Find some more information about any street or monument in Rostov. Imagine that you are a foreign architect who wants to visit a special place of interest in Rostov and write a book about it.

 

3 Group Discussion:

Imagine that you participate in the meeting of City Administration. The main problem on the agenda is reconstruction of the central part of Rostov: some of the old houses are to be dismantled in order to build

a) a hospital;                           c) a new bank office;

b) a five-star hotel;                 d) a Disney-land-type park.

Try to choose your role and your own position in every case.

TEXT 15

Rostov Theatres

 

The economic growth of Rostov at the end of the 19-th century accelerated the development of culture. The most prestigious cultural entertainment of that time was a theatre.

There were a number of wooden theatres in Rostov which were more like a booth. Then the history mentions The Asmolov Theatre.

In the 80-s the owner of a tobacco factory Asmolov constructed the first stone building for a theatre in Taganrogsky avenue. It was a very large building for about 1000 spectators and it served as a real decoration of the town. During 38 years of its existence (it burned down in 1920) it played a great role in the formation of Rostov theatrical public. The best plays both of Russian writers: Gogol, Griboedov, Ostrovsky, Chekhov and of the world classics were performed by many talented actors. One of its first directors was N.N. Sinelnikov, the Honoured Artist of Russia. Thanks to him the low-grade plays were not allowed for staging. Though after a dozen of years several other theatres were opened, Asmolov’s Theatre will stay in the history of Rostov for ever because it was the first real theatre and its input into the cultural life could not be underestimated.

Nowadays in Rostov there are several theatres: the Academic Drama Theatre named after M. Gorky, The Musical Theatre, The Philharmonic Society, The Youth Theatre and The Puppet Theatre. There are also some new groups which try their hand in modern art. For several years Rostov has been a centre of international theatre life. Every autumn dozens of theatres from all over the world come to our city to participate in the international festival of stage art – the Minifest.

Speaking about the Drama Theatre named after M. Gorky we can say that it is an architectural symbol of the city as well as Eifel Tower in Paris, the Kremlin in Moscow or Big Ben in London. The Theatre was built in 1935 according to the design of the academician V.A. Šchuko and the professor V.G. Gelfreich. They created an absolutely original building for the theatre: being influenced by the ideas of industrialization they gave a form of a tractor to the building. The building is the brightest monument to the so called style of the Soviet constructivism. Together with the St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow it was included into all the text-books in architecture. At the same time it is the largest theatre building in Europe. On the day of its opening the play «Revolt» by D. Furmanov was staged and had a great success among the spectators. In the 30-s the following great actors worked in it. A. Zavadsky, N. Mordvinov, V. Maretskaya, R. Plyatt, etc.

During the Great Patriotic War the theatre was severely damaged and even the idea of construction a pompous, tasteless building at its place was put forward. But then it was decided to restore the original theatre.

Nowadays there are more than 20 plays in the repertory of the theatre. Among them there are Shakespear’s tragedies. Chekhov’s plays as well as modern comedies. There are many talented actors in its group. The Rostovites like their unique theatre and are proud of it.

VOCABULARY

1 to accelerate – ускорять

2 a booth – балаган

3 The Philharmonic Society – Филармония

4 revolt – мятеж

TEXT 16

The Rostov Region and its Towns

 

The Rostov Region occupies an area of about 100,000 sq.km. which is equal to the territories of Holland, Denmark and Belgium taken together. The Rostov region is situated on the South of the East European plain. It is washed by the Taganrog bay of the Azov Sea. The main rivers on its territory are the Don and the Seversky Donets. It is rich in many mineral resources: coal, gas, lime-stone, etc. The Rostov region is one of the richest agricultural regions in Russia. It was awarded several orders and awards by the state for its achievements in agriculture. It is famous for its wheat, vegetables and fruit and especially fish.

The Rostov region has a remarkable history. Many famous people: A. Chekhov, M. Sholokhov, E. Vuchetich and others considered it their native place. Even greater number of the world-known people visited it frequently and worked there.

The towns of the Rostov region are not only developed centres of industry and agriculture, but they have a lot of places of interest and are very picturesque.

In stanitsa (a village) Starocherkasskaya, for instance, you will find many monuments, dating back to those times when this place was the centre of the Cossack «free land» and was known as the town of Cherkassk. Stepan Rasin, Kondraty Bulavin and Emelyan Pugatchov lived in Cherkassk. Peter I, A. Suvorov and       A. Pushkin who were interested in the life of the Don Cossacks visited it more than once. Cherkassk was founded in 1570 and soon became an administrative, military and trade centre of the Cossack army. In 1805 Novocherkassk was founded and a capital of the Don Cossacks was transformed there. At present in stanitsa Starocherkasskaya we can see the Starocherkassky Cathedral that was built between 1706 and 1720 and several unique Cossack dwelling houses.                             

A visit to a neighbouring Novocherkassk is very exciting. This town has a rich Museum of History of the Don Cossacks and many monuments of the past. Now Novocherkassk has again resumed its status of the capital of the Don Cossacks. Many ceremonies take place on its square where the Cathedral and a monument to Ermak are situated. At present Novocherkassk is an important industrial and educational centre. It has one of the biggest electric locomotive plants in the country.

Azov is the oldest town of the Don region. It was founded in 1067. Originally it belonged to the Turks but then Peter I after several war campaigns joined Azov to Russia. Among its places of interest the remains of the gates built in the 14-th century and the fortress wall are notable.

In 1696 when the Russian army occupied Azov Peter I decided to build a fortress on the shores of the Azov Sea. The cape was called Taganiy Rog – hence the name of the town is Taganrog. At the beginning of the 20-th century a monument to Peter I was erected in the town by the sculptor Antakolsky. There is an insciption on it: «To the founder of Taganrog – Peter I». Taganrog is proud of its famous son – the outstanding Russian writer Anton Chekhov. A small house where he was born, his gymnasium and other places became a place of pilgrimage for the tourists from many countries. There are many memorial sights in the town connected with the visits of A. Pushkin, P. Chaikovsky and G. Garibaldi to Taganrog. The town also hosts a unique Gallery of Art which possesses an outstanding collection of the Russian masters.

The remains of Tanais, an ancient Bosporus colony, can be seen near the village of Nedvigovka, on the road to Taganrog. Now it is an archeological preserve; the local museum displays unique things telling about the ancient history of the Don land.

VOCABULARY

1 lime-stone – известняк

2 a cape  – мыс

3 a place of pilgrimage  – место паломничества

4 a preserve  – заповедник

EXERCISES

1 Answer the following questions:

1 Is Rostov Region large? Prove it.

2 What is the Rostov region famous for?

3 What names of famous people are connected with the history of the Rostov region?    

4 Starocherkasskaya stanitsa is still the capital of the Don Cossacks, isn’t it?

5 What places of interest can one see there?

6 What famous people visited it?

7 What is Novocherkassk known for?

8 What is the oldest town of the Rostov region?

9 What town was a Greek settlement: Tanais or Azov?

10 Who were the initial inhabitants of Azov?

11 Why is there a monument to Peter I in Taganrog?

12 What places of interest are there in Taganrog?

13 What archaeological preserves are there on the territory of the Rostov region?

14 What towns of the Rostov region would you advice to visit and why?

 

TEXT 17