Archive for November, 2014
Why You Shouldn’t Rely On Other Slavic Languages to Understand Russian Posted by Maria on Nov 10, 2014
Russian is a Slavic language, so it shares some of its grammar and vocabulary with other languages from that family. Much as we like to rely on similarities among languages to expand our knowledge, I would like to warn you against using your knowledge of Russian to communicate with speakers of other Slavic languages —…
What It Was Like to Be a 90s Kid In Russia – Part II Posted by Maria on Nov 6, 2014
Earlier this week we talked about growing up in Russia in the nineties. Many of you brought up things you remembered from your childhood in Russia or in other countries. It is always fascinating to see what things transcended borders and what things were more regional. Let us continue this week. Chewing Gum with Stickers/Inserts One…
Smiling: It’s a Russian Thing! Posted by Jenya on Nov 5, 2014
For those of you that have traveled to Russia, you may have noticed that Russians don’t seem to smile in public. Upon traveling there for the first time, my husband pointed this out and made some comment about people looking sullen. When you compare Russians to people living elsewhere, especially Americans, you could easily…
World War I and Russia Posted by Jenya on Nov 4, 2014
We are nearing the 96th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War One – the Great War. World War I began after Arch Duke, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was assassinated on 28 June, 1914, in Sarajevo by Yugoslav nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Prior to the…
What It Was Like to Be a 90s Kid In Russia — Part I Posted by Maria on Nov 3, 2014
Read Part II here. As the so-called millenials are coming of age around the world, there are always posts popping up about what it was like growing up in the 90s. I like to compare what things I recognize from my childhood in Russia and what things must be specific to the country the post describes…