{"id":1753,"date":"2011-01-13T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2011-01-13T08:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2014-07-17T14:25:04","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T14:25:04","slug":"russian-winter-myth-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/russian-winter-myth-exposed\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian Winter Myth Exposed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you like \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [winter]? I don\u2019t! When my American friends hear me complain about yet another cold snap, they inevitably ask \u201cBut aren\u2019t you from Russia, the country infamous for its long and harsh winters?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

I blame Russian literature for this question (although Russian artists added to the myth with beautiful paintings such as this one by Nikifor Krilov, called “Russian Winter<\/a>“). It\u2019s done so much to romanticize winter, more so than any other \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u044f <\/strong>\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [season]. Wake up a Russian in the middle of the night and ask him to quote you some wintry poetry and I bet you\u2019ll hear<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0417\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/span>! \u041a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d, \u0442\u043e\u0440\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0443<\/span>\u044f, <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u041d\u0430 \u0434\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u044f\u0445 \u043e\u0431\u043d\u043e\u0432\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u0443\u0442\u044c. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0415\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u043b\u043e\u0448\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u0430, \u0441\u043d\u0435\u0433 \u043f\u043e\u0447\u0443<\/span>\u044f,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u041f\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0440\u044b<\/span>\u0441\u044c\u044e \u043a\u0430\u043a-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443<\/span>\u0434\u044c.\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Winter!… The countryman, enchanted,<\/p>\n

breaks a new passage with his sleigh;<\/p>\n

his nag has smelt the snow, and planted<\/p>\n

a shambling hoof along the way;]<\/p>\n

They might not know the author or remember the name of the poem or anything that follows, but these four lines are \u00ab<\/strong>\u0437\u043d\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u044b <\/strong>\u0441 <\/strong>\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [familiar since childhood]. (BTW, it\u2019s from Eugene Onegin by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and you can find the full translation here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Or you might hear something like<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041c\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0437 \u0438 \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435; \u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0447\u0443\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439!\u00bb<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Cold frost and sunshine: day of wonder!] (this is the opening line of another of the Pushkin\u2019s poems, Winter Morning<\/a>)<\/p>\n

You see what I\u2019m talking about here, don\u2019t you? Winter is presented as the time of joy, celebration, cleansing and renewal. Even in Nekrasov\u2019s somber \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0437, <\/strong>\u041a\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u041d\u043e\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [Father Frost, the Red Nose] the snow-covered landscape \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0430\u043b\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u0430\u0445 <\/strong>\u0431\u043b\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [sparkles like diamond].<\/p>\n

Stop with the myth already! Winter is the time for \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0443\u0440\u0433\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [snow blizzard], \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u0435\u0442\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [snowstorm], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0446\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [black ice], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u043b\u043e\u043b\u0451<\/span>\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [icy rain], and frostbite-inducing \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0437\u00bb<\/strong> [frost]. Oh, and did I mention all of these might be happening at once? \u00ab<\/strong>\u041a\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0443\u0436 <\/strong>\u0442\u0443\u0442 \u00ab<\/strong>\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c <\/strong>\u0447\u0443\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb!\u00bb<\/strong> [Some kind of \u201cday of wonder\u201d that would be!]<\/p>\n

Do I sound \u00ab<\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u0437\u0434\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u0430\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [cranky]? I told you, \u00ab<\/strong>\u044f <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0431\u043b\u044e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [I don\u2019t like winter]. Sure, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0443<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u0440\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [a crispy cold morning] with a blanket of fresh snow over everything is fine every now and then. And so is walking over \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [snow crust] and hearing its satisfying \u00ab<\/strong>\u0445\u0440\u0443\u0441\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [crunch]. Plus what can be more cheerful than hearing \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043f-<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043f\u00bb<\/strong> [drip-drip] of \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u044f\u0449\u0438\u0435 <\/strong>\u0441\u043e\u0441\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [melting icicles] during a brief \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e<\/span><\/strong>\u0442\u0442\u0435\u043f\u0435\u043b\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [thaw].<\/p>\n

But in between all this fun I want \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u043f\u043b\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0435\u0447\u043d\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [warm sunny weather] when \u00ab<\/strong>\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043a\u0430 <\/strong>\u0437\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0435\u0442, <\/strong>\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u044b\u0448\u043a\u043e <\/strong>\u0431\u043b\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [the grass is greening and the sun is shining] (do you know the rest of this poem?)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there are at least two more months until that happens. In the mean time, I check weather updates for various Russian cities, including \u00ab<\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0431\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u044b\u0439 <\/strong>\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0433\u043e\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [Volgograd, my favorite city].<\/p>\n

In case you want to check the weather in your favorite city (in Russia or around the world) on GISMETEO<\/a>, here\u2019s a little cheat-sheet of the terms you\u2019re likely to see:<\/p>\n