National cultures

Tyumen Region

Read and translate the text:

Our region

Siberia is a vast land that stretches East beyond the Ural Mountains. The word «Siberia» was derived from the name of the ancient tribes (Sipirov).

Siberia starts with Tyumen Region, which is the biggest in Russia. It is nearly 1,500,000 sq. km in area and could easily accommodate France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. The capital is Tyumen which was founded in 1586. The landscape of the region is flat and the climate is temperate. The fauna and flora are various and the nature is very beautiful. The land is famed for pine, larch, cedar, fir-tree and birch in the forests which are full of arctic-fox, bear, fox, weasel, sable, marten and deer in the tundra. Every summer and autumn the people gather cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, bilberry and cloudberry.

There are many swamps in the region. It possesses two-thirds of all Russia’s peat. Over 100 oil, gas and oil-gas bearing deposits have been found in the region.

There are two National areas - Yamalo-Nenets in the extreme North and Khanty-Mansi near the confluence of the Irtysh and the Ob rivers that are rich with sturgeon, perch, sterlet, and pike. The National areas are populated by the Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, and Tatars – the indigenous inhabitants of the land.

In 1972 the railways were built under extremely difficult climatic conditions. Sometimes the frost is very severe in Siberia. The temperature falls to minus 50 degrees, the highest reading can reach 40 degrees of heat. Nearly all types of modern transport, railway, river, automobile and air are now utilized in the region.

The biggest cities of the region are Tobolsk, Surgut, Noyabrsk, Salekhard and Ishym. All the cities are economically and socially connected. The most important industrial establishments and educational institutions are in these cities and interesting cultural events take place there. Many foreigners come to this land either to work or on excursion, because there are many things to see and to study in Siberia.

Words and Word Combinations

ancient adj

accommodate v

confluence n

fauna n

flora n

severe adj

stretch v

landscape n

swamp n

temperate adj

vast adj

to be derived from

to be founded

to be famed for

to be populated by

indigenous dwellers

bearing deposits

to be connected

to take place

climatic conditions

Proper Names

Siberia, the Ural Mountains,Tyumen region,France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Yamalo-Nenets

Khanty-Mansi, the Irtysh, the Ob

Ex.1. Answer the following questions:

1. Is Siberia a vast land? 2. What name was the word «Siberia» derived from?3. Which region is the biggest in Russia? 4. Which countries could Siberia accommodate on its territory?

5. The region is nearly 1,5000,000 sq. km in area, isn't it? 6. What kind of climate does this region enjoy? 7. Are the fauna and the flora various? Prove your words.8. Is Siberia rich in gas-and-oil-bearing deposits? 9. What people are the National areas populated by? 10. When were the railways built?11. What means of modern transport are utilized in the region?12. What are the biggest cities in the region?

Ex.2. Find English equivalents in the text for the following words:

пpocтиpaться, древние племенa, paзмещать, noвepxнocть, cлавиться, кедр, 6epeзa, кустарник, ель, cocнa, лиственница, ласкa, медведь, coболь, куницa, oлень, клюквa, земляникa, малина, черникa, морошкa, болото, торф, нефть, гaз, месторождение, разведывать, слияние, щука, окунь, стерлядь, oceтp; климатические ycловия, показания термометра, местные жители.

Ex.3. Complete the sentences using expressions from the text:

1) Siberia is a vast land that......

2) It could easily......

3) The landscape of the region is....., the climate is…

4) The land is famed for......

5) It possesses......

6) The National areas are populated by.....

7) In 1972 the railways were built......

8) The biggest cities of the region are.....

National cultures

Western Siberia is the cradle of rich and original cultures and the homeland for ancient and contemporary nations. As early as the Paleolithic epoch (approximately 15-20 years ago) men began to develop the West-Siberian plain. In the second quarter of the 1st century B.C. the Iron Age began here. At that time a significant part of the region was inhabited by Sargathian tribes. We can judge how important the social processes of that period were by the appearance huge fortified settlements with a population of at least several hundred people and numerous identical communities. The total area of Rafailovskoe (one of these ancient settlement sites) is more than 60 thousand square meters.

Many nationalities and cultures developed in the West-Siberian plain over the course of several thousand years. By the 16th century the forming of today’s Nations, was mostly complete. By then considerable parts of the Tyumen region were settled by such nations as Khanty, Mansi, Nenets and Selkups. The Khanty and Mansi hunted and fished to survive. As the Khanty settled on the banks of big rivers, they mostly ate fish. The Mansi, who lived on the upper reaches of rivers on the western flanks of the Urals mostly hunted for elks, whose migratory route passed there. In winter the Mansi hunted on foot. They pursued deer and elk, using wide skis lined with otter (this prevented them from sliding backward down hill).

Approximately one thousand years ago Turkic tribes of Kypchaks came here. Some of them had been expelled from the steppe regions by the Mongolians. The local Ugor population moved northwards, and part of them became assimilated with the newcomers. Little by little, an ethnic group of Siberian Tatars was formed here. This group included Turkic, Ugor, Mongolian and other ethnic components. Hunting, fishing, cattle-breeding and farming were the main activities of the Siberian Tatars, who settled in forest-steppes and near taiga areas.

After Siberia became a part of Russia because of Ermak`s successful campaign, the Russians began to settle here intensively. This resulted in wide dissemination of Christianity.

Nowadays Tyumen region has 100 different nationalities. The majority of them are Russians, Ukrainians and Tatars.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30