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Expressions for Navigating Russian Bureaucracy Posted by Maria on Oct 9, 2014
I almost felt disingenuous as I typed the title of this post. Russian bureaucracy is notorious for penetrating all layers of society. However, there are certain concepts repeated in your daily interactions in Russia. An average person in Russia will know what they are and when they are used. Here are the top bureaucratic concepts…
How to be an artist in Russian Posted by Maria on Oct 2, 2014
We have already talked about photography, so I thought it may be nice to learn to talk about other visual arts. I am not a very skilled or advanced artist, so I will concentrate on the basics. Feel free to ask me or your fellow readers for anything I don’t mention in this post! Techniques First, Russian…
DIY Russian Style Posted by Maria on Sep 29, 2014
If you visited Russia or talk to people from the region, you will know that they prefer to do many things from scratch that people in other areas might rather buy or have someone do for them. I will be talking about my experience with Russia, but this probably generalizes to other countries in the…
Expand Your Palette – in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 22, 2014
Colors are one of the first things you learn in any language. However, as you talk to native speakers or read authentic literature, you will start noticing that they are they are more diverse than the basic colors of the rainbow you learned. The Basics Colors of the rainbow go like this: красный оранжевый жёлтый…
Russian Tour Operators Going Out Of Business Posted by Maria on Sep 15, 2014
Those of you who follow Russian news might have heard that several travel agencies (туроператоры, турагентства) have gone out of business (разорились). A few have gone bankrupt (объявили о банкротстве) while others have suspended operations (приостановили деятельность). As you know from a previous post, Russian tourists love traveling abroad, so people who had paid the…
Personal Safety in Russia Posted by Maria on Sep 8, 2014
Personal safety is a subject that is important not just from a cultural standpoint but also in terms of navigating a different society and avoiding harm. There are many things that are shared among cultures in terms of what they view as reasonable precautions — not talking to strangers for children, not sharing your credit…
Common Russian Medicines Posted by Maria on Sep 4, 2014
If you are traveling to Russia or staying in the country for a longer period of time, chances are you might need to run to the pharmacy (аптека) at some point. I would like to give an overview of Russian medicines (лекарства) and their uses. This post is for reference only and is not meant…