Decembrist’s Square

        The square was named in honour of the young revo­lutionary noblemen. They attempted an armed upris­ing against the autocracy and serfdom in Russia. The uprising took place in December 1825. That’s why the participants came to be known as Decembrists. The uprising was suppressed, but the cause of the Decem­brists lived on.

        The architectural ensemble of the square is remark­able for the famous monument to Peter I and the build­ings of the former Senate and Synod.

       The governing Senate was established by Peter I in 1711. It had to rule the State while the tsar was away. The Senate was then converted into the higher judicial instance. The Sacred Synod was founded in 1721. And by this act Peter I put the activity of the church under the state control. Though the Synod members were ecclesiastics, their activity was supervised by a repre­sentative of temporal power, that is the Synod over­procurator.

        The Senate moved from Vasilyevsky Island to the corner building by the Neva opposite the Admiral­ty. The buildings of the Synod and Senate were re­built by the architect Carlo Rossi in 1829-1834. They were connected by an arch across Galernaya Street. The arch was crowned with a sculpture group, symbolising Faith and Law. The arch was created by the sculptors Pimenov and Demuth-Malinovsky.

       Now the buildings house the Central State Histori­cal Archives. On the other side of the square stands the western wing of the Admiralty. It was completed by the architect Andrian Zakharov in 1822.

 

Vocabulary

across - поперек, сквозь

act - дело, действовать

activity - деятельность

against – против

arch - арка

architectural - архитектурный

archives - архивный

armed - вооруженный

attempt - пытаться

autocracy - самодержавие

cause - причина

consist - состоять

convert - превращать

connect - соединять

complete - завершать, заканчивать

crown - короновать

ecclesiastic - духовное лицо

ensemble - ансамбль

establish - основывать

faith - вера

former - прежний, бывший

found - основывать

govern – управлять

group - группа

honour - честь, слава

increase - возрастать

judicial - судебный

known - известный под именем

law - закон

move - двигать(ся), переезжать

name - называть, давать имя

nobleman - дворянин, титулованное лицо

over-procurator - обер-прокурор

participant - участник

power - сила

rebuild - восстанавливать

representative - представитель

revolutionary - революционный, револю­ционер

remarkable - замечательный

rule - правило, управлять

sacred - священный, святой

senate - сенат

serfdom - крепостное право

state - государство

suppress - пресекать

supervise - смотреть, наблюдать

synod - синод

symbolise - символизировать

take place - иметь место, происходить

temporal - временный

uprising - восстание

western - западный

wing - крыло