Tag Archives: History
Твёрдый знак (hard sign): a case study in Russian language reforms Posted by bota on Jul 2, 2020
Last month we looked at мягкий знак (soft sign) and the rules that govern its proper use. In this blog, let’s explore the other unusual letter of the Russian alphabet: твёрдый знак (hard sign). Твёрдый знак “ъ” is the 28th letter of the Russian alphabet and similar to the soft sign, it doesn’t carry its…
Царь, царевич, or Royal Titles in Russian Posted by Maria on Jan 17, 2019
Are King Arthur and King Solomon both “коро́ль” in Russian? Why are both принц and князь used to say “prince,” and what’s the difference? This post will look at some royal titles in Russian and give examples of famous bearers of these titles. Коро́ль/Короле́ва The term “коро́ль” (king) is believed to come into Slavic languages…
Writing about Russia for Dummies – Part II Posted by Maria on Nov 20, 2014
We are continuing our discussion from last week about things to keep in mind if you plan to feature Russia or Russians in your creative work. History and Governance Mixing Up Historical Periods The territory that is now Russia (and the neighboring territories that are not) has undergone many transformations in terms of its national…
20 лет спустя – Twenty Years After, Part 1 Posted by Natalie on Aug 22, 2011
Well, «друзья» [friends], it has happened again: I sat down to write «про грамматику» [about grammar] and instead I wrote about something completely different. I found this «фоторепортаж» [photo essay] on the website of «магазин Внешняя политика» [the magazine “Foreign Policy”] called, in English, “Russia’s Big Backyard.” I have opted to translate the title…
A History of Kiev, Part 4 Posted by Natalie on Mar 7, 2011
«Я знаю» [I know] that it has been quite a long time since I posted about «история Киева» [the history of Kiev]. You have been in so much suspense about what happens next, right? 😉 Anyway, today we are going to talk about «гражданская война» [the civil war], which is a very serious subject…
A History of Kiev, Part 3 Posted by Natalie on Jan 24, 2011
«Простите меня, дорогие читатели» [Forgive me, dear readers]. I have not posted in a long time because last week I arrived back at school and before that, «я задержалась в аэропорту» [I was delayed in the airport]. But now I am back and ready to teach you about Kiev’s history (parts 1 and 2 are…
A History of Kiev, Part 2 Posted by Natalie on Jan 3, 2011
«Здравствуйте, дорогие читатели» [Hello, dear readers]. Due to the holidays, I have not been able to post as often as I ought to, but I have returned to bring you «история Киева, часть вторая» [a history of Kiev, part two]. «История Киева, часть первая» [a history of Kiev, part one] can be read here. …