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Word Order and Logical Emphasis Posted by Maria on Mar 20, 2014
One of the first things a learner of Russian hears about the Russian sentence structure is that, unlike in English, the word order (порядок слов) is relatively free. While understandably daunting for the beginner, this order not only allows for greater flexibility, but also helps with the logical emphasis in the sentence. What does that…
University system in Russia Posted by Maria on Mar 13, 2014
Education is a funny subject to talk about. One the one hand, it’s one of the first things we learn about in our first year or so. On the other hand, because the emphasis is usually on talking about our experiences as a student, we may never learn much about the educational system of the…
Yekaterinburg Rock – Melodic and Poetic Posted by Maria on Mar 10, 2014
Music is a great way to learn a language, but Russian rock music (русский рок) is not well known outside Russia and the surrounding area. People are more likely to know t.A.T.u. or opera singers. This blog has covered Russian rock music before, but there are so many bands (группы) worth checking out that we’ll…
Пирожки – Funny Internet Rhymes Posted by Maria on Mar 6, 2014
Continuing the topic of Russian humor, I would like to draw your attention to a humorous poetry form that emerged on the Russian Internet a few years back. You are probably familiar with limericks (лимерики), which have caught on in Russia(n), as well. However, there is a newer form that gained some popularity online. The…
Proper Use of Russian Proper Names Posted by Maria on Mar 3, 2014
One of the first things you might have learned in your Russian course is the Russian names. So, you may know that Миша and Паша are guys’ names and that last names have male and female forms, but some of you may still be confused about the finer points of calling people by their name…
What You Didn’t Know About Ethnic Heritage in Russia Posted by Maria on Feb 27, 2014
Talking about identity and ethnicity is probably a can of worms for every country. Russia is no different in that respect, and национальный вопрос (ethnic question) is a very щекотливый вопрос (touchy subject). However, the dynamics of ethnic relations in Russia may differ from how they work in your country, and I’d like to point…
Four Resources for Natural-Sounding Russian Posted by Maria on Feb 20, 2014
We struggle with sounding idiomatic in our second language(s). We may master vocabulary and grammar and be able to express ideas in a way that is technically not wrong, but… так не говорят (you don’t say that). Naturally, learners are encouraged to watch TV, listen to music and podcasts, and travel to the country of…