VOA标准英语2009年-Historical Buildings Fast Disappearing in

By Jessica Golloher
Moscow
27 October 2009

Since the fall of the Soviet¹ Union, Russia has seen a dramatic surge in new construction, especially in cities like Moscow. New buildings and businesses are typically welcomed in any neighborhood, especially if it helps the economy. But many in Moscow are worried that historical buildings are being sacrificed in the process. Some have even called it a "demolition² derby."

 
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia (file photo)
The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Our Savior in Kadash was built in the mid-15th century. The cathedral sits in a mini compound, with several buildings surrounding it. The property is in a popular, high-rent district, right in the middle of Moscow. The church's gold cupolas can be seen for a great distance. The mini-compound is supposed to be legally protected by the Russian government, under a law that preserves immovable objects of historical and cultural heritage. But some say a developer's plans to build an office complex, on part of the compound and around it, are putting the church and the view at risk. Lidia Shestavoka works at the church's museum:

She says the buildings sit in a protected zone. The statutes³ state that there cannot be any new, large-scale building works on this land; it's prohibited by law. Nevertheless, at the moment they're clearing the land of historical buildings to start work on the new office complex.

Moscow officials have temporarily ordered the demolition to stop but the clearing and construction continues. E.S. Sinitzin directs the construction company working at the site.

He says his company has permission for the construction and demolition from Moscow Heritage and the Moscow Government.

That doesn't surprise Anna Bronovitskaya of the Moscow Architecture Preservation⁴ Society. She says there's quite a bit of red tape involving the preservation laws. She adds that most people in charge don't even know how to enforce them.

She says certain laws don't work, they exist on paper but they are just not being followed, and very often it's the ignorance of the decision makers⁵.

And often, it's about money, says David Sarkisiyan. He's head of Moscow's Architecture museum.

He says the cost of space in the center of the city is immense and that money decides it all. He says, as Karl Marx used to say, capitalism⁶ is ready to commit any crime on earth for 300 percent of income. He says that money is involved and destroys it all.

But even when the government decides that it is going to preserve historic property, it doesn't do it right, according to Anna Bronovitskaya. She says repair work on the Bolshoi Theater has been going on for years, and some of it nearly destroyed the foundation, causing cracks and water damage.

She says the thing is that Bolshoi repairs are done incredibly chaotically⁷. And that the government doesn't seem to follow any plan. She says they don't even discuss what they are doing and they don't listen to each other.

Despite what many see as an uphill battle against the Russian government, David Sarkisiyan, head of Moscow's Architecture Museum, says there is progress being made towards drawing awareness⁸, at least to more of the general public. He points to an art exhibit that was created after three historical buildings were torn down within one year in Moscow.

He says the exhibition consisted of three graves with the old buildings' photos, their names, dates of birth and death. He says visitors would stop, cry and have a drink just as if they were at a real cemetery⁹.

Change continues to occur all over Moscow. Recently, eviction¹⁰ notices went out for an historical building being torn down to make way for a five-star hotel. The building has been used to house most of the actors and dancers for the Bolshoi Theater. The government says it will try to preserve part of the building.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

3 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

7 chaotically   

参考例句：

• His thoughts churned chaotically in his brain like snowflakes whirling about in the north wind. 头脑里，情思弥漫纷乱像个北风飘雪片的天空。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• In metal the atoms are arranged not chaotically but in even rows, forming a crystal lattice. 在金属里，原子并不是杂乱无章地排列而是排成平整的行列，构成一个晶格。 来自辞典例句

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

9 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

10 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。