Russian Language Blog

News from Russia tends to focus on internal troubles and geopolitical ambitions. That may leave learners wondering, beyond the obsession with Putin and vodka clichés, what do I really know about contemporary Russia? This post will explore some surprising, inspiring, and, yes, disturbing facts about Russia. High Literacy Rates According the the CIA World Factbook,…

Continue reading

Whether a result of past and present food shortages or a clever way of preserving items, canned foods (консе́рвы) are a staple of the average Russian’s diet. Let us look at four common items you will find in many shopping baskets. Сгущёнка Sweetened condensed milk, officially called сгущённое молоко́ but better known as сгущёнка, is…

Continue reading

If you follow Russian news, you might have heard that several performers have had their concerts canceled lately—for various reasons (or excuses?). Many commentators and the musicians themselves argue that the cancellations were motivated by a sort of “moral panic” over the bad influence of the affected bands on the Russian youth. Let us take…

Continue reading

Russian has a versatile root that is used to describe ideas having to do with ownership, such as a property or a landlord. Can you guess what that root is? It is -хозяй-. This post will look at some of the most common words with this root. Хозя́ин/хозя́йка Хозя́ин (masculine), хозя́йка (feminine), and хозя́ева (plural)…

Continue reading

Do any of you follow any accounts posting in Russian on Twitter? I follow a few journalists and organizations. We have posted about ideas on who to follow on social media before. Take a look at what was trending when I was writing this post. Igor Talkov Murder Case Reopened Дело об убийстве Талькова возобновили,…

Continue reading