Анна Грибова, МБОУ СОШ №1, Г.Александров, Владимирская область Редактор: Сибирина Елена Рудольфовна

Alexandrov is a small (population 64,000) town 120 kilometers northeast of Moscow. It's a part of the "Golden Ring", a ring of ancient cities to the northeast of Moscow that played an important role in the development of both the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church. They've been called "open- air museums" and offer tourists a great panorama of traditional Russian architecture - churches, Kremlins, etc.

Alexandrov is famous for being the place where Ivan the Terrible escaped in December He suffered from defeats in the war with Lithuania and felt constant fear of treason. He took all of Moscow's historical and religious relics with him, ran away to Alexandrov, and proclaimed the town as Russia's new capital.

Russian and Italian architects took part in the construction of the ensemble of Alexandrovskaya Sloboda.

The Trinity Church, built in 1513, has been preserved from that time. The church's interior remains as well, with its magnificent frescos and icons.

Particularly famous are the gates, dating back to the 14th century and decorated with gilded engravings. The gates were brought from Novgorod by Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century and were later transferred to the Trinity Church as a gift.

Alexandrov’s history is not only the history of Ivan IV. Famous Russian poetess Marina Tsvetaeva lived here and wrote her well-known verses.

Another great Russian poet Osip Mandelshtam came here to meet Marina

In June 1991 the museum was opened in the former Tsvetayevs’ house. It is the first and the only one in Russia. It has a remarkable collection of the works of many famous cultural workers: Marina and Anastasia Tsvetayevs, Adelaida Gertsyk, Sergey Yelpatyevsky and other

There is also an exposition in the museum which is devoted to the tragedy of the people belonging to creative intelligentsia. All of them suffered from Stalin’s repressions