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a step-sister to border a dome to prevent to imprison for life
necropolis skilled elite privileged a cemetery
treasure to fail a nun to establish noble origin
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1. The Novodevichy Convent is full of history and...........................
2. From its first days the Convent was in a...................... position.
3. Its residents were women of......................................
4. Peter the Great’s....................... Sofia....................... her second residence here.
5. Sofia’s plans to organize a palace coup.....................
6. Sofia.............................. for life in the Convent where she died and was buried.
7. The most.................. artists painted the murals inside the Smolensk Cathedral.
8. The Smolensk Cathedral is topped with five................
9. The act of vandalism..................... by several........... who still lived in the Convent.
10.The Novodevichy Convent............. on the Old and New Novodevichy....................
which have become................... of the Russian cultural, military and political.........
And now ahead of us you can see the brightly lit spires and domes of the Novodevichy Convent (The New Nunnery of the Virgin). The Convent is considered to be one of the city’s most beautiful groups of buildings, full of history and treasures. The Convent was founded in the sixteenth century by Russian Prince Vasily the Third (father of Ivan the Terrible) to celebrate the taking of Smolensk from Lithuania. It served as a nunnery and a fortress to protect Moscow from South-West. The territory of the Convent is surrounded by a wall with 12 battle towers. The Convent was also a rich land-owner. It was in a privileged position. Its residents were women of noble origin like widows, ex-wives and sisters of Russian tsars and boyars.
Peter the Great’s step-sister Sofia established her second residence there when she ruled Russia in the 1680s. When Peter, aged 17, became the Tsar of Russia, Sofia in her struggle for power, tried to organize a palace coup, but failed. She was imprisoned for life in the Convent where she died and was buried. It was here that Boris Godunov was elected the Tsar of Russia in 1598. Other Moscow’s rulers often visited the Convent and presented rich gifts or erected monumental constructions.
The main church of the Convent is the Smolensk Cathedral with five golden domes. It was completed in 1525. Several years later skilled artists painted the murals inside it. In the museum that is now housed in the Smolensk Cathedral visitors can see excellent collection of ancient Russian decorative and applied art. The twelve-metres tall carved wooden iconastasis is a unique Russian masterpiece made in 1683-1686.
The bell-tower, erected in 1690, is justly considered as one of Moscow’s finest.
During the Patriotic War of 1812 Napoleon’s soldiers lived in the Convent. Leaving Moscow they wanted to blow it up, but that act of vandalism was prevented by 7 nuns who still lived in the Convent. After the Revolution of 1917 the Convent was closed and had been working only as a museum. It resumed its activity as a nunnery in 1994.
The Novodevichy Convent was for a long time a burial place for noble Russian families, military leaders, well-known politicians, scientists and writers. The Convent borders on the old and new Novodevichy Cemeteries which have become the necropolis of the Russian and Soviet cultural, military and political elite.
Ex.4 Answer the questions to the text.
1. When was the Novodevichy Convent founded? Who by?
2. In memory of which event was the Convent founded and the Smolensk Cathedral
built?
3. What did the Convent serve as in the past?
4. Why was the Novodevichy Convent in a privileged position?
5. Why was Princess Sofia imprisoned for life in the Convent?
6. What is the main church of the Convent called?
7. What is the Smolensk Cathedral famous for?
8. What could have happened to the Convent in 1812?
9. What happened to the Convent after the Revolution of 1917?
10. What does the Novodevichy Convent border on?
Ex.5 Act out as a guide answering the tourist’s questions.
I
T. - The Novodevichy Convent is surrounded by a massive wall and looks like
a fortress. Why?
G. - Да, вы правы. Монастырь служил мощной крепостью, защищавшей Москву
с юго-запада.
G. - When was the Convent built?
G. - Первым зданием, которое было построено на территории монастыря,
являлся Смоленский собор. Он был возведен в 1525 году. Первоначально
собор был деревянным. Каменный собор был сооружен в самом конце 16
века. Но на территории монастыря много архитектурных памятников разных
веков. Почти каждый из этих памятников может по праву считаться
шедевром русской архитектуры своей эпохи (epoch).
II
T. - Is the Smolensk Cathedral as beautiful inside as it is outside?
G. - Да, самые искусные художники расписывали стены собора. Фрески
Смоленского собора имеют уникальную историческую ценность (value).
А иконостас Ново-Девичьего монастыря еще три столетия назад вызывал
восхищение (to cause admiration) иностранцев, приезжавших в Москву.
T. - What else is there on the Convent grounds?
G. - На территории Ново-Девичьего монастыря также располагаются
великолепная 72-метровая колокольня, датируемая концом 17 века,
несколько церквей, а также много зданий для монахинь, которые жили
здесь: палаты, трапезная (a refectory) и многое другое. Часть территории
занята монастырским кладбищем.
T. - Who were the nuns living here?
G. - Они были, в основном, женщинами благородного происхождения – из
царской семьи и других самых богатых семей.
T. - Is the Convent still a nunnery?
G. - Да, Ново-Девичий монастырь возобновил свою деятельность в качестве
женского монастыря в 1994 году. Одновременно он является историческим
музеем.
