The Cathedrals of the Don Region

 

The Voyskovoy Cathedral of Resurrection in Stanitsa Starocherkasskaya

This Cathedral is the oldest on the Don land. It was laid to commemorate the victory of the Don Cossacks over the Turks in the Azov campaign (1637 – 1641). At first it was made of wood but after two fires in 1671 and 1687 a stone building was constructed. It was built under the personal supervision of Peter I who sent money, iron, icons, books and the objects of cult for it. He even laid several stones in its altar wall.

It was consecrated in February 1719. The inner decoration is magnificent and impressive. It consists of 125 icons, painted mostly in the 18-th century. Among them there is an icon of the Christ’s Resurrection painted by Egor Grek in 1749. The architectural design of the Cathedral is very logical and harmonious. It has 9 domes which compose a Greek cross.

Many members of the czar family, famous Cossacks (M.I. Platov),  A.S. Pushkin, A.V. Suvorov, V.I. Surikov visited this Cathedral. There one can see a chain by which Stepan Rasin was riveted in 1671; the Cathedral at that time was still wooden. There is also a tomb of the ataman Korniliy Yakovlev, a godfather of Stepan Rasin, who captured Stepan and brought him to Moscow for execution.

VOCABULARY

1 resurrection – воскресение

2 to consecrate – освящать

3 to rivet – приковывать

4 a dome – купол

5 a godfather – крестный отец                        

 

The Cathedral of Resurrection in Novocherkassk

When the Cossacks’ capital was transferred from stanitsa Starocherkasskaya to Novocherkassk a new Cathedral was laid. Its construction was started in May 1805 on the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The first design was done by the architect A.I. Ruska. But in 1846 the building crashed down due to the weak foundation made of lime-stone. The second design was worked out by the Academician I.O. Waldprede, but it was not put into effect because the main dome crashed down in 1863 due to some neglections during the construction.

The new design in the so-called «New-Byzantine style» was made by the architect A.A. Yaschenko. But he unexpectedly died before the Cathedral was constructed. In 1905 the Cathedral was at last consecrated. It is 74.6 m high and even nowadays it is the third largest Cathedral in Russia. It strikes by its huge sizes, but it looks very harmonious at the same time. It also has a form of a Greek cross but it has 6 domes. The inner decoration is made of rose and white marble, the icons were painted by Staroborovsky and Gryzhevsky. Besides the paintings based on Old and New Testimonies there are pictures devoted to the history of the Don Cossacks made by the artists I.F. Popov, T.K. Petrusevitch, F.S. Kazachinsky and D.N. Kardovsky. In the basement of the Cathedral there are the tombs of the atamans Platov, Efremov, Baklanov and others.

The Cathedrals of Rostov

Before the Revolution of 1917 Rostov had been known as «the town of churches», but then dozens of them were destroyed. However nowadays in Rostov there are churches and cathedrals of almost all the religions.

The most beautiful and imposingly looking among them is the Cathedral of Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. It was designed by academician Konstantin Thon and constructed near the central market in 1860. This Cathedral is a diminished replica of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. During the battle for Rostov in 1942 its 72-metre bell tower was destroyed but now it has been restored and the ensemble resumed its initial shape.  

The oldest cathedral in Rostov is the church of the Armenian monastery of Surb Khach (Holy Cross). Though it is surrounded now by modern buildings it looks very harmonious. It was built around 1792 by the architect Ivan Starov. It has perfect acoustics and the choirs which perform classical music make their concerts in it. Besides the surroundings of the Cathedral are very picturesque and attract many visitors.

VOCABULARY

1 The Cathedral of Nativity of the Holy Mother of God – Кафедральный собор Рождества Пресвятой Богородицы

2 the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour – Собор Христа Спасителя

3 a bell tower – колокольня

 

 

TEXT 18

The Climate, Fauna and Flora of the Rostov Region  

 

The climate of the Rostov Region is temperate. As the region is very large there are noticeable variations in the climate of its districts. In the North of the region winter begins in the middle of November, in the South and West – at the end of this month. Winter comes gradually. Sometimes you can’t understand if winter has already come or it is still autumn. The most part of winter is snowless. Such weather is dangerous for trees and other vegetation as the frost is stronger and the wind blows sharper. The severest frosts are in January and at the beginning of February. In the Northern part it is sometimes 25-35 degrees below zero. But when the windblows from the Black Sea thaw appears on the ground and many icicles sparkle on the trees and on the roofs of the houses. People do not like this weather either because the pavements become very slippery.  

Spring is the loveliest season in Rostov. It comes to our region at the beginning of April. Snow and ice melt and there are many brooks in the fields and even in the streets of the towns and villages. At the end of April cherry-, apple- and other fruit-trees start blooming. How wonderful the gardens are at that time! It seems that somebody has poured milk on them. And how beautiful the flower-beds with tulips and daffodils are! And green parks with lilac and lilies-of-the valley! One can’t help admiring nature of the Don during this season.

But summer is not less wonderful! It is such a pleasure to swim in the numerous rivers and ponds of the Rostov region when the weather is hot and sunny. Or one can sit in a shadow of high lime-trees, maples, birch-trees, poplars or acacias and watch the life of bees, ants, butterflies and other insects. If you are lucky you can notice some rodents, for instance, a hare, a hamster or a mouse or even a hedgehog, a fox, a roe-deer and numerous lizards in the green grass among clover, dandelions and cow-wheat.

In the steppes and forests of the Rostov region many beasts of pray live: a fox, a wolf, a boar, a weasel, a polecat, a raccoon, a coypu, a musk-rat and others. Sometimes you can see an elk or a deer. There are numerous birds in the fields and forests: a bustard, a crane, a partridge, a quail, a cuckoo, a skylark, a sparrow, a swift, a swallow, a starling, an oriole, a woodpecker, a tomtit, a duck, a wild goose, a heron, a crow and some birds of prey: a hawk, an eagle and an owl.

Rivers of the Rostov region are still famous for their fish: a pike-perch, a perch, a pike, a crucian, a sheat-fish, a mirror carp, a herring, a sturgeon and a craw-fish. Many people in our region like to spend their time fishing.

The Don land is washed by two seas: the Azov Sea in the South-West and the Tsemlyanskoye Sea in the East. In Rostov region there are also many lakes and ponds, big and small rivers. Almost all the rivers which flow on the area of the Rostov region fall into the Don – the main and the largest river in this part of the country. The Don begins near Tula. There it looks like a small shallow brook, but on its way towards Azov it becomes deep and wide. It length is about 2,000 km. The Don is of great importance for our region because fishery depends strongly on irrigation due to a rather droughty climate. Besides for centuries the Don has been serving as the means of communication and trade. This beautiful river has always inspired the folk musicians, writers and composers. People called it with respect: «The Quiet Don» and «The Father-Don».

Late autumn is the worst season in the Rostov region. After the warm and sunny days of September and October the continuous cold rains begin. The peasants who are busy with gathering a harvest are not pleased with such weather. Usually such damp, rainy days last till the middle of November and only a short period of Indian summer gives us an opportunity to see gold and red leaves, blue sky with flying spider’s web, beautiful asters and chrysanthemums and to say «Good-bye, dear summer!»

VOCABULARY

1	fauna – фауна	36	a partridge  – куропатка
2	temperate – умеренный	37	a quail – перепел
3	vegetation – растительность	38	a skylark – жаворонок
4	thaw – оттепель	39	a sparrow – воробей
5	an icicle – сосулька	40	a swift – стриж
6	a brook – ручей	41	a swallow – ласточка
7	a daffodil – нарцисс	42	a starling – скворец
8	lilac – сирень	43	an oriole – иволга
9	lily-of-the-valley – ландыш	44	a heron – цапля
10	one can ’ t help admiring – нельзя не восхищаться	45	a woodpecker – дятел
11	a lime-tree – липа	46	a tomtit – синица
12	a maple – клен	47	a crow – ворона
13	a birch (tree) – береза	48	a hawk – ястреб
14	a poplar – тополь	49	an eagle – орел
15	an acacia – акация	50	an owl – сова
16	a bee – пчела	51	a pike-perch – судак
17	an ant – муравей	52	a pike – щука
18	a hare – заяц	53	a perch – окунь
19	a hamster – хомяк	54	a crucian – карась
20	a hedgehog – еж	55	a sheat-fish – сом
21	a roe-deer – косуля	56	a mirror carp– зеркальный карп
22	a lizard – ящерица	57	a sturgeon – осетр
23	clover – клевер	58	a herring – сельдь
24	a dandelion – одуванчик	59	a crawfish – рак
25	cow - wheat – иван-да-марья	60	Indian summer – «бабье лето»
26	a beast of prey – хищное животное	61	a spider’s web – паутина
27	a boar – кабан	62	a chrysanthemum – хризантема
28	a weasel – ласка	63	fishery – рыболовство
29	a polecat – хорек	64	shallow  – мелкий (о воде)
30	a raccoon – енот	65	droughty – засушливый
31	a coypu – нутрия	66	an aster – астра
32	a musk - rat – ондатра
33	an elk – лось
34	a bustard – дрофа
35	a crane – журавель

EXERCISES

1 Answer the following questions:

1 What is your favourite season in Rostov? Describe it.

2 What is called «Indian summer»? When does it come to Rostov?

3 What birds and animals have you seen in the Rostov Region?

4 What do you do when you go for a picnic?

5 Why is our region famous for its fishery?

6 What role does the Don play in the life of people?

7 What songs, novels and films are connected with the Don?

8 What are your favourite flowers? Can they be found in the fields?

 

TEXT 19