Posts tagged with "Russian politics"

Reading the News – In Russian

Posted by Natalie 1 Comment
Jan 23 2012

«Добрый вечер, дорогие читатели!» [Good evening, dear readers!] Today I want to share with you a technique I have used for learning Russian that has helped me immensely: reading the news. «Я люблю читать новости и по-английски, и по-русски» [I love reading the news in both English and Russian]. It is always interesting to read what is going on «в мире» [in the world], and what better way to learn about this than in Russian. «Давайте читать!» [Let's read!]

The article I am referencing can be read here (but don’t worry, I will be quoting from it right on this blog, so you do not need to worry about click the link to read it). It is called «Путин предложил организовать в интернете дискуссию о будущей госструктуре по нацполитике» [Putin has proposed organizing an online discussion about the future state agency for national policy].

«Премьер-министр РФ Владимир Путин предложил развернуть дискуссию в интернете о том, какую организационно-правовую форму придать будущей госструктуре по вопросам национального развития и межнационального благополучия, о создании которой он написал в своей программной статье.» That sentence is long and looks intimidating, but we can easily break it down and translate it: The prime minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has proposed developing a discussion on the internet about which organizational and legal form the future state agency on national growth and interethnic welfare will take. He wrote about creating this in his {election} program article. Yes, I know the original Russian is one long sentence, but the grammar stickler in me will not let me translate that into a run-on sentence in English!

To continue: «Путин, баллотирующийся в президенты РФ, в статье, размещённой в понедельник в “Независимой газете”, в частности, предложил создать в РФ госструктуру по вопросам нацполитики, ужесточить правила регистрации мигрантов и санкции за их нарушение, а также обязать мигрантов сдавать экзамены по русскому языку и основам права.» [Putin, who is running for president of RF (Russian Federation), in the article published on Monday in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, in part proposed to create in Russia a state agency for {working on} the question of national policy, toughening the laws of migrant registration and sanctions for transgression, and also requiring migrants to take exams on Russian language and fundamentals of law.]

«Выступая на Форуме народов юга России в Кисловодске в понедельник, Путин отметил, что, “к сожалению, мало внимания уделяется работе по межнациональным и межконфессиональным отношениям, она у нас на втором плане”. “Но это не должно быть простым бюрократическим образованием”, – сказал Путин о новой госструктуре.» [Speaking at a forum in southern Russia in Kislovodsk on Monday, Putin noted that "unfortunately, little attention has been given to work on inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations. It is for us in second place (i.e. not the first priority). But this should not be a simply bureaucratic entity," Putin said about the new state agency.]

This was how I used to learn Russian vocabulary, my friends: I would slog through news articles, looking up every word I did not know (and there were quite a lot!). Also, my translation is not so polished – I tried to stick to a fairly literal one, because I feel that helps the most while learning.

Putin vs. Medvedev

Posted by Natalie 7 Comments
May 16 2011
YouTube Preview Image

Well, «дорогие читатели» [dear readers], I owe you an apology for abandoning you for so long. I was delayed in returning to England and «в результате» [as a result], I had to do extra work to catch up. «Весь день» [All day], I would be reading. However, now I seem to have caught up, so I am back to posting, and I hope the fantastic video in this post makes up for my long absence.

I know we usually try to stay away from politics here on the Russian Blog, but I cannot resist getting just a little bit political today. You see, I found this excellent video on YouTube and I cannot resist sharing it. It is «шутка» [a joke] about «выборы 2012» [the 2012 elections]. Best of all, it is «на русском» [in Russian], so we can learn from the phrases. I have picked out some of my favorite bits so we can analyze them grammatically and learn new vocabulary. They are in order of appearance in the video, but I won’t tell you where they are – you will have to listen and find them. (If there is something that you do not hear in the video even after a few viewings, just let me know in the comments and I will tell you where it is.)

So, you should probably watch the video first. Then, read about these phrases I have selected.

  • «Я думал у нас будет больше времени.» [I thought we were going to have more time.] Notice two grammatical points in this sentence: when saying that you have something in Russian, you typically use «у» plus the genitive case. And «больше» takes the genitive case as well.
  • «Два кандидата» [Two candidates] This phrase demonstrates a rule of quantification in the Russian language: with «два, три, и четыре» [two, three, and four], we use the genitive singular. I do not want to go into these rules too much on this post – if you would like me to post about quantification in Russian, please let me know.
  • «У нас сложился очень эффективный тандем с президентом Медведевым.» [President Medvedev and I have formed a very effective tandem.] I confess, this is a new expression to me. One thing I find interesting is that the imperfective of «сложиться» is «складываться».
  • «Вот это да.» [Wow; Well, how about that.] I actually have a story about this expression. My Russian professor told my class once that he was talking to a family friend’s young son (in Russian) and the child used the English word “Wow.” My professor said that he was teasing the child for not using the Russian version of the saying since, after all, there is a perfectly good expression in Russian.
  • «Предвыборная гонка начинается.» [The electoral race is beginning.] When talking about something that is beginning, you have to use the reflexive form of the verb. But if a person said that he or she was starting something, the verb would not be reflexive.
  • «В ход пойдёт всё.» [Everything comes into play.] A useful little expression, showing how the word order in Russian can be very fluid.
  • «Время пришло.» [The time has come.] I have not read a specific rule on this, but I have noticed that the verbs of motion usually used with «время» [time] are the ones used for motion on foot.
  • «Выбора нет.» [There is no choice.] This sentence shows how we use the genitive case for negations.

There appears to be a strange little advertisement at the end for «КПРФ» [KPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation)]. I am not sure why that is – perhaps the video’s creator supports «Геннадий Зюганов» [Gennady Zyuganov (leader of the Communist Party in Russia)].

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the video. I think it is completely and utterly brilliant (and very amusing as well).

Comments? Questions? Let me know using the form below!

Learning Russian With Medvedev

Posted by Natalie 1 Comment
Feb 7 2011
YouTube Preview Image

«Дорогие читатели» [Dear readers], we have already learned Russian with «премьер-министр России» [the Prime Minister of Russia] «Владимир Путин» [Vladimir Putin]. Now it is time to learn with «Дмитрий Медведев» [Dmitry Medvedev]. «В прошлом году» [Last year], «Медведев» came to the United States to the University of Pittsburgh. (I was insanely jealous of the students who saw him speak and were able to ask him questions. How amazing would that be, to see a world leader in person?) So anyway, watch the embedded video clip – try to understand it without reading the transcript I will provide below – and then we will talk about it. Sorry about the lame music – I was unable to find a clip without this music superimposed in it. If you want to see it without the music, you’ll have to go here and watch from about 36:54.

«Вы готовы?» [Are you ready?] «Вы посмотрели видео?» [Have you watched the video?] «Хорошо!» [Good!] Here is what is said in the video.

«Пожалуйста.» [Please.]

«Господин Президент, я хотела у вас спросить, что вы думаете самое важное в жизни?» [Mr. President, I'd like to ask you what you think is most important in life?]

«Любовь. Что может быть важнее? Любовь к близким, к тем людям, которые тебя окружают. По-моему, это соответствует любым заповедям, и нравственным и религиозным. Это смысл жизни. Каждый из нас по-разному понимает это слово. Но, наверное, это действительно самое главное.» [Love. What could be more important? Love for those close to you, for those people who surround you. In my opinion, this corresponds with any moral and religious principles. It is the meaning of life. Each of us understands this word differently. But perhaps, this is really the most important.]

An important grammar point: note how when you speak of love for someone, you use «к кому».

It is an interesting answer, don’t you think? I certainly cannot picture «Владимир Путин» ever talking «о любви», can you? I have not met «Медведев», of course, but he sounds like a nice person, judging by this answer.

I know I promised to give you the rest of the poem last Wednesday, but I got too busy… I promise to post about it this Wednesday!

Who Will Be The Next Russian President?

Posted by Natalie No Comments
Dec 13 2010


The current president of Russia is «Дмитрий Медведев» [Dmitry Medvedev], but many question whether he or «Владимир Путин» [Vladimir Putin] holds true power. In the photo: «разговор между Путиным и Медведевым» [a conversation between Putin and Medvedev]. Notice how people’s last names decline: it’s quite complicated in Russian and therefore is worthy of a post of its own. Photo from www.kremlin.ru.

One of the favorite activities of a «кремленолог» [Kremlinologist] is speculating about who will be the next president of Russia. Russia has had «три президента» [three presidents]: «Борис Николаевич Ельцин» [Boris Nikolayevich Yelstin], «Владимир Владимирович Путин» [Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin], and «Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев» [Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev]. Both «Ельцин» and «Путин» served two terms; the main question on everyone’s minds now is whether «Медведев» will do the same.

According to «Конституция Российской Федерации» [the Constitution of the Russian Federation], «Одно и то же лицо не может занимать должность Президента Российской Федерации более двух сроков подряд» [One and the same person may not be elected President of the Russian Federation for more than two terms running]. (Go here if you want some heavy legal reading–the Russian Constitution–in Russian.)

But enough about «Конституция Российской Федерации». Let’s examine what «Аркадий Дворкович, помощник президента» [Arkady Dvokovich, the president's aide] had to say about «выборы в 2012 (две тысячи двенадцатом) году» [the elections in 2012]. (The article I am referencing is here. News articles are an excellent way to learn vocabulary for a foreign language.)

«По словам Дворковича, Медведев хотел бы пойти на второй срок президенства» [According to Dvorkovich, Medvedev would like have a second term as president]. Simple enough, right? Not if we read further. In response to the idea that «Путин вернётся в Кремль в 2012 (две тысячи двенадцатом) году» [Putin will return to the Kremlin in 2012], «Дворкович не исключил эту возможность» [Dvorkovich didn't exclude this possibility]. All he said was that «они будут консультироваться друг с другом» [they will consult each other].

So really, «мы просто не знаем, кто будет президентом в 2012 (две тысячи двенадцатом) году» [we simply don't know who will be president in 2012]. As Putin said: «Посмотрим» [We'll see]. Many have said that «Путин станет президентом» [Putin will become president] but only time will tell.

Russian Politics 101

Posted by yelena 12 Comments
Jul 22 2010

Our next guest blogger, Natalie, is a university student studying history and the Russian language.  She writes the blog birdbrain and can be found on Twitter at @natalie_.  Her interest in the Russian language was sparked by Russian history and a Russian course at university and she’s been hooked ever since.

When learning about a new country, learning about its culture is an inevitable occurrence, along with politics.  Politics is an integral part of culture and extremely important, even for those who wish to remain apolitical.

During the Communist era, the USSR was a one-party state.  Parties other than «Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза» [Communist Party of the Soviet Union] were outlawed.  Luckily, with the fall of the Soviet Union, this has changed.  Today, Russia has quite a variety of political parties led by very colorful politicians.  «Давайте познакомимся!» [Let's get acquainted!]

The party that has the majority in the Russian parliament, «Дума» [Duma], is called «Единая Россия» [United Russia].  «Лидер партии «Единая Россия»–Владимир Владимирович Путин» [The leader of United Russia is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin].  «Единая Россия» was founded on December 1, 2001 and is very popular: 315 of the 450 representatives in the «Дума» are members of «Единая Россия».

The ideology of the party has been broadly described as «центризм» [centrism] and «социальный консерватизм» [social conservatism]. «Владимир Путин» has led the party since May 7, 2008 (he could not lead it before because he was president and the president of the Russian Federation cannot be a member of a political party). «Путин» is now «Председатель Правительства Российской Федерации» [Prime Minister of the Russian Federation--literally, it means "Chair of the Government of the Russian Federation"].

«Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации» [Communist Party of the Russian Federation] is the second-most powerful party in the «Дума»–it holds 57 of the 450 seats.  It is the successor to «Коммунистическая партия Советского Союза» [Communist Party of the Soviet Union].  It has been led by «Геннадий Андреевич Зюганов» [Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov] since 2001. «Зюганов» is a very educated man: «он занимался физикой и математикой в институте» [he studied physics and mathematics at an institute].  «Зюганов» is also «доктор философских наук» [doctor of philosophy], which is a degree one level higher than an American Ph.D.  He also ran for president in the past and had this election poster in 1996.

 The caption says: «Молодёжь выбирает Зюганова» [the youth chooses Zyuganov].  Courtesy of EnglishRussia

«Либерально-демократическая партия России» [Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia] holds 40 out of the 450 seats in the «Дума».  Some of its philosophies are «национализм и популизм» [nationalism and populism].  Its leader, «Владимир Вольфович Жириновский» [Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky] is one of Russia’s most colorful politicians and is famous for saying outrageous things.  For example, during the bird flu scare, he said that Russians should shoot migrating birds.  Even his past is not very typical: he’s the only politician mentioned in this post who was not born in Russia. «Он родился в столице Казахстана» [He was born in the capital of Kazakhstan].  He has made anti-Semitic remarks on many occasions and engaged in physical fights with political opponents.

The last party that has seats in the «Дума» is «Справедливая Россия» [A Just Russia].  It holds the remaining 38 seats.  Its philosophy is «социал-демократия» [social democracy].  Its leader is «Сергей Михайлович Миронов» [Sergey Mikhailovich Mironov].  «Справедливая Россия» is probably the most typical and tame of the parties, but perhaps it just seems that way in comparison to the colorful and controversial «Либерально-демократическая партия России».

Though these are the only parties currently in the parliament, there are other political parties.  My favorite is «Российская объединённая демократическая партия «ЯБЛОКО»» [Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko].  Why, you may be thinking, is this party one of my favorites?  I simply like the name of it: «яблоко» means “apple” in Russian, and I think it’s very funny to have a political party named after a fruit.

A discussion of Russian politics would not be complete without mention of «Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, президент Российской Федерации» [Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation].  «Медведев родился в Ленинграде, так же, как и Путин» [Medvedev was born in Leningrad, like Putin].  «Он учился в Ленинградском Государственном Университете на юридическом факультете» [He studied law at Leningrad State University].  He worked as a lawyer and then worked in the Russian government.  In the elections in 2008, he received crucial support from Putin, as can be seen by the political poster below:

The poster proclaims, «Вместе победим!» [Together we will win!]  Courtesy of RIA Novosti

Like his predecessor «Путин», «Медведев» has retained relatively high ratings from the Russian population.

 «Верьте или не верьте» [Believe it or not], we have only scratched the surface of Russian politics, an extremely complicated and complex topic.  Hopefully I will have the opportunity to write a follow-up post in which we’ll explore some of the less well-known political parties and developments in Russia.

Note from Yelena: I also believe «Яблоко» is one of the most creatively-named parties. But do you know that the first three letters of the name – Я, Б, Л – are the first letters of the last names of the three founding fathers of this party – Явлинский, Болдырев и Лукин.

Back to the Top