Already on the 28th of February 1866 a certain Mr. Fyodor Tyutchev [Фёдор Тютчев] realized what a mystery the Russian Soul is to us ‘non-Russians’ and that’s probably what he was thinking of when he wrote these classical lines: «Умом Россию не понять, Аршином общим не измерить, У ней особенная стать, В Россию можно только верить» I’m not even going to try and translate this poem as beautifully as it deserves to be translated, not only because that’s not what I planned to write about today (what I really want to talk about today is phraseology with the word душа) but also because I can’t. It’s not that I don’t speak Russian well enough; I don’t know good enough English to do it. The general meaning of the poem is as follows: it is impossible to understand Russia with one’s mind, she [Russia is a woman in Russian language] is special and can’t be measured in the same way as other countries; in Russia one can only believe. And what better way to believe but by using our soul? In Russian language the frequency of the word ‘soul’ in every day speech is so high that I don’t even know where to begin, but I know that I want to speak about this, no matter how difficult it will be for me (I am after all an alien, despite all these years in the Motherland) because it is such a central, such a vital piece of Russia. If you don’t try your best to understand the Russian Soul, you’ll never even get the slightest chance of understanding Russia. The Russian Soul has its own logic (it really does, though at first it might seem to be the absence of logic). The Russian Soul is proud but deep, it is devoted but transitory, it is playful but serious. The Russian Soul is kind, open, tolerant, affectionate and always ready invite a stranger into their kitchen and serve them a cup of tea.

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