Trololo

As with everything else the internet finds entertaining, this is a strange one. Trololo is a "RickRoll"-esque video which gained popularity in late 2009. The old Russian song, similar in style to American jazz scat music, is titled "Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой" or "Indeed I am very glad that I am finally returning home". The performer is Edward Hill, who was given a few honors for being a popular and talented singer during the Soviet era. The result is a silly video of him failing to lipsynch a song that he supposedly sung. It's a cultural thing on a few different levels due to the age of the song, the popularity of the singer, and the video's resurgence as a joke in America. Give it a try, it'll stick with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=251Lp4fOmcM (Video)

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trololo-russian-rickroll (Article)

Ivan Pavlov

This is a tricky blog post because everyone has some knowledge of Ivan Pavlov. In the spirit of Bear in a Hat, though, I wanted to restate that he was Russian and successful. He was the psychologist/physiologist who worked with animals to discover "conditioning". Animals would be presented with a stimulus that they naturally responded to and a stimulus that did nothing for them. Eventually the stimulus that originally did nothing produced the same response as the stimulus with the automatic natural response. Pavlov also did some early work with the digestive system. He won a Nobel Prize in Physiology and is a figurehead for modern psychology. Also, he has a killer moustache.

Disney Channel Russia

SURPRISE! I'm writing a blog post about Disney. Specifically Disney in Russia. I had no idea what I was going to write about but as I opened my Google account and checked my RSS feeds, I found this little tidbit.

http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/press_releases/archive/2011/10/26/the-walt-disney-company-and-uth-russia-to-launch-free-to-air-disney-channel-in-russia.aspx

That's right! 75% of the Russian television audience will now have free access to a free Disney Channel! Lucky Russians. Next thing they need is a theme park...

Winnie the Pooh

Came across this odd Winnie the Pooh cartoon from Russia. And not our lovable Disney interpretation. But a full on different version. All the characters are drawn differently and the whole video is pretty much one long song. Eeyore even seems happy. It's odd. But worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptEZwjO1DYI

Monologue and Questions Recordings

Monologue
http://www.box.net/shared/nn48b5eifo

Questions 1-5
http://www.box.net/shared/e0spiv6hgz

Questions 6-10
http://www.box.net/shared/uj0d4tfnu1

Квас

In Russia, there is an infamous drink called kvass (квас). It is made by fermenting black or rye bread, and has existed for the better part of the last 13 centuries, with one of the first occurrences of the word happening in 989. This non-alcoholic or low-alcohol beverage is the focus of my blog post not only because it’s old and traditional, but because non-alcoholic beverages get ignored way too often for their alcoholic counterparts (I’m looking at you vodka). So here’s a short history and explanation of kvass’s place in Russian culture.

It has evolved from a simple drink, compared to beer from barley, millet beer of Africa, and the rice wines of Asia, and is now a widely consumed beverage. However, that was not always the case. Since the times of Peter the Great, kvass has been a drink of the masses, often being brewed by individuals but also being sold as a commercial good. Originally a drink meant for summer months, as a seasonal alternative to vodka, which was traditionally used to warm people during the winter.

As the popularity of the drink grew, it needed to be distributed in new ways. From this need came the use of trailers, not unlike small gasoline trucks. People would bring out their cups and pay for a fill of kvass. This new tradition was popular not only in Russia, but also in other Slavic nations, such as Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus. These can be compared to street vendors of hot dogs in the USA. Although it may not be the safest way to get your food or drink, it is a cultural mainstay.

Despite its cultural value, kvass doesn’t always have entirely positive connotations. The Russian phrase “Перебиваться с хлеба на квас”, which translates to “clambering from bread to kvass”, has a deeply negative meaning. It implies that someone is so poor that they have to use their stale bread to make their kvass. Although this may not be as popular a phrase today, due to the rise and fall of kvass’s own popularity, it doesn’t take away the meaning.

On the subject of the rise and fall of kvass’s popularity, it should be noted that its sale is on the upswing. Popular Western colas such as Coke and Pepsi had dominated the soft-drink market of Russia for a good deal of time, but since the mid 2000’s, kvass has been starting to take it’s place. This is partially due to a new marketing strategy which portrays kvass as a patriotic alternative to cola. It’s also partially due to the introduction of a few major players, including the Coca-Cola Company, which produces lower end kvass. There is indeed a distinction in Russia between lower quality kvass, made like a soda with flavorings and sugar, and higher quality kvass, made like beer with actual fermentation. Both types of kvass can be flavored with fruit or herbs.

I hope this blog post has shed some light on kvass. Definitely a cultural staple of Russia and worth a mention on Bear in a Hat.

Russian Racism

For this Unit I'm just posting a BBC article on racism within the world of Russian football. I think it's interesting that such a large diverse country such as Russia still has racism that is so prominent and obvious as fans acting out against players on popular football teams. Just goes to show that every country has flaws and even efforts to correct those flaws don't always work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12848838