{"id":124,"date":"2008-04-24T23:28:10","date_gmt":"2008-04-25T03:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=124"},"modified":"2014-07-16T17:40:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T17:40:41","slug":"yeltsin-gets-a-street-dostoevsky-gets-married-russian-soldiers-commit-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/yeltsin-gets-a-street-dostoevsky-gets-married-russian-soldiers-commit-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Yeltsin gets a street, Dostoevsky gets married & Russian soldiers commit suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Politics, huh? Russian politics are great, very entertaining and at times rather frightening \u2013 just not my shot of vodka, if you get my drift. When I started out as a \u2018watcher & commentator on Russian life\u2019 [particularly from a Siberian point of view] back in 2005 at the tender age of 20, I was very angry with myself because I lacked political awareness and couldn\u2019t comment wisely on any current events of certain weight. I still lack political awareness but have since grown to accept this and thus I can now comment on current events as much as I\u2019d like. Perhaps I should\u2019ve looked into the \u2018argument\u2019 that aroused this past week between Georgia and Russia, but I\u2019m afraid it didn\u2019t really catch my attention. However this headline did: \u00ab\u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0437\u043d\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0436\u0435\u043d\u0430\u0442\u044b\u043c\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [Dostoevsky was declared married]. The article – perhaps only interesting to me and other \u00ab\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0434\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> – is about finding the marriage certificate of Dostoevsky and his first wife, Maria Isaeva, in the Siberian town of \u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u043a\u0443\u0437\u043d\u0435\u0442\u0441\u043a<\/strong>, where they were married in 1857. Here\u2019s a little excerpt:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041d\u0430\u0445\u043e\u0434\u043a\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u043a\u043e\u043c\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0438\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0430 \u0412\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0430 \u0412\u0435\u0442\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f, \u0441\u043f\u0435\u0446\u0438\u0430\u043b\u0438\u0441\u0442 \u043f\u043e \u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0443 \u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e: – \u041b\u044e\u0431\u043e\u0439 \u0434\u043e\u043a\u0443\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0442, \u043a\u0430\u0441\u0430\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0439\u0441\u044f \u0436\u0438\u0437\u043d\u0438 \u0438 \u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430 \u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e, \u043d\u0430 \u0432\u0435\u0441 \u0437\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u0430.\u00bb <\/strong>[The find was commented on by Valentina Vetlovskaya, a specialist on the works of Dostoevsky: – Any kind of document that has anything to do with the life and works of Dostoevsky is worth its weight in gold.]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0412 \u044d\u0442\u043e\u043c \u0434\u043e\u043c\u0435 \u0432 1972 \u2013 1977 \u0433\u0433. \u0436\u0438\u043b \u0411\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0441 \u041d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 \u0415\u043b\u044c\u0446\u0438\u043d, \u041f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u041f\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043d\u0442 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0439\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u0424\u0435\u0434\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u0438\u00bb <\/strong>[In this house between 1972 \u2013 1977 lived Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation.<\/div>\n


\nOn Wednesday this past week, the 23rd of April, it was a year since the death of Boris Yeltsin. This event was commemorated especially cordially in his [and mine!] \u201chometown\u201d of Yekaterinburg, where he went to university and also began his political career. \u00ab\u0423\u0413\u0422\u0423-\u0423\u041f\u0418 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u043b \u0432\u0443\u0437\u043e\u043c \u0438\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0440\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0439\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u041f\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0438\u0434\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [Ural State Technical University (formerly known as Ural Polytechnic Institute) became an institution of higher education in the name of the first Russian President]. In addition to getting the biggest university in town, something that was decided upon after a voting by students and teachers (go democracy!), he also received one of the most beautiful streets in the city. It was the street along which he used to stroll on his way to work in the town administration, which is right by the river and used to be \u00ab\u0443\u043b\u0438\u0446\u0430 9-\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0444\u0435\u0440\u0430\u043b\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> but is now \u00ab\u0443\u043b\u0438\u0446\u0430 \u0415\u043b\u044c\u0446\u0438\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>. After his demise last year there was a lot of talk about renaming the main street of the city \u2013 like in every other city in Russia it\u2019s called \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u043f\u0435\u043a\u0442 \u041b\u0435\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> – to \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u043f\u0435\u043a\u0442 \u0415\u043b\u044c\u0446\u0438\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>, but for some reason or other they chose not to. Perhaps they didn\u2019t want to stand out among all the other cities, or perhaps because it would have caused the two enormous statues of Lenin right now standing along the prospect to become rather superfluous.<\/p>\n

A headline that both shocked me \u2013 and, sadly, not shocked me so much \u2013 was \u00ab\u0410\u0440\u043c\u0438\u044f \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438\u0438 \u043d\u0435\u0441\u0451\u0442 \u043f\u043e\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0438: \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0438 \u043f\u043e\u0433\u0438\u0431\u0448\u0438\u0445 \u0437\u0430 \u0442\u0440\u0438 \u043c\u0435\u0441\u044f\u0446\u0430 2008 \u0433\u043e\u0434\u0430 – 50% \u0441\u0430\u043c\u043e\u0443\u0431\u0438\u0439\u0446\u044b\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [The Russian Army suffers losses: among the diseased for the first three months of 2008 – 50% of them commited suicide]. I\u2019ve said it before, and I\u2019ll probably say it many, many more times \u2013 the Russian Army is a terrible institution that does very little good. If I wanted to, then I could probably find at least one headline every day that had to do with irregularities in the Russian Army, but I don\u2019t want to. I don\u2019t want to search for that since I live here, and I have to walk past soldiers on the street every day. (And because I\u2019m a simple mortal woman I can\u2019t help but to look twice at them boys \u2013 come on, it\u2019s soldiers! Men in uniform \u2013 any kind of uniform \u2013 never fail to catch the female eye, I suppose.)<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget \u2013 on Sunday it\u2019s \u041f\u0430\u0441\u0445\u0430<\/strong> [Orthodox Easter]! If some Russian says to you on Sunday morning: \u00ab\u0425\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0441 \u0432\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441!\u00bb <\/strong>[Christ has risen!], don\u2019t forget to answer them with \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0443 \u0432\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441!\u00bb<\/strong> [Truly risen!]. I would like to blog about it, but on Sunday I\u2019ll be stopping in Novosibirsk on my way to a conference in Tomsk, so I can\u2019t. Hope you’ll all enjoy the holiday (within or without the great Motherland)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Politics, huh? Russian politics are great, very entertaining and at times rather frightening \u2013 just not my shot of vodka, if you get my drift. When I started out as a \u2018watcher & commentator on Russian life\u2019 [particularly from a Siberian point of view] back in 2005 at the tender age of 20, I was…<\/p>\n

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