Russian Language Blog

The new respiratory illness that emerged in China last December and has now been named COVID-19 has also been detected in Russia. COVID-19, caused by a novel coronavirus (коронави́рус), has, understandably, received a lot of coverage in Russian-language media. This post will share some useful vocabulary for talking about this and other seasonal diseases. Seasonal…

If you follow Russian news, you may know that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has suggested changing the Russian constitution. Read on to learn what happened, how you can describe it in Russian, and what the reasons for it might be. Background The current Russian constitution (конститу́ция) was adopted in 1993, after proclamations of independence…

One of the questions that came up in the comments was the distinction between то́же and та́кже in Russian. Both expressions can mean “also,” but they are not always interchangeable. This post will look at some common scenarios where you might use these phrases. Та́кже а та́кже — as well as This usage is pretty…

This post will talk about Russian prepositions that are used for talking about motion in Russian. Let’s look at some common cases. От От means “from” but this translation alone may not be helpful because из can mean “from,” too. От is used in the following cases: sender or source of information Мы узна́ли о…

Did you know Russian had a particle for asking questions? Furthermore, that same word can be used as a conjunction in dependent clauses and reported speech! Let’s talk about the main uses of ли. Yes or No Questions Ли can be used in yes or no questions. As you may remember, Russian does not use…

I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas or other holidays in December had a great time with their loved ones. As we near the end of 2019, I would like to look back and share our top five most popular posts. Back in the USSR? The first post talks about a survey that discovered that many…

We are continuing our list of the most common verbs in Russian. Make sure you read Part I, too! 6. Cтать — to become, to start Стать is a perfective verb and refers to the result of becoming something or someone. Think of the game “Кто хочет стать миллионером?” (literal translation, “Who wants to become…