Opening

The word открытие (opening) has two distinct meanings in Russian. First, it is a process of making something open. Second, it is a discovery.

Открытие might often be seen if its first meaning on the doors and windows of new shops, which are going to launch soon. Here is an example:

Photo: Moscow, Novinsky boulevard, 5th of September, 2009.

The phrase скоро открытие literary means “opening soon”, with a difference that an adverb скоро (soon) looks better when it stands in the beginning of a phrase.

Another example of the same usage:

Photo: Ryazan, 5th of March, 2006.

Here we see the words Праздничное открытие (festival opening) in the middle part of the sign (in black). In fact, this is not too correct Russian, as I'd probably say Торжественное открытие (grand opening) to express the same meaning. The word праздничное supposes that an opening is either a kind of a holiday or at least coincides in dates with any existing holiday. Торжественное would be more appropriate in that case because they probably only meant that the opening would be a ceremony. Just a ceremony, not a holiday.

And finally, yet another picture from the streets of Moscow with our today's word. It was placed on the side wall of a building and it was not obvious what they were going to launch.

Photo: Moscow, New Arbat, 5th of September 2009.

In reality it was not any launching, it was just the name of a commercial bank an a financial corporation.