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Happy Cheese Week! Posted by yelena on Mar 3, 2011
This week Russians are celebrating «Масленица» [Maslenitsa], also known as «сырная неделя» [lit. cheese-fare week]. And even thought it’s already Thursday, the real fun stuff is just beginning. So read on. Also, I’d like to thank one of our readers, Olga Tarn, for reminding me to write this post as well as for finding…
Russian Space Songs Karaoke Posted by yelena on Feb 25, 2011
Well, it’s «февраль» [February] and the weather is absolutely dreary. All around me – «снег» [snow] and «сугробы» [snow drifts] and freezing temperatures. So all I want to write about is tropical climes, but Russia isn’t famous for those. So instead, I’m going to talk about «астрономия» [astronomy]. «Сперва» [at first] I thought about…
Academicians, Pushkin, and the Steamship Posted by yelena on Feb 17, 2011
As promised, here’s the second and final post that provides some linguistic and cultural background for appreciation of one of the masterpieces of Soviet animation, Winter in Prostokvashino. «фломастер» – You might recognize the brand name Flo-Master. If you are teaching (or studying) a marketing course, this is a perfect example of brand dilution or…
I Want to Live in Prostokvashino! Posted by yelena on Feb 15, 2011
I recently read an article in a Russian newspaper that talked about the demise of Russian animation. While the story was sad, it made me think of some of my favorite «мультфильмы» [cartoons]. And one of my most favorite ones was about «Простоквашино» [Prostokvashino]. It’s a story of how a small boy named «Дядя Фёдор»…
Why Do Russians Call Their Astronauts Cosmonauts? Posted by yelena on Feb 10, 2011
Today, February 10th 2011 marks «столетие со дня рождения Мстислава Всеволодовича Келдыша» [one hundredth birthday of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldish]. Keldish was a Soviet scientist without whose contributions many of «успехи советской космонавтики» [achievements of the Soviet cosmonautics], including Sputnik and the first manned flight would not had happened. Although his name rarely appeared in…
How to Make the Best Pelmeni Posted by yelena on Feb 8, 2011
Do you know that 95% of Russian households have at least one pack of «пельмени» [pel’meni – dumplings] in their freezers? Ok, I just totally made it up. But I can’t be too far off since, according to «статья в Российской газете» [an article in the Rossiyskaya newspaper] an average «россиянин» [citizen of the Russian…
Million Scarlet Roses Posted by yelena on Feb 3, 2011
«Миллионалых1роз» [Million Scarlet Roses], a song first sung by «Алла Пугачёва» [Alla Pugacheva] in 1983, is still very popular and well known in Russia. Our guest, David Roberts, will help us learn, among other things, a few new 4-letter words, where the modern past tense comes from, why we can sometimes use the past tense…