Tag Archives: Russian culture
Russians don’t cry over baked milk Posted by bota on Nov 2, 2021
Have you ever heard of топлёное молоко́? Baked milk is not a dairy product that frequents markets outside of post-Soviet countries but в России топлёное молоко́ лю́бят все, от ма́ла до велика. And as you will see today, it’s a nutritious drink that has a rich taste and even richer cultural significance in Russia. *Some…
Oaks, fins, and hooves Posted by bota on Aug 16, 2021
No, this is not a Russian bar or a metal band name, though last I checked it’s up for grabs. We are talking about more простонаро́дные фразеологи́змы о сме́рти (more informal idioms about death). So, today’s blog is an add-on to the one about death euphemisms and to the one about verbs that mean “to…
Things That Get Called Russian – Part 2 Posted by Nadya on Jul 23, 2021
We continue to discuss what people around the world call Russian, except the Russians themselves. Black Russian – Чёрный русский Black Russian is a classic cocktail (коктейль) based on vodka and coffee liqueur. It was created in 1949 by Gustave Tops, a Belgian bartender (бармен). The cocktail recipe is simple: for five parts of vodka…
Death in Russian, continued Posted by bota on Jun 14, 2021
Remember this blog where I mentioned the Russian tradition of bringing an even number of flowers to the funeral? We will talk about that and other traditions surrounding Russian funerals as well as vocabulary that relates to death in general. Flowers So, the even number of flowers comes from old-time beliefs that even numbers symbolize…
Ways To Say Goodnight in Russian Posted by Nadya on May 10, 2021
Below I will share the most popular phrases that people say to each other exclusively right before going to bed. Of course, first of all, you should understand how close you are to the person to whom you are addressing. You probably won’t be talking to strangers on your way to your bedroom. But just…
DIY ideas for Paskha Posted by bota on May 4, 2021
Правосла́вная Па́сха вы́пала на второе ма́я в э́том го́ду. (Orthodox Easter fell on May 2nd this year) and I wanted to share как мы с брати́шкой и сестрёнкой первый раз кра́сили яйца (how I and my siblings dyed eggs for the first time) и как мы пригото́вили па́сху (and how we made a paskha). My…
The A-Z of the Russian Banya Posted by bota on Mar 15, 2021
A trip to ру́сская ба́ня (Russian banya/ Russian sauna) is a healing cultural experience for your mind and body. Many Russians have a баня (banya) on their dachas and might be enjoying the “jumping in the snow after banya” in their backyards with the last of this winter’s snow. Tips for Russian sauna: Avoid drinking…