Project: “A Guide for British Children Who Want to Visit Our Country”
I would like to advise those who want to visit Russia to begin their trip from the towns of the Golden Ring. They are: Moscow, Sergiev Possad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vladimir and Suzdal.
In Yaroslavl you can hear Volga songs, visit the Museum of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman-cosmonaut.
Sergiev Possad, an ancient town in the Moscow region is known for its Lavra. The town has existed since 1340. In Sergiev Possad you can visit the unique museums of ancient paintings and folk art and the magnificent cathedrals in the Lavra, buy Russian toys, and hear folk songs performed.
Then we come to Vladimir, one of the towns of the Golden Ring of Russia. It isn’t known exactly who founded it. Some sources say that Vladimir was founded by Vladimir Svyatoslavovich in 990. Other sources say it was founded by Vladimir Monomach in 1108. Later, Andrei Bogolyubsky transformed it into the capital of his principality. Here are some sights of the town. The Golden Gate, a kind of symbol of the town. The Golden Gate was designed and built by Russian masters. The Uspensky Cathedral, designed and built by Russian architects in 1158–1160. It’s famous for its frescoes. The cathedral was decorated by Andrei Rublev in the 15th century. The Pokrov Church on the River Nerl is known as a real masterpiece of Russian architecture. It looks like a beautiful white flower because the church built in 1165 is decorated with carving.
I can’t but mention Suzdal, the most interesting city of Russia. It is one of the oldest cities, founded in the 11th century. Its central part is formed by the Suzdal Kremlin, which is still in wonderful condition. Its beautiful cathedrals were designed by Russian masters. There are buildings that are really precious stones of Russian architecture, for example, the famous Holy Gates of the Rizpolozhensky Monastery, they were decorated by the Suzdal masters: Mamin, Shmakov and Gryaznov. In Suzdal you can see the monument to Dmitry Pozharsky, made by Z. Azgur, a sculptor. Thousands of tourists visit the city and its museums, and have seen its treasures and masterpieces.
Rostov the Great, an ancient Russian town in the Yaroslavl Region, has existed since 862. It is famous for its ancient churches, the Kremlin and museums. In Rostov the Great you can visit the Rostov Kremlin and the Museum of Russian icons, buy beautiful boxes that were made by Russian masters, and Russian cakes.
Pereslavl-Zalessky, an ancient Russian town in the Yaroslavl Region, was founded in 1153. Peter the Great often visited Pereslavl-Zalessky because he built boats of the first Russian flotilia on Lake Pleshcheeyvo near the town. In Pereslavl-Zalessky you can see ancient churches, a replica of the boat...the boat of Peter the Great and unique wooden sculptures, and hear the music of the bells.
Of course, you will visit Moscow. It is not only the capital of our country, it is the great historic and cultural centre. The Moscow Kremlin attracts many people from all over the world. It has a long history and many historical buildings and museums.
The history of the Kremlin goes back to olden times. The Kremlin has been a centre of the Russian state and the residence of the Russians tsars. It was destroyed and restored many times. Moscow is often called “belokamennaya” or “white stone”. This name comes from the times of the Prince Dmitry Donskoy in 1367–1368 when white stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were built. At that time, Moscow and the Kremlin were inseparable, so the Kremlin was founded in the year Moscow began in 1147. In 1485–1495 the Kremlin was totally rebuilt. Brick buildings appeared, some of which can still be seen there. The Kremlin has 20 towers, and four of them have gates. The Kremlin’s symbol is the Spasskaya Tower where you can see the main clock of Russia. The Kremlin was started as a fortress, but now it is the place where the president of Russia works. And it is visited by many tourists every day.
In the early eighteenth century, Peter the Great built a new capital, St. Petersburg in the north. Still, all Russian emperors and empresses came to Moscow. According to tradition, they were crowned at the Uspensky Cathedral in the Kremlin.
The Arkhangelsky Cathedral was named after the Archangel Michael, patron of Russian warriors. It was designed by the Italian architect, Alevisio Novi in 1505–1507. The Princes of Moscow and Russian tsars were buried in the Cathedral.
The Blagoveshensky Cathedral was built by Pskov Masters in 1484–1489. Many of its unique icons were painted by the great Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev. One of its exhibitions portrays the mysteries of the Kremlin’s earliest history.
The Oruzheinaya Palata (The Armory) is one of the oldest museums in Russia. It was built by the architect Konstantin Thon from St. Petersburg. The building was designed specially for the museum. It contains one of the richest collections of Russian, West European and Eastern arms, silver and goldwork, garments, things made of precious stones and older vehicles. The collections were started in the late fourteenth century as the Grand Prince’s treasury. In 1806 the Armory was transformed into a public museum.
The Diamond Collection Exhibition Hall was opened in 1967. It contains historical things such as crowns, unique precious stones and decorations made of them.
The Cathedral of Christ the Savior was originally built in the 19th century. Ordinary people collected money for it. The cathedral celebrated the victory of the Russians over Napoleon’s army in the Patriotic War of 1812. The cathedral was started in 1839 by the Russian architect Konstantin Thon. Many famous painters decorated it. The construction work was finished in 1883. In the 1930s the cathedral was destroyed by the Bolsheviks. They wanted to build a Palace of Soviets in the place of the magnificent cathedral, but the Great Patriotic War destroyed their plans. After the war, a swimming pool was built there. But the cathedral was still in the hearts of many Russians. On 7 January, 1995 the new Cathedral of Christ the Savior was started. In five years, the replica was completed.
Who has not heard of the Tretyakov Gallery? Then, let us go there; Russians are proud of it. The Gallery was founded in the year 1865 when Pavel Tretyakov started his famous collection. He wrote four years later, “I’d like to leave a national gallery, that is, a gallery with paintings of Russian painters.” The years passed, and in 1892, when the collection already contained about 2, 000 works, Pavel Tretyakov bequeathed it to Moscow. Together with Pavel Tretyakov’s collection, Moscow got the collection of Western European art of his brother Sergei, who had died long before the Gallery was opened. Today these works are in the collections of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and in the Hermitage.
Pavel Tretyakov was an outstanding person, both a successful businessman and a philanthropist. “…since I was a child I wanted to make a lot of money and to give it back to the people in the form of some useful institutions. This idea was with me all my life.” And he started a wonderful monument to the idea – the Gallery and he helped many needy painters.
The Tretyakov Gallery is in Lavrushinsky Lane now and its wonderful building is one of the most famous Moscow sights. Thousands of tourists come to the Gallery every day and enjoy its masterpieces. Now the collection of the Gallery has more than 100,000 works, about 50,000 of which are on display in the Gallery.
And if you are interested in St. Petersburg, I recommend you visit the Russian Museum. Alexander III set up the Russian Museum in the Mikhail Palace in 1898.
There is a painting of the famous Russian painter Victor Vasnetsov “Vityaz at the Crossroad” in the Russian Museum. The painter illustrated the world of Russian fairy tales in his works. Russian fairy tales are full of mysteries and legendary characters. I think that the vityaz on the painting comes from old stories about Russian warriors. Vityaz is the Russian word for “knight”. They were very popular in old Russia. When I look at this painting I think it’s a picture of Ilya Muromets, a great warrior who saved the country from evil. Ilya Muromets is standing at the crossroads and doesn’t know which way to go. He must choose: one road leads to death, another leads to glory, and the third road leads to love. Which is the right road? There is a great idea in the picture: we never know what the future will be.
St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great on the day when the construction of Peter and Paul Fortress was started. Russian tsars transformed the Peter and Paul Fortress into a prison when there was no more need for a fortress. The Mikhailovsky Castle was built by V. Brenna at the end of the eighteenth century. The Peter and Paul Cathedral was designed by D. Trezzini in the year when St. Petersburg was founded. And it was completed in 37 years.
Bartolomeo Rastrelli built and designed the Winter Palace. The Winter Palace was transformed into a museum after the October Revolution. The magnificent Kazan Cathedral was finished just before the war with Napoleon. One of the first Russian museums was housed in the Kunstkammer by Peter the Great at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
St. Isaac’s Cathedral was decorated by the famous Russian artists K. Brulov, F. Brunni, P. Basin, P. Shebuyev in the mid nineteenth century. Designers decorated the Summer Gardens with wonderful sculptures about two centuries ago. Many floods from 1777–1824 damaged the unique decorations with their former glory. Well-known architects designed and decorated the famous St. Petersburg bridges in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.