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Мат

And no, I don't mean "мать", the lovely maternal word we all know and love. "Мат" (apparently also known as матерщина or матерный язык) is the term for the wide array of Russian profanity and foul language. I won't post any directly here, nor will I post links directly to a website; we all know that if you wanted to learn such things, it's only a short Google-search away. While I do not encourage swearing in any way, shape, or form, it is my personal philosophy to be generally aware of what is (and what is not!) socially acceptable to say or to have said to you.

According to certain Internet encyclopedia sources, мат is "censored in the media and ... in public constitutes a form of disorderly conduct, punishable under article 20.1.1 of the Offences Code of Russia, although it is only enforced episodically, in particular due to the vagueness of the legal definition." Even so, it seems to find use with Russians of all ages and social groups. And as we learned in 202 recently, these colorful words apparently find their way into Russian humor just as they do in our own English.

-Эзра

In Yuzhno-Kurilsk, caviar poaching is serious business

Or, rather, cracking down on caviar poaching is serious business. EnglishRussia features a series of photos of the probably-haunted town of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, as well as a series of photographs depicting officials dumping poached caviar into a trench, pouring in a few gallons of gasoline (or possibly kerosene, this is Russia after all) and lighting it on fire.

According to the article, the caviar was "deemed inedible," probably because it was procured illegally more than anything else. The environmentalist in me feels like the situation was not handled in the most responsible of ways, but the 14-year-old in me also thinks this picture looks freaking awesome:



See all the pictures of Yuzhno-Kurilsk and the burning of the caviar here.

Russian Ark Film

The film, “The Russian Ark”, directed by Alexsandr Sukorov, is a wonderful story based around the Russian State Hermitage Museum. The film is in a very strange style, with only one camera shot comprising the whole of the viewtime. At first, it was quite unsettling; I must admit that I felt a bit like Sartre’s characters in his play, “No Exit”, with the ability to blink having been taken away from me. After a while, however, the story makes use of this style of cinematography and uses it to add to the feeling of confusion that one can feel in sympathizing with the main character. Something that I still can’t get my mind around is the tremendous amount of effort it must have taken to put the film together, as all 800-something actors would have had to know their parts completely perfectly for each take, having only one chance to get their part right before having to start all over again.

One is introduced after a while to the Marquis, or the European as he is referred to by the main character, nameless himself. The Marquis is a sort of time-travelling character, ageless and wise. Excuse my science-fiction reference, but he reminds me of the Doctor, from Doctor Who, fumbling through time and space, alas all alone. The pair walk through the corridors of the museum, travelling also through time as they meet various characters in Russian history, such as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and the last Romanov Tsar, Nicholas. As the film progresses, one learns the opinions of the Marquis, being himself all too ready to reveal them. His character develops until the very end, when he refuses to go on with the main character past a ball and out of the museum, showing that he is entrapped in the affairs of history to such an extent that he might not be able to bear normal existence outside of the museum walls. In this, he reminds me of Mr. Dorrit from the Dickens novel, afraid to walk outside of the prison walls in which he has lived for years.

All in all, this was a wonderful film which I would recommend that anyone watch. It was truly enjoyable and I know I’m watching it again!

UNIT 7, Decorated Eggs-pysankas

The tradition began when Mary gave the emperor a humble white egg, as was custom to give gifts, saying, “The Christ has risen!” The emperor expressed his disbelief, “Nobody can rise from the dead ….. this is as hard to believe as it is to believe this egg can turn red!” At once the egg became red, and since that time eggs serve as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection, the victory of life over death.

The tradition to paint eggs in the Ukraine dates back to pagan times when people performed magic rituals connected with nature awakening each Spring. After Christianity was introduced into the Ukraine, the tradition continued, assimilating magical beliefs from the past. Ukrainians believed that blessed eggs could help to put out fire or to find lost cattle.

Traditional Ukrainian eggs or pysankas are painted on birds eggs using hot wax. First, the wax is laid on the egg by means of a small metal tube with a wooden handle, making a contour. Then, an egg is dipped into one color, again covered by wax in parts which should preserve that color and then put into another color. When the egg painting is finished, the egg is warmed to melt the wax. Each color and pattern has different meanings.

Tutoring

Russian Tutoring Hours

Monday 2:00-5:00

Tuesdays 2:00-4:00

Fridays 9:00-11:00

Unit 7 Tetris wade invented by a Russian!

• "Korobeiniki is a famous Russian folk song that tells of an incident between a peddler and a girl 'haggling' over a price, with the details only being said in metaphor.
  
• In western culture, the song is primarily known for being used as the "Type A" music in the Game Boy version of Tetris. However, Korobeiniki was written and published in 1861, a full 128 years before Tetris was released on the Game Boy.
  
• Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984 while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow. He derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix tetra- (all of the game's pieces, known as Tetrominoes, contain four segments) and tennis, Pajitnov's favorite sport.
  
• The song "Korobeiniki" is based on a poem with the same name by Nikolay Nekrasov, written and printed in the Sovremennik magazine in 1861. Due to its increasing tempo and the dance style associated with it, it quickly became a popular Russian folk song.
• Nekrasov's poem is a sad story about the love between a peasant girl, Katya, and a young peddler. They meet each other in a rye field at night where he has promised her a good deal on the goods he carries, before they are sold in the market during the day. Only the night knows what happens between them in the rye field, but she is not so simple and does not take any of the goods which he offers her. What is the point, she figures, to have all that without him—her first and only love? She takes only a small turquoise ring, as a memory, and he promises to marry her when he comes back from his commerce trip. He continues his journey and she waits for him with caution. His business goes very well and he makes a lot of money, but on the way back he is killed and robbed by a forest ranger who he asks for directions. So he never comes back to marry Katya. The song is only the very beginning of the original poem; it only recounts Katya's first meeting with the young peddler when their relation is getting off to a happy start.

Стратегия-31

Strategy-31 is a current Russian project designed to organize civic protests in support of the peaceful assembly guaranteed by Article 31 of the Russian constitution. If you don't believe me, check out Wikipedia. Anyway, for every month that has a 31st day, the organization facilitates a peaceful protest at Triumfalnaya Square in Moscow in order to advocate for the Article's rights. This initiative began on July 31, 2009 with the "Choose health, be like us!" campaign. Other activities include a youth sports festival, a military sports festival, a "Pro-Kremlin" gathering, and a year ago they held a "Winter Amusements" festival. Each of these rallies has been disbanded by riot police and state police. As of January 31, 2010 the initiative has spread to more cities throughout Russia including St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, and Vladivostok. On August 31, 2010 the protests took place worldwide in cities like London, Tel Aviv, and New York City.

Joseph Bové

Joseph was a famous Russian neoclassical architect in the early 1800's. After the fire of Moscow in 1812 Joseph was put in charge of the approving new facade designs and enforcing the new master plan for Moscow. Some of his famous works included the Theatre square, and Red square.

Russian Yellow Cake Uranium Unit 7

It is a wide known fact that, next to the United States, Russia is in possession of the largest largest nuclear stockpile in the world. There have been significant measures taking by the U.S. and Russia to reduce the number of their warheads. However, Russia's system for disposal and storage of this nuclear material is not as efficient and secure as many of us would like. In fact, some of the yellow cake uranium (the kind used for nukes) can be accessed by simply breaking a padlock on an old chain-link fence and walking across an open field with no concern about detection.

Although there have been no successful attempts for terrorists to access or build a nuclear weapon yet (that we know of), there have been many close calls and many seizures of yellow cake uranium that were purchased on the black market. Every one of these seizures has been traced back to Russia (Countdown to Zero). Although Russia has managed to somewhat limit the smuggling of this nuclear material through border checks, it is apparent that they cannot control it. Who could blame people for trying to make a quick fortune when it is as easy as walking into an old shack and taking a few kilos (about the size of a football) of the most potentially dangerous substance in the world? Not to mention the fact that an amount that small, if concealed in a led container, is less detectable than any drug.

Not only is this material very lucrative and destructive to human life but it is also harmful to the environment. Uranium is highly radioactive; it has a variety of adverse effects on the environment and it decays very slowly. The United States has a sophisticated system of storage and transport of nuclear waste and we still consider ourselves at risk. Russia literally has uranium sitting in old northern ship yards and in military bases that are located in cities. Not only is this bad for citizens' health and the environment, but if an accident were to happen, it would be the end of the line for anything within at least five miles of the blast! Not to mention the health problems caused from the ensuing nuclear fallout.

Russia needs a change. They need to develop a secure and efficient system for disposal and storage of nuclear waste. The last thing anybody needs is for terrorists to develop nuclear technology or for a terrible accident to wreck the population and further damage the environment for decades to come.