Walks Through Moscow: the Capital and its Musicians
Let’s have a little прогулка (walk) through Moscow in search of famous Russian музыканты (musicians), композиторы (composers) and певцы (singers).
Our walk starts from the metro station Smolenskaya. Walk up the улица Арбат (Arbat street), on your right hand side, you will see the monument to Булат Окуджава (Bulat Okudzhava, 1924 – 1997), a famous Soviet poet and bard who sang beautifully about the Arbat.
The Last One for the Road: На Посошок!
When invited by Russians, you might hear your host offering you a drink “На посошок!” (the last one for the road!). You will more rarely hear “Стременная”, “Закурганная” or “Забугорная” three others expressions with a similar meaning. Mind you, all three expressions really means the last drink. Find out today, the origin of the most common one.
На посошок
This expression “На посошок!” (the last one for the road!) come from the word “посох”, the stick used by pilgrims and travellers.
The Hero-City of Volgograd
A few days ago, on May 9, Россия отметила один из главных, если не самый главный свой праздник (Russia celebrated one of the most important, if not our major holiday), the anniversary of the Victory of Великой Отечественной войне (WWII or the Great Patriotic War). That war has affected many Russian cities and families to different levels, оставив свой кровавый след (leaving behind it a bloody trail).
Russian Idioms: Видеть Свет в Окошке
Today, let’s have a look at idioms in which the word “окно” (window) can have two different meanings, hope in the first example and the promiscuity of two houses in the sesond one.
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Russian Film: “Prisoner of the Mountains”
I’m always a bit nervous when it comes to watch a film based on a book. And so was I when I heard that Lev Tolstoi’s novel “The Prisoner of the Caucasus” had been adapted. In his novel, Tolstoi tells the story of a Russian officer, in post in the Caucasus mountains during the Crimean war around 1850, who is captured along with a fellow officer by the Tatars and taken in their village in the mountain.
150 years later, Chechnya’s war still make it dangerous for a Russian soldier to travel alone in this part of the country. And this is what Sergei Bodrov has chosen to show by revisiting Tolsoi’s novel and adapted it for a film.
Where to Have a Barbecue Party in Moscow?
Now that the sun is with us, this is time again to enjoy шашлыки (Russian barbecue). Many Russians spend this time of the year at the dacha at least at week-ends, and so it is natural to prepare barbecue parties. But it has become a tradition to have barbecue parties in many of Moscow parks. So call your friends, have a look at our recipe, have fun, and check the list of spots given by the municipality of Moscow where you are allowed to enjoy a sunny day. All the following places have been specially equipped with tables and benches for your comfort:
“Victory Day” – The Song
Девятое мая – День Победы! А для всех русских людей это особый день. Это день, когда закончилась Великая Отечественная война (May, 9 is Victory Day! And this is special day for all Russians. It is the day when the Great Patriotic war or WWII was over.)
День Победы! (Victory Day) was written some 30 years after the end of WWII by Vladimir Shainsky, a veteran composer. Эта песня звучит в каждый День Победы (this song is played on every Victory Day):
Russian Idioms: “Дело в Шляпе”
Дело в шляпе (concern is in the hat or has we say in English the trick is done). This is what you can say or hear when you or your another speaker is sure about the issue of a business or when something has been completed safely.
One of the theories about the origin of this idiom связывает его с взяточничеством (is associated with bribery). Indeed, if какое-либо дело попадало в суд (a case came to the court), then каждый старался подкупить судью (each side would try to bribe the judge) to make sure to win the case. But no one dared to give or take a bribe openly, so they had to come up with different ways to do it quickly and discreetly.
And one of the methods was the hat: судья клал свою шляпу (the judge would place his hat) in a way it was clearly visible to the applicant, если проситель сумел незаметно для других положить в неё деньги (and if the petitioner was able to discretely put money in it), he could count on a decision in his favour.
How to Translate “For” in Russian
“For” can be expressed in different ways in Russian according to the meaning of sentence. And of course, it means the need to use different cases and prepositions to build this sentences. So let’s start now.
The recipient of something:
When we want to indicate the recipient noun, we use the dative case and we don’t need any proposition.
| A present for the girl | подарок девушке |
| This is for you | это тебе |
| He bought a house for himself | он купил себе дом |
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Unusual Monuments in Moscow
We are inviting you to discover today three unusual monuments in Moscow.
Monument to the “Kopeika” car in Moscow.
There are many, many monuments in Moscow, and of course, you can find some quite unusual ones. One of them is a monument dedicated to the car plant VAZ-2101, better known as “копейка” (kopeika). During the inauguration of this monument, the manager of the plant said: “Вам, живущим в XXI веке мы дарим мечту миллионов советских водителей 70-х годов XX века.” (We offer you, people of the 21st century the dream of millions of Soviet drivers from the 1970s.)
