Guide to Russians’ Beach Vacations Posted by Maria on Apr 21, 2014
Vacation has been covered on this blog more than once, but this subject — and activity — is something I’m ready to revisit at least once a year. First, a post from a couple years ago given a nice overview of the general vacation vocabulary. In this post, I would like to concentrate on what…
Russian Easter. Can You Say “Христос Воскрес”? Posted by Jenya on Apr 16, 2014
This year Пасха (Easter) in Russia and Easter here in US coincidentally fall on the same day, so I decided to give you an overview of what Easter is like in Russia. First of all, forget the bunny; there is no Easter bunny in Russia. Also, forget the whole Easter basket for kids: Easter in…
First Time in Russia: an American Perspective (Part 1) Posted by Jenya on Apr 15, 2014
The other day, my husband and I were engaged in a conversation about his perception of Russia. This post became a natural extension of that discussion. What follows is my husband’s account of our first trip to my homeland together. In order to adequately describe the adventure, the story will be told in two parts…
Russian outside Russia Posted by Maria on Apr 14, 2014
Despite being from Russia, I find it bothersome when people equate the Russian language with the country of Russia. In my opinion, it not only leaves other Russian-speaking communities out of the discussion of the language, but also misrepresents them by implying that if you speak Russian, you must be culturally/politically/ethnically aligned with Russia. I…
Famous People Who Learned Russian as a Second Language Posted by Maria on Apr 10, 2014
I’m sure you sometimes get discouraged when learning Russian. There are so many challenges, and it sometimes feels like you’ll never get it. While your outcomes depend on many factors, such as your effort, the time spent studying, practice, and instructional materials and methods, please don’t think that only native or bilingual speakers of Russian…
Where are These Famous Russians Today? Posted by Jenya on Apr 9, 2014
Anna Chapman, Garry Kasparov, t.A.T.u, and Gorky Park – whether you are into sports, politics or music, you are most likely familiar with these Russian names. Over time, careers and audiences of these Russian celebrities have gone through major transformations but all of them remain in the public eye to this day. Ex-spy Anna Chapman…
A Remote Russian Village Isn’t the Place to Be, or Is It? Posted by Jenya on Apr 8, 2014
After going through the pictures from my last trip to Russia, I decided to put together a post about rural Russia. What is life like on the outskirts of Russia? What does a typical Russian village look like and what do people do there? If you want to find out, read on! As an…