This PowerPoint presentation represents cultural background of Russia.

1. Russian Culture

2. Russian literature is a very inherent and significant part of Russian culture. It begins from early centuries when people told bylinas and chanted “lives of the saints.” In the era of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great a reform of Russian alphabet was made in order to increase tolerance. Mikhail Lomonosov, Denis Fonvizin, and Nikolay Karamzin were the key figures in literature of that time. Such talented poets as Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov inaugurated the new “golden era.” The most famous novelists were Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky whose writings are well known worldwide. The 2 nd half of the century brought outstandingly talented Anton Chekhov with his “The Cherry Orchard” and “The Lady with the Dog.” The beginning of the 20 th century, also known as the “silver era” had remarkable poets like Alexander Blok, Sergei Yesenin, Anna Akhmatova, Vladimir Mayakovsky and others. 20 th century was about Socialist realism style. Truly marvelous writers of 1930's were Mikhail Bulgakov, the author of “The Master and Margarita” and Boris Pasternak, the author of “Doctor Zhivago.” Literature

3. Ballet Russian ballet is one of the best classical ballets in the world; it is famous with its grace, sensuality, and elegance of the moves. It takes roots in 1738 in Saint Petersburg where the first ballet school called Imperial Theatre School was founded. It paved the way to the classical ballet (as we know it today), so it has been recognizes as a new incarnation of art. Through the years Russian ballet dancers dominated in the world's stage; those included Pavlova, Karsavina, Baryshnikov and many other. Petipa and Ivanov ballet trainers were in collaboration with a famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky and created such classic masterpieces as “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, and “The Nutcracker.” In 1957 Imperial Theatre School was renamed in Vaganova Academy after its new director and ballet trainer Agrippina Vaganova.

4. Classical Music It started with Peter the Great who opened the “window to Europe” for Russia. He made reforms in music introducing new western style. While the reign of Empresses Elisabeth and Catherine, many Italian musicians came to Russia and brought the traditions of classical music. The first Russian composer inspired by that beautiful music style was Mikhail Glinka, who is known for his “Ivan Susanin” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” operas. A group “Mighty Five”- in which were Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, and César Cui- represented young generation of Russian classical composers. Their most recognizable operas are “The Snow Maiden”, “Sadko”, “Prince Igor”, and “Scheherazade.” Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was very talented composer who wrote music for ballet and gave the world “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, and “The Nutcracker.” Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich were the pearls of the end of the 19 th and the beginning of 20 th centuries. These composers are mostly remembered for their experiments in style and music.

5. Bibliography Literature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_literature Ballet http://www.russianclassicalballet.com/id69.html Classical Music http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Russia#18th_and_19th_century:_Russian_Classical_music AleksandrPushkin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AleksandrPushkin.jpg Rimsky-Korsakov http://www.last.fm/music/Nikolai+Rimsky-Korsakov Russian ballet http://www.echinacities.com/dalian/city-in-pulse/russian-ballet-swan-lake-to-arrive-in-dalian.htm Chekhov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chekhov_1898_by_Osip_Braz.jpg Leo Tolstoy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ilya_Efimovich_Repin_(1844-1930)_-_Portrait_of_Leo_Tolstoy_(1887).jpg Anna Pavlova http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AP_Cygne.jpg Tchaikovsky http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/tchaikov