Famous Russian Scientist

Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich was born on the 21^st of May 1921 in Moscow in the family of teachers.

After he graduated from the Moscow State University he was appointed as an engineer to Defense Works in Kirov. And later he became a post graduated of physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences USSR.

In 1948 he became a member of the group which was involved in exploration of nuclear weapons.

He is known both as a talented physicist and as an outspoken civil rights campaigner. He was a founder of the Soviet Human Rights Committee and he protested against Soviet nuclear tests. Andrei Sakharov got the Nobel peace prize in 1975. That year international seminar on human rights took place in Copenhagen when Sakharov delivered his speech on human rights in the USSR in 1980 he condemned bringing in Soviet troops to Afghanistan. After this he was deprived of all his awards and sent into exile in Nighniy Novgorod.

In 1986 Gorbachev allowed Andrei Sakharov to return to Moscow. Sakharov was elected a member of the presidium of the Academy of Sciences USSR. In 1989 he got Albert Einstein peace prize. Andrei Sakharov’s public activity made a great contribution in the struggle for peace in the world and in democratic changes in Russia.

Famous Russian Painter

Ilya Repin was born in the town of Chuguyev in the Ukraine in the family of an officer in 1844. He showed his passion for painting in his early childhood therefore he was sent to the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Five years later he graduated from the Academy brilliantly.

He got acquainted with Kramskoi, who noticed his talent, and joined Kramskoi’s “Peredvizhniki”.

When Repin’s picture “Barge Haulers on the Volga” was exhibited, it brought him fame and recognition. The painter exposes the oppression of people, showing their powerful forces and spiritual beauty of Russian people.

Repin devoted some painting to the historical events of Russia. For example, “Princess Sofia in Novodevichy Monastry”.

People can’t help admiring these wonderful canvasses.

Later the artist turned to another genre and painted portraits of common and famous people. The portraits are images of the world in which those persons lived. Among them Leo Tolstoy, Nekrasov ets. They are the pride of Russian art.

The Reason Why I Study English

The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every 7 years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.

Today English is the language of the world. Over 300 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada and the South African Republic. As a 2^nd language it’s used in the former British and US colonies.

English is not only the national or official language of some 30 states which represent different cultures, but it’s also the major international language of communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organizations and other political organizations. It’s the language of literature, education, modern music, international tourism.

Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.

So far there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it’s boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it’s well-known that reading books in the original, listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.