholas II and other members of his family as State financing was not enough to purchase new exhibits. In 1934, the Ethnographic Department was given the status of an independent museum.

The Russian Museum of Ethnography is the museum of the peoples of Russia. There are more than 150 peoples speaking various languages, which lived on the territory of Russia for centuries and finally engrained there.

Such museum was a desirable object in thoughts of many Russians tsars and Emperors Alexander III was dreaming of the museum where he could “place” Russia: treasures of national and folk culture, arts and crafts, and the main treasure - its peoples in an indispensable image and variations of the ethnic cultures.

The Emperor Nickolas II, Alexander's III heir, made father's dream come true by establishing the Russian Museum and erecting the Palace of the Peoples - the Russian Museum of Ethnography.

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The Museum is a great scientific and research center which has half a million of exhibits and photographs of the natives of Russia. It is an effort to capture folk spirit embodied in objects, symbols, signs of ethnic culture. It not only preserves the past of Russia in all its inmost details but brings it back to life, connecting history and modern life.

After the scientific research and conservation work the museum articles become more than just material pieces that form an exhibition portfolio of the museum. They deliver knowledge about the Russian peoples abroad.

The range of demand for the ethno-cultural information contained in the objects of traditional culture is extremely huge. Looking for the self-identity, interest in life of their ancestors the offspring want to find the answer not only in the contemporary multinational Russia but also abroad.

The Museum is ready to discuss various possibilities of organization ethnographic exhibitions from its collections as a bank of the ethno cultural data the value of which cannot be overestimated.

5.Project work. Prepare a presentation on any museum you are interested in. Cover the following aspects: a) the name; b) whereabouts; c) history;

d)collections it preserves; e) its modern life; f) its cultural role for the community.

UNIT 4

Russian Theatre: Yesterday and Today

Lead-in

1.What forms of entertainment do you know? What forms are popular in Russia?

2.Where would you choose to go? Rock music festival, Drama Theatre performance, cinema or circus? Explain your choice.

3.Match the collocations. What form of entertainment are they related to? There is an example, given to you: performance times.

4.Work in groups of 3 or 4 students to discuss the following questions. What Russian theatres are famous not only in our country but also abroad? What are the reasons of their success in your opinion?

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Reading

1.Before reading the text, try to guess the answers to the questions below.

a)What were the early Russian theatres like?

b)Did the church have its own theatre?

c)Who ordered to build a public theatre in Russia?

d)Who were the first playwrights whose masterpieces were staged in Russian theatres?

e)In what period of time did Russian theatre begin to change?

f)Was Russian theatre suppressed by the government?

2.Read the text quickly to find out if your answers were right.

3.Read the text again and give Russian equivalents to the words in bold taking into account the context.

4.Work in pairs. Explain to each other (take turns) the words in italics. Use them in your own sentences.

Looking back to the roots of theatre in Russia we find that the first theatricals were pagan shows with dramatic recitations of fables, tales and proverbs, and singing and dances, performed by traveling minstrels. The Orthodox Church and authorities persecuted those daring lovers of liberty who were closely connected with pagan traditions. These traditions were so strong that in spite of the vehement persecution it lasted for a long time – till the end of the 17th century.

As an alternative to the pagan shows in the 16th century church theatre appeared. It performed Biblical stories. In 1672 people saw the opening of the first theatre in Russia that would stage plays on Biblical themes. That was the theatre at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1702 Peter the First ordered to build a public theatre. The theatre seated several hundred spectators.

Theatrical life in St.-Petersburg started from 1752 when Fyodor Volkov’s amateurish troupe was invited from Yaroslavl town. The end of the 18th – early 19th centuries was the time of serf theatre which sprang up in many estates.

In the 19th century Moscow and St.-Petersburg became centres of theatrical life. That time was the birth of such famous theatres as the Maly Theatre which was founded in 1824, the Bolshoi Theatre which replaced the burned Peter’s Theatre in 1825 and Alexandrinsky Drama Theatre which appeared in St.-Petersburg in 1832.

The first masterpieces of Russian drama were brilliant plays by Griboyedov and Gogol. By the middle of the century there came forward Nikolai Ostrovsky’s plays, which encouraged formation of a new generation of actors. The most important event of the period was the foundation of Moscow Art Theatre by Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in 1898. Russian drama theatre as we know it today is in many ways rooted in the school of those genius stage directors.

The turn of the 20th century marked the burst of theatrical activities and searching for new styles. It may seem strange but the conservative art of ballet

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renovated comparatively fast. The powers and capabilities of the new Russian ballet found their full expression in Diaghilev’s ‘Ballets Russes’ in Paris, starting from 1907.

Later drama theatre came to life. In St.-Petersburg it was created by Vera Komissarzhevskaya with V. Meyerkhold as a stage director. ‘Old Theatre’ was the “child” of Nikolai Yevreinov, the idea of ‘Modern Theatre’ belonged to Konstantin Mardzhanov, and Chamber Theatre in Moscow was founded by Alexander Tairov in 1914, as well as Meyerkhold’s studio in Petrograd and Yevgeni Vakhtangov’ studio in Moscow.

In the Soviet period lively theatre innovations lasted for about 15 years, along with democratization of the theatre and engaging such gifted playwrights as Mikhail Bulgakov, V. Vishnevsky, V. Ivanov and N. Pogodin. However, in the 1930s innovative theatres became a subject for suppression and their activities were cut short (Meyerkhold’s Theatre, Jewish Theatre of Solomon Mikhoels and Tairov’s Chamber Theatre). Russian theatre as a part of the Soviet theatre had to fit in the rigid frames of the ideological dictatorship.

Today the Russian theatre enjoys utter freedom of creativity, if happily manages to overlook commercial conditions and demands which still prove to be limited, perhaps more than ever. Nowadays theatres continue classical traditions staging world-famous Russian and foreign playwrights’ works of the past. But there are also a lot of modern theatrical formations working with young talented authors and directors who follow new style trends, develop amazing approaches to performing classics and use a diversity of high-tech equipment which helps to make theatrical performances spectacular and stunning shows.

5.Project work. Imagine you write a culture column in a newspaper. Using different media find out new or unusual theatrical formations and write an article about one of them. You may include the following aspects: a) the time of its start; b) founder(s); c) repertoire; d) leading actors and e) problems to be overcome.

UNIT 5

Cinema: History. Modernity. Personalities

Lead-in

1.Work in pairs. Share what you know about the beginning of cinematograph: who was the pioneer, where and when it was started, and what it was like.

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2.Look at the words below and say what they relate to.

Romance, cartoon, historical drama, horror, science fiction, musical, comedy, action.

3.What type(s) of films do you like?

4.Work in pairs. Tell your partner about a film you have recently watched. Think of the: title, author’s name, genre, plot, main characters. You may use the adjectives, given to you: unforgettable, excellent, splendid, great, superb, brilliant, fantastic, charming, fascinating, cool, impressive, hilarious, touching, amazing; disappointing, awful, dreadful, fearful, awesome, unoriginal, unpleasant, ungifted; weird, odd, strange, mysterious, frightening.

Reading

1.Read the text and say what type of writing it relates to: historical reference, review, magazine (newspaper) article or some other?

2.Look through each paragraph. Summarize it in one or two sentences which give the idea of peculiarities characterizing development of cinematograph in Russia.

The first films seen in the Russian Empire were brought in by the Lumière brothers, who exhibited films in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. The same month, Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia, recording the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin.

The first Russian narrative film Stenka Razin was produced by Aleksandr Drankov and directed by Vladimir Romashkov. It was based on historical events told in a popular folk song. The first Russian animated film appeared in 1910. Among the notable Russian filmmakers of the era were Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Ivan Mozhukhin, who made Defence of Sevastopol in 1912. Yakov Protazanov created Departure of a Grand Old Man, a biographical film about Leo Tolstoy. In 1916, 499 films were made in Russia, more than three times the number of just three years earlier.

As with much Soviet art during the 1920s, films addressed major social and political events of the time. Probably the single most important film of that period was Sergei Eisenstein's work under the title The Battleship Potemkin, not only because of its depiction of events leading up to the 1905 Revolution, but also because of innovative cinematic techniques. The other notable film of the period was Mother by Vsevolod Pudovkin (1926). During the Soviet times filmmaking, like other spheres of culture, became a subject for almost total state control.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Soviet film-makers were given a less constricted environment, though tough censorship still remained. That period introduced films which got recognition outside the USSR. It was Ballad of a

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Soldier which won the 1961 BAFTA award for the Best Film and The Cranes Are Flying. Height is still considered to be one of the best films of the 1950s. It also became the foundation of the Bard movement.

3.Read the text below and tell the class what problems of contemporary Russian cinematography are implied.

4.Explain the words in italics.

Moscow Film Festival bids to boost Russian Cinema

The Moscow Film Festival opened June 18 (2010) to a star-studded ceremony and an international jury headed by the acclaimed director Luc Besson, as the country struggles to put its industry on the world map.

Begun in 1935 under Soviet leader Josef Stalin, the festival is the second oldest in the world after that of Venice. It will award its prize to one of 17 productions, including ones from Hungary, Russia and France.

The Russian film industry has seen a dramatic revival in recent years, enabled by state largesse and private investment fueled by a decade of energy-export driven growth prior to the 2008 recession.

There has been an explosion in new cinemas opening in Russia in recent years, reversing a long decline in the 1990s.

Festival president Nikita Mikhalkov, an Oscar-winning director, said the Russian industry was looking to consolidate rapid growth and build a mature and sustainable industry that could compete with the West.

"Hopefully we shall see an effective film market emerge, which will happen as soon as we have enough good theatres and good distribution," Mikhalkov said. His $55 million budget sequel to the Oscar-winning film Burned by the Sun, currently being shown across the country, failed to impress critics when it opened last month and did not receive any awards at the Cannes film festival.

Russian cinema critics said this was a sign that the quality of Russian filmmaking was not keeping pace with growing budgets.

The Russian government has used its investment in Russian cinema as a means of instilling patriotism in a population whose self esteem was badly hit by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the flood of Western cultural imports that followed.

The far-right Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who attended the opening, told Reuters he was thrilled at the growing clout of the country's cinema. "Everything is modern here and there are almost no American films here because English and American film production appears to be dying. Hopefully that is why our films will take first place," he said.

(MOSCOW Reuters; Writing by Ben Judah; Editing by Paul Casciato)

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5.Find synonyms to the following words: star-studded, largesse, reverse, decline, rapid, mature, sustainable, emerge, compete.

6.Work in groups of 3. Read the text below. Tell each other about Mikhalkov the Actor, Mikhalkov the Director and Mikhalkov the Businessman.

Born to a family of celebrated painters and poets, Muscovite Nikita Mikhalkov is the younger brother of director Andrei Konchalovsky. An actor in theater and films since the age of 16, Mikhalkov also studied cinema at Moscow's State Film School in the 1960s. He debuted as a director in 1970 with his diploma film A Quiet Day at the End of the War. He then returned to acting for a few years, finally unveiling his first full-length feature, Svoy Sredi Chuzhikh, Chuzhoy Sredi Svoikh, in 1973. An avowed idolater of playwright Anton Chekhov, Mikhalkov adapted Chekhov's very first play, Platonov, into the autumnal dramatic film An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977). Mikhalkov won several awards for this effort, and would do so again for his subsequent films Oblomov (1980) and the Italian-produced Oci Ciornie (Dark Eyes, 1987). In 1995, a breathless Mikhalkov, in the company of his beaming young daughter, accepted the Best Foreign Picture Oscar for his Burnt By the Sun (1994).

Mikhalkov used the critical and financial triumph of Burnt by the Sun to raise $25,000,000 for his most epic venture to date, The Barber of Siberia (1998). The film, which was screened out of competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, was designed as a patriotic extravaganza for domestic consumption. It featured Julia Ormond and Oleg Menshikov, who regularly appears in Mikhalkov's films, in the leading roles. The director himself appeared as Tsar of Russia Alexander III.

The film received the Russia State Prize and spawned rumours about Mikhalkov's presidential ambitions. The director, however, chose to administer the Russian cinema industry. Despite much opposition from rival directors, he was elected the President of the Russian Society of Cinematographers and has managed the Moscow Film Festival since 2000. He also set the Russian Academy Golden Eagle Award in opposition to the traditional Nika Award.

In 2005, Mikhalkov resumed his acting career, starring in three brand-new movies – The Councillor of State, a mystery film which broke the Russian boxoffice records, Zhmurki, a noir-drenched comedy about the Russian Mafia and Krzysztof Zanussi's Persona non grata.

On September 8, 2007, Mikhalkov’s film 12, a modern adaptation of Sidney Lumet's court drama Twelve Angry Men, received a special Golden Lion for the “consistent brilliance” of its work and was praised by many critics at the Venice Film Festival. Recently he took on a role of the executive producer of an epic film 1612.

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On January 22, 2008, Mikhalkov's film 12 was named as a nominee for the 2008 Academy Awards. Commenting on the nomination, Mikhalkov said, "I am overjoyed that the movie has been noticed in the United States and, what's more, was included in the shortlist of five nominees. This is a significant event for me." One of Russia's key filmmakers – whose name is familiar in Europe and in the West – Oscar-winner Nikita Mikhalkov has presented his long-awaited WWII epic drama, “Burnt by the Sun 2”. The film competed for awards at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, but did not receive any.

(Russian History Encyclopedia)

7.Project work. Carry out a survey into your group mates’ attitude about a Russian (animated) film that you’ve recently watched. Include the following aspects to identify success of the film:

–plot;

–music;

–costumes;

–work of cameramen;

–work of actors/actresses.

You can use 5 or 10-point system (or your own one) for easier estimation.

E.g.: the plot – 7 people out of 10 give it 4 points out of 5. So it’s success.

UNIT 6

Classical Russian Ballet

Lead-in

1.Discuss in class the following questions.

a)What does the word “art” mean? What does it imply?

b)Can we think of ballet as a piece of art? Explain your answer.

c)Russian ballet: is it special? Is there a secret why people all over the world consider it to be the finest art?

d)Do you like ballet? Have you got a favourite ballet performance? When did you last see it?

2.Work in pairs. Student 1 is Russian, Student 2 is a foreigner. Student 2 has never seen Russian ballet but heard a lot. He asks questions about it, and Student 1 tries to answer.

Reading

1.Before reading the text guess the answers to the following questions, using your general knowledge background:

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a)Who founded the “Russian Ballet” theatre?

b)What traditions does the “Russian Ballet” follow?

c)What is the main Russian choreographic educational institution?

d)Why is Russian choreography considered to be of the highest level?

e)Why are performances of the “Russian Ballet” still up-to-date?

f)What is meant by Russian classic ballet?

g)What makes Russian ballet so different?

h)Who takes part in the “Russian Ballet” performances?

2.Read the text and check your answers. Were you right?

3.Divide the text according to the following headlines: ballet is a Russian phenomenon, the beginning of the Bolshoi theatre, the reasons for recognition St. Petersburg ballet style, the troupe of Russian Ballet theatre, St. Petersburg theatre success today.

4.Explain the words in italics.

"A soulful flight", said Alexander Pushkin about Russian ballet. Russian classical dance has made the name all over the world, and its success is usually, and not surprisingly associated with the Bolshoi.

Russia is prolific for great people almost in every sphere of scientific and cultural life. It has some phenomena which is impossible to find anywhere else. One of such phenomena is its exquisite ballet. “The Nutcracker”, “Swan Lake”, and “Romeo & Juliet” performances are admired in all countries!

The Bolshoi theatre is one of the leading ballet and opera companies in the world. The imposing home of the internationally-famed ballet and opera was constructed in 1824 by Osip Bove. Initially it was begun in 1773 as a dancing school for the Moscow Orphanage. For much of its history the Bolshoi was overshadowed by the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, but with Moscow's restoration as the capital in 1918 it gained preeminence. For most of the last three decades the Bolshoi was headed by Yuri Grigorovich, an artistic director widely known for his accomplished, classical choreography. Under his tenure, and due to remarkably gifted dancers, the Bolshoi became known as one of the world's greatest ballet theatres. Its performances elicit international acclaim, and an evening at the Bolshoi remains one of Moscow's sublime pleasures. It is a lovely, acoustically-excellent theatre; it is really a very captivating venue.

St. Petersburg Russian ballet theatre was founded in the 1990 by the actors of Kirov ballet. The Russian ballet creative credo is to save the unique spirit and performing traditions of Petersburg and Leningrad ballet school, which roots go back to the beginnings of the Russian Emperor ballet. All the performances are carried out in authentic editing and original choreography. The theatre repertoire includes the masterpieces of the classic ballet - "Swan Lake", "Gizelle", "Nutcracker", "The Sleeping beauty", "Les Sylphides", and "Paquita".

Actors of troupe are the graduates of St. Petersburg Academy of Russian ballet, the main and oldest Russian choreographic educational institution based in 1738.

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