In most of the Western world, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is one of the most popular holidays of the year. Families gather to обменяться подарками (exchange presents). In Russia, however, Christmas is mainly observed as a религиозный праздник (religious holiday), and is celebrated, в соответствии с российской православной традицией (according to the […]

Georgian cuisine, known for its unique flavor combinations, is also known for several unique dairy products. Like similar dairy products around the world, these originated from the same need to preserve the nutritional and caloric value of milk. With several local twists to the preparation process, however, including the use of “spontaneous starters” – or […]

Studying in Bishkek for the academic year, I took advantage of winter break to visit my host family in Armenia from a previous study abroad experience. This gave me my first opportunity to see how New Year’s is celebrated in this part of the world: the setting up of the New Year’s tree and other […]

Very often, commonly used expressions in a language will have been in use for so long that their origins are now unclear. Sometimes there is clear origin. This new project from SRAS will help explain what some popular expressions mean in Russian and, where possible, where they came from. I. From the French The Russian […]