The following article originally appeared in Russian on Vegetarianskij.ru. It has been translated and adapted by SRAS for presentation here. History of Vegetarianism in Russia The official coming of vegetarianism to Russia was inaugurated with the opening of the first vegetarian society. This was in Saint-Petersburg in the mid-1860s. The society was humorously called “Ни […]

The following is lesson 9 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Россия – многонациональное и многоконфессиональноегосударство. Россия –  светское государство, а конституция РФ гарантирует «свободу совести, свободу вероисповедания». Федеральный закон «О свободе совести и о […]

My first visit to Irkutsk happened over twenty years ago, when I was looking to expand study abroad options for SRAS beyond Moscow. I recall that I was fascinated by these old wooden houses, right in the center of the city, where they seemed at risk for rapid demolition to make way for new offices […]

Russian is recognized as a critical language in the US (web), essential for maintaining US diplomatic priorities. The US government sponsors various programs for learning the Russian language (e.g., Intensive Summer Language Institutes, Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants, Teacher Exchange), and there are Russian programs at many US universities. Given the importance of the language, […]

The following is lesson 8 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Any red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Москва – столица России, самый большой и густонаселенный город в стране (и в Европе). Москва – это […]

The following is lesson 7 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. У всех нас периодически возникает необходимость ходить по врачам. Может быть, вы простыли и хотите получить больничный, может у нас […]

The following is lesson 6 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Работать в российской школе может любой, кто получил высшее педагогическое образование, а также те, кто учился […]

The international department at VGUES has, throughout the semester, taken us on various excursions around Vladivostok. This week, we ventured back into time to explore some of the old Russian traditions. At a rather nondescript apartment building near the city center, a kind babushka beckoned for our group to come inside. We were then ushered […]

The following is lesson 4 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Каким вы представляете себе лицо бедности? Лично для меня это плачущая у кассы старушка, отдавшая последние деньги за […]

The fourth Sunday of every September in Vladivostok is set aside for a local holiday called “День Тигра” (“Tiger Day”). The event celebrates the Amur (also called Siberian) Tigers, whose natural habitat is the Primorsky Krai Region of the Russian Far East. Vladivostok’s coat of arms prominently features the Amur Tiger, and there are quite […]

The following is lesson 3 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Note that all bold words and phrases have annotation below. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate slang. Этим летом я ездила в Санкт-Петербург. Санкт-Петербург – это второй по численности населения и значению город […]

The following is lesson 2 of the Моя Россия advanced Russian lesson series. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal its English translation. Red words and phrases indicate the subject of this blog entry’s grammar lesson. Asterisks indicate words that have additional cultural/linguistic commentary below. Русские люди очень любят праздники. Наверное, они их любят даже больше, чем […]