Archive for 'History'
The Billion Dollar Spy, Part One Posted by Jenya on Sep 22, 2015
Mystery? Intrigue? Danger? All trademarks of the “spy world.” During the Cold War, Russia, as well as most of the rest of Europe, had extensive manpower devoted to intelligence gathering, counterintelligence, and so on. Todays blog will center on a Russian spy of sorts, actually he was an engineer with access to many of the…
Moscow’s Seven Sisters Posted by Jenya on Sep 2, 2015
Rumor has it that after the Russian Army aided in the defeat of the Nazi’s, Joseph Stalin believed that the world would wish to visit Moscow. During this brief period, Moscow did not have any skyscrapers like you’d see in New York, Chicago, or any place else. Call it the male ego, keeping up with…
Fact or Fiction: Secret Subway in Moscow Posted by Jenya on Aug 19, 2015
Whenever we hear something like “The government will neither deny nor confirm the existence of……..” our ears perk up. We know that they are talking about some classified secret of sorts – often related to the military machine. In America you have Area 51, in the UK you have Porton Down, in China you have…
From The Minds Of Russians Posted by Jenya on Aug 12, 2015
Even if you haven’t ever cooled down with Redpop! from Faygo on a hot summer day, you definitely passed by it at your local grocery store about a million times; and if you haven’t yet purchased Lifeway Kefir at your local supermarket, you have probably seen it. Regardless of your involvement with the abovementioned beverages…
What Is Better: Beating Around the Bush or Pulling a Cat by Its Tail? Posted by Jenya on Jul 29, 2015
The short answer is neither because the expressions are synonymous. If you are pulling a cat by its tail in Russia you are, in many cases, simply beating around the bush. Set expressions in any foreign language can frequently leave you baffled and confused. I remember my first encounter with the saying “thinking outside…
Describe Your Trip in Russian: Old Town Posted by Maria on Jul 20, 2015
A lot of our readers may be traveling this summer. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to talk about your trip in Russian or ask for specific travel advice while you’re on the road? In this post, we will concentrate on the “old town” environment (ста́рый го́род) and all it’s got to offer…
KGB Posted by Jenya on Jun 9, 2015
When one thinks of the former Soviet Union, many things come to mind. Perhaps one of the first associations would be the KGB. To those living in the USSR, they were an organization to be feared. To those living outside of the Iron Curtain, they were looked at with intrigue. In both cases, they were…