{"id":2282,"date":"2011-08-22T15:56:40","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T15:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2282"},"modified":"2014-07-17T17:19:35","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T17:19:35","slug":"20-%d0%bb%d0%b5%d1%82-%d1%81%d0%bf%d1%83%d1%81%d1%82%d1%8f-twenty-years-after-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/20-%d0%bb%d0%b5%d1%82-%d1%81%d0%bf%d1%83%d1%81%d1%82%d1%8f-twenty-years-after-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"20 \u043b\u0435\u0442 \u0441\u043f\u0443\u0441\u0442\u044f \u2013 Twenty Years After, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Well, \u00ab\u0434\u0440\u0443\u0437\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [friends], it has happened again: I sat down to write \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e \u0433\u0440\u0430\u043c\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0443\u00bb<\/strong> [about grammar] and instead I wrote about something completely different. I found this \u00ab\u0444\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0436\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [photo essay] on the website of \u00ab\u043c\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0437\u0438<\/span>\u043d<\/strong><\/em> \u0412\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0448\u043d\u044f\u044f \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb [the magazine “Foreign Policy”] called, in English, \u201cRussia\u2019s Big Backyard.\u201d I have opted to translate the title as \u00ab\u0431\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0436\u043d\u0435\u0435 \u0437\u0430\u0440\u0443\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u044c\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [the near abroad] since that\u2019s basically what the English title implies.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I do not know much \u00ab\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0435 \u043f\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [copyright], which is why I am not putting any of the excellent photos in this post. Instead, I will provide links to appropriate photos throughout this post, so you can click on them if you want.<\/p>\n

Since it is \u00ab\u0434\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043b\u0435\u0442 \u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u0421\u0421\u0421\u0420\u00bb<\/strong> [twenty years since the USSR], many news websites are writing about what has happened \u00ab\u0437\u0430 \u0434\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043b\u0435\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [for twenty years]. \u00ab\u0412 \u0446\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u0410<\/span>\u0437\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [in Central Asia] there are \u00ab\u0434\u0432\u0435 \u0440\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0438\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [two religions]: Christianity<\/a> and Islam<\/a>. There are still remnants of Soviet rule in \u00ab\u0423\u0437\u0431\u0435\u043a\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d, \u0422\u0443\u0440\u043a\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d, \u0422\u0430\u0434\u0436\u0438\u043a\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d, \u041a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0445\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d, \u0438 \u041a\u0438\u0440\u0433\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan], like \u00ab\u044d<\/span>\u0442\u043e\u0442 \u043f\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u044f\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a \u041b\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d\u0443 \u0432 \u0422\u0430\u0434\u0436\u0438\u043a\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [this monument to Lenin in Tajikistan].<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, \u00ab\u0432 \u0441\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 \u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [in rural areas], it can be difficult for people to get access to health care and social services<\/a>. These countries\u2019 political systems are not perfect, either. Most of them could be classified as \u00ab\u0434\u0438\u043a\u0442\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [dictatorships].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0423\u0437\u0431\u0435\u043a\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Uzbekistan] has a large Russian minority<\/a>, though many have left \u00ab\u0432 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u044e\u00bb<\/strong> [for Russia].<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0445\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Kazakhstan] appears to be doing the best of all the Central Asian countries. \u00ab\u042d\u043a\u043e\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [The economy] has grown a lot. Unfortunately, \u00ab\u041d\u0443\u0440\u0441\u0443\u043b\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d \u041d\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0440\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [Nursultan Nazarbayev] has had power \u00ab\u0437\u0430 \u0434\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0446\u0430\u0442\u044c \u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d \u0433\u043e\u0434\u00bb<\/strong> [twenty-one years]. \u00ab\u042f \u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u0445\u043e\u0447\u0443 \u043f\u043e\u0435<\/span>\u0445\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0432 \u041a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0445\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [I really want to go to Kazakhstan] just to see the world\u2019s largest tent<\/a>. \u00ab\u041d\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u043d\u0435\u043c \u044d\u0442\u0430\u0436\u0435<\/span> \u2013 \u043f\u043b\u044f\u0436!\u00bb<\/strong> [There is a beach on the top floor!]<\/p>\n

I do not know much about \u00ab\u041a\u0438\u0440\u0433\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Kyrgyzstan], except for the fact that there was a revolution there recently. Oh, and one of my friends was there recently, and she rode a horse, just like the people in this photo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You would probably be fine with speaking just Russian in all the countries I\u2019ve mentioned so far, with one exception: \u00ab\u0422\u0443\u0440\u043a\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Turkmenistan]. The first president had \u00ab\u043a\u0443\u043b\u044c\u0442 \u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [a cult of personality] that included emphasizing native culture over the Soviet-era Russification. Luckily, there is less of a personality cult since the first president died \u2014 \u00ab\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0435<\/span>\u043c\u043d\u0438\u043a\u00bb<\/strong> [his successor] was his personal dentist, of all people. The current president \u00ab\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0431\u0438\u0442 \u043b\u043e\u0448\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/a><\/strong> [really loves horses].<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been to any of these Central Asian countries. If you have, please share your experiences in the comments!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m planning four parts for this series. \u00ab\u0427\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0432\u0430\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Part 1], this part, is about \u00ab\u0446\u0435\u043d\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0410<\/span>\u0437\u0438\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Central Asia]. \u00ab\u0427\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Part 2] will be about \u00ab\u0411\u0435\u043b\u0430\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u044c, \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430 \u0438 \u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia]. \u00ab\u0427\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0442\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Part 3] will be about \u00ab\u041a\u0430\u0432\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u00bb<\/strong> [the Caucasus]. \u00ab\u0427\u0430\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0447\u0435\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u0430\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> will be about \u00ab\u0431\u0430\u043b\u0442\u0438<\/span>\u0439\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0435 \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u044b<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [the Baltic countries]. I originally was going to write \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>, which is what I had learned to call the Baltic countries, but a native-speaking friend told me that is an imperialist term that should be avoided. Thoughts?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Well, \u00ab\u0434\u0440\u0443\u0437\u044c\u044f\u00bb [friends], it has happened again: I sat down to write \u00ab\u043f\u0440\u043e \u0433\u0440\u0430\u043c\u043c\u0430\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0443\u00bb [about grammar] and instead I wrote about something completely different. I found this \u00ab\u0444\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0440\u0442\u0430\u0436\u00bb [photo essay] on the website of \u00ab\u043c\u0430\u0433\u0430\u0437\u0438\u043d \u0412\u043d\u0435\u0448\u043d\u044f\u044f \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430\u00bb [the magazine “Foreign Policy”] called, in English, \u201cRussia\u2019s Big Backyard.\u201d I have opted to translate the title…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":2284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,178,179],"tags":[60713,385633,60767,2389,1211,1248,8286,1547,60765,1670,1696,1743],"class_list":["post-2282","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-history","category-news","tag-culture-2","tag-history","tag-near-abroad","tag-photos","tag-russia","tag-russian-language","tag-ussr","tag-1547","tag-60765","tag-1670","tag-1696","tag-1743"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t