{"id":4888,"date":"2013-08-29T08:45:02","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T08:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=4888"},"modified":"2014-07-17T19:34:44","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T19:34:44","slug":"day-of-rest-and-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/day-of-rest-and-volunteering\/","title":{"rendered":"Day of Rest and Volunteering"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n

In Russia, calendar week starts \u0432 \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (on Monday). So \u0432\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (Tuesday) is the second day of the week. Can you guess what day of the week is \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Ok, so that was a trick question. \u0421\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> is not a day of the week, but a concept. \u0421\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0430<\/strong> (Saturday) is the sixth day of the Russian week. Weekends begin on Saturday. Ok, some might argue that weekends start \u0432 \u043f\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0443 \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0440\u043e\u043c<\/strong> (on Friday night). Then again, others might say that \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a \u043d\u0430\u0447\u0438\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442\u0441\u044f \u0432 \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0443<\/strong> (Monday starts on Saturday). BTW, if you feel very motivated, do look up the origin of this last phrase.<\/p>\n

Anyway, ever since 1919, a few Saturdays each year, Russians spend voluntarily (or semi-voluntarily) participating in various quality of life improvement projects. Such all-volunteer unpaid centrally organized labor-intensive community-service projects are known as \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Way back, \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> frequently meant just another day at work doing whatever it was you did the other five days, only without pay. Later, the focus shifted to community projects, such as neighborhood clean-ups, planting trees in public parks, or putting together playgrounds. \u0421\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> were no longer restricted to Saturdays, but could be held on Sundays in which case they were known as \u0432\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> to ever originate with the students or workers themselves. They were always something directed by the powers that were. Sure, we volunteered to take part in them, but only because we were volunteered. Not participating in the mandatory fun of a \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> meant getting on your boss\u2019 or teacher\u2019s s**t list.<\/p>\n

So when the tradition of \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> pretty much died off in the mid-90s, nobody seemed to be upset over it. But lately, \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> are making somewhat of a comeback. There seems to be no shortage of them held by schools, districts or even entire towns.<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u043d\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0435\u0439 \u0448\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0435 \u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u043d\u044c \u043b\u044e<\/span>\u0431\u044f\u0442 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> – Our school likes holding subbotniks.<\/p>\n

\u041d\u0430 \u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0449\u0435\u0433\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0441\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439 \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0448\u043b\u043e \u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u044f\u0442\u044c \u0442\u044b<\/span>\u0441\u044f\u0447 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u043a<\/strong> – Ten thousand people showed up for the city-wide subbotnik.<\/p>\n

\u0421\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0442\u044b \u0440\u0435\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0438 \u043e\u0442\u0434\u043e\u0445\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u043e\u0442 \u0443\u0447\u0451\u0431\u044b \u043d\u0430 \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0435<\/strong> – Students decided to take a break from studying by participating in a subbotnik.<\/p>\n

\u0427\u0438\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438 \u043f\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u044f\u043b\u0438 \u0443\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0435 \u0432 \u0442\u0440\u0430\u0434\u0438\u0446\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u043c \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0435<\/strong> – Bureaucrats participated in the traditional subbotnik.<\/p>\n

If you want to watch a present-day \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> in action, this is a good video<\/a> from Russia Beyond Headlines\u00a0starting at about 2 min mark.<\/p>\n

And since Saturday is the official beginning of \u0432\u044b\u0445\u043e\u0434\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0439<\/strong> (weekend), let\u2019s talk about the verbs \u043e\u0442\u0434\u044b\u0445\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (imperfective to rest) and \u043e\u0442\u0434\u043e\u0445\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (perfective to rest).<\/p>\n

The root of these verbs is -\u0434\u044b\u0445-<\/strong>, same as in \u0434\u044b\u0445\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0435<\/strong> (breathing). Which makes them easy to remember since we frequently require \u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0434\u044b\u0445<\/strong> (rest) in order to catch our breath from demands of work. So this weekend, \u0434\u044b\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0443<\/span>\u0431\u0436\u0435<\/strong> (take deep breaths) – \u0432\u0434\u043e\u0445<\/strong> (inhale), \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u0445<\/strong> (exhale) while you’re relaxing.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have the luxury of an entire weekend to rest and relax, take at least a short break in order to \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043e\u0445\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (to take a short break). Pay particular attention to the proper stress in this word since \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (to die out, usually about animals) is definitely not what you want to do even if you are so busy with work\/life imbalance that \u0432\u0437\u0434\u043e\u0445\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0435<\/span>\u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/strong> (no time to take a breath). Remember, as they say, \u043e\u0442 \u0440\u0430\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u044b \u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0445\u043d\u0443\u0442\u044c \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0438<\/strong> (horses die from work). It\u2019s just not good to work \u0431\u0435\u0437 \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u044b\u0445\u0430<\/strong> (nonstop).<\/p>\n

Enjoy your upcoming\u00a0\u0432\u044b\u0445\u043e\u0434\u043d\u044b<\/span>\u0435<\/strong> (days off)!<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a lively debate about why \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0430<\/span><\/strong> is called this even though it is not in the middle of the week. I might had muddied the waters somewhat with the mention of a calendar change. Here’s a better answer:<\/p>\n

Originally the week did start on \u0432\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c\u0435<\/strong> (Sunday) or, as it was called way-way back – \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> (lit: the day of doing nothing; the day of rest). Please note that even before the Revolution of 1917 the word \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> ceased to be applied to Sunday. Instead, Sunday became \u0432\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u044c\u0435<\/strong> and the word \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> moved on to describe the entire week and, in turn, replaced the old \u0441\u0435\u0434\u044c\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (seven days). Sounds confusing? Just remember that the original word \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> meant the first day of the week. The first day after \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong> and the second day of the week was called \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (Monday) since it came \u0441\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u0443 \u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0435 \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0438<\/strong> (right after Sunday). \u0412\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (Tuesday) got its name since it was\u00a0\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0439 \u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c<\/strong> (second day) after \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044f<\/strong>, even though it was the third day of the week. So naturally, \u0441\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0430<\/span><\/strong> (Wednesday), the third day after Sunday would be the fourth day of the week \u00a0and also its middle. \u0427\u0435\u0442\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0433<\/strong> (Thursday), even though it was the fifth day of the week got its name because it was \u0447\u0435\u0442\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0442\u044b\u0439 \u0434\u0435\u043d\u044c<\/strong> (fourth day) after Sunday. You can probably guess why \u043f\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (Friday) got its name. And \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0442\u0430<\/strong> (Saturday) is a bit of a misnomer in this system coming from the Hebrew “shabbat” even though it was not observed as a day of rest in Russia until the introduction of the 5-day workweek.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Russia, calendar week starts \u0432 \u043f\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a (on Monday). So \u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a (Tuesday) is the second day of the week. Can you guess what day of the week is \u0441\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a? Ok, so that was a trick question. \u0421\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a is not a day of the week, but a concept. \u0421\u0443\u0431\u0431\u043e\u0442\u0430 (Saturday) is the sixth day of the…<\/p>\n

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":[3,8],"tags":[1288,1290,253079,257613],"class_list":["post-4888","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-russian-traditions","tag-russian-verbs","tag-russian-vocabulary","tag-subbotnik"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888","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=4888"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6594,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4888\/revisions\/6594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}