Tag Archives: reading Russian news
5 Words You Need To Understand Russian News — Part II Posted by Maria on Jul 8, 2019
In Part I of this post, we looked at some concepts that come up in the Russian media to talk about the government and society. Today, we’ll look at three additional words that you will often see in Russian-language sources. 3. О́бщество О́бщество translates as “society.” You can see this word in such combinations as…
5 Words You Need To Understand Russian News — Part I Posted by Maria on Jul 2, 2019
If you read news stories in Russian, there are certain words that pop up again and again. Understanding these key concepts will help you grasp the writer’s and audience’s assumptions and the overall angle of the article. This post will cover the first two, and Part II will cover the rest. 1. Власть Власть corresponds…
Russian News: Protests Against Church Construction in Yekateriburg Posted by Maria on May 20, 2019
You might have read in the news that residents of the city of Yekaterinburg are protesting the construction of a church in place of a park, and it’s even come to clashes with the police. Let’s look at some of the background and coverage of this situation. Where is this again? Yekaterinburg, Екатеринбу́рг in Russian…
News in Russian: Kazakhstan President Steps Down (Sort Of) Posted by Maria on Mar 25, 2019
A big story from the post-Soviet region (постсове́тское простра́нство) is that the president of Kazakhstan (Казахста́н) has resigned after nearly 30 years in power. Since Russian has official status in Kazakhstan and since this story is being widely covered in Russian-language media in several countries, I thought we should look at how it’s being reported…
Russian History: 25th Anniversary of Coup Attempt in USSR Posted by Maria on Aug 23, 2016
August 20 marks the 25th anniversary of an attempted coup in Russia and the USSR. Many news outlets have published their accounts and analysis of this event. Let us read some of the coverage. Background Ironically, many in Russia, especially young people, have a fuzzy understanding of the events, as demonstrated in the video…
Ten Key Russian Words for Talking About Brexit Posted by Maria on Jul 4, 2016
The news of #Brexit has been trending over the last few days. For those who were away on a desert island, the United Kingdom has held a referendum and voted to leave the European Union. Here are some useful words for discussing Brexit with your Russian friends. 1. Европейский союз Европейский союз, also known as Евросоюз…
Reading Russian Press: Russians’ Fear of Uncomfortable Literature – Part I Posted by Maria on Nov 5, 2015
I thought it might be interesting to look at recently published articles in the Russian press. Rather than having me summarize them, we are going to include quotes from the article and go over the language and message in these quotes. This week, I propose looking at the New Times article titled “Призы́в к смягче́нию…