Russian Bayan Accordion

    The Bayan is a chormatic button accordion developed in Russia in the early 20th century. It was named after the 11th-century bard Boyan. This instrument is different from regular keyboard accordions. Instead of a keyboard this instrument has a serious of chromatic buttons. The reeds in this instrument are broader and rectangular vs trapezoidal. This helps produce the fuller sound of the bass. The tone of the Bayan is best described as a miniature church organ. This instrument is usually only played by accordion virtuosi who want to perform classical music such as Bach.

For example here is a video of someone playing one of Bach's Toccata and Fugues on this instrument. Enjoy And below another student ripping on one of these fabulous instruments.

Unit 5 - Russian Black Terrier

Russian Black Terrier
(Tchiorny Terrier)

The Dog of The Red Star Army

Introduction

A breed obtained by crossing Giant Schnauzers with Rottweilers and several other breeds in order to produce a perfected military service dog suited for the protection of any army installation and for police work.


Origin

The Black Russian Terrier stems from an intentional cross between Giant Schnauzers, Airedaile Terriers, Rottweilers, and several local types of dogs among which the Moscow Retriever. The breed was purposely developed as a guard dog for military and industrial sites in Russia.
The breeding program was initiated after World War II at the Soviet Union's Red Star Army Kennels. The first stud to be involved in this military breeding program was a Giant Schnauzer called Roi (born in 1947). He was mated with several Airedale Terrier bitches, Rottweiler bitches and several other bitches known as Moscow Retrievers, themselves crosses from Newfoundlands, Caucasian Sheepdogs and Eastern European sheepdogs. The other breeds used include the Great Dane, the Borzoi and the Laika.

The Black Russian Terrier was formally recognized by the FCI in 1984, a Black Russian Terrier Club was founded in the United States in the 1990's. Its breed standard was revised in 1993.

Appearance

The Black Russian Terrier resembles a Giant Schnauzer, but without its more elegant structure, with a height of 25-28 inches (64-72cm) at the whithers. The tail is usually docked short. The coat should be tick, wiry and 1 1/2 to 4 inches (4 to 10cm) long. Black and grayish black are the only accepted colors.

Two varieties exist: a long-haired and a short-haired Black Russian terrier. In the short-haired variety the legs are covered with moderate feathering.

Eyes are similar to those of the Giant Schnauzer.


Temperament

The Black Russian Terrier is an imposing, highly resistant, fearless, aggressive but very trainable dog. The breed is unpretentious, obedient and easily manageable. It is very healthy, hardy and able to adapt to extreme climatic conditions. It is distrustful of strangers, but faithful and friendly with his human family. This explains why it is equally appreciated as a body guard, property guard and as a companion dog. Breeders like to say that: "Any property guarded by a Russian Black Terrier is safe". Another plus point of this breed is that Russian Black Terriers can adapt equally well to apartment living as country living.

Similar breeds

This perfected dog has no real equivalent, but Schnauzers and Airedale Terriers are possible alternatives.

Unit 5 - Russian Roulette

SO, I was wondering where Russian Roulette originated from since I've heard it's possibly not really Russian itself. This is what I found:

Most of the legends that abound regarding the invention of Russian roulette are, predictably, set in the Russian Empire or occur among Russian soldiers.

In one legend, 19th-century Russian prisoners were forced to play the game while the prison guards bet on the outcome. In another version, desperate and suicidal officers in the Russian army played the game to impress each other.

Whether Tsarist officers actually played Russian roulette is unclear. In a text on the Tsarist officer corps, John Bushnell, a Russian history expert at Northwestern University, cited two near-contemporary memoirs by Russian army veterans: The Duel (1905) by Aleksandr Kuprin and From Double Eagle to Red Flag (1921) by Pyotr Krasnov. Both books tell of officers' suicidal and outrageous behaviour, but Russian roulette is not mentioned in either text. The standard sidearm issued to Russian officers from 1895 to 1930 was the Nagant M1895 revolver. A double-action, seven chambered revolver, the Nagant's cylinder spins clockwise until the hammer is cocked. While the cylinder does not swing out as in modern hand-ejector style double action revolvers, it can be spun around to randomize the result. It is possible that Russian officers shot six and kept the seventh cartridge live. Due to the deeply seated rounds unique to the Nagant's cartridge and that the primers are concealed, it would be very difficult to tell from the outside where the live round was and which were spent; this would add to the uncertainty of the results.

Several teen deaths following the release of the film The Deer Hunter caused police and the media to blame the film's depiction of Russian roulette, saying that it inspired the youths.

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Thank you Wiki!