Liza Temnikova: The Flying Little Girl of the 2014 Sochi Olympics

Liza Temnikova is the daughter of two taxi drivers from Krasnodar, a town north of Sochi. She has been a gymnast since age 6, which is very appropriate in regards to her role as a "flying" child during the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. After attending an open casting call, Liza was chosen to represent Lyubov, meaning love. She played the role of a little girl who falls asleep dreaming of Russia; thus the theme of the ceremony, "Dreams About Russia." However, Liza was not only apt for mid-air suspension and maneuvering-- she also starred in the opening video illustrating the Russian alphabet, which described influential pieces of Russian history for each presented letter. Liza Temnikova is not often recognized for her role in the introduction of Russia during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, but she did indeed have an impact on viewers around the world with her graceful portrayal.

Here is the Russian Alphabet video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFvJ6ftZDzQ

Images of Liza Temnikova:

The 'Great' Debate

There is a large debate concerning Peter the Great’s reign of the Russian Empire from 1682-1725. Historians are split between the belief that he created a revolution, of sorts, in Russian, and the idea that he simply made many reforms but did not create a revolution. There is no doubt that he did attempt to make very drastic changes to not only the Russian government, but also the lives of every day townspeople and nobles. By “Europeanizing” the empire, Peter attempted to force people to dress, look, and act like the Europeans he has seen during his travels. He wanted to civilize his people. Unfortunately, for Peter, these new policies emulating the European style did not reach all the way into the rural areas of Russia where peasants continued to dress and wear their beards in the traditional Russian style. 

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet era author who prided himself on exposing the Soviet government's gulags. He fought in WW2 and served as an artillery commander on the front. Afterwards, Solzhenitsyn found himself being sent to a labor camp for sending derogatory letters about the government to his friend. He was imprisoned in a few main camps, the first few inspired the novel, The first circle, which explained life in the worst of the labor camps, those located near the main village in the area. Here Solzhenitsyn lived out his time until he was moved to a camp for political prisoners, which inspired the novel One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. This novel was a story that literally took place over the course of one day. It explained the hardships and monotony of working in gulags. Solzhenitsyn continued his work of trying to disrupt the Soviet government with unsuccessful attempts. He was eventually deported to Frankfurt where he continued to write about the tortures of labor camps. In 1990 his citizenship was restored and he made a return to Russia. On Aug, 3th 2008 Solzhenitsyn died of heart failure. Russian and world leaders culminated to honor his passing. His legacy lives on as being one of the most influential writers during the Soviet times and being a huge part of how people knew of the tortures of the gulag.

Pepsi preparing for war?

Fun fact: In exchange for Pepsi products, Russia gave Pepsi 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer in 1990. At the time, it was the seventh largest submarine fleet in the world. 
Now what on earth is a soda company going to do with that kind of artillery? True it is a fact that it saves money if you host your servers on a boat in the middle of the ocean since you can avoid taxes, but still..  It makes you wonder whose side Pepsi would take if another war would occur, or whether or not they sold off that technology and machinery and to whom!? It seems like a bit of a rip off too, soda for war machinery? I think not America! But this is Russia we are talking about...

белые ночи

White Nights is a Russian celebration that runs from May through July to welcome the summer. The celebrations weren't extravagant for most of the 20th century because of wars and revolution. Now, Russia's economy grew stronger and the life of the celebration grew with it. Cultural festivals are held within the months; Dostoevsky, held on July 3, celebrates local authors, and other festivals have performances of classical music, opera, and ballet. Even the clubs stay open until 6 am on the weekends. The festivals draw attention of Russian tourists. Most travel from Moscow, but some arrive from as far away as Siberia.

Read about a first hand experience of the White Nights in Russia from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/travel/russias-white-nights-in-st-petersburg.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Why has eastern Ukraine returned to full-scale conflict?
 
Fighting started in April 2014 and raged for months until Ukraine and the separatists came to a deal on 5 September to halt the violence and free prisoners.

But the ceasefire never held entirely. Although the intensity of the conflict subsided, the clashes never really ended and both sides used the relative lull to build up their forces.

Battle raged for control of the ruined airport at Donetsk, with Russian-backed rebels trying to seize a strategic and symbolic asset.

A new rebel push began with the start of the year, culminating in the capture of the airport's main terminal on 22 January.

International observers said the shells that killed 30 civilians in Mariupol were fired from rebel areas

Violence has flared the length of the September ceasefire line and the casualties mounted:

• Civilians were killed by shells and rockets in rebel-held areas, particularly the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk
• Thirty people died in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, in an artillery attack that international observers said came from rebel-held areas
• Rebels launched a concerted attack to seize the town of Debaltseve, a transport hub held by government forces

Why did the ceasefire break down?
 
Each side accused the other of tearing up the peace deal.

For the government, it was the rebels' decision to hold their own local elections in November 2014, in defiance of the Kiev authorities.

The separatists, however, were unhappy that the government had responded by saying it would scrap the special status of their two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Among the terms of the truce were a commitment to pull back heavy guns from the front line by at least 15km (9 miles), a release of prisoners and an agreement for international observers to monitor the truce and a buffer zone on the Ukrainian border with Russia.

Ukraine would also grant wider self rule to Donetsk and Luhansk.

Long story short...things are heating back up.

Ruzhany Palace

This ruined palace was built in 1602 in western Belarus for the Lithuanian diplomat Sapieha family. The head of the family was a wealthy diplomat for Lithuanian kings whose kingdom reached into many other present day countries. By the time the 1700's rolled around, the land turned into a battleground between many kingdoms and after was renovated into an English style palace. It was called the Belarussian Versailles. By 1780 the renovation stopped and around 1831, after the November Uprising, the palace was sold and turned into a textile factory. Around those early 1800's the Russians, invaded the area and as the palace was sold to them, they claimed everything in it. In 1914 the palace was accidentally set on fire when a lamp fell over in one of the basement compartments. Rebuilding projects had been started many times but WWI and WWII prevented that and further damaged it. 

The palace was as ornate as you can imagine. There used to be a huge ballroom and theatre. It is rumored that the underground compartments go so deep that oxygen supply would be too low to stay for long. There were statues in every archway lining the corners of the palace. These statues were taken by the Russians when they invaded and brought to present day St. Petersburg and were kept in the Winter Palace. It is not known if they are used for display now. There are no pictures from back then of the palace except an engraving. 

BREAKING NEWS! RUSSIAN POPULATION IS BEARS

The "real" population of Russia? Who would've guessed! But in all seriousness the population of Russia is no laughing matter. There are estimated 146 million people (with a population density of about 22 people per square mile) living in Russia as of this year which constitutes a mere 2% of the global population. Considering the shear size of Russia (6.6 million square miles)  this undoubtedly comes as a surprise to some. However a closer look at the terrain of the mother land explains all. Russian climate varies with mild dry summers and long, harsh winters. Temperatures have reached as low as -82.5 degrees Celsius and the landscape provides little shelter with its sprawling vastness. With a land as unique as Russia, why wouldn't its people be likewise?

The Russian Family Unit

Russian families are sometimes very large and often very friendly. The family unit in Russia is not limited to the husband, wife and children. It includes grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces. Members of the family closely communicate with each other and frequently get together. These families are close knit and involved in each other’s lives.  Russians cherish their families and are always ready to help their relatives in difficult times. It is believed  that everyone should love their home and protect their family. This is instilled into Russians since early childhood.

Civil unions have been gaining popularity in Russia as of late. To clarify a civil union is a relationship where a man and a woman live together and share household expenses without officially getting married. Civil union has been a great opportunity for the young couples to test their feelings and make sure they are ready for a family life together before they get married. A marriage becomes official when the couple receives a wedding certificate in the Civil Registry Office and gets married in an official civil ceremony.

What’s cool is that with the birth of a child one of the spouses will be forced to temporarily leave work. Just like in other country, there are agencies providing the services of nannies and babysitters, however, their services are rather expensive and young spouses tend to prefer to take care of children on their own. Many families receive the support of grandmothers. It's fairly common in Russia for a grandmother to look after children while their parents are at work. In any case, parents always have a right to leave work for the term specified by law. This time is called декретный отпуск (parental leave) and is paid by the state. Either the mother or the father of the newborn mayуйти в декрет (take the parental leave) depending on whose job pays more.

Blog 6 - Tatiana’s Day, or “Students' Day” in Russia and Ukraine

            In Russia and Ukraine, the 25^th of January is an important day for University students, not just because it’s the end of exams and the beginning of their winter break. The 25^th of January is the Russian holiday Tatiana Day, or Students' Day, which celebrates the day Empress Elizabeth of Russia signed the decree to found Moscow University. The day was named after Saint Tatiana, the patron saint of students. On Students' Day it is customary for Russian students to go out drinking with their friends. Night clubs and bars usually have special parties. Traditionally the students start by drinking mead and then drink other alcoholic beverages.