Archive for 'Culture'
Russians: American Film Antagonists Posted by Jenya on May 13, 2014
From the time I was old enough to watch TV, I have loved movies: action (боевик), drama (драма), comedy (комедия), horror movie (фильм ужасов) – you name it, I used to like them all. As I got older, one interesting thing became apparent to me: many of the villains in the American movies I liked…
Russian Nicknames That Became Popular Abroad Posted by Maria on May 8, 2014
We have talked about names before, but what fascinates me is how certain Russian names have a life of their own abroad. While their origin may be Russian or Slavic, the usage of these names in English may be drastically different from Russian in terms of formality and gender. 1. Natasha The Russian name Наташа…
10 Particularly Useful Russian Words and Phrases Posted by Jenya on May 7, 2014
These particular words seem to come up in conversations time and time again. Some of them you may already know. Nevertheless, let’s see why the following selection became particularly useful for people trying to learn Russian. Где (where) appears to be a very convenient word because, unlike in English, you do not need to…
First Time in Russia: an American Perspective (Part 2) Posted by Jenya on Apr 22, 2014
Hello everyone! Here is the second part to the story we started last week (you can find part 1 here). Our first full day in Mogilev saw us getting my visa stamped, grocery shopping, and walking around town. Downtown Mogilev was a very beautiful city and the cloudy weather did not spoil it. The city was…
Guide to Russians’ Beach Vacations Posted by Maria on Apr 21, 2014
Vacation has been covered on this blog more than once, but this subject — and activity — is something I’m ready to revisit at least once a year. First, a post from a couple years ago given a nice overview of the general vacation vocabulary. In this post, I would like to concentrate on what…
Russian Easter. Can You Say “Христос Воскрес”? Posted by Jenya on Apr 16, 2014
This year Пасха (Easter) in Russia and Easter here in US coincidentally fall on the same day, so I decided to give you an overview of what Easter is like in Russia. First of all, forget the bunny; there is no Easter bunny in Russia. Also, forget the whole Easter basket for kids: Easter in…
First Time in Russia: an American Perspective (Part 1) Posted by Jenya on Apr 15, 2014
The other day, my husband and I were engaged in a conversation about his perception of Russia. This post became a natural extension of that discussion. What follows is my husband’s account of our first trip to my homeland together. In order to adequately describe the adventure, the story will be told in two parts…