5 Unit 5 Russian Architecture

5.1 Pretext exercises

5.1.1 Warming – up

Let’s have a wonderful journey around Russia

1)Are you fond of Russian architecture? Why?

2)Where can one see the finest examples of traditional Russian architecture?

3)What are the best examples of Russian architecture?

5.1.2 Read the words. Pay attention to the letters in italics

5.1.4 Read the following verbs. Mind their meaning. Pay attention to the principal forms

5.1.5 Find proper Russian words with the same roots as the following English words:

icon, brilliant, traditional, natural, material, decoration, monastery, museum, harmony, silhouette, style, poetic, cubical, basic, faзade, section, vertical, column, horizontal, arch, figure, general, altar, cupola, circular, stimulate, massiveness, monumentality, expression

5.1.6 Choose the proper English word:

5.1.7 Find English equivalents for the following Russian words:

Aизящный; преобладать; стремиться; величественный; создавать; заимствовать; видимый; вырезать; радовать; тонкий; поддерживать; щедрый

Вto year; to borrow; lavish; graceful; to predominate; to carve; visible; to support; to gratify; slender; majestic; to create

5.1.8Form all possible word combinations:

5.1.9 Read the following word combinations and translate them into Russian:

early architecture; icon painting; defensive sites; the most natural building material; beautiful carved decoration; fortress towers; wooden and masonry architecture; the few remaining examples; wooden church architecture; gracefully silhouetted multi-domed cathedral; cubical basic structure; slender columns; vertical wall section; small sculptured figures; stone embroideries; yearning for massiveness; expression of slendour; lavish decoration

5.2 Read the text and tell about early Russian architecture

Text 5 A

Early Russian Architecture

Russian borrowed its early architecture, like its icon painting, from Byzantium. From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries early towns were built on defensive sites on high river banks. From afar were visible low white walls with towers, churches with brilliant domes and bell towers. The finest examples of traditional architecture can be seen in the towns of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Suzdal, Bogolyubovo and Sergiev Posad.

In Russia, timber has always been the most natural building material. Russian carpenters decorate the diverse structures they were building with beautiful carved decorations above windows and porches. One can see such decorations on log-cabins, fortress towers, huge cathedrals, churches and monasteries.

Wooden and masonry architecture developed side by side in medieval Russia, one stimulating and gratifying the love for verticality and slenderness, the other satisfying a yearning for massiveness, monumentality, and lavish decoration in the expression of power and splendour. The few remaining examples of the ancient wooden structures are now in Rostov and also in the museums of wooden buildings in Novgorod, Kostroma and Suzdal. These examples show the skill and gift of their builders to harmonize the building proper with the landscape.

The most majestic and famous examples of wooden church architecture may be found on the island of Kizhi in Lake Onega. Here you will be impressed by the grand and gracefully silhouetted multi-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration and ten-domed Church of the Intercession with its bell tower.

Wooden architecture predominates in Northern Russia and in some of the older settlements and towns of the Siberia, such as Tyumen.

One of the best-known Russian churches in the northern style is the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl (Pokrova na Nerli). Today it stands alone in the midst of green meadows, the small lake below reflecting its white walls and single dome.

This church is one of the most poetic creations of early Russian architecture which ever come down to us out of the past. The church is not large, and very simple in plan, with the cubical basic structure usual for the north. It is light and graceful, the structure as a whole seems hardly to touch the ground. Each facade is made up of three sections divided vertically by slender columns, and horizontally connected by a decorative band of blind arcading of the same white stone as the wall itself. As for the

roofing, it was vaulted, so that each of the vertical wall sections ends in a blind arch, with long, narrow windows and small sculptured figures high up in the arch.

The builders of the most of Vladimir and Suzdal churches used cut stones instead of brick, typical for Byzantine and Kievan churches. Also they used stone embroideries, uncommon in Byzantium. They adopted the general features of the square plan, with three altar apses and the four columns supporting a flat cupola with its circular drum.

5.3Exercises to the text

5.3.1Find the false sentences using the information from the text. Correct the false sentences:

1)Early Russian architecture was derived from the Byzantine architecture.

2)Early Russian towns were built on defensive sites.

3)In Russia, stone has always been the most natural building material.

4)Russian churches and cathedrals were rich decorated with carved decorations.

5)Masonry architecture was not developed in medieval Russia.

6)Wooden architecture predominates in Southern Russia.

7)The builders of the most Vladimir Churches used cut stones instead of brick.

5.3.2Fill in the gaps with the words given below:

1)Low white walls with towers, churches with brilliant… and … were visible… .

2)Russian … were decorated with carved decorations.

3)There are some remaining examples of ancient … architecture in Rostov.

4)Vladimir and Suzdal builders widely used stone … .

5)The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is one of the best-known … of early Russian architecture.

wooden; bell towers; creation; domes; embroideries; from afar; log-cabins.

5.3.3Answer the following questions:

1)Where did Russia borrow its early architecture from?

2)What has always been the most natural building material in Russia?

3)Did wooden and masonry architecture develop side by side in medieval Russia?

4)What do the best examples of wooden Russian architecture show?

5)How is one of the most famous Russian churches in the northern style called?

6)Can you describe the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl?

7)What material did builders of Vladimir and Suzdal churches use?

5.3.4Find in the text and put down key words that can be used to speak about early Russian architecture

5.3.5Summarise your knowledge of the question under consideration. Discuss it with your partner. Use exercise 5.3.3 as a plan

5.4 You are a guide of foreign tourists who arrived in Moscow. Tell them about the best illustration of the Russian architecture in Moscow using necessary information from the text

Text 5 B

Moscow Attractions

On of the jewels of Russian architecture is the Moscow Kremlin with its cathedrals, its many towers and red-brick walls. The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It is the oldest historical and architectural center of the city.

First Kremlin was a wooden fortress. Under Dmitry Donskoi the Kremlin was built of white stone. In 1474 Ivan III sent a mission to Italy to find the best architectural and engineering talent. They brought back with them Rodolfo Aristotele Fioravanti of Bologna who was at once an architect, an engineer, and an expert in military fortifications, Most of the other architects were northern Italians, mainly form Milan (Marco Ruffo, Pietto Solario, etc.).

The Italians introduced a new concept of the fortress walls quite different in character from that of the old Russian white-stone Kremlins. Thus during the reign of Ivan III the walls of white stone were replaced by new red-brick walls and towers. Stone was given up in favour of brick. Henceforth stone was to be used for wall bases, decorative bands, cornices, and various ornamental features. The graceful rise of the walls and towers is the result not only of the fine proportions and slenderness of their architectural elements, but also of the special bricklaying technique employed.

The sixteenthcentury Kremlin had, on certain of its more vulnerable sides, double and triple walls battlemented and studded with towers, barbicans and drawbridges.

Each tower of the Kremlin is composed of two principal parts: a massive square of circular base erected in the reign of Ivan III and a superstructure added to it at the end of the seventeenth century.

The bases differ in size and proportions; but in all of them, especially in the square towers, there are certain similarities of exterior appearance as well as of their inner structure. The differences are more apparent in the superstructures, whose forms and architectural treatment are quite varied.

All the five Kremlin gate towers – the Spasskaia (Saviour’s) Troitskaia (Trinity), Nikolskaia, Borovitskaia and Tainitskaia (Secret) – include the main tower with its superstructure, and a barbican tower in front covering and protecting the entrance gates.

The oldest part of the Kremlin is the Cathedral Square and its three grand cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspensky sobor) was built in 1475-1479. The Russian Tsars and Emperors were crowned here. The Arkhangel Cathedral (Arkhangel Cathedral (Arkhangelsky sobor, 1505-1508) was the burial place of Russian princes and tsars. The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Blagoveshchensky sobor), erected in 1484-1489 by master-builders from Pskov, was home church of Russian Tsars. It is famous for the icons painted by Andrei Rublev.

The Kremlin walls enclose several palaces. The Patriarch’s Palace, built in the mid-seventeenth century for Patriarch Nicon is a museum of Russian seventeenth-

century life. On the west side of the Cathedral Square, next to Terem Palace with its golden domes, there is the Faceted Palace, designed for the imperial throne room.

In the center of the Kremlin rises Ivan the Great Bell Tower, one of the most remarkable structures of the sixteenth century. It unites all the Kremlin Cathedrals into a majestic ensemble.

Other notable buildings in the Kremlin include the Armoury Chamber, containing a magnificent collection of treasures, and the Palace of Congresses, the only modern structure, built in the early sixties.

Just outside the Kremlin walls, on the edge of Red Square, stands the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin (Sobor Pokrova na Rvu), better known as St Basil’s Cathedral, one of the world’s most astonishing buildings. It was built by two Russian architects between 1555 and 1560 for Ivan the Terrible to celebrate his victory over the Tatar Khanate of Kazan.

It is basically cross-shaped, the arms of the cross extending from a square center. The main church over which rises the central tower is covered with a tent-shaped roof and crowned with a gilt cupola. At each arm of the cross, along the principal axis is an octagonal church. Four other secondary churches (two square and two of irregular shape) are along the diagonal axis. All these elements are placed over a tall, vaulted substructure – the typical lower story of the Russian wooden churches. The pyramidal belfry at the south-east corner is separate form the church. The plan and the general massing of the elements are unusual, not only in the accepted concept of church design but in the distribution of the main masses.

The main church is of stone and brisk and covered with stucco. In the seventeenth century, the entrance structure, originally white, was painted in variegated colours, the stairways were roofed over, the sheet iron covering of the cupolas was replaced with tile, and the old belfry was replaced with the present tentroofed bell tower.

St Basil’s Cathedral embodies the characteristic architectural features of the wooden churches of North-East Russia, «translated» into masonry. The eight cupolas dominated by the central pyramid are all of the same general silhouette, but are different in design and colours.

5.4.1Write out English equivalents for the Kremlin attractions from the text

5.4.2Write out key words describing St Basil’s Cathedral

5.4.3Make up 7-8 questions to the text to cover the contents

5.4.4Make up a written story about one of Moscow attractions. Use the text or additional material

5.5You went on an excursion to St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Peresburg. Describe its exterior and interior using information from the text

Text 5 C

St. Isaac’s Cathedral

St. Isaac’s Cathedral is a remarkable monument of Russian architecture. The history of the construction began in 1710, when the first wooden church was put up in honour of St Isaac of Dalmatia; it was on St Isaac’s Day, according to the Orthodox Calendar, that Peter I was born. The present Cathedral is the fourth that stood on this place.

In the early 19th century a contest was announced for the best design of a new cathedral, in which well-known architects took part. In 1818 Alexander I approved a project submitted by A. Montferrand, a talented artist who had just arrived from Paris; however, he had little experience in architecture.

The Cathedral took 40 years to be built. When putting up this gigantic structure a lot of complicated engineering problems had to be solved for the first time. In 1828, even before the walls were erected, installation of the 48 monolithic columns had begun, each weighting about 110 tons. The ideas of A.Betancourt, an engineer, made it possible to raise the 67-ton granite columns to the height of 40 metres and install them around the dome drum. St Isaac’s Cathedral is one of the largest domed structures in the world. The building, rectangular in its layout, rose 101.5 m high. Having area of 4 thousand square metres, the Cathedral can hold up to 12 thousand people.

The dome is an original construction, including 3 domes; placed one over the other. The cathedral was completed in 1842, but it took 16 years more to decorate the interior with a lot of lazurite, malachite, porphyry, and other kinds of marble. The walls and vaults of the Cathedral bear paintings and mosaic works made by well-known Russian artists: C.Bryullov, F.Bruni, P.Basin, P.Shebuyev and others. On the whole more than 200 artists took part on the dйcor.

Both inside and outside the Cathedral is decorated with sculptures made to the designs by I.Vitali, N.Pimenov, A.Loganovsky, P.Klodt and others. It was for the first time that the galvanoplastics method developed by B.Yakoby was used for making monumental sculptures.

When you enter the Cathedral you pass through one of the porticos – note that the columns are made of single pieces of red granite and weight 80 tons (about 177,770 pounds) each. Inside the church many of the icons are exquisite mosaics. The iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church) is decorated with 8 malachite and 2 lapis lazuli columns. The cathedral, which can accommodate 12 thousand worshipers, now serves as a museum, and services are held only on major occasions.

5.5.1 Find English equivalents in the text for the following words and word combinations:

замечательный памятник; объявить конкурс; лучший проект; одобрить проект; представить проект; множество сложных инженерных проблем; поднять гранитные колонны; оригинальное сооружение; размещать друг над другом; украсить интерьер; сделать по проекту; впервые использовать; изысканная мозаика

5.5.2Put questions to the following answers:

1)… ? St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

2)… ? In 1710.

3)… ? A. Montferrand.

4)… ? 40 years.

5)… ? In 1848.

6)… ? 16 years.

7)… ? Paintings and mosaic works.

8)… ? For monumental structures.

9)… ? A museum.

5.6 Audial practice

5.6.1Listen to the text and be ready to answer the following questions:

1)Who created the Baroque in Russia?

2)Who invited Carlo Rastrelli to Russia?

3)Where did Bartolomeo Rastrelli study architecture?

4)What is Rastrelli’s masterpiece?

5)When was this project started?

5.6.2Retell the text

Text 5 D

The Winter Palace

In Russia the Baroque was created by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. His father, famous sculptor Carlo Rastrelli was invited to Russia by Peter the Great. His sixteen-year-old son had no professional training when he came to Russia. He learned at the construction sites of St. Petersburg masters and became an architect of world renown, the designer of many magnificent palaces and churches in the Russian capital.

The Winter Palace executed in the fine taste and on a gigantic scale is Rasrelli’s masterpiece. Rastrelli himself made the drawings and plans of the palace, designed the ornamentation patterns for window platbands, carvings, sculptures, lattices, parquetry, interiors and furniture. The palace building is nearly two kilometers long in perimeter.

Originally it had 1,050 chambers, 117 staircases, 1886 doors and1,945 windows.

The project was started in the reign of Elizabeth, Peter the Great’s daughter who was fond of the Baroque, so the Winter Palace is lavishly adorned with columns, stucco window platbands and sculptures over the roof cornice.

5.7 Russian architecture is represented not only by remarkable monuments of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Read the text about one of the finest Russian towns – Rostov. With your partner, make up a dialogue about architectural attractions of this town using information from the text

Text 5 E

Rostov was founded in 862. the town was growing up and becoming rich very quickly. As Novgorod it was called “Velikii” that meant “the Great”

In XIII century it became the capital of the independent knight-hood. In the XVII century the kremlin of Rostov was built. It wasn’t a fortress as kremlins in other old towns were, but it seemed to be more like a country-seat which consisted of several churches, houses and other buildings surrounded by the wall with 11 towers. All the towers are connected to the galleries in this wall and you can visit everything without walking on the ground. The churches of the kremlin are not big but they were built in a way that when the chorus sings the voices sound beautiful.

One sight in Rostov is the Uspensky Cathedral (XVII century) and its tower with bells (XVII century). The cathedral was made alike to the Uspensky Cathedral in Moscow. The tower is famous for its 13 bells. The heaviest one is 3200 kg. Every bell rings its own note. There is a Red Room in the kremlin which was built for the reception of tsars, a White Room where dinners took place and one special Parting Room where metropolitans parted with honour -able guests.

Now there is a Museum of folk art in the rooms. Different handicrafts are produced there. Silver shapes covered with enamel are of great value both in Russia and I the world.

5.8 You came to Russia as a tourist and you are interested in Russian architecture. Ask your friend about its brilliant works and essential features using information from the texts and your own knowledge on the subject