Shostakovitch

Dmitri Shostakovitch was a renowned composer during the 20th Century. He was born in 1906 in St. Petersburg, and attended the Petrograd Conservatory. The style of music he wrote was very controversial at the time in Soviet Russia. His earlier compositions were satirical in nature, which led him to be attacked by the Soviet press and threatened by Stalin. Over time, his compositions became more dark and defiant against the Soviet government. Orchestras and ballets were wary of performing his compositions because they feared the Soviet government's reaction. Shostakovitch was basically a blacklisted composer at the height of the Reign of Terror when he wrote one of his most famous symphonies- Symphony No. 5.
If you listen to it, you can imagine the loss of control Shostakovitch was feeling, as well as the feeling of desolation and apathy. The symphony is rather long, but if you listen to just the beginning then skip around, you'll get a feel for the emotion he portrays.

As a side note, Shostakovitch would include his German initials in several of his compositions - D. Sch. These translate to the note names D, E-flat, C, and B. The combination of these notes appear as a main motif in many of his compositions, especially his String Quartet No. 8. The theme is the first thing you hear in this quartet, and if you keep listening, you can hear it change from the slow motif to a more quick, agitated version of the same notes.

Blini; a Traditional Russian Dish

Now I know you must be wondering, what are blini? Blini were originally a traditional Russian dish eaten during Shrovetide to celebrate the beginning of spring and the god of animals, pets, and cattle-- Volos (Veles). A blin was golden and circular-shaped, symbolizing the sun and hopes for good harvest. Blini were also traditionally served to the mother at one's birth as well as at one's final funeral ceremony, accompanying one from the very first breath to the last. Commonly appearing as a flat pancake nearly equivalent to the French crepe, blini are a traditional part of the Russian diet. Blini can come with a multitude of different fillings--berries, sour cream, and cheese to name a few. So, if you ever come across a blini, don't pass up the opportunity to try one of these delicious traditional Russian pancakes!

Russians have quite a few weird superstitions pertaining to different days of the week.

Monday -
Russians believe that on monday you should NEVER start a new task! They also think that if you sneeze on monday you'll be receiving a gift later on in the week, and if you have visitors on monday, expect visitors every day of the week.

Tuesday -
Now is the time to make major changes in your life and to start new ventures. It’s a great day for travel too. The only time you should be really careful is Tuesday evening and only if you feel like you need to borrow some money.

Wednesday - 
If you were to move into a new house or apartment on a Wednesday you would have terrible luck in that place. 

Thursdays - 
Do whatever you need to get done without worries, but if you wake up before sunrise and wash your face you will be blessed with not only cleanliness but good health.

Friday - 
Only clean the house after mid-day on a Friday. Actually, nothing considered woman's work should be done on a Friday before mid-day.

Saturday - 
If you were to start doing something on a Saturday, you will do it every Saturday from there on out.

Sunday - 
Don't eat breakfast early on a Sunday, otherwise it will lead to tears. Also, if you make the mistake of clipping your toenails you are not only bound to lose money, but happiness. 

Путин ... для Сталин?

Владимир Путин holds the stature of a monolith - stone faced, brooding, domineering in any social situation. This visage is one similar to a certain mustachioed icon from Soviet history who took the world by storm, scorned Western influence and created an oddly oppressive social system dedicated to the preservation of his people. This individual is obviously Таварищ Йосеф Сталин. 

Now, while news agencies in Russia and the West take pleasure in characterizing Putin as Stalin incarnate (often without irony and lately as a compliment), there are dissenting opinions on such matters, particularly provided by the news agency Кеноша. A major point of challenge is that Putin lacks the military might and cog like society which supported Stalin, and these claims are not entirely unfounded. However, it seems essential to challenge Kenosha in the allusion that Russia is merely a declawed kitten since the fall of the USSR. While the developmental speed and efficacy of the Kremlin homeland was stalled by the oil crises, social unrest and vast demilitarization, the presence of a large scale nuclear threat still constitutes a bartering chip which Putin is not afraid to levy. 

Now, this article was produced shortly after the catastrophe of the Malaysian flight incident before Putin made clear his proclivity to use nuclear force for less than atomic problems, and hindsight is 20/20. But it is still integral to read critically and consider what concepts the world, both Eastern and Western, are trying to convey through the media. 

So, is Putin trying to play the roll of Stalin? The man would definitely claim that he was, in fact, trying to play the roll of Vladimir Putin and pave his own trail. And in some ways, this is true. While the advances made by Stalin could be considered perversions of the Leninist, and previously Marxist, ideologies, Putin has seemed to abandon these ideologies in general. Instead he seeks to permeate, or pervert in his own right, the ideas of the conservative moralists in the state. Any good idea can be altered and embraced so it will be subserveant to the salesperson, and Putin's use of tradition is no different. The juxtaposition of Stalin and Putin is far more similar in method than in content, but even here the interpretation remains in the eye of the beholder. 

What do you think? 

http://www.kenoshanews.com/opinion/putin_doesnt__have_the_army__to_act_like_stalin_478085522.html

F. Dostoyevsky

 This blog will be about Fyodor Dostoyevsky's greatest novel, in my opinion.. Dostoyevsky has written some of the great novels of all time! His most well known work, arguable, Crime and Punishment, however i would say that the novel that put out the greatest impact was The Brothers Karamazov. TBK had not only an intense story line centered around the conflicts of a messed up family but it contained underlying themes that have a huge impact on today's world. The novel covers everything from the importance of a spiritual belief to the idea that God may or may not exist. The Brothers Karamazov share one thing in common, a father. That father, Fyodor Karamazov, has three sons, Ivan, Alyosha, and Dmitri and 2 female interests. Ivan and Alyosha share a mom whereas Dmitri does not. The brothers all go off on separate paths that eventually cross one another. The fact that the brothers are somewhat disconnected not only by blood but by interests leads you right into the heat of the problems this family shares. The three brothers share a journey of heartbreak, lust, religion, morals and lawlessness. This journey leads to the breaking of family ties, love for those already betrothed, a spiritual journey and a gruesome murder. They encounter plenty of intriguing and unique characters along the way who all have a part in what eventually becomes one mans trip to Hell and another's to Siberia. Bringing it all back, Dostoyevsky had a mind that most people can only dream of having. He authored some of the greatest novels of all time such as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and of course, The Brothers Karamazov. His novels are filled with not only major life lessons and themes but with story lines that will last throughout the ages.

PPP from yesterday... Grammatical concepts of case, number, and gender

Quick and dirty... here are the PowerPoint presentations from yesterday...
Introduction to Gender and Number

Introduction to the concept of case

Prepositional case

Русская пропись... это петли да петли!

Playing around this weekend, I came up with an even better example of the crazy loops of Russian cursive! Dearest Misha has deprived the millionaire of her lily!

Beyond Russian Studies: Journeys to Central Asia and Ukraine Thursday, September 4 4:30-6:30 p.m. Gillespie Museum

Hey, go LIKE us on FACEBOOK! Полюби нас!

Go "like" RUSSIAN STUDIES AT STETSON on Facebook. Follow what's going on in the program... and elsewhere.

Russify your computer!

A video on working with Russian on your computer. 

Russian for Gringos (check for links at the top of the Gringos page for other platforms). This keyboard is ASDF АСДФ--homophonic. You want the letter "n" in Russian, you hit the "n" key on your keyboard and н appears on your screen. See the keyboard map below. Good for editing documents, writing emails, etc. 

Google Input Tools, which is probably the easiest way to type in Russian if you're on "another" computer and connected to the web. It's homophonic like Gringos, and has the "word guess" algorithm (see below). As a bonus, built-in spell check!

Google Transliterate IME is a small, resident, input software package for Windows and Android that lets you use the Google Transliterate technology in other Windows programs like Word. You can use either this program, or Gringos, to Russify your computer...