{"id":14910,"date":"2021-12-21T15:10:12","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T15:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=14910"},"modified":"2021-12-21T15:10:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T15:10:12","slug":"white-roses-knees-and-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/white-roses-knees-and-ravens\/","title":{"rendered":"White roses, knees, and ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you think of Russian winters, you imagine early mornings with untouched \u0441\u0443\u0433\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0431\u044b<\/strong> (snowdrifts), \u043a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0438\u0301\u0432\u044b\u0435<\/strong> \u0443\u0437\u043e\u0301\u0440\u044b<\/strong> \u043d\u0430<\/strong> \u0441\u0442\u0451\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0445<\/strong> \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0301\u0431\u0443\u0441\u043e\u0432<\/strong> (pretty frost patters on the windows of buses), and serene forests of snow-covered pines and birch trees. \u0412\u043e\u043a\u0440\u0443\u0433<\/strong> \u0431\u0435\u043b\u044b\u043c<\/strong>–\u0431\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0301<\/strong>! (It is white everywhere!)<\/p>\n

To be fair, this Russian white winter fantasy varies greatly depending on where in Russia you are. For example, Moscow and St. Petersburg are going to look much more different from the coldest city in the world, Yakutsk. (Screenshots taken by author from website gismeteo<\/a>).<\/p>\n

*everything is in Celsius on the pictures below<\/p>\n

\"moscow\"

Weather in Moscow<\/p><\/div>\n

\"st

Weather in St. Petersburg<\/p><\/div>\n

\"yakutsk\"

Weather in Yakutsk\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

However, let\u2019s go back to the phrase \u0431\u0435\u043b\u044b\u043c<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0301<\/strong> (very white). It is a curious grammatical concoction. This adverb (\u043d\u0430\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0447\u0438\u0435<\/strong>) causes confusion in both how it is spelled and pronounced. So, remember: the stress falls on final syllables of both words \u0431\u0435\u043b\u042b\u043c<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u043b\u041e<\/strong>. This article<\/a> does a great job of explaining when to write certain word combinations together, with a hyphen, or separately. Bottom line is \u2014 you have to hyphenate \u0431\u0435\u043b\u044b\u043c<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0(same goes for \u0442\u0435\u043c\u043d\u044b\u043c<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0442\u0435\u043c\u043d\u043e\u0301<\/strong>, \u0447\u0435\u0440\u043d\u044b\u043c<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0447\u0435\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0and other variations where you put the two words together to intensify the descriptive quality).<\/p>\n

\"winter

\u0424\u043e\u0442\u043e \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430\u00a0Alexander Nerozya<\/a><\/strong>:\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Life and daylight<\/h4>\n

\u0411\u0435\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0439<\/strong> \u0446\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442<\/strong>, like every color, has acquired many contextual and symbolic meanings in Russian. People often used it to refer to life, day, and similar bright energies. That\u2019s why the phrase \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0439<\/strong> \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442<\/strong> really just means \u2018life\u2019 and Russians say things like \u2018<\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0439<\/strong> \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0442<\/strong> \u043d\u0435<\/strong> \u043c\u0438\u043b<\/strong>\u2019 <\/strong>when somebody doesn\u2019t want to live anymore. Likewise, \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u044c \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u0430<\/strong> \u0434\u043d\u044f<\/strong> is equivalent to \u2018in broad daylight\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u043d\u0430\u0301\u0448\u0435\u043c \u0433\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0435 \u043d\u0435 \u0431\u044b\u043b\u043e \u0442\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0433\u043e \u0447\u0442\u043e\u0431\u044b \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0438 \u0445\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043b\u0438 \u043f\u044c\u044f\u043d\u044b\u043c\u0438 \u0432\u043e\u0442 \u0442\u0430\u043a, \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u044c \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u0430 \u0434\u043d\u044f.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Our town had never before had drunks just walking around like this in broad daylight.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Death and illness<\/h4>\n

Other times, the color white is symbolic of illness, death, and emptiness.<\/p>\n

For example, \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u0430\u044f<\/strong> \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0301\u043d\u0430<\/strong> is someone who is very different from others, although it can be used in both a good and bad way.<\/p>\n

The phrase \u201c\u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u0430\u044f<\/strong> \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0442\u044c<\/strong>\u201d (white death) has been following the word \u201c\u0441\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044c<\/strong>\u201d (salt) in Russian, although I have not found exactly why that is the case. Most dietitians speculate that the saying \u201c<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044c<\/strong> \u2014 <\/strong>\u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u0430\u044f<\/strong> \u0441\u043c\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0442\u044c<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong> goes back to health problems associated with high sodium intakes. Traditional Russian foods are always \u0445\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0448\u043e\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0\u043f\u043e\u0441\u043e\u0301\u043b\u0435\u043d\u044b<\/strong> (always have plenty of salt). Even the old custom of greeting guests and important visitors with a loaf of bread with salt (<\/strong>\u0445\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0431<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0434\u0430<\/strong>–<\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044c<\/strong>) <\/strong>hints at how much salt Russians consume.<\/p>\n

You might hear this phrase in casual conversations about diet, health and such, but most likely, Russians associate this saying with this scene<\/a> from (my all-time favorite movie) \u041b\u044e\u0431\u043e\u0301\u0432\u044c \u0438 \u0413\u043e\u0301\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0438<\/em><\/strong>! <\/em>(<\/em>Love<\/em> and<\/em> Pigeons<\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

\"winter

\u0424\u043e\u0442\u043e \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430\u00a0\u041d\u0430\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0456\u044f \u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u0430<\/a><\/strong>:\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\u0414\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0\u0434\u043e<\/strong> \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/strong> \u043a\u0430\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f<\/strong> means to make someone really mad. Be careful, it is a common mistake to say \u201c\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0\u0434\u043e<\/strong> \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/strong> \u043a\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0430<\/strong>\u201d. That sounds absurd like \u201cget someone to the point of a white knee\u201d or \u201cbring someone to a white knee\u201d. Either way, that is nonsense. The word you are looking for is \u201c\u043a\u0430\u043b\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044f<\/strong>\u201d which is \u201cincandescence\u201d or when hot metal glows so much it appears white.<\/p>\n

\"car

\u0424\u043e\u0442\u043e \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430\u00a0Eugene<\/a><\/strong>:\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Others<\/h4>\n

The more neutral sayings with the word \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0439<\/strong> include:<\/p>\n

\u0427\u0451\u0440\u043d\u044b\u043c<\/strong>\u00a0\u043f\u043e<\/strong> \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u043e\u043c\u0443<\/strong> \u043d\u0430\u043f\u0438\u0301\u0441\u0430\u043d\u043e<\/strong> \u2013 <\/strong>it is written with black [ink] on white [paper] and \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0301\u043d\u0446<\/strong> \u043d\u0430<\/strong> \u0431\u0435\u0301\u043b\u043e\u043c<\/strong> \u043a\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0301<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 <\/strong>Prince Charming (literally, a prince on a white horse).<\/p>\n

Speaking of romantic ideals, even though modern Russian wedding dresses are mostly white, it was not always the case. Actually, traditional Russian wedding dresses were often bright and colorful! See photos in the blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lastly, as promised in the title of this blog, I am leaving you with this 1989 hit by \u041b\u0430\u0301\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u041c\u0430\u0301\u0439 – \u0411\u0435\u043b\u044b\u0435 \u0420\u043e\u0301\u0437\u044b<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cWhite Roses\u201d is one of those iconic songs that even when played ironically will make people tap their feet to the catchy 80s beat and Yuri Shatunov\u2019s sweet voice.<\/p>\n

\u0414\u043e \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0447\u0438 \u0432 \u043d\u043e\u0301\u0432\u043e\u043c \u0433\u043e\u0434\u0443 \u0438 \u0441 \u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0443\u043f\u0430\u0301\u044e\u0449\u0438\u043c\u0438 \u043f\u0440\u0430\u0301\u0437\u0434\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430\u043c\u0438!<\/strong> (See you next year and happy holidays!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"car

When you think of Russian winters, you imagine early mornings with untouched \u0441\u0443\u0433\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0431\u044b (snowdrifts), \u043a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0438\u0301\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0443\u0437\u043e\u0301\u0440\u044b \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u0442\u0451\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0445 \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0301\u0431\u0443\u0441\u043e\u0432 (pretty frost patters on the windows of buses), and serene forests of snow-covered pines and birch trees. \u0412\u043e\u043a\u0440\u0443\u0433 \u0431\u0435\u043b\u044b\u043c–\u0431\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0301! (It is white everywhere!) To be fair, this Russian white winter fantasy varies greatly depending on where…<\/p>\n

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