About History of Russia in English

Russia is a young state proclaimed in 1991 but its history goes back to the 6th century A.D.

Over 1,400 years ago there were tribes of Slav people living in parts of central and eastern Europe. In the 6th century A.D. some of them began to migrate further eastwards. They found themselves upon a great plain with no barrier in their path until they reached a mountain wall in the south or an ocean in the far north, the Arctic.

This plain was open to the cold eastern winds and snow for half the year, and to attacks from Huns, Scythians and Goths. At the first sign of danger the Slavs would spread out over the endless steppe (grasslands) or go deeper into the forest. Some settled down as farmers. Others became pioneers opening up new territory. From the 6th to the 9th century, Vikings from the north made trips for trade and adventure along the great Dnieper and Volga rivers to Kiev, Novgorod and other cities.

Kiev also traded with Greeks in the south and it was from the Greeks that the Russians took their Christian religion. In 988 Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev was converted to Christianity.

Kiev Rus was destroyed in 1240 by the Golden Horde of Mongol-Tatars. The Horde occupied the country for about 250 years, cutting it off from important events elsewhere. But the princes of Moscow gradually beat them off and in the 16th century Ivan the T errible finally defeated the Tatars at Kazan. He had himself crowned tsar in the capital city of Moscow in 1547.

After Ivan died, there were quarrels over the throne until Mikhail Romanov was made tsar. The Romanov family ruled Russia from 1613 until they were overthrown in 1917. Mikhail Romanov’s grandson Peter I was the greatest of all Russian tsars. He opened “a window onto the West’’ by gaining a port on the Baltic Sea and building a grand new capital, St. Petersburg, in marshes where the Neva River meets the Baltic.

Peter the Great built a modem navy and army, made Russia a world power and introduced many reforms to westernize the nation. Russia grew under his reign as he added Estonia and part of Latvia and Finland to the territories under Russian control.

Nearly 40 years after Peter’s death in 1725, a young German princess took the Russian throne. She became known as Catherine the Great and she ruled for 34 years. Russia grew much larger during her reign. The empire expanded eastwards towards the Pacific Ocean, southwards to the Crimea and the Black Sea and westwards to occupy Lithuania and much of Poland.

Not long after Catherine’s death in 1796, Napoleon invaded Russia and captured Moscow in 1812. But he could not make the Russians surrender. In the end his army had to retreat, leaving Tsar Alexander I a stronger ruler.

By the middle of the 19th century Russia was in crisis. She fought against Britain and France in the Crimean War and, later in the century, Britain stopped her from taking over Afghanistan. At home the serfs had rebel led against the landowners. Tsar Alexander II saw no alternative but to free the serfs and give them land. He did this in 1861, and many of the former serfs and their families built up successful small farms.

However, most Russians were still very poor and there was a lot of discontent. A group of reformers, called the Narodniks, went to the people in the countryside to teach them to read and write. Others became terrorists and used bombs to attack Russia’s leaders. Alexander 11 was killed in 1881. The situation worsened in the reign of Nicholas II.

Russia’s entry into World War I in 1914 increased the nation’s hardship. Two million men were killed, two million wounded and four million were taken prisoners. Riots by starving people in February 1917 quickly spread. The tsar was incompetent in running the war and dealing with problems. He was forced to give up his throne, and both he and his family were shot a year later. It was then that Russia became a republic.

Provisional Government ruled over Russia for eight months. In October 1917 it was overthrown by the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin.

The Communist Party ruled over the country over the next seven decades. In 1922 Russia became the largest and most important of the republics forming the USSR. Russia had to live through the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. It is impossible to say how many people perished during these years. Many Soviet men, women and even teenagers became victims of the repressions.

After 70 years of communist rule the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Boris Yeltsin became the first president of the newly independent Russia.

Much is spoken about the hardships overcome by Russia in the 20th century. The country has lost much of its previous political influence and economic power. But it is still the largest state in the world, and people of the country are proud of its glorious history. The country was the first to build atomic icebreakers, to launch the satellite, the first manned space flight was carried out by the Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin. Our scientists, physicians, artists, ballet dancers are famous all over the world. We have inherited ancient cultural traditions, one of them being patriotism.

Present Russia has faced many complex problems. But, hopefully, these difficulties are temporary and soon Russia will grow even more powerful than it had been.

Questions

1. Speak about the celebrities of Russian 19th-century culture.

2. What events took place in the 20th century in Russia?

3. What do you know about the Great Patriotic War?

4. What books on Russian history have you read?

5. Are you proud to be the citizen of Russia?

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Конец XX века был для России не самым легким временем. Однако Россия всегда с честью выходила из самых трудных испытаний, так что будем надеяться, что и нынешние проблемы будут успешно решены в самом ближайшем будущем.

2. В России большинство памятников посвящены царям, государственным деятелям, полководцам и писателям. В Петербурге рядом с Марсовым полем стоит изящный памятник Суворову. Великий полководец похоронен в Александро-Невской лавре. На его могиле начертано: «Здесь лежит Суворов». Более длинной надписи с перечислением всех его славных дел не требуется, так как память о них живет до сих пор и будет жить вечно.

3. Граждане современной России обязаны сознавать, что они являются наследниками многовековой культуры и славы, которой покрыли себя наши предки.

4. С момента образования Советского Союза в 1922 году Россия являлась самой крупной и самой экономически развитой республикой СССР. Однако никто не может сказать, что Россия богатела за счет других республик, напротив, она всегда помогала другим братским государствам.

5. Если посмотреть на атласы, по которым изучают географию дети Великобритании, легко убедиться, что на Западе Россию, вопреки действительности, не считают частью Европы. Как бы то ни было, Европе приходится считаться с Россией, одна Европейская часть которой по территории превосходит все европейские страны.

6. Петр I способствовал европеизации России, а последние политические реформы в нашей стране еще больше сблизили ее с Западом.

7. История России во все века была бурной, и в ней хватает трагических, кровавых страниц. Мне кажется, что по-настоящему в событиях прошлого можно разобраться только спустя очень большой промежуток времени, когда чувства не будут одерживать верх над научной объективностью.

8. После февральской революции 1918 года к власти пришло Временное правительство, состоявшее из лидеров «прогрессивного блока», который двумя годами ранее был сформирован из либеральных и консервативных депутатов Государственной думы.

9.2 марта 1917 года Николай II отрекся от престола в пользу (abdicated in favour of) своего брата Михаила. Однако последний, видя размах антимонархических настроений в стране, решил отказаться от трона.

10. В годы правления Николая I в России началось строительство железных дорог, протяженность которых, правда, не шла в сравнение с другими европейскими странами. Ведь одна только железная дорога, связавшая Петербург с Москвой, имеет протяженность 621 км!

11. Удивительно, сколько изменении и испытаний претерпела Россия в 20 веке: войны, революции, экономические кризисы, смены политической власти. Что ждет эту страну в XXI столетии?

12. Говорят, история повторяется. В некотором смысле это верно, если сравнивать древнюю историю России, существование отдельных княжеств (principalities), войны с половцами (the Polovetz) и монголо-татарами, с ее нынешним состоянием.

“a window onto the West” — «окно в Европу» army — армия Catherine the Great = Catherine II — Екатерина Великая century — век decade — десятилетие discontent — недовольство economic power — экономическое могущество Goths — готы Grand Prince — великий князь hardship — тяжелое испытание Huns — гунны icebreaker — ледокол independent — независимый influential — влиятельный Ivan the Terrible = Ivan IV — Иван Грозный landowner — помещик, землевладелец navy — военно-морской флот political influence — политическое влияние rebellion — восстание riot — бунт, мятеж satellite — спутник Scythians — скифы serf — крепостной Slavs — славяне space research — космические исследования the Crimean War — Крымская война the Decembrists’ uprising — восстание декабристов the Horde — орда the Narodniks — народники the Patriotic War of 1812 — Отечественная война 1812 the Provisional Government — Временное правительство to be crowned tsar — короноваться царем

to be forced to do something — быть вынужденным сделать что-либо to be shot — быть расстрелянным to be taken prisoner — попасть в плен, быть заключенным в тюрьму to beat off — изгнать, выбить to capture — захватывать to carry out — выполнять to collapse — распадаться to convert to Christianity — обращать в христианство to deal with problems — справляться с проблемами to defeat — разбить, разгромить, нанести поражение to expand — расширяться to gain — приобретать, получать to go back — восходить to invade — вторгаться, завоевывать to launch — запускать to migrate — переселяться to overthrow — свергать to proclaim — провозглашать to rebel — восставать to riot — бунтовать to run the war — вести войну to spread over — расселяться, распространяться (по какой-либо территории) to win the battle — выиграть сражение tribe — племя tsar family — царская семья victim — жертва Vikings — викинги