A quick look back at my trip...
Feb. 2nd, 2009 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpBack when I worked in the Soviet Union for a US travel agency, a visit to the grounds of the Exhibition of National Economic Achievements - typically referred to as VDNKh (pronounced veh-deh-en-hah) - was on the itinerary of all "my" groups. It was a pleasant enough place, even if the point of the whole affair was to propagandize the achievements of the USSR. Today, there are a number of small shops and restaurants in the park, and a ferris wheel, and probably tons of other things I'm not aware of.
At the south end of the exhibition grounds, at the end of a street named after Sergei Korolev (and in fact, right next to the south end of the Metro station named after the exhibition), there is a small park featuring a monument dedicated to the conquerors of space. Here's a shot taken of me visiting the site last Friday:
The monument is in the shape of a relatively small rocket atop a sweeping plume. The structure is constructed to titanium, which was a pretty exotic metal to use for such a purpose back when this monument was built.
The lower left-hand corner of the photo shows a row of smaller stones with plaques on them, in the shape of five-pointed stars. These list, chronologically, specific Soviet achievements in space (for example, the first on-orbit docking, involving Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5, in January 1969, as well as the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission). Plaques closer to the monument carry the names of cosmonauts, in chronological order.
On the base of the monument are lines from a poem written by Nikolay Gribachev (though his authorship is not attributed). They read (in Russian, followed by my translation):
The odd looking item in the background, which seems to disappear into the sky, is another Moscow landmark, the nearly 1800-foot tall Ostankino television tower, which - last Friday - did extend up through the solid cloud layer that blanketed the cover.
My colleague Ben and I didn't stay too long, as it was cold outside and the museum that's situated in the base of the monument was closed. I hope to return again when the weather gets warmer.
Cheers...
At the south end of the exhibition grounds, at the end of a street named after Sergei Korolev (and in fact, right next to the south end of the Metro station named after the exhibition), there is a small park featuring a monument dedicated to the conquerors of space. Here's a shot taken of me visiting the site last Friday:
The monument is in the shape of a relatively small rocket atop a sweeping plume. The structure is constructed to titanium, which was a pretty exotic metal to use for such a purpose back when this monument was built.
The lower left-hand corner of the photo shows a row of smaller stones with plaques on them, in the shape of five-pointed stars. These list, chronologically, specific Soviet achievements in space (for example, the first on-orbit docking, involving Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5, in January 1969, as well as the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission). Plaques closer to the monument carry the names of cosmonauts, in chronological order.
On the base of the monument are lines from a poem written by Nikolay Gribachev (though his authorship is not attributed). They read (in Russian, followed by my translation):
...и наши тем награждены усилья,Off to the side of the main "axis" of the park is a statue of the man who masterminded the Soviet space program.
что, поборов бесправие и тьму,
мы отковали пламенные крылья
своей
стране
и веку своему!
...and our efforts have been rewarded
in that, no longer powerless and having overcome the darkness,
we have forged wings of fire
for our
country
and our time!
The odd looking item in the background, which seems to disappear into the sky, is another Moscow landmark, the nearly 1800-foot tall Ostankino television tower, which - last Friday - did extend up through the solid cloud layer that blanketed the cover.
My colleague Ben and I didn't stay too long, as it was cold outside and the museum that's situated in the base of the monument was closed. I hope to return again when the weather gets warmer.
Cheers...
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-03 06:19 am (UTC)Can you ad in last verse string:
and for our time!
(I think it'd better for rhyme)?
no subject
Date: 2009-02-03 06:26 am (UTC)Alas, the effect I was trying to achieve with my off-the-cuff translation was more rhythmic than rhyming. To wit:
Your suggestion, duly considered, would insert an extra word and upset the rhythm. Thanks for the suggestion, though!
Cheers...