Archive for May, 2015
Read Famous Opening Lines in Russian – Part II Posted by Maria on May 28, 2015
We are continuing from last week’s post on reading famous Russian book beginnings. This time, let’s look at books likely to be known by Russian literature aficionados. Eugene Onegin (Евге́ний Оне́гин) Eugene Onegin is a famous rhymed novel by Alexander Pushkin (Алекса́ндр Пу́шкин). Several English translations have been done. While Pushkin tends to trail Tolstoy and Dostoevsky…
Religion in Russia Posted by Jenya on May 27, 2015
Many of us might align ourselves with a particular religion. Reasons for belonging to a particular religion would include geography, family history, governmental policy, simple interest and more. According to Findthebest.com, the world’s largest religion is Christianity with nearly 2.04 billion followers. Islam comes in second with about 1.2 billion followers. History students might remember…
Read Famous Opening Lines in Russian – Part I Posted by Maria on May 21, 2015
I’m sure a few of our readers became interested in Russian thanks to their love of Russian literature. Whenever Russian literature comes up, people immediately respond with the name of their favo(u)rite Tolsotyesky 😉 book. At the same time, very few of these Russian lit buffs have read these books in Russian. This is understandable — fiction…
Russian Summer Wardrobe: Get Your Speedo Ready! Posted by Jenya on May 20, 2015
Summer is upon us and with it the desire to finally shed multiple layers of clothing and feel the warmth of the Sun on our skin. Of course, if you live in Florida, California or some other place that is just as warm, you probably don’t get quite as excited. But what if you live…
Russian for Travel Posted by Maria on May 18, 2015
With the summer upon us, many of our readers may be making travel plans. Perhaps some are going to Russia or the region for a study abroad or on business. This experience can be overwhelming on its own, and limited Russian skills may add to the stress. To make the process smoother, I would…
Victory Day Parade in Russia Posted by Jenya on May 13, 2015
May 9, 2015 saw Russia’s annual Victory Day Parade in a momentous fashion. The Russian government spared no expense in pomp and circumstance. The parade celebrated the seventieth anniversary of the Allied victory on the Eastern Front against the Nazis. Several world leaders were in attendance, several key members that have attended in the past…
Using Cell Phones in Russia Posted by Maria on May 11, 2015
If you are traveling to Russia or staying there for a long time, you probably want to keep in touch with your friends back home. Besides Skype and other similar programs, cell phones are an important tool for staying in touch. No Strings Attached Almost everyone in (urban) Russia has a mobile phone (моби́льный…