Posts tagged with "Soviet Union"

Советские Анекдоты [Soviet Jokes]

Posted by Natalie 11 Comments
Sep 26 2011

«Дорогие друзья» [Dear friends], it is with great pleasure that I inform you that I am in an advanced Russian class this year. We have been reading «советские анекдоты» [Soviet jokes] in class and I want to share a few of them with you, as they are often quite funny. In the photo: a visual joke of sorts – graffiti on the Berlin Wall.

«–Цензурируется ли переписка советских граждан?
–Нет, но письма антисоветского содержания адресатам не доставлются.»

[–Is Soviet correspondence censored?
–No, but letters with anti-Soviet content are never delivered.]

«–На какие категории подразделяются советские диссиденты?
–На сидентов, досидентов, отсидентов, пересидентов, ожидантов и вновьсидентов.»

[–Into what categories are Soviet dissidents broken down?
–Those who are sitting (i.e. in jail), those who are almost done sitting, those who are just out from sitting, those who sitting longer than their sentence, those who are waiting to sit, and those who are sitting again.]

This is quite a clever joke, but I did not understand it until my professor explained it to us. It plays with the idea of Russian prefixes and the verb «сидеть», which can mean to be in jail.

«–Что такое СССР?
–Спальная, столовая, сортир, работа.»

[–What does USSR stand for?
–Bedroom, dining room, toilet, work.]

My favorite version of this joke has «Смерть Сталина спасёт Россию» [Stalin's death will save Russia] as the punch line. Also, if I’m not mistaken, «сортир» is not a polite word, so you probably should not go around using it!

«–Нужна ли в русском языке буква “М”?
–Не нужна. Мяса нет, маргарина нет, молока нет. Маленкова нет, Молотова тоже нет. Остался один Микоян и тот не русский.»

[-Do we need the letter "M" in Russian?
-No. There's no meat, margarine, or milk. There's no Malenkov, or Molotov either. Only Mikoyan remains, and he's not Russian.]

This is my favorite joke. It’s from the 1950s, so it plays on the chronic food shortages in the Soviet Union, as well as de-Stalinization. (Malenkov and Molotov were Stalin allies, as was Mikoyan. However, Mikoyan fared better under de-Stalinization because he backed Khrushchev’s efforts. Also, Mikoyan was Armenian, hence the comment on him not being Russian.)

Do you have a favorite joke in Russian? Do you want me to post more Soviet jokes later this week? Let me know in the comments!

So What’s Being Given Away?

Posted by yelena 7 Comments
Aug 26 2011

This was the first electronic game I ever played and one of the only two I really got into (the other one was Arkanoid). This particular game, called simply Electronika, was extremely popular (as if there were other alternatives, right?). It seemed that everyone but me had it. This is NOT what’s being given away (I honestly don’t think I’d be able to part with it if I somehow got a console). But it is very relevant to the giveaway. Keep reading to find out how.

By the time you’ll be reading the giveaway will be over, the winner chosen and the secret revealed. But at the time of writing of this post, there are still a few hours left in the giveaway. So the only thing I can do right now is to reveal the secret prize.

I’m not exactly sure how to say “giveaway” in Russian. It’s neither a «лотерея» [lottery] nor «тотализатор» [tote board] nor «конкурс» [contest]. So I’m going to settle on «посты с бесплатной выдачей приза» [posts with giving away of a free prize]. And speaking of «этот самый приз» [this very prize], it’s about time to explain what’s being given away.

Do you believe that «книга – лучший подарок» [a book is the best gift]? I do! For a while Russians prided themselves to be «самая читающая страна в мире» [the most well-read country in the world]. But I realize that «труднопроизносимые имена, уменьшительно-ласкательные имена и прозвища» [hard to pronounce names, diminutives and nicknames], «предложения с деепричастными оборотами» [sentences with verbal adverb phrases], and, as one of the readers put it recently, “tantric suffering” of the characters might make Russian classical literature not so «читабельная» [readable] to many readers.

But the book that’s being given away is nothing of the sorts. It’s written in English and it’s «документальная литература» [a non-fiction book]. It is “Made in Russia: Unsung Icons of Soviet Design”. This book “celebrates the more populist and enduring work in graphic and industrial design” produced in the Soviet Union.

Years back, consumer goods «сделанные в Советском Союзе» [made in the USSR] were considered inferior to those made elsewhere. They were of poor quality and, usually, extremely unappealing. Just think of the Soviet-era underwear.  When I think of items like «колготки» [tights], «куклы» [dolls], «машины» [cars], «шкафы» [wardrobes], and many others I feel both bitter and amused.

This book reminded me of other things, the ones that were actually well-designed or at least were intended to be well-designed. Some of the designs we took for granted, such as the «авоська» bags or «треугольные молочные пакеты» [triangular milk cartons]. But all became symbolic of supposedly non-consumerist era.

So that’s the prize that is being given away in just about an hour or so.

Finally, a bit of house-keeping here – I will be randomly selecting a winner in just a little bit (by the time you’re reading this, I will already know the name). But I might not be able to post the announcement on the blog until next week. Blame it on «ураган» [hurricane] Irene. If it goes the way they are predicting, I might not have Internet connection for a few days.

19 Memories of 1991 Russia – Part 2

Posted by yelena 21 Comments
Aug 22 2011
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Quick Reminder

Yes, the secret GIVEAWAY is still going on. It will close in just a few days, at 11:59pm EST on August 26th. So there’s still time to enter by leaving a comment either on this post or on my previous post. Remember, you can leave more than one comment. The more you comment, the higher your chances are for winning this secret giveaway.

I’m excited that so many of you liked my previous post. I am quite a «болтушка» [chatterbox] and wouldn’t blame you for getting tired of my «болтовня» [chatter]. I might not be beyond hope yet since I love listening to you just as much (or more) as I love writing on this blog. Usually I respond to the comments you leave, but this time I’m running a cool secret giveaway and each comment is counted as a giveaway entry. So I’m abstaining from commenting myself even though it’s very hard. I promise, I will answer all as soon as the giveaway is over.

«Рекламный ролик» [TV commercial] – Can you imagine watching TV without a single commercial break or listening to a radio program that doesn’t get interrupted for “a word from our «спонсоры» [sponsors]? Well, that was Soviet Union before 1991-1992 when first Western-style «появились» [appeared] on TV screens and airwaves. Here’s some trivia for you – one of the first, if not the first, Western commercial shown in Russia was a Snickers commercial.

«Поле чудес» [lit. Field of Miracles] – Ok, I know, the show itself started in 1990. But it was in 1991 when «Леонид Якубович» [Leonid Yakubovich] became its host and once-and-forever, its symbol. Without him this show, a Russian analog (way more awesome, IMHO) of American “Wheel of Fortune”, is unthinkable. Even before the show, everyone was familiar with the phrase «поле чудес в стране дураков» [a field of miracles in the land of fools] which came from a movie «Буратино» [Russian version of “Pinocchio”].

«Виват, гардемарины!» – I don’t think this title was ever officially translated into English. «Гардемарин» is, from what I understand, a naval cadet, a midshipman. Anyway, this was the second movie in a series of 3. «Дмитрий Харатьян» [Dmitri Haratyan] and «Сергей Жигунов» [Sergey Zhigunov] once again became «предметы обожания» [heartthrobs] of girls all across the country. Interesting fact – the movie was supposed to premier on August 19th, but because of the attempted coup was postponed until August 31st.

«Малиновый пиджак» [crimson jacket] – ah, I love the fact that «малиновый пиджак» phenomenon has its own Wikipedia page. It became practically synonymous with «новые русские» [New Russians], a new social element that became the butt of so many «анекдоты» [jokes]. The wiki page gives a few theories of why crimson jackets became so popular. But I recommend watching a Soviet anti-utopian satire «Кин-дза-дза!» [Kin-dza-dza!] instead. And don’t be intimidated, it has English subtitles (ok, the movie doesn’t have any crimson jackets in it, but it does show a society in which certain things, including garish clothes, become status symbols)

«Будильник Кашпировского» [Kashpirovsky alarm clock] – quite a few of you mentioned that you would had liked to live in Russia in the early 90s and witness the historic changes taking place. I am not sure how many Russians would agree to re-live those days, when given a chance. For most people it was the time of great «стресс» [stress] and «неуверенность в завтрашнем дне» [uncertainty about the next day]. In a country where religion was suppressed and ridiculed for decades, a new outlet had to appear in the form of «экстрасенсы» [psychics], «белые маги» [white magic practitioners] and «ясновидящие» [clairvoyants; lit. those who see clearly]. They filled the newspapers and airwaves with «массовый гипноз» [mass hypnosis] promising «вылечить всех от всего» [to cure everyone from everything].

«Алан Чумак» [Allan Chumak], for example, had weekly sessions on TV passing “healing energy” from his hands into glasses of water people set up in front of their TV sets. One of the signature promises of another hypnotist, «Анатолий Кашпировский» [Anatoliy Kashpirovsky], was his long-distance treatment of «энурез» [bedwetting], in which he talked about an internal alarm clock.

«ПК» [PC] – this is the acronym for «персональный компьютер» [personal computer], something that started appearing in more and more homes around that time. In many cases these were home-made and used a cassette player for input and a TV for output. My first computer was a version of «Синклер Спектрум» [Sinclair Spectrum] that my dad assembled from scratch. I still remember how my brother and I spent hours winding thin wire for its «трансформатор» [transformer]. I’d love to say that we used our PC to learn programming, but that would be a lie. Instead, we mostly used it for gaming, playing «Арканоид» [Arkanoid].

«Школьная форма» [School uniform] – in Soviet Union school children had to wear uniform to school. It wouldn’t be too bad if it was something attractive or comfortable, but it wasn’t. Boys had to wear a dark-blue suite with a white collared shirt. Girls’ uniforms consisted of a brown dress and a «будничный» [everyday] black or «праздничный» [special occasions] white apron. Oh, and girls had to deal with removable «воротнички» [collars] and «манжеты» [cuffs], again, black for everyday and white and lacy for special occasions. I think most kids I knew hated their uniforms or at least preferred to change out of them as soon as they could. Fortunately, sometime in 1991 or 1992 the mandatory wearing of school uniform was abandoned and we all started wearing our families’ newly acquired «благосостояние» [wealth] or lack of it on our multicolored and variously styled sleeves.

«Лебединое озеро» [Swan Lake] – this beautiful ballet is firmly associated with «Августовский путч» [August attempted takeover]. Do you know this old joke about how there were just 2 TV channels in the Soviet Union? Communist Party meetings were on Channel 1 and on Channel 2 there was a «гэбист» [KGB official] ordering viewers to switch to Channel 1. Well, ok, we did have 2 channels for a very long time and the programming wasn’t all that fun or varied. But boy, did we come to appreciate that on August 19th, 1991! On that day, by order of «ГКЧП» [GKChP] or «Государственный комитет по чрезвычайному положению» [The State Committee on the State Emergency], also known as “The Gang of Eight”, all regularly-scheduled TV programming was cancelled. Instead, all we had was «Лебединое озеро».

«Путч» [military takeover] – isn’t it a German word? Well, it sounded just right for the occasion. I’m not sure why it was chosen over «переворот» [takeover]. One of the reasons that come to mind is that it’s shorter, sounds more efficient and way more sinister. Personally, unlike «переворот», «путч» wasn’t even in my «лексикон» [vocabulary] until August 19th, 1991. Once it was all over, there were quite a few jokes that used the wordplay of «путч» [putsch] and «пучить» [experience gas].

 

So here you go, between Part 1 and Part 2 (this one), there are 19 tidbits of my personal «воспоминания» [memories] about 1991. What were yours? I’d love to hear! And don’t forget, you still have a few days left to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment either on this post or on Part 1.

19-20-21 Soviet Pop Culture Memories From 1991

Posted by yelena 49 Comments
Aug 18 2011

This Friday, August 19th, marks the 20th anniversary of the Soviet coup d’etat attempt. I’m not going to do a history post because there are lots of sites online that do a much better job of it, complete with detailed timeline and analysis.  Besides, I was just 13 at the time and politics was the last thing on my mind. So what follows is not a historical account or overview, but rather some snippets of was most memorable that year for me personally. There’s also a GIVEAWAY announcement at the end of the post, so if you get bored, just scroll all the way down ’til you see it.

Also, there are 10 little snippets in this post. I haven’t decided if I should do 19, 20 or 21 total. What do you think? 

  1. «Дольчики» [patterned pantyhose] and «лосины» [tights] – It seemed like every girl in Russia had at least one pair of each back then. Women in Russia learned that pantyhose could be «чертовски хороши» [damn fine looking].  «Лосины» [tights] moved from historical paintings to the streets and changed their owners from dashing early 19th century military officers to «молодые модницы» [young fashionistas]. A source of pride for their wearers, «дольчики» and «лосины» were not meant to be hidden under «длинные юбки» [long skirts] and hemlines started going up, up and, in case of tights, away.
  2. «Шейпинг» [“body shaping” workouts] and «бодибилдинг» [bodybuilding] – there was a popular slogan in the Soviet days – «в здоровом теле здоровый дух» [a sound mind in a sound body] slogan. No slogan addressed the shapeliness of the said sound body. Before shaping and bodybuilding came along, Soviet citizens had «утренняя гимнастика» [morning exercises] radio and TV broadcasts (slow waving of arms and bending of torsos accompanied by classical music), «производственная гимнастика» [industrial gymnastics] (slightly higher paced version of the morning gymnastics) and «ритмическая гимнастика» [aerobics] on weekend mornings.
  3. «Вероника Кастро» [Veronica Castro] – in 1991 Russians were «прикованы к экранам телевизоров» [glued to TV screens] watching «Богатые тоже плачут» [The Rich Also Cry]. The title of this Brazilian Mexican (thank you, Aurea) soap opera has since become a «крылатое выражение» [catchphrase]. The show itself became a sensation. Things would come to a standstill not only during Tuesday-Thursday primetime when the new episodes were shown, but also the following mornings when reruns were aired.
  4. «Комки» [commercial stores] – early 90s were a weird time. We still had «талоны» [rationing coupons] on even most basic goods, including sugar, butter, hotdogs, and vodka. The government-owned stores were practically empty (I remember a large self-service seafood store that had just rows upon rows of canned seaweed). Yet new «комки», short for «коммерческие магазины» [commercial stores], and «уличные ларьки» [kiosks] sprouted «как грибы после дождя» [like mushrooms after a rain]. They sold an amazing variety of mostly western goods, from Snickers bars and the aforementioned «дольчики» to Marlboro Lights to electronics to bananas.
  5. «Пакеты» [shopping bags] – these were some of the more affordable things one could buy at a «ларёк» [kiosk]. I’m talking about fancy laminated shopping bags with rope handles. We, kids, ditched our old ugly «портфели» [schoolbags] for these bags which also served as «мерило» [a measure] of one’s coolness (the more colorful or risqué the print on the bag, the better).
  6. «Сигареты» [cigarettes] – even more affordable than shopping bags were imported cigarettes. They were sold in packs or piecemeal, so that middle and high school kids could afford buying just one or two. Buying just a couple of Marlboros at a time had an added bonus – eliminating the possibility of parents finding a half-finished «пачка» [pack] in your coat pockets.
  7. «Толкучка» [flea market] – it became just about the most exciting (and exasperating) place to be on weekends. There were still «старушки» [old women] selling hand-knitted grey «пуховые платки» [down shawls] and «старички» [old men] peddling rusted tools and various junk. But there were also rows upon rows of «челноки» [suitcase traders] selling every item of underwear, outerwear or shoes imaginable along with pirated video and cassette tapes, low-quality electronics, and lots of newly printed books.
  8. «Ножки Буша» [chicken legs] – back in the days of the empty stores, chicken was sometimes jokingly referred to as «синяя птица» [bluebird]. One reason for the moniker – it was such a rare sight in the government-run grocery stores. Another reason – chickens, when available, were sold frozen and had bluish tint to their plucked skins. American chicken legs, nicknamed after then-president of the USA, were abundant, relatively cheap, plump and quick to cook.
  9. «Либерализация» [liberalization] – this was the year of new big words that the whole country had to learn very quickly and suddenly. Liberalization meant that government was no longer going to control prices on «товары» [goods].
  10. «Борис Николаевич Ельцин» [Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin] – on June 12th, 1991 Russians voted him to be the first President of «РСФСР» [RSFSR, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]. I was too young to vote or even pay attention to this event. Most adults I knew voted for Yeltsin even though they were extremely skeptical about «выборы» [elections]. They believed there was too much truth in the old joke “In America, the elections decide the President; In Russia, the President decides the elections”.

To be continued…

And now a little bit about the giveaway.

Who can participate – anyone who reads this blog, regardless of how often or how thorough you read it.

To enter, all you have to do is to leave a comment on this post. You can leave more than one comment. Each comment will earn you an additional entry. If you link to this post from another site, let us know in the comments and you’ll get an additional entry as well.

The giveaway will run through 11:59pm EST on August 26th at which point we will choose a random winner who will receive the prize.

As for the prize… I’m not going to reveal it just yet except to say that it is a book (in English) about Soviet Union’s more unexpected, nostalgic and visually appealing accomplishments. Want to take a guess?

Happy Russia Day!

Posted by Natalie 1 Comment
Jun 15 2011

Well, «дорогие читатели» [dear readers], «я вернулась» [I have returned]. Yelena has been holding down the fort, so to speak, while I have been madly reading for school. But, never fear, «я окончила семестр» [I finished the semester], which means I have more time to write about «мой самый любимый язык на свете» [my favorite language in the world] – «русский язык» [the Russian language]. In the photo: «Выступление Медведева» [Medvedev’s speech] on Russia Day. «Что такое День России?» [What is Russia Day?] Keep reading to find out!

«День России» is on June 12 («два дня назад» [two days ago]). «День России – праздник в России, который отмечается ежегодно с 1992 (тысяча девятьсот девяносто второго) года.» [Russia Day is a holiday in Russia that has been celebrated every year since 1991.] One reason why Russians probably like «День России» is because it is «нерабочий день» [a non-working day; a day off].

But why is this holiday celebrated? It is in honor of «декларация о государственном суверенитете РСФСР» [the Declaration of State Sovereignty of RSFSR]. «РСФСР» is an acronym that stands for «Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика» [Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic – see why they use an acronym?]. The declaration was adopted on 12 June 1990 and marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.

Interestingly enough, «в этот же день в 1991 (тысяча девятьсот девяносто первом) году» [on this same day in 1991], «прошли выборы президента России» [elections for president of Russia took place]. «Борис Ельцин победил.» [Boris Yeltsin won.] Good old Boris Nikolayevich, one could write post after post about him…

So, next year on June 12, if you encounter any Russians, be sure to wish them «С Днём России!» [Happy Russia Day!].

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