Борщ
Есть много разных рецептов русского борща. Мы вам предлагаем свой вариант, опробованный и оценённый нашими американскими друзьями.There are so many recipies of Russian bortsch. Here is a true and tried one that our American friends really like.
Вода 4 литра – 4 liters of water
Мясо – куриные грудки с косточкой или свинина на кости (желательно, чтобы были кости, т.к. из костей получается вкусный бульон) – 200 г Meat – chicken or pork or beef or lamb with bones. The broth is better If you have the meat with bones. 200 gr
2 – 3 средних свеклы 3 medium sized beets
1 морковка – 1 carrot
2-3 картофелины 2-3 medium sized potates
1 средняя луковица – 1 medium sized onion
1 стебель сельдерея – 1 celery stock
¼ кочана капусты – quarter of a head of cabbage
1 пучок петрушки – 1 bunch of parsley
Соль и перец по вкусy – salt and pepper to taste

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8th of March – International Women’s Day

I am sure a lot of you who are studying Russian and/or have been to Russia know about this wonderful spring holiday. It is somewhat similar to the Mother’s day here in the US, but celebrates all women and girls. It is definitely traditional to congratulate your mom, grandmas, sisters, aunts, cousins, teachers, coworkers but at school you will also see boys congratulating the girls in their class (similar to Valentine’s tradition in the US) with cards, small gifts or flowers.

It is common at schools for the children to prepare special crafts for their moms, sisters, grandmas, and teachers and then present it to them on the day of. Handmade cards are also very popular. Read More

Give Women Flowers!
Russians have a special relation with flowers. If you are going to visit someone who has a woman in their household, it is very customary to bring her flowers. Surely you do not have to do that, but she will be very pleased if you do. But it is important to remember some things when you choose your flowers.

First, it is considered inappropriate to give an even number of flowers to an alive person. If you are giving flowers to someone the number of flowers should be odd: 3, ,5,7,13, etc. An even number of flowers is given in Russia only to the dead people: for the cemetery, the funeral, the wake. It is a very important tradition in Russia. One thing to keep in mind is that is the bouquet is really large and it is not really possible to count how many flowers are in the arrangement, no one will count them or apply this tradition to it.

Second, the color is also important. Red flowers symbolize love and passion. If you want to give flowers to the woman you love, red flowers are very appropriate. White is the color of freshness, so young girls are usually given white flowers, as well as brides. And Yellow flowers symbolize separation, departure. So if you are dating someone, you probably should not bring yellow flowers for your date. Sometimes people say you can never give yellow flowers, that is not correct. There are no strict rules about that. You can give yellow flowers to a friend, for example, just avoid giving them to your date or your girlfriend.

Give flowers to women,
Even if it can seem prosaic!
Because beauty is for the beauties –
Give flowers to women,
And you will not be forgotten!

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How to memorize all those endings?

How to memorize all those endings? Do the Russians really always think which case to apply?

No, of course, the Russians don’t think about cases when talking. It’s embedded in their heads – it’s just their way of thinking. The English don’t think which tense to apply – they will never mix the verbs in the phrases: ‘I’ve read it already’ and ‘I read it yesterday’, which is, by the way, Russians will use the same verb in both phases:

I’ve read it already = Я уже это читал.

I read it yesterday’ = Я читал это вчера.

Repetition is the key here. Listen to the audio regularly and try to repeat after the native speaker. Listening improves your comprehension, but repeating actually makes you think more.

Sometimes you have feeling that you understand everything, but when you try to repeat, you are confused and don’t know all the words and all the endings. So work with audio 30 min every day and eventually you will get it.

2010 год- год А.П.Чехова
Чеховский “Медведь”, написанный больше 100 лет назад, в 1988, году всегда имел успех у публики. Характеры героев прописаны с любовью и с мягким юмором.
Хорош “нестарый помещик” Григорий Смирнов, простодушный и мужественный. Великолепна “вдовушка с ямочками на щеках” Елена Ивановна Попова. С каким блеском проводит она она свою партию извечного поединка между мужчиной и женщиной. Конечно, она побеждает. Побеждает благодаря своим чарам-обаянию, интуиции и кокетству. И Смирнов счастлив быть побежденным такой женщиной.
Так, может быть, никакой борьбы и не было, а просто встретились двое уставших от одиночества людей? Как поется в песне: “просто встретились два одиночества?”
Интересно, что в Луке, лакее Поповой ничего лакейского нет, скорее Лука- член семьи, обожающий свою барыню. Здесь Чехов следует традиции Н.В.Гоголя в описании “простых” людей.
ЮНЕСКО объявило 2010 год – годом Антона Павловича Чехова. Для нас было большим наслаждением и честью сыграть сегодня спектакль по пьесе нашего великого писателя-классика. А классик-это, по определению одной нашей студентки,- писатель, книги которого всегда современны.
Олег Загорский
Some useful learning techniques

Learning a language is a long journey.

The students always ask me how to make the process of learning Russian quicker, what are the special techniques? There are different techniques that you can apply when studying, but the most important thing is to be involved in the learning process as much as possible.
There is a great Chinese proverb: Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand. When you are involved into something all your human senses are working: hearing, vision, feeling, touch, smell, tasting, etc.

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Why English is so Hard to Learn?

Why the English Language is Hard to Learn

(How did we ever learn it?)

  •  The farm was used to produce produce.
  • The bandage was wound around the wound.
  • The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
  • He could lead if he would get the lead out.
  • The soldier decided to desert in the desert.
  • Since there is no time like present, he thought it was time to present the present.
  •  A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
  • We must polish the Polish furniture.
  • When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
  • I did not objet to the object.
  • The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
  • I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
  • There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
  • The buck dose strange things the does are present.
  • A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
  • To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
  •  They were too close to the door to close it.
  • The wind was too strong for us to wind the sail.
  • After a number of injections my jaw got number.
  • Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
  • How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Saint Petersburg

Saint PetersburgI think that Saint Petersburg is one of the most interesting and inviting cities in the world. At 300 years old, it may not be as old as Paris or Rome, but it has a rich history as the capital of Tsarist Russia, City of the October Revolution and survived 900 days of Nazi attacks as the Blockade City.

This city’s foundation is built on the bones of thousands of workers transforming swamp land into a collection of beautiful old world buildings and palaces. Many famous Italian and French artists and architects spent most of the 18th century turning Saint Petersburg into a city of classical beauty. Read More