{"id":2263,"date":"2011-08-16T08:08:21","date_gmt":"2011-08-16T08:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2263"},"modified":"2011-08-16T02:09:25","modified_gmt":"2011-08-16T02:09:25","slug":"12-chairs-russian-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/12-chairs-russian-book\/","title":{"rendered":"What 12 Chairs Got to Do With Learning Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u042d\u043b\u043b\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u0429\u0443\u043a\u0438\u043d\u0430 \u0438 \u0417\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0435 \u0421\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0447\u043a\u043e\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HlVdgerzKSs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Have you read <strong>\u00ab12 <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [12 Chairs] yet? If not, don\u2019t wait another second! There\u2019s simply no excuse for not reading this <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043a\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb <\/strong>[classic] especially since it is a) <a href=\"http:\/\/lib.ru\/ILFPETROV\/author12.txt\">available online<\/a> for free and b) available online <a href=\"http:\/\/lib.ru\/ILFPETROV\/ilf_petrov_12_chairs_engl.txt\">in English<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Just a few days ago Mosfilm uploaded both <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u0443\u044e <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u044e <\/strong><strong>\u0441<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/mosfilm#p\/f\/1\/ZNZkUt0ePas\">Part 1<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/mosfilm#p\/f\/2\/GyfgsOO20jU\">Part 2<\/a>] to its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/mosfilm\">YouTube channel<\/a>, but without English subtitles. So you see, there\u2019s simply no excuse for you not to be familiar with this <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0438\u0437\u0432\u0435\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [work of literature].<\/p>\n<p>Apart from this being one of my favorite books, the one that I read at least 50 times and out of which I memorized entire pages, it is one of the most important sources for <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043a\u0440\u044b\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span> <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u0432\u044b\u0440\u0430\u0436<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [proverbial words and expressions] that conversational Russian is full of.<\/p>\n<p>Without reading it, you will not understand a phrase <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043b\u0451\u0434 <\/strong><strong>\u0442\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0443\u043b\u0441\u044f, <\/strong><strong>\u0433\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span> <\/strong><strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0441<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u044b\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u0437\u0430\u0441\u0435\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [things are moving, gentlemen of the jury] or references to <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u0412\u0430\u0441\u044e\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [New Vasyuki].<\/p>\n<p>The story begins on a morbid note &#8211; an old lady dies and representatives from several small-town casket makers vie for a chance to sell their wares to the heir. Right away the readers are taught a lesson in <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0436\u0438\u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong><strong>\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong><strong>\u044f\u0437<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044b<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [real Russian language], particularly a range of euphemism for \u201cto die\u201d. These are based on the <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043a\u043e\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0446\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [body type] and <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0441\u043e\u0446\u0438<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0436<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [social standing] of <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043f\u043e\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0439\u043d\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [dead person]:<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0438\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; pass away<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043e\u0442\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong><strong>\u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u0443 <\/strong><strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; depart this life<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0441\u044b\u0433\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong><strong>\u0432 <\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u0449\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; pop off<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u043f\u0440\u0438\u043a\u0430\u0437<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0433\u043e \u0436\u0438\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; breath one\u2019s last<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; croak<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u044f\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; to go west<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0434\u0430\u0442\u044c <\/strong><strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0431\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; kick the bucket<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> &#8211; to be gone (although this is a terribly imprecise translation, but it carries the meaning of not being anything special since it is reserved for men of no importance at all)<\/p>\n<p>Of course, don\u2019t take it too seriously since the book is a) a work of fiction in b) <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0436\u0430\u043d\u0440 <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u0430\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u044b <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044e<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u043c\u043e\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [satire and comedy genre].<\/p>\n<p>The book then goes on and introduces such undying phrases as<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0414<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043e <\/strong><strong>\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u0449\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u0443\u0442\u043e\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u043c &#8211; <\/strong><strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u043e <\/strong><strong>\u0440\u0443\u043a <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u0430\u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0445 <\/strong><strong>\u0443\u0442\u043e\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445\u00bb <\/strong>[Assistance to drowning persons is in the hands of those persons themselves]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041a\u043b\u044e\u0447 <\/strong><strong>\u043e\u0442 <\/strong><strong>\u043a\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u044b, <\/strong><strong>\u0433\u0434\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c\u0433\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u043b\u0435\u0436<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u00bb <\/strong>[Key of an apartment where the money is]<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041e\u0442 <\/strong><strong>\u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u0440\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0433\u043e <\/strong><strong>\u043e\u0441\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span> <\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u0448\u0438\u00bb <\/strong>[Ears from a dead donkey]<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041f\u043e\u0447<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u043c <\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u043f\u0438\u0443\u043c <\/strong><strong>\u0434\u043b\u044f <\/strong><strong>\u043d\u0430\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0430?\u00bb <\/strong>[How much is opium for the masses?]<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0423<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043c <\/strong><strong>\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c\u0433\u0438 &#8211; <\/strong><strong>\u0432<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0440\u043e\u043c <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u044f\u00bb <\/strong>[Money in the morning, chairs &#8211; in the evening]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041d\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u0443\u0447<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435 <\/strong><strong>\u043c\u0435\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span> <\/strong><strong>\u0436\u0438\u0442\u044c\u00bb <\/strong>[Don\u2019t teach me how to live.]<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00ab\u041e\u043d \u043b\u044e\u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0438 \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043b. \u041e\u043d \u043b\u044e\u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c\u0433\u0438 \u0438 \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0434<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043b \u043e\u0442 \u0438\u0445 \u043d\u0435\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430\u00bb <\/strong>[He loved and suffered. He loved money and suffered from the lack of it.]<\/p>\n<p>The book revolves around the misadventures of the three main characters &#8211; <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041e\u0441\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u043f <\/strong><strong>\u0411<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0435\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [Ostap Bender], his <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043d\u0430\u043f<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [partner] <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0430 <\/strong><strong>\u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u044c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [Kisa Vorobyaninov] and their <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043a\u043e\u043d\u043a\u0443\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [rival] <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043e\u0442<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0446 <\/strong><strong>\u0424<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [Father Fyodor].<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, a bunch of colorful characters is introduced. One of them, <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042d<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u043b\u043b\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430-<\/strong><strong>\u043b\u044e\u0434\u043e<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> is particularly interesting and funny, especially if you are trying to learn Russian.<\/p>\n<p>First, her name <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042d<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u043b\u043b\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> is confusing. You\u2019d think her name is <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u042d\u043b\u0435\u043e\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Eleonora], but as it turns out, <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u042d<\/span><\/strong><strong>\u043b\u043b\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> in this case is a derivative of <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0415\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Yelena]. In case you are wondering, other derivatives of this very common Russian name include, but not limited to <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0410\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Alyona], <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u043b\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Lyolya], <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0451<\/span>\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Lyoka], <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Lesya] and <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u041b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044e<\/span>\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Lyusya].<\/p>\n<p>Second, even though the book was written in 1928, it made open fun of the <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0434\u043e\u0433\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0433\u043d<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c <\/strong><strong>\u0410\u043c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [catch up and surpass the US] clich\u00e9 that became so central to the Communist Party politics. Ella the Cannibal was, after all, in an unending and lopsided competition with an American heiress.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Ellochka was able to compress the entire <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u0432\u0435\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0438<\/span>\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u043c\u043e\u0433<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0438\u0439 <\/strong><strong>\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439 <\/strong><strong>\u044f\u0437<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u044b<\/span>\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [great and mighty Russian language] into a 30-word vocabulary! She used it <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043b\u0435\u0433\u043a<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span> <\/strong><strong>\u0438 <\/strong><strong>\u0441\u0432\u043e\u0431<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [easily and fluently] to successfully express very complex emotions and thoughts and communicate with her <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043b<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0447\u0448\u0430\u044f <\/strong><strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0440<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">\u0443<\/span>\u0433\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [best friend], <strong>\u00ab<\/strong><strong>\u043c\u0443\u0436\u00bb<\/strong> [husband] and department store clerks.<\/p>\n<p>Sounds intriguing? Well, check out Chapter 22nd for the list of words and examples of use. If you do so, you\u2019ll notice that the list in the book is incomplete &#8211; only 17 out of 30 words are listed. Care to take a guess what the other 13 might be?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you read \u00ab12 \u0441\u0442\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0435\u0432\u00bb [12 Chairs] yet? If not, don\u2019t wait another second! There\u2019s simply no excuse for not reading this \u00ab\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0441\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb [classic] especially since it is a) available online for free and b) available online in English. Just a few days ago Mosfilm uploaded both \u00ab\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0443\u044e \u0438 \u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0443\u044e \u0441\u0435\u0440\u0438\u0438\u00bb [Part 1 and Part&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/12-chairs-russian-book\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2263","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2263"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2267,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2263\/revisions\/2267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}