Archive for 'Culture'
The Unforgettable Soviet New Year Cartoon Posted by ryan on Nov 30, 2021
December has finally arrived! The holiday season is upon us! It’s as if our ancient ancestors who invented the winter holidays knew that we needed a bit of an emotional boost at the beginning of the winter season, and especially after the dreary, cold, wet hell that November brings us (is it me or is…
Thanks, mama. Posted by bota on Nov 22, 2021
Understanding humor in another language is a whole new level of engaging with it. Those learning Russian know that Вели́кий и Могу́чий Ру́сский Язы́к , being the rich language that it is, loves to indulge in word play and irony. That can be a bit confusing, but with practice and exposure to more Russian jokes…
Listening to Grechka Posted by bota on Nov 15, 2021
All images are by author (Akbota Yergaliyeva) Yes, you read the title right. This blog is only partially about Russia’s favorite grain гречка (buckwheat). We are going to talk about a wonderful Russian music artist on the rise that goes under the name Гречка (Grechka). It was actually Ryan’s delightful blog on Russian breakfast that…
Breakfast in Russia and a brief culture trip to 1978 Posted by ryan on Nov 10, 2021
Dear Russian Language Blog, I’m writing to you from the comfort of my desk, where, as always, I am dreaming about the breakfast that, unfortunately, I did not have time this morning to eat. To eat, to eat. But what can one expect to eat for breakfast in Russia? бутербро́д sandwich Open faced sandwiches with…
Russians don’t cry over baked milk Posted by bota on Nov 2, 2021
Have you ever heard of топлёное молоко́? Baked milk is not a dairy product that frequents markets outside of post-Soviet countries but в России топлёное молоко́ лю́бят все, от ма́ла до велика. And as you will see today, it’s a nutritious drink that has a rich taste and even richer cultural significance in Russia. *Some…
Koschei the Deathless, Part II Posted by bota on Oct 26, 2021
Before you continue reading, I highly insist that you catch up on what we covered about Koschei in Part I. Otherwise, you might be a bit lost. We left off discussing Koschei and his appearance in the American TV series Grimm, episode 9 of season 3 (warning: spoilers ahead). When transformed into his Koschei state, he…
Koschei the Deathless, Part I Posted by bota on Oct 19, 2021
In honor of Halloween approaching, I was rewatching the Grimm TV series. It’s spooky, imaginative, and nostalgic for me, since it was one of the first shows I watched in English. Grimm is a police detective story that weaves in a whole universe of fantastical creatures (Wesen) from many different folktales, especially the Grimm brothers…