«Масленица» begins and that’s why «готовим блины!» [we’re making Russian pancakes!] Posted by josefina on Feb 8, 2010
Today is «8 (восьмого) февраля» [the 8th of February] and a Monday but not just any Monday – today is the Monday on which «Масленица» [‘Maslenitsa’; carnival, shrove] begins – also known as «сырная неделя» [cheese week] – in Russia. This used to be a «языческий праздник» [pagan holiday] back before Russia became a Christian…
«Кем быть?» [Who to be?]: The beginner’s guide to using the verb «быть» in both future and past tenses but leaving it out of the present tense altogether Posted by josefina on Feb 5, 2010
It is imperative for everyone to learn to be happy about the smaller things in life. An example of a small thing that can (and should!) bring happiness into everyone’s life is the fact that Russian verbs only have «три времена» [three tenses]: «настоящее время» [present tense], «прошедшее время» [past tense] and «будущее время» [future…
The Return of «ибо»! Posted by josefina on Feb 2, 2010
When in Moscow it is a rule to go for a stroll «на Красной площади» [on the Red Square], «ибо это делают все» [because everybody does that] «и туристы, и провинциалы» [both tourists and people from the provinces]. «Провинциал» means ‘provincial, backwoodsman; unsophisticated person’. The female version of the word is «провинциалка». When I first…
Doing it Russian style means doing it «коллективно» [collectively] Posted by josefina on Jan 29, 2010
The title of today’s post might (actually have been intended to) lead my dear readers’ minds astray. Despite whatever you might have thought that this post was going to be about, let me assure you that «нет, не это я имела в виду» [no, that was not what I had in mind]. What I actually…
Russian Cases: «с чем?» [with what?], or «творительный падеж» [the instrumental case] Posted by josefina on Jan 24, 2010
«Что это?» [what is this?] This is «книжный шкаф С ПОЛНЫМ СОБРАНИЕМ сочинений Владимира Ильича Ленина» [a bookshelf WITH (THE) COMPLETE COLLECTION of works by Vladimir Il’ich Lenin]. But in order to answer the question «сколько в нём томов?» [how many volumes are there in it (lit. ‘in him’ since the noun ‘collection’ in Russian…
«Выходные в Вологде» [A Weekend in Vologda] Posted by josefina on Jan 19, 2010
The famous and magnificently beautiful «Софийский собор» [Saint Sofia Cathedral] where Shalamov’s father, «Тихон Шаламов» [Tikhon Shalamov], worked as «православный священник» [an Orthodox priest] in «Вологда» [Vologda] in the early 20th century upon his return from missionary work in Alaska. Behind it you can sneak a preview of the house where Shalamov was born, which…
Word of the Week: «Возвращение» [Return] Posted by josefina on Jan 14, 2010
Officially the project «мост любви» [bridge of love] was turned down by «правительство города Екатеринбург» [administration of the city of Yekaterinburg] a couple of years ago. But that project concerned another bridge (which can be seen far away in the background). The tradition to put a «замок» [lock] with your names and the date of…