The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. День Ивана Купала (Ivan Kupala Day) or Иванов день is a народный праздник языческого происхождения (folk holiday with pagan origins) celebrated in connection with летнее солнцестояние, although not necessarily on the same day. It is today primarily […]

Constitution Day in Ukraine is celebrated on June 28th. Celebrated since 1996, this day commemorates the anniversary of the approval by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) of the Constitution of Ukraine. Before 2014 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, the holiday’s importance and observance were minimal and around 10% of Ukrainians believed it should […]

Quarantine Diaries is a series of free language lessons from SRAS. Each lesson can take a variety of forms but all focus on building intermediate and advanced vocabulary and listening skills. The below entry, from Evgenia Obryadina, SRAS’ St. Petersburg Student Coordinator focuses on video content that will be available, live, on May 9th in […]

Quarantine Diaries is a series of free language lessons. Each can take a variety of forms but all focus on building intermediate and advanced vocabulary and listening skills. After the brief introduction, watch the Russian news report below and then read the side-by-side translation of the transcript as provided by First Channel. Then, answer the questions provided. […]

Quarantine Diaries is a series of free language lessons. Each can take a variety of forms but all focus on building intermediate and advanced vocabulary and listening skills. After the brief introduction, watch the Russian news report below and then read the side-by-side translation of the transcript as provided by First Channel. Then, answer the […]

The following resource is meant to quickly but thoroughly overview the subject of religion in Russia. It includes statistics on membership, information on major organizations and institutions, and links to sites offering histories. Mention of religion in other FSU countries is made as well. Your suggestions and comments are always welcome! Contact the Author Table […]

The Christmas holiday is the second largest holiday celebrated nationally in Poland, behind Easter. Lights strung up in the Old Town, carols humming in the stores, and Christmas trees dotting the streets: these were the festive sights I experienced throughout Warsaw while on study abroad during Christmas time. Personally, as a Catholic, going to Christmas […]

Russia Day is celebrated on June 12th. This holiday commemorates the adoption of the 1991 Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation which declared Russia’s independence from the USSR. However, many Russians are still unaware that this was ever done – and view Russia, instead, as a successor state to the USSR. In accordance with […]

The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation 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 . […]