Monthly Archives: September 2010

Just Do It

Posted on September 30, 2010 by

An amusing excerpt from Victor Pelevin’s 1999 novel “Homo Zapiens,” the following is a description of a shoe commercial pitched for Nike’s Moscow office by one of the characters in the book: A street in a small Vietnamese village lost … Continue reading →

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Пока!

Posted on September 28, 2010 by

Happy trails, Mayor Luzhkov! http://foto.ng.ru/galleries/1444?photo=17006#cntr

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A bit of Russian slang

Posted on September 28, 2010 by

One of the more peculiar anglicisms that has crept into the Russian language is a modifier that denotes excitement, awesomeness, or just all-around appeal. The word is ‘super-mega-VIP’ (супер-мега-Ви-Ай-Пи), which at first may have referred to a night club (i.e. … Continue reading →

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My Revenge

Posted on September 24, 2010 by

I am repeatedly foiled in my attempts to practice my Russian outside of the classroom.  Upon detection of my accent at several local coffee shops, the baristas immediately switch to English.  Props to them for speaking English well, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Lost in Translation, Personal | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Fall of Luzhkov / Падение Лужкова

Posted on September 22, 2010 by

Speculation that the mayor of Moscow, and Russia’s most avid apiarist, will soon fall from power gained ground after RFE unearthed this clip: http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Fall_Of_Yury_Luzhkov/2159253.html

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Pilgrimage for Forgiveness / Epitaph for an Era

Posted on September 20, 2010 by

Back when I was a baby, during a snowy winter in Moscow, my older sister and I went joyriding on a kid’s sleigh.  Well, my father pulled the two of us along on the sleigh but he must have gotten … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Lost in Translation, Personal | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Khrushchev on women

Posted on September 20, 2010 by

Journalist John Miller’s recently published memoir about his career covering Russia, called “All Them Cornfields and Ballet in the Evening,” contains a quote from Nikita Khrushchev that I had not heard before. Apparently, when a member of a visiting delegation … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – Governor of Kalmykia

Posted on September 18, 2010 by

From LP: Kalmykian politician Kirsan Ilyumzhinov graciously offered a solution to the Ground Zero Mosque debate, namely, to defuse the tension by buiding a Chess Center on the disputed territory. (http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6678)   Such a unique suggestion prompted some digging, and … Continue reading →

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Protected: Royalty, at least on Wikipedia

Posted on September 15, 2010 by

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Red Army Discipline

Posted on September 15, 2010 by

From EC: A regional Russian official sacked for forcing a group of teenagers to kiss his feet has defended his actions, claiming he was merely repeating a lesson he had learned in the Red army. The official, Difkat Khantimerov, was … Continue reading →

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