Tag Archives: russian literature
V biblioteke (at the library) Posted by bota on Sep 13, 2021
Смо́тришь в кни́гу ви́дишь фи́гу? (Looking into a book but seeing nothing – see note below) That certainly won’t be the case with Transparent’s Library Sign-up month. See here if your local library offers Transparent Language Online so that you can access Russian courses. Remember to read the official rules here and поторопи́тесь — вас…
We’re not in Kansas anymore Posted by bota on Sep 4, 2020
Somewhere between me reading Greek myths and then diving headfirst into The Chronicles of Narnia, I remember being perfectly lost in the lore of the “Волше́бная Страна́” (Magic Land) created by the great Soviet author Alexander Volkov (Александр Во́лков). You might be thinking, Volkov who? Fear not, my friend, for I’m here to tell you…
5 Russian Books That Were Banned in the Soviet Union—Part II Posted by Maria on Sep 30, 2019
Last time, we looked at several Russian books that, for various reasons, never saw the light of day in the Soviet Union or sometimes in their author’s lifetime. Some of these books were initially snuck out and published abroad and only came out in Russia in the late 1980s or early 1990s. 4. Мастер и…
5 Russian Books Banned in the Soviet Union—Part I Posted by Maria on Sep 23, 2019
Some of the books that have entered the Russian literary canon were virtually unknown in Russia until the late 80s or the 90s. These books were either outright banned from publication or were only available as bootleg copies—famously as homemade samizdat (самизда́т) copies. Here are five books that are mainstream now but were out of…
Popular Children’s Poems in Russian — Part II Posted by Maria on Aug 8, 2016
We are continuing from last week’s post about children’s poetry. The poems (стихотворения) in this and the previous post are likely to ring a bell to most people who grew up in Russian-speaking households. I will cite two short poems and excerpts from longer poems and will point out interesting structures and vocabulary. Агния Барто…
Russian Writers Read Their Works Posted by Maria on Jan 11, 2016
We often think of the “greats” of the past as something almost legendary, something we can only access through their books and memoirs. However, we are lucky to have some recordings of a few Russians writers and poets reading their own work. Listening to their voices reminded me that they were living people and somehow…
Famous Russian Books Posted by Jenya on Oct 14, 2015
Today’s blog is all about books you’ve likely heard of but may not have known were penned by Russian authors. These books are counted among the most celebrated works of all time and worthy of your consideration if you’re trying to learn about Russia and it’s culture. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was written during the…