Archive for 'History'
Indo-European Roots of Russian Posted by Maria on Apr 28, 2016
Learners of the more popular Germanic languages — English and German — and the more popular Romance language — French, Spanish, and Italian — may be tempted to think of all Indo-European languages in terms of these high-visibility languages. I’ve once heard someone say “Russian is so different from Indo-European languages.” Some languages of Western…
More Interesting “Facts” About Russia Posted by Jenya on Nov 11, 2015
As I was researching facts about Russia that I could write a blog about, I came across some more interesting and funny ones. These strange Russian “facts” were more entertaining and write about; hope they are entertaining to read as well. It’s bad luck to return to your house after you’ve already left Should you…
Putin and Medvedev: Different Roles Posted by Jenya on Oct 28, 2015
Many of us will remember that Vladimir Putin was once the Russian President. After his terms were up he became the Russian Prime Minister. And now, once again, he is the Russian President. What is the difference between the Russian President and the Russian Prime Minister? We will explore that difference today because change is…
Divorce In Russia Posted by Jenya on Oct 21, 2015
Most of the adult population in any country have at least two things in common: marriage and divorce. Though this is not a popular topic, it is nevertheless a significant part of Russian culture. Today we will compare the divorce rates between Russia and the United States. Please keep in mind that this is not…
Famous Russian Books Posted by Jenya on Oct 14, 2015
Today’s blog is all about books you’ve likely heard of but may not have known were penned by Russian authors. These books are counted among the most celebrated works of all time and worthy of your consideration if you’re trying to learn about Russia and it’s culture. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was written during the…
Yakov Smirnoff: Russian Funny Man! Posted by Jenya on Sep 30, 2015
Yakov Naumovich Pokhis, better known as Yakov Smirnoff, is a comedian born in the Soviet Union in 1951. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, he changed his last name to Smirnoff after the vodka. During the 1980’s and early into the 90’s, Smirnoff saw his brand of humor taking off and resonating with…
The Billion Dollar Spy, Part II Posted by Jenya on Sep 23, 2015
Part II: Adolf Tolkachev had been the most successful spy the CIA ever had in Moscow during the late 1970’s through the mid 1980’s. Tolkachev was an engineer working on new and next-generation radar systems for the military. He was also a father and a husband that put, not only his life on the line…