Word: russias
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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That past is enjoying a revival. While Stalin used the vision of Mother Russia to inspire patriotism and encourage resistance during World War II, Russia's present leaders have encouraged it to open up the way for a renewed appreciation of Russia's past glories. During the summer, to the delight of Russian and foreign tourists alike, many of the old wooden churches and onion-domed cathedrals that dot the Soviet countryside were opened to the public. The result was an artistic revelation...
Close Compendium. Nearer to Moscow, an inquiring tourist can now find and enjoy a compendium of Russia's best architecture...
...Vladimir, a scenic three-hour journey by car from Moscow, is one of the most popular tourist sights. An important trading center on the Volga River routes in medieval times, Vladimir was named for the prince of Kiev who brought Christianity to Russia in A.D. 988. His emissaries, the story goes, were so taken by the beauty of the Byzantine liturgy and Constantinople's churches that they urged the prince to adopt that mode of Christianity. Vladimir's churches reflect the Russian efforts to carry on the Byzantine architectural tradition. The most spectacular is the Cathedral...
...cathedral was built by a warrior-prince named Andrei Bogoliubsky in 1158. Prince Andrei, seeking to wrest power from the boyars and make Vladimir instead of Kiev the capital of Russia, intended that the cathedral would be not only a metropolitan see but the finest jewel in his kingdom. He lavished much of his treasury on it, importing European architects, stonemasons and carvers as well as Byzantine painters and craftsmen. Though Prince Andrei failed in his fight against the boyars, who succeeded in murdering him in 1174, his majestic monument stood, only to be destroyed by fire a few years...
...Rostov was one of the richest trading towns of medieval Russia, exchanging its honey, furs, wheat and beeswax for Scandinavian amber, Arab coins and Volga pottery. Today, it is a favorite stop for Sputnik International Youth Groups, who stay in the famed Red Chamber that once housed visiting czars, including Peter the Great. Its sprawling kremlin is, next to Moscow's own, the most spectacular in Russia. Forty years abuilding, the Rostov Kremlin incorporates the Metropolitan's residence, churches, service buildings and princely quarters all into one grand architectural ensemble of striking dimension and originality...