The Titan of classical Russian literature: Leo Tolstoy
If reading War and Peace in the original is your goal to be achieved at the end of your Russian course, prepare to be patient and learn some French as well as Russian…
Meaning of Russian Names
Did you know that Vladimir means “owning the world” and Svetlana – a “woman of light”? Here is some interesting info that you may not learn in your Russian lessons but can impress your Russian friends with!
Russian Surnames
While learning Russian, working and socializing with Russians, reading Russian literature, we come across a lot of Russian surnames. This is an interesting subject that you will probably not touch upon in your Russian lessons. So here is a bit of information about our surnames.
How to learn the Russian Cyrillic script: 10 tips
The first question that I ask my students in the very first lesson is – what do you know about the Russian Cyrillic script? The usual answer is – all we know is that it’s different, and we have to learn it! So, are there any tricks that would help learning it?
Classical Russian Literature: Pushkin
“Pushkin is our everything.” We, Russians, are so used to this phrase. But what does it mean? Why is Pushkin so important for the Russian language and literature? As a learner of Russian you will have to read some Pushkin sooner or later, and you will definitely be learning words and phrases coined by him.
Changes in modern Russian
How much does a language change over time? And should learners be aware of these changes? Here are a few observations about what is happening to Russian these days.
Russian names
Names are usually not given much attention in textbooks or Russian language lessons. But at the same time, the ability to understand them and to use them properly is very important for successful socialising and building up relationships.
Russian superstitions
Russians are a superstitious lot. You may not learn it in your Russian course, but beware: you will not be popular with a Russian host if you whistle in their house, or try to say good-bye or shake their hand over the threshold!
Russian ways of address
An important component of successful communication in a foreign language is to know how to address people you are talking to. You might know the right thing to say, but how do you start… So how do Russians address each other?
Russian handwriting: to write or not to write
Any typical beginner Russian course starts with the introduction of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. Our students learn the printed letters, start reading in Russian (which is usually exciting!) and then discover that there is another form of the same alphabet – the handwritten one!