Posts tagged w/ Russian traditions

Breaking Russian News: «Авось» Goes International!

Posted by Josefina
Aug
26
2009

Remember the post “«Авось!» or a really Russian Expression” in which I decided to try if «авось» [perhaps; possibly; maybe] works also outside of Russia? In the post I posed the following question: Can one say «авось повезёт» [maybe (I'll) get lucky; perhaps (I'll) have some luck] a day or two before taking the TOEFL test outside of Russia - in my case: «в Стокгольме, столице Швеции» [in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden] - instead of preparing during several months in advance for the test «от которого зависит всё твоё будудщее» [on which your entire future depends]? And «сдать» [pass] it? I didn’t just pose this question - I actually tried it «в действительности» [in reality]. On myself and my own future. And guess what, «дамы и господа» [ladies and gentlemen]? It works, it really works! Now all of you - from the most frail beginners to almost fluent speakers of Russian language - all of the world’s lovers of «русская речь» [Russian speech] that are still just friends with «русская грамматика» [Russian grammar] can use this «исконная русская фраза» [original Russian phase], this «традиционное русское выражение» [traditional Russian expression] in their every day life «вне Российской федерации» [outside of the Russian Federation]. I scored 107 out of 120 on the TOEFL test (my university of preference in the USA asks only more than 68 - but let’s not spoil things with talking about what’ll happen only «через ещё годик в России» [after yet another (little) year in Russia]…). Some of the readers of this blog might argue - and most correctly, too - that it wasn’t really the Russian «авось» which helped me in only making 13 points worth of mistakes, but the fact that I’m almost fluent in English. «Может быть, вполне может быть» [maybe, quite (possibly) maybe] is what I say to them as I add this: But who can exclude a little help of «авось» in a one-time case as this one? What we need to make a firm conclusion is a «широкий статистичексий фундамент» [broad statistical foundation] - anyone out there willing to try «авось» in their own lives?

«Авось и на самом деле всем вам повезёт!» - [Perhaps all of you'll really get lucky!]

Today I thought we’d continue to talk about luck; or more specifically: «русское везение» [Russian luck]. You might be seeing this Russian word for ‘luck’ for the very first time - «везение» [luck; good fortune], whereas you’ve both read, heard and pronounced the word «удача» [luck; success; fortune; stroke of good luck; good innings] many times before. This is the word most commonly used when wishing each other ‘good luck’ in Russian: «Удачи!» [note that when wishing someone something in Russian you always put what you're wishing them in GENITIVE - thus turning «удача» into «удачи» - don't forget!]. But is it worth knowing also «везение» as it comes from the verb «везти» which is used in the expression «везёт кому-нибудь» [someone is lucky; someone has luck]. And since people - even Russians - tend to get lucky from time to time, it is an expression that can come in handy ever so often. The verb «везти» is one of those extremely interesting «глаголы движения» [verbs of motion], and being as such it is imperfect and only in ONE DIRECTION (for movements in many directions this verb has a close friend: «возить»). «Везти» can be translated into English - apart from into ‘to have luck’ - as ‘to wheel; carry; tote; trundle’. When used to tell of someone having luck the following is important to know: 1) always put this verb in THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, i.e. «оно»: thus present tense «везёт» turns into past tense as «повезло»; 2) the sentence’s SUBJECT should always be in DATIVE, for example: «тебе везёт» [you have luck], «мне не везёт» [I don't have any luck] and «им повезло» [they were lucky; had luck]. Using dative is a very smart and subconscious Russian way of taking away all personal responsibility from the subject of the sentence, which means that to have luck in Russian (or why not say ‘to have Russian luck’?) doesn’t really have anything to do with actions you may or may not have taken. And isn’t that really what luck is all about?

Let’s take a look at two pictures as we try to understand this expression even better:

«Утром в Новосибирске нам повезло с погодой - “мороз и солнце, день чудесный″ - прямо как из стихотворения Александра Сергеевича Пушкина!» [In Novosibirsk we were lucky with the weather - ‘frost and sun, what a fantastic day' - just like in the poem by Alexandr Sergeyevich Pushkin!]

«А после обеда в том же Новосибирске нашему везению с погодой пришёл конец, и начался сильный снегопад…» [But after lunch in the very same Novosibirsk our luck with the weather came to an end and a forceful snowfall began...] 

 
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Авось! or a Really Russian Expression

Posted by Josefina
Aug
3
2009

Have you ever wondered if the things that work (i.e. are able to function/have a function) in Russia can ever work outside of Russia? I sure have! For example, in Russia your best friend’s «бабушка» [grandmother] will shower your breakfast «гречка» [buckwheat] with «масло» [butter] and «сыр» [cheese] until all of these three ingredients melt together to become one tasty, brown and yellow high-calorie dish that’ll last in your stomach until… next week. And - because this dish was served to you in Russia - you do not gain any weight at all, but everything just goes to serve (as in the Russian phrase with which they always answer your «спасибо» for serving you this surprisingly healthy meal) «на здоровье!» [for (your) health!]. In Russia this type of breakfast is a sure way of building up a storage of energy for the next long, cold «зима» [winter], whereas in the rest of the world the exact same kind of meal will not have any other results than clogged veins and a drastically changed waistline.

«Почему, почему?» [why, why?] one may wonder indeed. But as a matter of fact the phenomena mentioned above is far from the only thing that works in Russia but has been proved to be unworkable in a large number of other countries in the world. One of the most exciting things that are ‘really Russian’ because they work only in Russia is the expression «авось». «Авось» should be pronounced with a long, stressed «о» sound, and then the «ь» [soft sign] on the letter «с» in the end of it makes the s-sound long and very, very soft - imagine it combined with a j on the end and then practice until you think you’re pronouncing this word like a three year old. That’s when you’ve found the correct pronunciation! «Авось» can be used in a number of different situations in Russia (all of them are however rather similar, but let’s not get into details right now…) and that’s why it also belongs to different parts of speech and can be translated differently into other languages. «Авось» can be «наречие» [an adverb] and then it means ‘perhaps; maybe; possibly’. This can be illustrated in two popular Russian expressions you’re bound to hear sooner or later:

«Авось повезёт!» - [Maybe (we'll/I'll/you'll) get lucky!; or: have some luck!]

«Авось Бог поможет!» - [Perhaps God will help!]

«Авось» can be «существительное» [a noun] and then it is «мужское» [masculine] and thus known first and foremost as «русский авось» which is what is said about the alleged unconcern of Russians and their tendency to rely on luck. «Авось» can’t be translated into other languages without almost entirely loosing essential parts of its meaning, but it can be translated into other Russian word, like «безосновательная надежда» [groundless; unfounded hope], «случайная удача» [accidental; unexpected; random luck; success; fortune] and «поступок в расчёте на удачу» [an act calculated on luck]. This you can find in the expression:

«Делать что-то на авось» - [To do something and hope that maybe somehow you'll get lucky and things will turn out alright even though you have done nothing else but hope to make this particular thing turn out alright].

The week before I left Yekaterinburg and Russia for going home to Sweden to see my family and friends (yes, currently and for another month and a half I’m going to be outside of the Great Motherland and inside My Own Motherland) I had a conversation with one of my Russian friends. She told me that when she was a student she would only study half of the questions for every exam - «на авось». I was very surprised when I heard this because it is surely not something I would ever consider doing myself; perhaps that’s a sign that I’m not really Russian even after half a decade in the country? My friend told me that studying «на авось» [counting only on luck] really worked out for her. She finished university with «красный диплом» [a red diploma] which is what you receive if your grades consist of no more than 20% «хорошо» [‘good'; B or 4] and the rest is all «отлично» [‘excellent'; A or 5]. After this I decided to try out «авось» for myself. Last Saturday, on the 1st of August, I took the TOEFL test in English in Stockholm and during the week before it I decided to prepare for it only by way of «русский авось», i.e. by not preparing at all. I figured that I speak pretty good English anyway and that I’ve lived in Russia long enough to become a little bit Russian myself so maybe I can make use of truly Russian privileges like counting only on a little bit of luck and nothing else. But during the test it hit me that I’m not in Russia anymore. And what if this really Russian way of thinking only works in Russia?

In three weeks I’ll receive my results and only then we’ll know for sure if we can count on «авось» also in other parts of the world!

When in Rome… not only Russians tend to rely on «авось», sometimes also foreigners in Russia do so. Like when my German friend on the way back from the Pilorama Festival last weekend saw this truck stuck in mud and said: «Авось поможем!» [Maybe we can help!] And that’s when he put his four wheel drive to the test…

… but not always will «авось» be anything else but a «частица» [particle] meaning ‘suddenly; what if; maybe’. We couldn’t help the truck but had to wait for a caterpillar to arrive and pull him out of the deep, thick Ural ground… 

 
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Russian Easter: «Христос воскресе!» [Christ Is Risen!]

Posted by Josefina
Apr
19
2009

Today is «Пасха» in Russia, thus Orthodox Easter. On this day it is traditional to eat not only lots and lots of eggs, but to treat your friends and family to this delicious desert also called «пасха», made mainly out of «творог» with nuts and raisins. (If you can’t see the picture here, you can see it on my personal blog here.) Its shape and color is supposed to remind of Christ’s tomb, out of which he was ressurected on this very day - «гроб христовий». It is super yummy, but also very sweet and thus you can’t eat more than a little slice at a time. But I bet those who’ve been on Orthodox lent - «Великий Пост» - for forty days before today won’t let their sweet-tooth be satisfied that easily…

In the Russian Orthodox Church the biggest holiday isn’t Christmas, but Easter - «Пасха», also known as «светлий праздник» [the light; bright; lucid; happy holiday] because it is followed by a week called «светлая неделя» [the bright week]. Unfortunaly Easter is still not an official red day in the calendar in the Russian Federation, but it is celebrated by many Russians, though not by all. It is traditional to greet people you know today with the words «Христос воскресе (воскрес)!» [Christ is risen!], to which they answer you «Воистину воскресе (воскрес)!» [Truly risen!] and you kiss each other on the cheek three times. Usually this greeting is accompanied by giving each other colored eggs (real eggs, not eggs made out of chocolate). You can also send out text messages from your phone with the same words to everyone you know, and within a couple of minutes you’ll get the very same answer from each and everyone of them. It is a very nice, kind and bright holiday in Russia, filled with hope and joy. It is my favorite Russian holiday, because it celebrates something really awesome - Jesus Christ winning over death and bringing us eternal life! I celebrated it at first during the day with my friend who came over with a «кулич» [special Easter cake] and had coffee with me, then in the evening by having dinner with my friend Katya and her sister Daria. Their mother is a «монахиня» [nun] and lives «в монастыре» [in a monastery] a few miles outside of Yekaterinburg. I celebrated Easter with this family two years ago, before their mother joined the monastery, and we went to the six hour long service in that same monastery that year. It was a great experience. This year Daria had invited over her close friend Zhenia, who’s a Catholic, since she knows I’m a protestant, and the whole evening became one long, deep, friendly and even beautiful discussion around the differences in each of our «вероисповедание» [faith; religion; creed; denomination]. Even though we have different points of view on many things, and do things differently, we all read one and the same Bible and believe in one and the same God, and on a day like this we can gather and agree on the main point - Jesus Christ’s «воскресение» resurection (not to be confused with «воскресенье» which means Sunday) from the dead.

«Со светлим праздником всех!»

 
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«С днём Святого Валентина!» [Happy Valentine's Day!]

Posted by Josefina
Feb
14
2009

As always when politicians make the covers of doubtful gossip magazines, I was mighty intrigued to see the following «Дмитрий и Светлана Медведевы: Как они построили свою любовь» [Dmitry and Svetlana Medvedev: how they built their love] on my favorite, uh, not really, gossip magazine called: «Стархит - журнал Андрея Малахова» [Star Hit - the magazine of Andrei Malachov (whoever that is?)].

Today is February 14th and one of the most successful artificially-made holidays ever (worldwide!) - «день Святого Валентина» [St. Valentine's Day] or, as it is also called in Russia, for example - «день всех влюблённых» [the day of all people in love]. Today is as a rule date day Number One in most countries; Russia is no exception to this rule. If you have a prettier or more handsome half in Russia (or a Russian one, for that matter), you must take precautions and be careful to put your most romantic side to use today and a) give a romantic postcard, b) give heart shaped chocolate, c) give red or pink flowers, d) cook dinner (or e) take her/him out to dinner), or you, товарищ [comrade], might just find yourself alone with a bottle of cheap wine and an old videotape with “Pretty Woman” dubbed into Estonian next year. For those of us finding ourselves - gasp! - single on this fateful festival dedicated to ‘coupledom’, there are, however, quite a few options as how to survive without downing inexpensive alcohol and watching something with Julia Roberts. For example, one can always hang out with other single friends. In Russia on this day the tradition is to give everyone you love, no matter if you’re going steady with them or just friends with them, cards shaped like tiny hearts, all sorts of candy or just small gifts. Among women and young people this tradition is perhaps a little stronger than among men and member of the older generation. Thus being single in Russia doesn’t have to mean you won’t been shown a little lovin’ today anyway. One could also take the day to spend with some of the world’s greatest love stories, and enjoy seeing others finding the love of their life and through that receive a little hope in finding the same for oneself. For example, one can do as I did, and learn a lesson in love from the president of Russian Federation and his wife, Svetlana, from the article mentioned above in ‘Star Hit’.

Here’s the beginning of the article, or of the «Спецпроект: совет да любовь!» [Special project: love and advice!], in which the first couple confess the story of their 28 years of married life. «Дмитрий и Светлана Медведевы: Дружба, любовь, трудности… как у всех…» [Dmitry and Svetlana Medvedev: Friendship, love, difficulties... like everybody has...]. 

Not only does the article contain fascinating information about the president of this country and his immediate family, it is also full of just the right kind of phrases to use when speaking about love and relationships in Russian. Let’s sort them out and learn something new!

The couple met for the first time in 1972 (both born in 1965) when starting first class in school number 305 in Leningrad, back when that was still the name of Saint Petersburg. And «дочь военнослужащих Свету Линник Дмитрий Медведев полюбил с первого взгляда» [the daughter of servicemen Sveta Linnik Dmitry Medvedev fell in love with at first glance].

«полюбить с первого взгляда» - to fall in love; come to love at first glance; at a glance; from the first

«А в 7-м (седьмом) классе начали встречаться» [And in 7th grade they started dating].

«встречаться» - (here) to date

«подруга» - (here) girlfriend

«друг» - (here) boyfriend

«В 1989 году Дмитрий и Светлана поженились и поселились в квартире её родителей» [In 1989 Dmitry and Svetlana were married and moved into the apartment of her parents].

«жениться» - to get married; (for a man - for a woman it’s «выйти/выходить замуж») (the perfect «пожениться» is only used if the subject consists of two people, like in the sentence above).

«Через семь лет, в 1995 году, в семье Медведевых родился сын Илья» [Seven years later, in 1995, in the Medvedev family the son Il'ya (Russian variant of the name Elijah) was born].

«Когда в 2007-м Медведев начал свой подход к посту президента, его супруга была рядом, готовая помочь и поддержать в любую минуту» [When in 2007 Medvedev began his approach to the post of president, his spouse was near, ready to help and support at any moment].

«супруга» - spouse (female); «жена» - wife, genitive plural: «жён»

«супруг» - spouse (male); «муж» - husband, genitive plural: «мужей»

On the page above we see pictures from their wedding on December 24th 1989, a walk in «парк Победы» [the Victory park] in Moscow in 1996 (if the pictures was bigger I would’ve asked you to pay extra attention to Dima’s fluffy hair) and a tiny snapshot of the couple with their son who’s 12 years old and «поражён и немножко расстроен» [amazed and a little upset] that his dad’s the president.

 How many of you knew that Dima had been with the same woman all his life? I, for one, had heard something random and vague about it before, but most of the stuff in the article above was news to me. Of course, reading about such couples can make even the most cynic of us believe that true love can last a lifetime. And that hitting the highest layer of society doesn’t mean we must all automatically start dating models. I know in many ways Dima’s just a political puppet, and that Putin is the one really running the show, but on a day like this that’s alright. Because Dima’s has stayed true to his childhood sweetheart and to me, the incurable romantic, that’s what means the most on a day like this. Let’s celebrate not only love today, but dedication - dedication not only to that one person, but to friends and family and all our close and loved ones.

«С днём Святого Валентина!» Happy Valentine’s Day!

 
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