Archive for 'Culture'
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…
6 Numbers You Need To Know in Russia Posted by Maria on Sep 24, 2018
Perhaps you are planning a short visit or even a longer stay in Russia. If you want to be successful in your new environment, here are certain numbers you should know. Some of these will be familiar to our readers who live in places that use the metric system. 1. Your weight in kilograms You…
3 Emerging Russian Performers You Need To Know in 2018 Posted by Maria on Sep 13, 2018
Does your textbook still talk about Alla Pugachyova (А́лла Пугачёва)? I mean, she was big in the 80s, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a person under 30 who still finds mainstream Soviet artists relevant or lists them among their favo(u)rites. Here are three up and coming Russian artists to update your playlist with. 1…
Russian News: Cheburashka Creator Dies Posted by Maria on Aug 16, 2018
A sad piece of news came from Russia — Eduard Uspensky (Эдуа́рд Успе́нский), a children’s literature author and the creator of Cheburashka (Чебура́шка) died aged 80. Many of his stories were made into cartoons that many speakers of Russian (not only in Russia!) grew up on. In addition, he wrote the screenplays to many cartoons…
5 Words You Hear in Informal Russian Conversations Posted by Maria on Jun 14, 2018
If you’ve listened to a speaker of Russian in an informal conversation, you know that there are a few words they say over and over again. Some are fillers, meant to give the speaker some time to come up with what to say. Others mark logical connections in a conversation or express the speaker’s attitudes…
Do Native Speakers Ever Struggle To Pronounce Russian Sounds? Posted by Maria on Feb 12, 2018
Perhaps you struggle to pronounce certain sounds in Russian. Can’t roll your Rs? Have a hard time making soft consonant sounds? First, be sure to check out our pronunciation tips. Second, you’re not alone! There are native speakers who have articulation challenges and need to see a speech pathologist (логопед). Let us look at some…