Archive for 'Soviet Union'
19 Memories of 1991 Russia – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Aug 22, 2011
Quick Reminder Yes, the secret GIVEAWAY is still going on. It will close in just a few days, at 11:59pm EST on August 26th. So there’s still time to enter by leaving a comment either on this post or on my previous post. Remember, you can leave more than one comment. The more you comment…
19-20-21 Soviet Pop Culture Memories From 1991 Posted by yelena on Aug 18, 2011
This Friday, August 19th, marks the 20th anniversary of the Soviet coup d’etat attempt. I’m not going to do a history post because there are lots of sites online that do a much better job of it, complete with detailed timeline and analysis. Besides, I was just 13 at the time and politics was the…
Self-Employed Doesn’t Mean Self-Serving Posted by yelena on Jun 20, 2011
When I was «маленькая» [a child], «лето было моим любимым временем года» [summer was my favorite season]. I had 2 hugely important reasons to love summer – my birthday and «летние каникулы» [summer break from school]. As I started getting older, the excitement of celebrating yet another «день рождения» [birthday] wore off. But I did…
Russian Space Songs Karaoke Posted by yelena on Feb 25, 2011
Well, it’s «февраль» [February] and the weather is absolutely dreary. All around me – «снег» [snow] and «сугробы» [snow drifts] and freezing temperatures. So all I want to write about is tropical climes, but Russia isn’t famous for those. So instead, I’m going to talk about «астрономия» [astronomy]. «Сперва» [at first] I thought about…
Academicians, Pushkin, and the Steamship Posted by yelena on Feb 17, 2011
As promised, here’s the second and final post that provides some linguistic and cultural background for appreciation of one of the masterpieces of Soviet animation, Winter in Prostokvashino. «фломастер» – You might recognize the brand name Flo-Master. If you are teaching (or studying) a marketing course, this is a perfect example of brand dilution or…
I Want to Live in Prostokvashino! Posted by yelena on Feb 15, 2011
I recently read an article in a Russian newspaper that talked about the demise of Russian animation. While the story was sad, it made me think of some of my favorite «мультфильмы» [cartoons]. And one of my most favorite ones was about «Простоквашино» [Prostokvashino]. It’s a story of how a small boy named «Дядя Фёдор»…
Why Do Russians Call Their Astronauts Cosmonauts? Posted by yelena on Feb 10, 2011
Today, February 10th 2011 marks «столетие со дня рождения Мстислава Всеволодовича Келдыша» [one hundredth birthday of Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldish]. Keldish was a Soviet scientist without whose contributions many of «успехи советской космонавтики» [achievements of the Soviet cosmonautics], including Sputnik and the first manned flight would not had happened. Although his name rarely appeared in…