Archive for November, 2018
Russian News: Crackdown on Musicians Posted by Maria on Nov 29, 2018
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…
Russian “Хозяй-” Root for Ownership and Property Posted by Maria on Nov 20, 2018
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)…
3 Trending Topics on Russian Twitter Now Posted by Maria on Nov 15, 2018
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…
Russian Folk and Medieval Vocabulary in Melnitsa Songs Posted by Maria on Nov 6, 2018
The Russian band Ме́льница (Mel’nitsa, “mill”) performs songs in a genre that could be described as Celtic-inspired fantasy folk. You can not only enjoy their music but also use their lyrics (слова́) to learn more rare vocabulary having to do with nature, old-time weapons and occupations, feudal titles, and magic. While not immediately useful in…