Archive for 'Culture'
Sing, Dance and Get Lucky Posted by yelena on Nov 15, 2013
Have you watched it yet? If not, do so now because a) am I to suffer from this ear worm all by myself?! b) it’s time to forget тверкинг and c) it’s now a viral sensation. Lots of great vocabulary today thanks to the YouTube clip of Russian “police” singing Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. Almost…
Word of the Day – Side Gig Posted by yelena on Sep 19, 2013
I have a friend who works as a bookkeeper during the week and as a landscaper in the evenings and on weekends. Another friend’s side gig is fixing cars. Yet another moonlights as a Снегурочка (Snow Maiden) during the winter holidays in Russia and her husband sticks on a white beard and accompanies her as…
Knowledge Day or Back to School Posted by yelena on Sep 10, 2013
Did you like school as a child? I did, but only for the first few days. In fact, I am pretty sure that many kids in Russia really like school for at least one day and that day is Первое сентября (September 1st) also known as День Знаний (Knowledge Day). It is definitely one of…
Day of Rest and Volunteering Posted by yelena on Aug 29, 2013
In Russia, calendar week starts в понедельник (on Monday). So вторник (Tuesday) is the second day of the week. Can you guess what day of the week is субботник? Ok, so that was a trick question. Субботник is not a day of the week, but a concept. Суббота (Saturday) is the sixth day of the…
How to Say “I am Single” in Russian Posted by yelena on Aug 28, 2013
Superstitious Russian young ladies know that May is the worst month to tie the knot. As the saying goes, в мае выйти замуж – век маяться (to get married in May is to throw life away). Which sounds like a perfect excuse for single men to stay холостой just a bit longer. And the adjective…
Russia – the Land of the Crocodiles Posted by yelena on Jul 8, 2013
You might already know that Россия – родина слонов (Russia is the home of elephants). But did you know that крокодилы (crocodiles) are also very popular in Russia? Don’t believe me? Back in 1582 Russian летописцы (chroniclers) mentioned an appearance of crocodiles near the city of Pskov. But that’s all ancient history. It’s time to…
Serfin’ the tide of Russian history Posted by Rob on Jun 13, 2013
Since I’ve done a number of vocabulary and grammar posts recently, I thought that this week, for a change of pace, we’ll take a look at Russian history. And, more specifically, the history of that peculiar institution known as крепостничество (“serfdom”) — which for hundreds of years was the curse of the Russian poor and…