Do You Know The Old Meaning of These 5 Russian Words? Posted by Maria on May 11, 2017
Because modern Russian (современный русский язык) only emerged as recently as the 19th century, a lot of what’s considered Russian literary canon is easily understood by Russian speakers today. However, there are a few words that have changed their meaning over the last centuries. Do you know the old meaning of the following words? Живот Живот…
5 Russian Foods That May Get Lost In Translation Posted by Maria on May 2, 2017
You might have read our previous articles about Russian food or maybe even tried or cooked some of that food yourself. A person unfamiliar with Russian food, though, may be tricked or misguided by the translated names of Russian foods into imagining a food item quite different from how it is made in Russia. Каша…
What Do Russians Like Doing? Posted by Maria on Apr 27, 2017
There may be some (or extensive) coverage of Russian politics, society, and economy in the media, but what do ordinary Russians like doing for fun? Does anything bring joy to their lives, or is it all drudgery, as one may think after reading the grim coverage? Naturally, every Russian would have a slightly different answer…
Can You Name 10 More Birds in Russian? Posted by Maria on Apr 20, 2017
How did you do with our ten-bird challenge last week? Can you name ten additional birds? Here is a list to help you expand your ornithological vocabulary. 1. Сорока Сорока is a magpie. These birds have a reputation for liking and stealing shiny objects, although this perception has been debunked. There is a popular interactive…
Can You Name 10 Birds in Russian? Posted by Maria on Apr 12, 2017
One of the areas where have struggled to build up my second-language vocabulary has been wildlife. Perhaps because there are so many different plants and animals and because city dwellers only ever encounter a fraction of them, words for flora and fauna tend to fall by the wayside. Let us correct that deficiency by looking…
5 Things You Should Know About Renting Apartments In Russia Posted by Maria on Apr 6, 2017
If you are planning an extended trip to Russia, renting a place is one of the things to arrange for your stay. Here are five things you should keep in mind about property rentals in Russia. 1. Few(er) People Live In Rented Apartments Before 1991, most Russians technically rented (снимали) their apartments from the government…
Russian Polls: What Transgressions Are Russians Willing To Forgive? Posted by Maria on Apr 5, 2017
A Russian public opinion company has recently conducted a poll of what infractions Russians are willing to overlook and which are unforgivable. I am going to list the top three forgivable and unforgivable behaviors — check out the ones in the middle on the study’s website. What’s Forgivable использование ненормативной лексики (swearing) Fifty four percent of all…