Hi there! My name is Nina (she/her), and I am a senior comparative literature major. Learning the Russian language has been the highlight of my Reed experience, but I understand that learning a new language can be a long and difficult process. I am available to help make that process a little easier! I am …
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One thing I’ve learned in my year learning Russian is that the Russian-speaking world is very much massive. With speakers of the language spanning across the entirety of the Post-Soviet Union and its allies, it’s almost impossible to find Russian language books, shows, movies, and music without finding some that are decidedly not of Russian …
Continue reading “Non-Russian Russian Music for Your Consideration”
We’re all familiar with, or at least have heard of, the classic novels of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, but modern writers are sometimes left out when studying Russian. Here is a short introductory guide to some contemporary works you may want to check out! Vera Polozkova is a Moscow-based poet, who often puts her poems to …
Right here in Portland, Oregon we have a huge community of Russian people and culture. From grocery stores to music, there are plenty of opportunities to be found here. This is just a guide to some restaurants you may want to check out. You guessed it, the first on my list is Kachka. Located at …
Russian Ark (2002) follows the 300-year history of St. Petersburg. Directed by Alexander Sokurov, this 96-minute film was completed in one shot, entirely taking place in the Winter Palace of the Hermitage Museum. The narrator, a ghost of the city, follows an unnamed “European” through the museum, witnessing actors with beautiful costumes portraying historical figures such …
Music is a great way to learn a language, as the speaking is usually clear and easy to keep up with. Here are just a few options to start with! Vladimir Vysotsky is one of the most famous Russian musicians from the 1960s and 70s. His songs are about life in the Soviet-Union, and have …
Many Russian idioms are very fun, but do not at all translate directly into English, and can therefore be hard to learn how to use. With Очень по-русски (Very much Russian), you can hear them used and explained with everyday examples by a native speaker. The website features frequent episodes about all kinds of …
Мосфильм (Mosfilm, https://www.mosfilm.ru/main.php) Mosfilm is one of the largest and oldest film studios in Europe. The studio was established in 1923, and by the end of the Soviet Union had produced over 3,000 films. They’ve put many of them up on this website, including works by Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, or even adaptations of …
Since it is sometimes hard to find unbiased news sources, the Russian media can be hard to navigate. Here are just a few suggestions when trying to learn about the various facets of Russian media and culture. Russia Today https://www.rt.com/ This is a state-funded news outlet that is understood as the point-of-view from the Kremlin. …
Easy Languages is a YouTube channel, a resource, and most importantly a community for language speakers and learners all across the globe. From Swahili to Arabic to Russian to Esperanto and Greek and Spanish, Kazakh, Turkish and many more, the scale of resources available for language learners is immense! They describe themselves as so: “We …