The kremlin

The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is surrounded by a high wall of 2.5 kilometres long, built by the Russian builders by order of Ivan III (1462-1505), and supervised by the Italian architects. The twenty towers on the Kremlin wall, which give it a unique aspect, were built for decoration and have no military significance. They were constructed in the seventeenth century when Moscow had ceased to be a fortress. Among the ancient buildings in the Kremlin there are the churches and a tall bell tower built in 1600 by Russian architects under Boris Godunov and known as the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great. The largest cathedral, the Assumption, was built in 1475-1479 by Aristotle Fiorovante. There are some very fine old frescoes, some of which were restored in the 20th century. It was there that the Russian tsars and emperors were crowned.

The Archangel Cathedral was built in 1505 by the Italian architect, Aleviso Novy. The tombs of the Moscow grand dukes and tsars are here, among them the graves of Ivan the Terrible, of his son Ivan, and of his second son, Tsar Fyodor. The Annunciation Cathedral was built in 1484 by architects from Pskov. It is noted for the unusual oil paintings done in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries by Andrei Rublyov and his pupils, the greatest artists of the time.

Facing the same square is a very beautiful building known as Faceted Hall which was built at the end of the 15th century by Marco Rufto and Pietro Solan. In this palace the Moscow tsars held magnificent receptions in honour of foreign ambassadors. The Granovitaya Palace is connected with the enormous Grand Kremlin Palace.

Among other historical monuments in the Kremlin are the Tsar Cannon (sixteenth century) and the Tsar Bell (eighteenth century), both of enormous size and made by Russian masters. In a large wing of the Palace is the Armoury and a museum of applied art where imperial collections of utensils, furniture, weapon and garments of eastern and western workmanship are on display.

In the north-eastern section of the Kremlin is a beautiful building of classic design built by the most famous Russian architect of the eighteenth century, M. Kazakov. In the square opposite this building is the former Arsenal, along the facade of which are numerous cannons captured by the Russian Army from Napoleon in 1812-1814.

Asking the Way

1) How to attract a person’s attention

Excuse me, sir (madam, miss)!

I say! Look here! – Послушайте.

2) How to ask and tell the way.

Asking the way

Telling the way

– Which is the way to the … ? – What is the shortest way to … ? – Could/ Can/ Will you tell (show) me the (shortest) way to … ? – How can (do) I get to … ? – Where is the nearest bus stop? – Is it far? – What bus should I take to get to … ? – Where do I change to the underground? ­– Will this bus take me to …? – Does this trolleybus go to … ? – Is there a bus from here to … ? – Is this the right bus for … ? – Will it take me long to get there? – Should I take a bus? – How long does it take you to get there? – How long will it take me to get to … ? – What’s the fare? = How much is it to …? – Can you tell me where to get off?

– Well, let me see … – Walk straight on … – Walk(go) along (down, up) the street. – Pass two blocks … – Pass the building – First right, second left. You can’t miss it – Turn (to the) right … – Take the first turning to the right. – Cross the street … – Walk back as far as the corner. – Walk as far as the corner … … and you will be right there . … and you will see it in front of you. … and you will see it on your right (left) … and you will see it across the square. … and you will find yourself in … . – No, it’s only a couple of hundred yards. – Not so far. – Yes, far from here. – It’s quite near. – It’s the next stop (but one). – Take bus number 5 and get off at the third stop. – Take bus number 5 as far as N.Prospect, and then change to the underground (metro). – This bus won’t take you to … . – Yes, it does. No, it doesn’t. – There is no bus from here to … . – Yes, this bus will take you right to … . – Any bus will take you there. – No, you’re going the wrong way. – No, it’s no distance at all. – It won’t take you more than five minutes. – No, it’s only about a five minute walk. – It takes me 15 minutes. – It will take you 15 minutes (half an hour, an hour) to get there.

3) What to answer when a person thanks you.

Don’t mention it.

No thanks at all.

You are welcome.

It was a pleasure.