Russian Idioms

Ever wondered about phrases and idioms in another language? Here are some in Russian. 

Бе́лая воронa: literally means white crow in Russian. In english it would be equivalent to the odd one out. 

Знать как свои́ пятьпа́льцев: in Russian means to know something as well as one's own fingers. In English it would be equivalent to knowing something like the back of your hand. 

Набра́ть в рот воды: in Russian means to fill one's mouth with water. In English it could be compared to keeping quiet or mum's the word. 

Мир те́сен: in Russian means the world is cramped. In English we would say it's a small world (after all). 

 Как об сте́нку горо́x: in Russian is "like throwing peas against the wall" and in English is comparable to talking to a brick wall. 

Лить как из ведра: in Russian means pouring as if from a pail. It has the same meaning as the English idiom its raining cats and dogs. 

Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin was the famed 'holy man' who gave counsel to the last Czar of Russia. He was also incredibly hard to kill. In an elaborate assassination plot Prince Felix Yusupov and Dmitri Pavlovich laced wine with cyanide. Once Rasputin was drunk with the poisioned wine they shot him at close range, hitting his chest and liver. Rasputin; however, awoke and tried to escape. His escape attempt was discovered and he was shot again and beaten, including getting kicked in the eye. Rasputin, some how still alive was then thrown into the freezing cold, Malaya Nevka river. His body was discovered a few days later. The Soviets came to power soon after his death.

Batu Khan

Batu Khan was the grandson of the famous Genghis Khan, and was a strong leader as well. Batu began his European invasion in 1235. Batu and his army were strong fighters, specializing in techniques like feigned retreats and using smoke so his highly skilled archers could shoot their arrows on horseback under cover, Batu and his army were merciless in their conquest. Generally, most feared the Mongol army and would just surrender, but in Kiev they attempted to resisted and the result was terrible destruction described as, "children drowning in the blood of their parents". By 1240 Batu Khan had conquered Russian and was prepared to  take the next step in continuing into Europe. However, at the death of the leader of the Mongol Empire, Batu and his army withdrew saving Europe from what would have been a crushing defeat. Batu Khan created the Golden Horde, essentially a state of the Mongol empire, which provide taxes and tributes to the empire for the next 250 years, lasting from roughly 1240 till around 1502.
Many blame Batu's and the Mongol control for slowing down Russian's progress. Russia, largely cut off from the rest of Europe missed the Renaissance and feeling like they were always behind the times. This leads to Russia missing early aspects of industrialization, and instead remaining largely agricultural. It also lead to a stronger reliance of the Russian Orthodox Church, as new, controversial ideas took much longer to spread to Russia.