1. We’re interested in events that are connected with that period of our history.
2. We hope he’ll get better soon after his illness.
3. We camped that night at the bottom of the mountain.
4. He was a young man of modern style and looks.
5. There are a lot of magnificent palaces and churches on the Kremlin territory.
6. You can watch most of the city from the top of this sky-scraper.
7. A lot of unique objects are shown at this exhibition.
At the foot of the Kremlin wall is the Lenin Mausoleum. Designed by the Soviet Architect Shchusev in 1930, this structure is a massive pyramid made of blocks of red and black granite – two colours of the Soviet mourning flag. The Mausoleum is a compositional centre of the Square.
The red-brick building on your right-hand side was built in 1880. It is the State Historical Museum where documents and exhibits relating to the history of our multinational state are collected.
The building on the east side of Red Square was built at the end of the 19th century and was a kind of a covered market called Upper Trade Rows. During the Soviet years it was the biggest store in the country. Now everybody knows it as G. U. M.
In the corner of the east side of Red Square you can see a charming church of the 17th century which is the Kazan Cathedral. It was built by Prince Pozharsky to commemorate the liberation of Moscow from the Polish invaders in 1612. The legend says that when the prince was wounded in one of the battles with the Poles, he took a vow to build a church in case he recovered. Prince Pozharsky got better and in the 1620s the church was built.
From this point you can observe the whole square. The highest point of it is the Spasskaya tower (The Saviour Tower), which is one of the symbols of Moscow and the whole country. The Spassky Gate is the main entrance to the Kremlin. The Tower was designed by the Italian architect Pietro Solari in 1491. About a century later a clock was placed. The striking of the chimes on the Spassky Tower is broadcast daily over the radio.
On our way to the Alexander Gardens we’ll see some of the towers of the Kremlin. The walls and towers of the Kremlin were built in 1485-1495 and have hardly changed in appearance since then. The total length of the walls together with the 20 towers equals 2235 metres and the Kremlin grounds cover an area of 28 hectares.
The next tower on our way is Nikolskaya Tower which was built in 1491 by Pietro Solari and is decorated with white ornaments. The tower was called Nicolskaya because Nicolskaya street starts from it. Originally it was the entrance gate for the boyars in the north-eastern part of the Kremlin grounds.
Ex.6 Put your own questions to the text and answer them.
Ex.7 Act out as a guide answering the tourist’s questions.
I
T. - Are the gates of the Spassky Tower open for tourists who would like to visit the
Kremlin grounds?
G. - Нет, через эти ворота туристы могут только выйти из Кремля на Красную
площадь. Вход в Кремль – через другие ворота.
T. - The Spassky Tower looks very impressive with its clock. It’s like Big Ben in
London, isn’t it?
G. - Да, бой курантов на Спасской башне транслируется ежедневно по радио
по всей стране, как и Биг Бен в Англии.
T. - How old are the chimes?
G. - Современным курантам более 100 лет.
T. - And is the Tower itself old?
G. - Да, Спасская башня – старейшая башня Московского Кремля. Она была
сооружена в 1491 году итальянским зодчим Пьетро Солари.
II
T. - You said that the Kazan Cathedral was erected to commemorate the liberation of
Moscow from the Poles in 1612. But it looks absolutely new. How is that?
G. - Да, вы правы. Современный Казанский Собор был построен заново в 1993
году. Первоначальный Казанский Собор, возведенный в 1620-х годах, был
снесен в годы Советской власти.
T. - Is it a museum like St. Basil’s Cathedral?
G. - Нет, Казанский собор – православный (orthodox) храм. Здесь проходят
богослужения.
