Saint-Petersburg

Saint-Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the second largest city of Russia, a city of magnificent architecture, unique museums and poetic white nights.

St. Petersburg is one of the greatest industrial, scientific and cultural centres of Russia as well as a major port. Its population is about five million people. St. Petersburg is situated on the banks of the Neva in the north-west corner of Russia.

The city was founded by Peter the Great in 1703 after the final defeat of the Swedish army, to ensure an outlet to the sea. This new city, named St. Petersburg, was intended to protect the port and lands along the Neva. Russia, formerly landlocked, became a naval state. In 1712 Peter the Great transferred the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg and up to 1918 St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia.

St. Petersburg was the witness of the Senate Square rebellion on the 14th of December, 1825 and a failure of the Decembrists, the murder of Alexander 11 by the Narodniks in March 1881, the "Bloody Sun-day" on the 9th of January, 1905.

In 1914 St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd, as Germany was the main enemy of Russia during the First World War.

It was in St. Petersburg that the revolution of February 1917 broke out and on the night of October 25 the Soviets under the leadership of Lenin took power.

In 1924, after the death of Lenin, the city was renamed Leningrad.

In 1941 Leningrad and its people suffered greatly in the course of the Great Patriotic War. A group of nazy's armies called "North" had taken nearly all the Baltic territory and had pushed in to Leningrad Region.

The Battle of Leningrad lasted from July 10,1941 to January 27,1944. By the beginning of September 1941, Leningrad was cut oft' the rest of the country. The city withstood the blockade for 900 days. The enemy shelled the city. About 150000 shells exploded in Leningrad during the blockade.

But the bombs and shells were not as terrible as hunger. From November 20, 1941 Leningraders were receiving the smallest bread ration - 250 grams for workers (about one third of the population) and 125 grams for the rest of the population. More than a million died from starvation and cold, there was no electricity, no running water, no transport. But the citizens didn't cut down the trees of Leningrad's parks and gardens for firewood. It was decided to break down wooden houses.

On November 22,1941 food lorries began to roll across the thin ice (18 centimetres) of Lake Ladoga. The 37-kilometre ice road was called the "Road of Life". Children and old people were evacuated, food and supplies were brought in. On December 25 the bread ration was slightly increased to 350 grams for workers and 200 grams for the rest.

Leningrad was awarded the name of the Hero City in 1965. On May 9, 1975,a majestic monument was unveiled on Victory Square. Hundreds of thousands of Leningraders, people from all the cities of the Soviet Union and from abroad contributed money for building this memorial.

Present day St. Petersburg is a centre of highly developed industry. The leading branches are: shipbuilding, machine-building, instrument-making.

St. Petersburg is a centre of Russian science. There are many research centres and higher educational establishments.

 

On May l6, 1703 (May 27 New Style) Peter the Great ordered that the Peter and Paul Fortress should be built. This marked the founding of St. Petersburg, a stronghold and trade port on the Baltic Sea.

The Fortress was built quickly. This fortress was not sufficient defence and in 1706 work began on erecting the stone fortifications. The whole constructions look for about 35 years.

St. Petersburg was one of the first cities in the world to be built according to a deliberate plan.

Peter the Great invited many famous foreign architects who were to carry out Peter's grandiose plans together with eminent Russian masters. They were: Domenico Trezzini, Mario Fontana, Jean Leblon, Mikhail Zemtsov, Ivan Korobov and Piotr Yeropkin

By the middle of the 18th century the great palaces as well as the cathedrals and churches were being built by Rastrelly and his pupil Chevakinsky in the baroque style.

In the 60s of the 18lh century a neo-classical style was introduced by the architects Bazhenov, Stasov. Mikhailov, Rinaldi, Vallon de la Molhe, Quarenghi, Cameron, Rossi. Most of these foreign architects had come from Italy or had studied there.

Later styles in buildings became more varied. The growth of a capitalist economy called for business houses, banks, shops, trading and commercial offices, railway stations and factories. The merchants built themselves imposing mansions in different styles. .

Domenico Trezzini started the construction of St. Peter and Paul cathedral. The cathedral's spire (122 metres high) has become a famous landmark on the Neva skyline.

The cathedral was the burial place of almost all the Russian tsars from Peter the Great and their marble tombs are decorated with imperial eagles.

In 1712 Peter the Great transferred the capital of the Russian state from Moscow to St. Petersburg and from there on the city became the country's main industrial and political centre. The new capital was built rapidly according to designs executed by eminent Russian and foreign architects. All science establishments were transferred to I lie new capital and new ones - the Naval Academy, the Schools of Artillery, Engineering and Surgery were set up.

At that lime there were no bridges across the Neva and the centre of the city was created on the left bank of the Neva. All the new styles of Russian and world building were represented in St. Petersburg. And the city became one of the most beautiful and elegant cities of Europe.

The Admiralty building dominates the centre of the city. It stands on the left bank of [he Neva Its tall slender golden spire rises to a height of 70 metres and is crowned by a weather vane shaped like a sailing ship The spire is visible from different points of the city.

The building was planned by Peter I in 1704 after the fortifications of Peter and Paul Fortress were completed. The first "Admiralty Flense" was a shipyard.

The modern Admiralty was constructed in 1806-1823 to a design by A. Zakharov.

Te medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" bears the tower and spire of the Admiralty - the symbol of the city.

On the left bank of the Neva one can see the majestic panorama of Palace Square, the central square of St Petersburg It is a beautiful ensemble perfectly balanced between the baroque and the classical styles.

There stands the Winter Palace, built by Rastrelly in the mid - 18ih century. It was almost entirely destroyed by the fire and rebuilt by Stasov. Up to 1017 it was the residence of the tsars For a very long lime it was the city's tallest building.

 

Peter the Great started the royal an collection himself and Catherine II enlarged his collection greatly so in 1764 de la Mothe built the Little Hermitage next to the palace but soon this building became too small and the Old Hermitage was built in 1775 by Felten.

These buildings now form the Hermitage Museum, one of the richest in the world. The Hermitage has one of the best collections of Western European Art, a marvellous collection of antique sculptures.

Facing the Winter Palace is the building of the Former General Staff erected by Rossi in 1819. It is shaped like a huge horseshoe. The central arch is topped by the monumental Victory Chariot which symbolises the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. In the centre stands Alexander's Column erected in 1834 by Montferrand. It was made from a single piece of polished red granite brought from Finland. At the top is an angel holding a cross and crushing a snake under foot, it was erected in memory of the victory over Napoleon.

Walking along the Neva embankment we find ourselves in Decembrists' Square. This square was called Senate Square until 1925 when it was renamed in honour of the revolutionary uprising of officers and soldiers of the Russian Imperial Guard.

On one side of the square, opposite the Admiralty are the buildings of the former Senate House and the Holy Synod. It was the last work of great Rossi In the center of the square is the famous statue - "The Bronze Horseman", representing Peter I. It was created in 1782 by the eminent French sculptor Falconet.

This sculpture was a poem in stone glorifying the great Russian reform-maker. The horse is standing on a cliff facing the waves and crushing a snake. The cliff is a symbol of obstacles overcome, the snake - one of defeated evil. The statue gives a different impression from different sides Falconet gave himself wholly to his work. The head of the statue was moulded by Marie-Ann Collot, the young sculptress and Fyodor Gordeev created the snake, which fulfils also a very important role in the composition, being the third support A large rock was found in the village of Lakhta, not far from the city It was said that Peter I often climbed up onto this rock to look at his new capital.

St. Jsaac's Cathedral stands between Decembrists' Square and St. Jsaak's Square. It is the largest cathedral in St. Petersburg. The cathedral was constructed by Auguste Montferrand, a French architect, between 1818 and 1858. 43 kinds of minerals were used in the construction. It is constructed of marble with columns of red granite. Its huge gilded dome is one of the landmarks of the city. There is an excellent view of the city from the dome. There are 16 columns and the top of the building bears 350 sculptured figures. The four great doors are of wood and bronze. The interior decorations are magnificent.

The main street of St. Petersburg is Nevsky Prospect, ll begins at the Admiralty and ends at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, covering 4,5 km, After the foundation of St. Petersburg and the opening of the Admiralty shipyard a direct road was built. In 1783 it was named Nevsky Prospect, after the Alexander Nevsky Lavra-the largest monastery of St. Petersburg. By the mid of the 18th century Nevsky Prospect had become the city's main street, with churches, palaces, shops. The Fontanka River was the southern boundary of St. Petersburg until the 19th century, and so the blocks of houses between the Admiralty and Fontanka were built much earlier than the section running from Anichkov Bridge to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Beginning our walk down Nevky Prospect, from the Admiralty, we find that the even numbers are on the left, and the odd numbered houses on the right.

Before 1917 St. Petersburg was the financial centre of the Russian Empire and the oldest part of Nevsky Prospect (up to Anichkov Bridge) had 28 banks.

One of these banks was situated in №9 Nevsky Prospect on the corner of Gogol Street. The house built in 1912 resembles the Doges Palace in Venice. Now it houses the "Aeroflot" terminal.

The part of Bolshaya Morskaya street near the arch of the General Staff was built by Rossi along Pulkovo Meridian, so that in sunny weather you can set your watches by it; at noon the houses on either side cast no shadow at all.

Nevsky 15 (now the Barricade Cinema) was built in 1760 and is an example of early Russian classical style. On the corner of the River Moika is Stroganov Palace built by Rastrelly in 1752 - one of the finest examples of Russian baroque style. A very famous architect Voronikhin was a serf of Count Stroganov but as Count was famous patron of arts, the President of the Russian Academy of Arts, he noticed a young talented boy. Voronikhin started to live in his house and Count Stroganov gave him the best education. And it was Voronikhin who in 1801 -1811 constructed the Kazan Cathedral a masterpiece of Russian architecture. It was designed in the style of St. Peter's in Rome.

The name "Our Lady of Kazan" conies from the miraculous icon. The portico which faces Nevsky Prospect bears bronze statues of Prince Vladimir who adopted Christianity, John the Baptist, Alexander Nevsky and St. Andrew. The interior of the cathedral is also extremely valuable.

In front are the statues of Field Marshals Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly, erected in 1837 by sculptor Orlovsky.

Gostiny Dvor (Merchants' Yard) was built by De la Mothe in 1785. Now it is one of the largest department stores.

Brodsky street leads to Arts Square where you can find three museums and three theatres. The Russian Museum is housed in the former Mikhailovsky Palace, built by Rossi in the first quarter of the 19th century. It was opened as n gallery in 1898. The museum has one of the finest collections of Russian paintings.

On the corner of Sadovaya street is Ostruvsky Square. There you can see the Alexandrinsky Drama Theatre, which was built by Rossi in the Empire style in 1832. The Monument to    Catherine II is typical for the second half of the 19th century - the large figure of the empress stands on a granite pedestal around which are grouped notable people other reign.

Nevsky Prospect now approaches the Fontanka River. On the east side of Ostrovsky Square stands Anichkov Palace, its main facade faces the river. Now it houses the Palace of Young Creators. Next to the Palace we find Anichkov bridge. Lieutenant - Colonel Anichkov built the first Anichkov Bridge over the Fontanka in the 18th century. From the engineering point of view the bridge is not particularly interesting but it has become famous because of the four bronze equestrian groups executed by Clodt in 1850. The groups represent the various stages in taming wild horses. The railings of the bridge were designed by Montferrand.

Near the Moscow Station Nevsky Prospect branches into one avenue named after Suvorov. It leads to Smolny (which has played an important and tragic role in the history of Russia). At present Smolny houses the St. Petersburg's Administration.

At the end of Nevsky Prospect is the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. The spot where the monastery stands is said to be the place when Prince Alexander won a victory over the Swedes in 1240 thus gaining the name of "Nevsky" Peter 1 erected a small church here in 1713. In 1716 the monastery and churches were designed by Tresini there. Many famous people such as: Lomonosov, Glinka, Dostoevsky and many others are buried in the cemetery of Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USA

The United States of America is the name of the country composed of 50 states joined in a federal republic, and its citizens are universally known as "Americans". The USA is situated in the central and southern parts of North America and occupies the greater part of its territory. The USA is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east and by the Pacific ocean in the west. In the north the USA borders on Canada and in the south on Mexico. In size, the United States is not the biggest. It is among the nations such as Russia, Canada and China. The population of the country is 244 million.

The USA is divided into three areas: Eastern area - a highland, Central area - a plain, and Western area which is mountainous and includes the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The northern part of the USA embraces the region of the five Great Lakes - Lake Superior, Huron. Michigan, Erie, Ontario.

The main land mass of the United States is in the temperate zone. The climate conditions of the country are modified by the great mountains and the winds. With every variety of surface it possesses every variety of climate, from that of the tropics, to that of the Arctic regions. It is at the same time one of the hottest and one of the coldest countries; one of the wettest and one of the driest.

The United States of America is a federative republic, where political power belongs to monopoly capitalists. The government is divided into three branches: legislative /the US Congress/, executive /the President and his administration/ and judicial /the US Supreme Court/. The US Congress is made up mainly of representatives of big business: bankers, industrialists and their lawyers.

The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states and the House represents the population according to its distribution among the states. Each state is guaranteed at least one representative in the House. The House of Representatives has 435 members. The Senate is composed of 100 members, two being elected from each state. The executive power belongs to the President. The President is a nominee of the ruling circles of the USA   The President is also the head of the Cabinet, the executive body of the Government. He holds his Office during the term of four years, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term. There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic and the Republican.

The USA is highly developed industrial country, and its agriculture is highly mechanized. It holds first place in the capitalist world for production of coal, iron, oil and natural gas.

The heavy industries are for the most part in the Middle West, in the region of the Great Lakes, around Detroit and Chicago. Also highly developed industries are automobile industry, machine-building, ship-building.

The capital of the US is Washington. Washington was created to be the seat of government of the USA. The flag of the USA, has fifty stars on a blue background. Each of these stars represents one of the fifty states. But the city of Washington is not in any of these states. It occupies the District of Columbia, abbreviated into D.C., and the name of the capital always goes with this abbreviation not to be mixed up with another Washington, which is a state on the Pacific Coast. The population of Washington is about a million people.

Washington is like no other city of the USA. New York is a centre of finance, shopping, fun: Chicago will sell you wheat and other products. But Washington's only industry is government. The White House, where the US President lives and works, the Capitol, the home of the US Congress, and the Supreme Court are all in Washington.

New York has always been the gateway to the USA. It is a city of striking social contrasts. It is the nation's largest city with a population over 8 million people and the richest port, it is the place where most of the millionaires live and at the same time a greater proportion of New Yorkers live in poverty and deprivation. New York is situated at the mouth of the Hudson river, where the Statue of Liberty meets everybody who comes to New York by sea. This bronze statue was presented to the United States by France in 1886 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of American Independence.

New York is considered to be a city of skyscrapers. The highest of them is the Empire State Building. It has 102 storeys, its height is 380 m. The 39 storey building of the United Nations Organisation is situated on the bank of the East River.

There are more than 50 museums in New York. The best known are Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of National History.

The famous Wall Street is America's financial centre occupying a quarter of a mile. It symbolises the moneymarket of the US.

 

 

Санкт-Петербург 
Санкт-Петербург-второй по величине город России, город великолепной архитектуры, уникальной музыки и поэтических Белых ночей. 
 
Санкт-Петербург является одним из величайших промышленных, научных и культурных центров России, а также крупным портом. Его население составляет около пяти миллионов человек. Санкт-Петербург расположен на берегах Невы, в самом Северо-Западном уголке России. 
 
Город был основан Петром великим в 1703 после окончательного разгрома шведской армии, чтобы обеспечить выход к морю. Этот новый город, названный Санкт Петербург, был предназначен для защиты порта и земли вдоль Невы. Россия, ранее не имеющих выхода к морю, стал морским государством. В 1712 году Петр I перенес столицу из Москвы в Санкт-Петербурге и вплоть до 1918 года Санкт-Петербург был столицей России. 
 
Санкт-Петербург был свидетелем восстания на Сенатской площади 14 декабря 1825 и неудачи Декабристов, убийства Александра 11 со стороны народников в марте 1881 года, в "кровавое солнце-день" на 9 января, 1905. 
В 1914 Году Санкт Петербург был переименован в Петроград, так как Германия была главным врагом России во времена Первой Мировой Войны. 
 
Это было в Санкт-Петербурге, что Февральская революция 1917 года вспыхнула и в ночь на 25 октября Советов под руководством Ленин взял власть. В 1924 году после смерти Ленина город переименовали в Ленинград. 
 
В 1941 году Ленинград и его люди сильно пострадали в ходе Великой Отечественной войны. Группа nazy армий "Север" забрали почти все прибалтийские территории и вытолкнули в Ленинградской области. 
Битва за Ленинград продолжалась с июля по январь 10,1941 27,1944. К началу сентября 1941 года Ленинград был отрезан от' остальной части страны. Город выстоял 900 дней. Враг обстреливает город. Около 150000 снарядов взорвалось в Ленинграде во время блокады. 
 
Но бомбы и снаряды были не так страшны, как голод. С 20 ноября 1941 года ленинградцы получали самый маленький хлебный паек - 250 граммов для рабочих (около трети населения) и 125 граммов для остальной части населения. Более миллиона умерли от голода и холода, не было ни электричества, ни проточной воды, ни транспорта. Но граждане не вырубали деревья Ленинградских парков и садов на дрова. Было принято решение сломать деревянные домов. 
 
В ноябре 22,1941 продовольственные грузовики начали катиться по тонкому льду (18 сантиметров) Ладожского озера. 37-километровая ледовая дорога называлась "дорога жизни". Дети и старики были эвакуированы, еду и припасы доставляли. 25 декабря хлебный паек был слегка увеличен до 350 граммов для рабочих и 200 граммов для остальных. 
 
Ленинград был удостоен имени города-героя в 1965 году. 9 мая 1975 г. сооружен величественный памятник открытый на площади Победы. Сотни тысяч ленинградцев, люди из всех городов Советского Союза и из-за рубежа внесли деньги на строительства этого мемориала. 
 
На сегодняшний день Санкт-Петербург является центром высокоразвитой промышленностью. Ведущими отраслями являются: судостроение, машиностроение, приборостроение. 
 
Санкт-Петербург-центр российской науки. Здесь есть много научно-исследовательских центров и высших учебных заведений.