Russian Letters: 2011

Sunday, June 26, 2011

плечо (shoulder)

Meaning: shoulder Pronunciation: [plee-CHOH] Part of speech: noun Examples: У меня? боли?т плечo. My schoulder hurts. Что у мaмы с плечoм? What is wrong with mom's shoulder? For more information and examples, see the page dedicated to плечо

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Friday, June 24, 2011

Notes from Russia.

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I have not been writing about my travels in Russia because of the following reasons.
1) I have been too busy simply enjoying myself.
2) I did not bring my USB cable so I cannot upload my pictures. I bought a card reader here in Moscow but either it does not work or I do not know how to make it work. My computer finds the pictures on my camera, but they seem not to copy over. I want to include pictures as I describe my travels.
3) I am being followed by a KGB agent disguised as a bear, and I think my emails are being monitored.

I can say that I am thoroughly enjoying myself, and the glorous weather does not hurt. In Moscow I cannot imagine driving a car, since a lot of time the roads seem more like parking lots than actual thoroughfares. And when the main boulevards do open up, the locals really step on the gas until the next bottle neck appears. Here in the centre there are lots of black expensive cars with chauffeurs lazing around, while the owners are shopping in luxury shops. Then there was the time near the Kremlin where all traffic , including pedestrian traffic, was held up while waiting for a motorcade of black cars to emerge from the Kremlin. There was a bit of honking of horns to let off steam. I prefer walking the subway.

People here fall into two categories. People you meet on the street to ask for directions, or friends that you have, and they are tremendously warm, hospitable, generous with their time and helpful. The other group works in shops, railway stations, subway stations, etc. and they consider you a nuisance for having bothered them, and make sure you realize it.

The subways in both St. Petersburg and Moscow are great, with very efficient automatic payment cards. The high speed train from St. Pete to Moscow was extremely comfortable. I was in second class. I cannot imagine what first class offers for twice the price, maybe a massage?

Anyway, I promise a more detailed diary with notes upon my return next week. Now I am off to the History of Moscow Museum and the Tretiakov Museum

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Glorious St. Petersburg

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Today I am starting my fifth day in St. Petersburg. I am having a spectacular time. It rained a lot the first day, which turned out to be the "day of the city" with parades and throngs of people on the Nevski Prospect, with music and a lot of people having a good time. I am very impressed with the good nature of people here, despite the odd surly store clerk. I have figured out the subway system, the train system and am getting the lay of the land. I have been on two river and canal cruises (my favourite activity), visited the Peter and Paul fortress, the ethnographic museum, a few churches, and just logged many tens of kilometres walking. The city could not look better, with bright sunshine all yesterday and hopefully all day today. I plan to visit the Russian Museum (Russian painters, closed yesterday I found out), and the Hermitage, but it is too nice outside.

Last night I saw a theatre performance of Поздняя Любовь and when it was over could still promenade in the warm summer evening, ending up in a bar where I could discuss politics with a somewhat inebriated local who blamed all western civilization for most things, going back to the attack on Constantinople by the crusaders, and along the way accusing Canadians of having killed all natives in contrast to the benevolent and kind treatment Russians have always extended to the people that were absorbed in to the Russian Empire. On the positive side he liked Canadian hockey, and I got to practice my Russian. He had his nose in my ear and his arm around me most of the time, and it was a little hard to make out his slurred speech, but I enjoyed it. He seemed to understand what I was saying since he strongly disagreed with most of it.

On Thursday at 7.00 pm we are planning a meet up at the Teplo restaurant 45 Bolshoya Morskaya street. Maybe some of you can make it.

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Russian as a world language

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English is the dominant world language today. The French sometimes promote French as an alternative international language, and historically it was prominent in Europe and today we find it in Africa and North America as well as Europe. Spanish and Portuguese, just like English and French, were spread by colonial conquest and are spoken in a number of countries and continents, and therefore are also world languages today. Russian is also a major world language, and it was also spread by colonial expansion.

I was recently in Lativa, and Russia. While in Russia I enjoyed food from the many countries that used to be part of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union like the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Georgia. Right now the St. Petersburg Economic Forum is taking place and delegates from all over the world, but especially the former Soviet Union countries, are there to discuss possible economic cooperation and business ventures. I imagine that a lot of the discussion will be in Russian.

The Russian language space occupies a large part of the world, from the Baltic to the Pacific,and from the Arctic to the Black Sea and Central Asia. It is a rich continental community with historical relations, not always without conflict, where the Russian language is an important unifying element. I hope that this area becomes the kind of post-colonial community that the Commonwealth, la Francophonie,and similar Spanish and Portuguese language communities are striving to be. Economically it can be even more significant, although there are tensions as Russia struggles to adapt to a new role as the most powerful, but still equal, member of such a community.