Конкурсная работа учащихся 9А класса МБОУ Школа № 53 города Рязани Ларионовой Ирины, Орешковой Дианы, Самохиной Анны “THE RYAZAN LAND IS THE SOUL OF RUSSIA … “

Муниципальное бюджетное образовательное учреждение

"Средняя общеобразовательная школа № 53" г. Рязани

"THE RYAZAN LAND

IS THE SOUL OF RUSSIA … "

Работу выполнили ученики 9 класса А

Ларионова Ирина, Орешкова Диана, Самохина Анна

Руководитель

Коростылева Ирина Степановна

г. Рязань, 2014 год

The Ryazan Land is the Soul of Russia…

In February 2014, Russia is going to hold the XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympics Winter Games in Sochi. It's great! No doubt, our country has really deserved the right to host the fantastic sport events for the second time in the history of the Olympic Games. We are proud of our Motherland and hope that the world first grade athletes will show their best results, gained by hard work and everyday training, exactly on the sport arenas of Sochi. Thousands of participants and millions of fans coming to Russia will be able to see with their own eyes the natural beauty of our country. They will meet the priceless treasures of Russian culture, its sacred images embodied in architectural and art monuments. All in all, we believe that the sport of high achievements, high technologies and incredible beauty of our country will impress and amaze the Sochi Games visitors.

Situated on the shore of the Black Sea, the biggest Russian resort is known as the pearl of the Russian South. But there are plenty of attractive places in our vast country. We live in the centre of Russia, just three hours' journey from Moscow, the capital of our Motherland, in the ancient town of Ryazan. We'll be happy to introduce our native town to the guests of the Olympic Games and give the foreign tourists an astonishing opportunity to face the charms of the Ryazan Land.

This poetic line is about an «inexpres­sible, dark blue, tender» feeling of the Native land that is inherent in every Russian person. This feeling is not simply a ba­sis of national self-consciousness. It was always the supreme sense of life for our ancestors and will be always an unchangeable ideal for our descendants. Love to the Native land is the main driving force for Russian heart.

During the war nothing could frighten Russian people because they fought for their native country and the pain of Fatherland was measured by their personal grief. A thousand of years this love together with belief in heavenly destination of Russia inspired Russian people with the invincible power which helped them to overcome a rush of hos­tile forces.

And, nevertheless, why is it the Ryazan land that is a soul of Russia?

Not casually Sergey Esenin wrote such a line: «Your icon and stern image hung in chapels in the Ryazan places...» - from time immemorial Russia was called «the House of the Holy Vir­gin».

In the family iconostasis of the Esenins the most honorable place was given to the Virgin icons - the images of the Mother of God.

And «in the Ryazan places...» means in the sa­cred and secret bottom of the heart, in the unique corners of the Russian land!

... Of course, there are places which are more ancient, more beautiful and more famous. But anyway, we, the Russians, believe that «our Palestine» is our «Ryazan places».

The history of ancient town which is older than Moscow, gives a right to the Ryazan citi­zens to think that their native country is the promised land of Russian spirit. The Ryazan principality with the center in Staraya Ryazan was the first insurmountable line of defence against the hostile Mongolian hordes. And Rya­zan stained with blood of warriors and tillers has become the native country of Russian he­roes' eternal glory.

Russia always kept a deep memory of Ryazan, its maternal place. Here, among immense fields, woods and lakes, the magic book of the living is kept. During the mortal battles of the Great Patriotic War, Russian soldiers hid under their clothes copied by hand Esenin's ver­ses together with the letters from their wives and mothers as the most sacred things. Thus the great Country kept a grateful memory of the poet who was a soul and a song of Russia. And thus, Ryazan became a guardian angel of all Russia.

It is difficult to describe pure and modest beauty of Ryazan. Many famous writers such as Alexei Novikov-Priboy, Konstantin Paustovsky, and Boris Mozhaev all their life searched for words which would become a part of prayerful trea­sury of Meshchera.

But how varied and fantastically mysterious our ancient land is!

In the forests of the Oka Reserve the majestic pine-trees rise to the very sky and such rare ani­mals as beavers, aurochs and wonderful elks find their shelter here... Birch groves are luminous with sunlight and lacy half-shades flit like but­terflies between the graceful trees.

Every new season brings its inexpressible charm and presents its colours and forms awaking new happy feelings in a hu­man soul.

And the citizens of Ryazan are beautiful, calm and proud of their native land. They work honestly and skillfully using the utmost care and a great talent in their work. Such ancient folk handicrafts as the thinnest lace of the town of Mikhailov, magic embroidery of Kadom and unique ceramics of Skopin are not forgotten in the towns and villages of the Ryazan region.

The Ryazan land has always been rich in world famous people. Their names have become symbols of Russian progress in various fields of science and art: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Ivan Pavlov,

Petr Semionov-Tian Shansky and Leonid Gobyato, S. Esenin and Jacob Polonsky, Vasily Agapkin and Alexander Alexandrov, Mikhail Scobelev and Fyodor Poletaev, Pirogovs brothers and a great number of other well-known people.

Ryazan owns its great historical and architectural heritage.

It is difficult to describe all majestic and wonderful pictures of our glorious town. But it is possible to stop the moment of its life with the help of photograph.

Ryazan is a pearl of the world treasury. The most beautiful and ancient constructions are the Cathedral of the Assumption and the belfry of the architectural complex of the Ryazan Kremlin. The ensemble of the Ryazan Kremlin in­cludes the ancient Archangel Cathedral built in 1475 and the Grand Price Oleg Palace of the 16th century.

The Cathedral of the Christ Birth is situa­ted in front of the Grand Prince Oleg Palace. It was built by Oleg of Ryazan, in connection with foundation of the principality in Pereyaslav of Ryazan.

There is no doubt that the most ancient part of the city is the territory of the Ryazan Kremlin. It was from here where Ryazan actually started. Like many old Russian towns Pereyaslavl Ryazansky was founded as a fortress. It was surrounded by high wooden walls with towers which haven't survived from that period. Now the Kremlin is an architectural monument of the 17-19th centuries.

Today the Kremlin is surrounded by a nice park. If you walk through the park you'll come to a staged belfry of the Cathedral of the Assump­tion. In fact, the foundation of the staged belfry was laid in 1789 and had been constructed by four well-known architects of the time: S. Vorotilov, I. Russko K. Thon, and N. Voronikhin. The erection of the belfry lasted for nearly 50 years. On the whole, the belfry is an outstanding archi­tectural monument in the style of classicism. The golden spire with the golden apple and the orthodox cross of the cathedral belfry is 25 meters height. All in all, the height of the belfry is about 86 metres.

When you pass the belfry you come to the magnificent Cathedral of the Assumption. The Cathedral of the As­sumption was built for six years (1693-1699) under the direction of Russian talented archi­tect Jacob Bukhvostov. It was the most grandi­ose construction of that time in Russia. The Ryazan Cathedral surpasses in size and volume the best architectural highlights of Russia such as St Basil's Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Moscow and the Church in Kolomenskoye.

The Ca­thedral of the Assumption is crowned with 5 domes on high drums, with built-in columns. The crosses on the domes are fine examples of the 17th century Ryazan metalwork. The architect decorated the ca­thedral with sculptured decor of exceptional beauty. The unique many-tiered gilt iconostasis created by the serf craftsman Sergey Christoforov is the main decoration of the temple. It is a masterpiece of Russian I7th century wood-carving. The icons were painted in the early 18th century by Solomonov.

Seen from all the parts of the city, even now the Cathedral is a domi­neering feature of Ryazan sky-line. The sculptured decor and wood-carved iconostasis are masterpieces having no direct equals in Russian architecture either in the 18th century or in all the centuries that pre­ceded it.

Near the modern Cathedral of the Assumption you can see the old one. It was renamed into the Cathedral of the Nativity in the 18th century. The old Cathedral of the Assumption is mentioned first in the 1598 chronicles. It served as the burial ground of the Ryazan princes beginning with Prince Fyodor Olgovich who died in 1427. The distinctive features of the masonry & the plinth profiles suggest that the Cathedral was built in the early 15th century. Similar elements are known to have been used in the structures of that period at Zvenigorod, at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, in Mos­cow and Kolomna.

Another masterpiece of the 15th century architecture is the Cathe­dral of the Archangel Michael. The Cathedral is one-domed and has 3 apses. The size of bricks is rather large. There are no pilasters. These features are characteristic of the last decades of the 15th century.

And now, I'd like to draw your attention to the Church of the Appa­rition of Christ. The church stands within the territory of the 14th cen­tury Spassky Monastery. The church was built on the site of a 16th century one which hasn't survived. The edifice is one of the first ex­amples of the use of a hipped roof. The arrangement of the drum and the combination of the massive cube with the belfry's tower form a very attractive general composition. The church dates back to 1647.

Now we come to the Archbishop's Chambers (1658). The ground floor was built in the second quarter of the 16th and in the 17th centuries; the first floor, from 1653 to 1658 was built under architect Yu.Yarshov; the second floor was built in 1692 with G. Mazukhin as the architect. The end of the facade carries the exterior staircases of the Church of St. John the Baptist with arch spaces closed up at a later stage.

Choir building is also worth speaking about. The edifice was built in 1658 as part of the Archbishop's palace complex (erected in the mid-17th century by architect Yarshov). The ensemble comprised the Bishop's Chambers proper, the choir building & the Consistory office building. The Cathedral of the Archangel Michael and the belfry, also designed by Yarshov, annexed to its south front, completed the west part of the complex. The belfry has since been demolished.

One of the best buildings of the 17th century is Church of the Savior-na-Yaru (over the Ravine). Its location in the north part of the ancient Verkhny Posad Ostrog (Upper Township Stockade) at Pereyaslavl Ryazansky adds to its beauty and makes it an important town-sight form­ing element.

When speaking about the Kremlin you can't help mentioning Ca­thedral Square. To the left you can see the Cathedral of the Nativity with the Church of St. John the Baptist in its rear; in the centre there is the Cathedral of the Assumption; to the right you can see the Church of the Apparition of Christ & the Spassky Monastery's entrance gate.

Now Cathedral Square is a place where our citizens like to come to.

Architectural complex of the Ryazan Kremlin is an Orthodox sanctity. Monuments of the Rya­zan Kremlin are really unique: the Belfry, the Cathedral of the Assump­tion, the Archangelic Cathedral, the Grand Prince Oleg Palace.

However, our story comes to an end. In conclusion, we'd like to say that our hospitable citizens are always happy to see friends and visitors who are eager to learn something new about one of the most ancient and beautiful towns of Central Russia.