Task 1. Read and translate the text (устный перевод текстов)

The National Symbols of Russia

(Национальные символы России)

Task 1. Read and translate the text (устный перевод текстов).

Symbols of Russia — official and non-official
The national symbols of Russia are a part of the cultural heritage of the country which has given the country its national identity.
The official and non-official symbols play an important role in formation of a country and a nation’s image; they build up its recognition.
Symbols of Russia and Russians are quite diverse. There are only three official, i.e. authorized by law, symbols of the state — the flag, emblem and anthem. But there are a lot of informal symbols, which are often much more famous and popular.
I’d like to tell you about these symbols of Russia. At first official symbols (официальные символы):

1. National Flag of Russia
The national flag of Russia is a tri color flag-white color which lies on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom. White stands for nobility and frankness; blue symbolizes loyalty, honesty, chastity and scarlet represents self-sacrifice, generosity and love. While some Russians believe that red means the land, blue stands for sky, and white symbolizes heaven.
The current Russian flag was adopted on August 21, 1991 just before the country became an independent state. Most historians trace the origin of Russia’s flag to Peter the Great. In 1699, out of hundreds of different flags, Peter selected the flag similar to the flag of the Netherlands — white, blue and red flag. His design was used as a Russian maritime flag for merchant ships and then it was adopted as the civil flag of Russia in 1883.

2. Two-headed Eagle
The two-headed eagle first appeared in Russia, during the time of Moscovia, in the 15th century. Two-headed eagle has been the symbol of the monarchy of Russia for more than four hundred years. But with the advent of Russian revolution and dethroning of the Tsar Empire, it was on the verge of extinction. In 1993, under the initiative of President Boris Yeltsin it was again adopted on 30th November 1993.
The two heads of the eagle stands for the two parts of vast Russian empire — European and Asian, which are believed to be an important part of the country of Russia.
There are three historical crowns of Peter the Great above the two-headed eagle (they are symbols of the sovereignty both in Russia as a whole and in its parts). The eagle holds in claws sceptre and orb as embodiment of State power and united state.
On its chest there is a horseman – Russian St. George – who is killing an evil snake with his spear. That is one of the oldest symbols of victory of Russia against all its enemies, symbol of the struggle of good against evil, light against gloom.

3. National Anthem of Russia
For a long time Russia had no anthem. The various church hymns and military marches were used to honour the Russia up to 1816, when the “Молитва русских“ («Prayer of the Russians») by Russian poet V. Zhukovskii was chosen as the national anthem.
The second official anthem “Боже, царя храни“ was presented in 1833, on December 25th, when the nation celebrated the expulsion of the French from Russia. That anthem existed until the October revolution of 1917 and was replaced to the new anthem of the victorious proletarian revolution — «International» — in 1918.
In 1944, the national anthem of Russia was accepted. The music was composed by Alexander Alexandrov and the lyrics were written by Russian Federalist Sergey Mikhalkov.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1993, a government commission and President Yeltsin offered a new national anthem “Патриотическая песня“ («Patriotic Song») by M. Glinka. However this anthem was unpopular and didn’t inspire Russians. People preferred the old Soviet anthem instead of it.