{"id":11902,"date":"2019-08-26T07:21:49","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T07:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=11902"},"modified":"2019-08-23T22:52:17","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T22:52:17","slug":"is-august-a-cursed-month-in-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/is-august-a-cursed-month-in-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Is August a “Cursed” Month in Russia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know August is seen as the month of trouble in Russia? Over the last 20 years, several accidents have happened in August (\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442<\/strong>), which led people to regard August as a dangerous month<\/a> (“\u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0430\u0301\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442<\/strong>,” literally “black August”). This post will look at some of these events and the reasons why August may\u2014or may not\u2014be more dangerous than other months.<\/p>\n

\"calendar

Photo by Essentialiving<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Coup Attempt in 1991<\/h2>\n

We have covered this attempted coup<\/a> (\u043f\u0443\u0442\u0447<\/strong>) on this blog. Basically, discouraged by Gorbachev’s reforms and the imminent break-up of the USSR, die-hard Soviet officials tried to seize power from the president. After several standoffs between the military and the people, the conspirators (\u0437\u0430\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0449\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong>) backed down. Ironically, through their actions, they might have accelerated or exacerbated the collapse of what remained of the USSR.<\/p>\n

Financial Crisis of 1998<\/h2>\n

In August 1998, Russia suffered a series of economic setbacks<\/a>. The government defaulted on its domestic debt (\u0432\u043d\u0443\u0442\u0440\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u043e\u043b\u0433) and put off paying off foreign debt (\u0432\u043d\u0435\u0301\u0448\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u043e\u043b\u0433<\/strong>). This crisis is known in Russian as \u0434\u0435\u0444\u043e\u0301\u043b\u0442<\/strong>. As a result of the crisis, the Russian currency, the ruble (\u0440\u0443\u0431\u043b\u044c<\/strong>), lost two thirds of its value, and inflation (\u0438\u043d\u0444\u043b\u044f\u0301\u0446\u0438\u044f<\/strong>) reached 84 percent.<\/p>\n

\"ocean\"

Photo by Peter Fogden<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Sinking of the Kursk<\/em> Submarine<\/h2>\n

Kursk<\/em> (“\u041a\u0443\u0440\u0441\u043a<\/strong>“) was a submarine named after a Russian city<\/a>. On August 12, 2000, the submarine was taking part in a military exercise (\u0432\u043e\u0435\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0443\u0447\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f<\/strong>) in the Barents Sea (\u0411\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0435\u043d\u0446\u0435\u0432\u043e \u043c\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0435<\/strong>) and stopped responding to incoming communications. The rescue operation lasted several days, but all 118 people aboard died. The official investigation named the explosion of a torpedo (\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043f\u0435\u0301\u0434\u0430<\/strong>) and a subsequent fire (\u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430\u0301\u0440<\/strong>) on the submarine as the cause for its sinking. Russian authorities initially refused foreign help in responding to the incident, and President Putin was criticized for the way he handled the disaster.<\/p>\n

Arkhangelsk Explosion<\/h2>\n

The year 2019 was no exception when it comes to August disasters. On August 8, a high radiation level (\u0443\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0440\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0430\u0301\u0446\u0438\u0438<\/strong>) was detected in the Arkhangelsk (\u0410\u0440\u0445\u0430\u0301\u043d\u0433\u0435\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a<\/strong>) region in the north of Russia. That was attributed to a nuclear explosion<\/a> at the Nyonoksa (\u041d\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/strong>) military base. The exact type of missile (\u0441\u043d\u0430\u0440\u044f\u0301\u0434<\/strong>) is disputed. The situation has been shrouded in secrecy, with medical staff not being told<\/a> they are treating people affected by radiation, which has drawn comparisons to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Is August really a bad month, or do we just think so because of confirmation bias? Wikipedia seems to suggest there may be at least several reasons for August being accident-prone. They include hot weather and thunderstorms as well as many people taking time off.<\/p>\n

Is any month or season considered dangerous where you live?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"ocean\"

Did you know August is seen as the month of trouble in Russia? Over the last 20 years, several accidents have happened in August (\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442), which led people to regard August as a dangerous month (“\u0447\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0430\u0301\u0432\u0433\u0443\u0441\u0442,” literally “black August”). This post will look at some of these events and the reasons why August may\u2014or…<\/p>\n

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