Tag: Russian Language
RUSSIALINK: “Procrastinating the Russian Way” – Moscow Times
Judging by their language, Russians are connoisseurs of procrastination. In Russian not only are there many verbs and expressions for procrastination, there are three main ways to procrastinate […]
» Read moreIf You Thought U.S.-Russian Relations Were Bad Now, Wait Another 10 Years
… Expertise that is erased with a stroke of the pen can take years to rebuild. We need more, not fewer, programs focused on Russian political and social life […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Putin Establishes Foundation to Preserve Russia’s Native Languages” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 26, 2018) President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that establishes a foundation to help preserve Russia’s native languages, the Kremlin announced on Friday. The measure comes in the wake of worries in Russia’s republics that their native languages are under threat. In June, the State Duma signed a bill into law that restricts […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian Autumn Fun: The Word’s Worth” – Moscow Times/ Michele A. Berdy
“Осень: autumn There are, I’ve heard, places on earth where weather is not a topic of conversation. I’ve heard that in some places a few degrees up or a few degrees down is pretty much the entire range of weather events. That is not Moscow. Погода (weather) can run your life, determine when and if you go outside, raise or […]
» Read moreApplications open – American Councils Russian study abroad programs + financial aid
Subject: Applications open – American Councils Russian study abroad programs + financial aid Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2018 From: Elliott Kaduck <EKaduck@americancouncils.org> Program website: http://acstudyabroad.org/rlasp/ Dear Colleagues, American Councils for International Education is currently accepting applications for Spring 2019 semester Russian language study-abroad programs. The application deadline is October 15, 2018 for the following programs: Applications: https://americancouncils-horizons.symplicity.com/index.php?s=programs&mode=form&id=bb7e0d8cd1ba264823238be9da64773d&au=&ck= Advanced Russian Language […]
» Read moreMoscow has Complex System to Run Agents of Influence Abroad, Khmelnitsky Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 26, 2018) As Moscow’s geopolitical isolation has increased, Dmitry Khmelnitsky says, the role of its agents of influence abroad and the enormously variegated organizations that recruit and direct them has increased far beyond what they were during the Cold War when anti-communism served as a constraint. “The Russian network of agents […]
» Read moreAngus Roxburgh: “The real facts about the Putin-Trump press conference”
Subject: The real facts about the Putin-Trump press conference Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2018 From: Angus Roxburgh <angus.roxburgh@gmail.com> There has been much discussion, rightly, of Rachel Maddow’s sensational allegation that the White House intentionally doctored both the transcript and the video of the Putin-Trump press conference. Philip Bump in the Washington Post washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/07/25/no-the-white-house-didnt-intentionally-edit-a-question-to-putin-out-of-a-video/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2e9618f92cac tries to dissect what happened. But neither […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “Don’t ‘overdo’ it online, if you fear the fuzz; A linguist explains the messy science that fuels Russia’s anti-extremism policing” – Meduza
“The number of ‘extremist’ crimes committed in Russia has been growing for the past several years. According to the ‘Sova’ analytical center, police launched 563 extremism investigations in 2016 and 858 new cases in 2017. Most of the suspects in these investigations are ordinary Internet users who have expressed their political views on social media. Dozens of these people have […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “Harassment Russian Style” – Moscow Times/Michele A. Berdy
“Харассмент: harassment … How is it that I’ve never written about домогательство? This word and issue – what is usually called harassment in English – have come up plenty of times in the past. But this week the subject came up, stayed up and is screaming for attention. …”
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “The Winds of Russian Change” – Moscow Times/ Michele A. Berdy
“… But when I do want to discuss change in Russian, I have to stop for a moment and think which word to use. I don’t know if Russians are better at dealing with change than other nations, but they sure have lots of ways of describing it. …”
» Read moreInterfax: Moscow accuses Kyiv of forced Ukrainization policy
MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on international human rights institutions to influence Kyiv over Ukraine’s discriminatory laws regarding the use of the state language in education and the media. “We call on relevant international human rights institutions, including, primarily, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human […]
» Read moreRussian Language on the Decline Thanks to English, Says Official
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 29, 2017) The number of Russian speakers has decreased by about 50 million since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the chairman of the State Duma Committee for Education and Science was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency on Monday. Vyacheslav Nikonov called for an expansion of the Eurasian Union […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “DOES PUTIN SPEAK ENGLISH? AFTER TRUMP MEETING, THE KREMLIN WEIGHS IN” – Newsweek/ DAMIEN SHARKOV
“… Officially, besides his native Russian, Putin speaks English and German – a language he used on a daily basis in his past career for the Soviet security services (KGB) while deployed in the city of Dresden in East Germany during the 1980s. …”
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: “New Fighting in Ukraine’s Language War. If Kyiv draws new battle lines in the country’s language war, Moscow is ready to restart its side of this conflict.” – Carnegie Europe/ Thomas de Waal
“… Ukraine’s language wars are restarting. A bill requiring 75 percent of national television broadcasts to be in Ukrainian has just been passed by the Rada. It follows a very unpopular move by … Poroshenko to ban Russian-language social media websites …. Next up … is draft legislation that seeks to ensure ‘the functioning and use of Ukrainian as a state language in all spheres of […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: “Joint meeting of the Council for Culture and Art and the Council on the Russian Language”
(Kremlin.ru – Dec. 2, 2016) Vladimir Putin is chairing a joint meeting of the Council for Culture and Art and the Council on the Russian Language in St Petersburg. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues, We have gathered today in St Petersburg, which has a very concentrated cultural programme these days. The International Cultural Forum is taking place […]
» Read moreTRANSCRIPT: [Putin at] Meeting of the Russian Literature and Language Society
(Kremlin.ru – May 26, 2016) Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the Russian Literature and Language Society’s Congress. The Russian Literature and Language Society was established in 2016 to consolidate the efforts of scholars, teachers, cultural figures and the global public to preserve the leading role of Russian language and literature in educating young people, strengthening the […]
» Read moreObscenities an Inalienable Part of Russian Language and Life, Expert Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, February 22, 2016) Russians today have an “ambiguous” attitude toward obscenities, a specialist on the Russian language says. “On the one hand, there is an official prohibition of their use” in the media and even a fine for cursing in public. But on the other, many public figures and even more ordinary […]
» Read moreObscenities an Inalienable Part of Russian Language and Life, Expert Says
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, February 22, 2016) Russians today have an “ambiguous” attitude toward obscenities, a specialist on the Russian language says. “On the one hand, there is an official prohibition of their use” in the media and even a fine for cursing in public. But on the other, many public figures and even more ordinary […]
» Read moreNEWSLINK: “He Who Speaks Bad Russian, Stays Long” – Moscow Times/Michele Berdy
Euromaidan Press/Radio Svoboda: Ukrainian consumers have the right be served in Ukrainian – activist.
NEWSLINK: “All the Russian Words You Need to Discuss the Litvinenko Inquiry” – Moscow Times/Michele Berdy
Seven powerful politicians from around the world that speak Russian
Russian is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn yet there are many influential politicians around the world that have taken it up. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – NATALIA MASHINISTOVA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – January 12, 2016) [Videos with Michael McFaul and Condoleezza Rice here: rbth.com/arts/lifestyle/2016/01/12/7-powerful-politicians-from-around-the-world-that-speak-russian_558729] Most Russian-speaking politicians live in former Soviet republics and other […]
» Read more100 Million Fewer People Speak Russian Now than Did 25 Years Ago
(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia Staunton, December 26, 2015) The number of people who speak Russian has declined by 100 million since 1989 or 27 percent, according to Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Duma committee on compatriots and Eurasian integration. (In 1989, 370 million said they spoke Russian; now, 270 million do.) But instead of seeing this as […]
» Read moreBut why Russia?
Recent arrival in Moscow, Fraser Young, delves into the myths and legends that help give his adoptive new home such a mysterious allure. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – FRASER YOUNG , SPECIAL TO RBTH – October 27, 2015) Fraser Young is a recent graduate of Leeds University, where he studied History and Russian Language; he is an avid […]
» Read moreCrowdfunding Support for a Grassroots Organization [The American Home in Vladimir]
Subject: Crowdfunding Support for a Grassroots Organization Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2015 02:15:13 -0500 From: Ron Pope <ron42.pope@gmail.com> THE ISSUE: The American Home in Vladimir has encountered an unusual obstacle. After years of cooperative relations with our organization, the current Vladimir City Administration has decided to invoke what we thought was an outdated clause in the 1992 contract governing the […]
» Read moreNEWSWATCH: How the Ukrainian Diaspora Sees the Homeland
[“Ukrainian Politics Abroad: How the Ukrainian Diaspora Sees the Homeland” – Foreign Affairs – foreignaffairs.com – Olena Lennon – March 17, 2015] Professor Olena Lennon, from the University of New Haven, writes on the experiences and attitudes of those of Ukrainian origin or heritage in the United States. Points of interest include perspectives on history, Russia, Europe, and the Russian and Ukrainian languages. The diaspora is distinctive in several […]
» Read moreThe tricks of the trade: Helping students understand the Russian language
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Fedorov, RBTH – November 5, 2014) RBTH has surveyed the best Russian language teachers abroad about how they teach their students the language. They compare nouns to cats, infinitives to flour and even take their students to the bathhouse to drink mead – all in order for the Russian language not to […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: The Ukrainian president will prevent the country’s split on the linguistic issue.
KIEV, November 9 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has stated on his Facebook page Sunday, he will not allow the division of the country on linguistic grounds, though he still intends to keep the Ukrainian language as the only state language. “After what we all have gone through and are going through this year, no one will ever […]
» Read moreKyivans Now Speaking Ukrainian, Underlining Russia’s Loss of Ukraine, Mirsky Says
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, November 2, 2014) In 1991, Ukrainians separated themselves “not from Russia but from Moscow,” as shown by the continuing willingness of most to speak Russian, historian Georgy Mirsky says. Indeed, at that time, “no one except Bandera supporters separated themselves off from Russia or from the Russian people.” But now, the Russian […]
» Read moreHarvard Study Shows Russian-speaking Ukrainians Backing Kyiv
(Voice of America – Doug Bernard – October 8, 2014) [Study here http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2501761. “Russia, Ukraine, and the West: Social Media Sentiment in the Euromaidan Protests”] A new study conducted at Harvard University suggests that Russian-speaking Ukrainians may be significantly more supportive of Kyiv’s standoff against Moscow and the pro-Russian separatists than has previously been reported. The study, authored by researcher […]
» Read moreWhy study Russian? It’s not all politics
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ivan Savvine, special to RBTH – September 10, 2014) Ivan Savvine is an art historian and writer as well as a teacher. He was raised in St. Petersburg. There is a popular belief that in the United States, interest in all things Russian and in particular Russian language peaks at times of crisis […]
» Read moreRussia Beyond the Headlines: Why linguistic nuance is often the first casualty of media reporting
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sergei Tseytlin, special to RBTH – September 8, 2014) Sergei Tseytlin is a freelance translator who also works for RBTH. Sergei Tseitlin was born in Moscow and grew up in New York. He has been living in Italy for last 16 years – first in Milan, then in Venice, and now he lives […]
» Read moreThe collapse of the Soviet Union: What was it — the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century or simply a major disaster?
Subject: The collapse of the Soviet Union: What was it — the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century or simply a major disaster? [Adomeit’s second note] Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 From: Hannes Adomeit (hannes.adomeit@t-online.de) The collapse of the Soviet Union: What was it — the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century or simply a major disaster? Hannes […]
» Read moreAW: 2014-#166-Johnson’s Russia List [Adomeit’s first note][re: editorial policies, Putin, Soviet collapse, translation]
Subject: AW: 2014-#166-Johnson’s Russia List [Adomeit’s first note] Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 From: Hannes Adomeit (hannes.adomeit@t-online.de) From a senior German Russia expert: I completely agree with the observation expressed in yesterday’s issue of the senior U.S. official and the senior U.S. academic about JRL’s loss of impartiality. The bias is also amply reflected in the inclusion of those poisonous […]
» Read morelanguage, again [re: Putin and Soviet collapse, translation]
Subject: language, again Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 From: Harley D. Balzer <balzerh@georgetown.edu> Patrick Armstrong issued a major attack on Aslund’s characterization of Putin’s comment about the destruction of the Soviet Union. He states: So it is now perhaps time to see what it was that Putin actually said. Here it is: first in Russian, “Прежде всего следует признать, что […]
» Read more[Patrick Armstrong: re: Putin, Soviet Geopolitical Disaster:] DEADLY QUOTATIONS PART 2
From: Patrick Armstrong (gpa@magma.ca) Sent: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 Subject: DEADLY QUOTATIONS PART 2 A number of people have challenged my (and the official Kremlin translators’) choice of “a major” for “krupneyshey” in Putin’s famous sentence “Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century.” I stand by what I said: he did […]
» Read more[Anders Åslund: re: Putin, Soviet Geopolitical Disaster:] RE: 2014-#166-Johnson’s Russia List/Patrick Armstrong
Subject: RE: 2014-#166-Johnson’s Russia List/Patrick Armstrong Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 19:31:4 From: Anders Aslund <AAslund@PIIE.COM> Dear David, Absurdly, Patrick Armstrong attacks me (JRL 166 #6) for translating Putin’s words “крушение Советского Союза было крупнейшей геополитической катастрофой века” with the words “the collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest geopolitical disaster of the century.” Well, that is how it […]
» Read morePoroshenko: Ukrainian will remain sole state language in Ukraine
(Interfax – July 3, 2014) Proposed constitutional amendments stipulate that Ukrainian will remain the sole state language in Ukraine, the country’s President Petro Poroshenko said in parliament on Thursday. “We have delivered on our promise to give additional powers in language issues to local authorities. Article 10 of the Constitution remains unchanged – Ukrainian is the one-and-only state language in […]
» Read moreThe Russian language in Ukraine: Cultural bridge or divide
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yulia Kudinova, special to RBTH – April 24, 2014) As Ukraine is tearing itself apart, it is also facing an artificially fuelled competition between Russian and Ukrainian, two languages that are nevertheless linguistically very similar. Benjamin Franklin once wrote: “Tongue double brings trouble”. That saying might have resonated with the members of Ukraine’s […]
» Read moreLanguage and Culture Not History ‘Main Unifying Factors’ for Russians, Valdai Club Says
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, April 24, 2014) The Russian language and Russian culture are today “the main unifying factor[s]” for the citizens of the Russian Federation, unlike history which continues to be a source of divisions given that different groups have different understandings of past events, according to the Valdai International Discussion Club. The Moscow Higher […]
» Read moreNew Law Requires Knowledge of Russian For Residency
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – April 22, 2014) President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill that requires foreigners to prove their ability to speak Russian while also giving his seal of approval to a separate bill that will make it easier to grant citizenship to Russian-speakers in former Soviet states. The new immigration rules for foreign citizens, published […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Kiev Regime Backs Up on Russian Language Ban
KIEV, April 17 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian authorities are open to discussing granting Russian the status of an official language in the country’s southeastern regions, the acting head of the ruling political party in parliament said Thursday. “We will regulate this issue in a law that will stipulate the right of regions with a large proportion of a minority population […]
» Read moreUkraine PM says authorities against abolishing language law
DONETSK. April 11 (Interfax) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said that the country’s new authorities have no plans to abolish the July 3, 2012 law that regulates Ukraine’s language policy. “No one is going to abolish the Kolesnychenko-Kyvalov law,” Yatsenyuk said during a visit to the Donetsk region on Friday. “It is a law that advocates the interests […]
» Read moreUkraine abolishes law on languages of minorities, including Russian
(Interfax – February 23, 2014) Ukraine’s Verkhovna has abolished the law on the foundations of the state language policy adopted on July 3, 2012, by 232 out of 334 votes. In July 2012 Verkhovna Rada passed the law initiated by the Party of Regions. In August Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed it into law and bound the Cabinet to set […]
» Read moreThe 10 most well-known Russian words
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexey Mikheev, special to RBTH – January 30, 2014) Words like vodka and Kalashnikov are know around the world. But how many people realize that they come from the Russian language? Russian actively borrows words from other languages, mainly English. But there are also Russian words that travel in the opposite direction and […]
» Read moreTen more well-known Russian words
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexey Mikheev, special to RBTH – February 20, 2014) Following the publication of my earlier piece “The 10 most well-known Russian words”, readers have responded with suggestions of more Russian words that have become known and used internationally. So in response to these requests I have written about them too. Babushka In Russian, […]
» Read moreTranslation challenges the brightest minds
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Phoebe Taplin, special to RBTH – January 14, 2014) Top translators of Tolstoy and Pelevin talk to RBTH about misunderstandings, cultural differences and how not to get lost in translation. Each year scores of books are translated from Russian to English. This year has seen publications in a range of genres, from […]
» Read moreRIA Novosti: Russian Language Losing Popularity Abroad – Official
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) The number of Russian speakers worldwide has declined by about 120 million people in the past 20 years, a senior Russian government official said Friday. Measures to boost the popularity of Russian have been insufficient to reverse this decline, according to Benjamin Kaganov, deputy minister of education and science. He told a conference in […]
» Read moreInterfax: Most migrants come to Russia in visa-free travel regime, many don’t speak Russian
MOSCOW. Nov 20 (Interfax) – A third of migrant workers do not speak Russian, Federal Migration Service head Konstantin Romodanovsky said. “We are witnessing a surge in the arrivals of migrants from CIS member countries. As of now, 11.1 million foreigners are staying in Russia, and almost three-quarters of them enjoy the visa-free travel regime,” he told a roundtable in […]
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