Russian Language/Culture Resources

Here are some Russian resources for you. I hope they help. :) Below are a few from the list linked that I think are particularly useful.

http://www.wor.com/cat-russian-books.cfm

http://ilearnrussian.com/site/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=12&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=78

http://russian.cornell.edu/index.cfm?MainFrameURL=syllabus&CourseID=RUSSA1104-101&Section=currentclasses&LinkID=RUSSA1104-101#Week_-4

Understanding More Russian Grammar

I love reading and writing in Russian.  Here are some more grammar sources for you, dear.  It's perhaps the most complete and intuitive lesson that I've read yet.

Russian Studies as an Academic Discipline

Sam,

I saw this while casually wondering if there's a Russian AP test that I could take someday in order to be recognized for my hard work and able to attend higher level courses at my leisure. Anyway, I thought you might be interested in contributing or subscribing to this student journal in the near/distant future. http://www.sras.org/vestnik

There are some pretty neat scholarships and study abroad programs on the SRAS site as well.

Easy to read children's books in Russian!!

Click Here

Russian Grammar

I found a wonderful site that helps with understanding Russian grammar.

Of Historic Russian Faith and Art

A few days ago I wandered around an antique store and found myself staring at a beautiful hand painted Russian Orthodox icon. It was hundreds of years old and going for around $1200. For anyone ill-aquainted with the Orthodox tradition, icons are basically pictures of Saints that observers of the faith will respect, honor, and pray with. This is an example of the sort I was admiring. Enjoy the craftsmanship! For more information visit the link below. RUSSIAN AND GREEK ORTHODOX ICONS

Anthology of Russian Vocal Performance

Here are a couple of classical albums that have earlier works performed in the Russian language.  These albums are formatted to work with your Spotify account.  If you do not have Spotify, I highly recommend that software since it's free, legal, and full of resources.  You are required to have a Facebook account to use this software.

A General Overview of Tale of Bygone Years

According to Henryk Paszkiewicz's book The Origin of Russia, The Tale of Bygone Years was composed by the monk Nestor of the Crypt Monastery in Kiev.  It was written during the the early 12th century.  The chronicle covers the history of Kievan Rus, which lasted from the 10th to the 13th centuries (Paszkiewicz).  You can read these documents below for more information:

Click here for the Samuel Cross translation.

Click here for the Wikipedia article.

Click here for the NWE article.

Author information can be found in the blog's bibliography.

A brief look at video gaming in Russia

This is a brief overview of video gaming in Russia.  I came upon this by chance and thought it was worth sharing.  If you're new to learning Russian or don't care about the Russian, click on the video and find the close captions button or "CC."  You can activate English subtitles by clicking on "CC."

I see music genres as a scientist may see classification.  I see it as a way to classify music and a method to understand it.  It's very difficult to define a genre (like a species) because there are many variables to consider when classifying a song.  How is a genre separated from other genres?  When do you add a prefix to a genre?  Are some genres equal?  It's easy to say that art genres are nothing like species of animals because art is man-made and therefore has a political, cultural, and personal qualities that can not be observed objectively as if a science because humans are political, cultural, and personal with each other.  And so since art is not something like a foreign object (a dog for example), a rock, or a math problem, it's harder to develop some definite science.

Thoughts on Crime and Punishment

Because of the way other people have been responding to me lately, I thought only you would care to listen to these thoughts.  I've been reading Russian Philosophy: Vol. I -- The Beginnings of Russian Philosophy, The Slavophiles, the Westernizers, and its authors Edie, Scanlan, Zeldin, and Kline seem to agree that Russians, throughout history, have been keenly concerned about "practical truth-justice" or "pravada" (pravda or пра́вда), which is now related to Soviet propaganda (no doubt).  I do not know if there has been any separation between propaganda and "pravada" in modern time.  However, according to the same authors, philosophy survived in the Russian tradition via literary criticism, resulting in literature being the best medium to philosophize in the Russian language because of academic censorship in the universities: Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Pasternak are examples of writers who concerned themselves with philosophy.

Failed Experiment

I once thought that translating a language would better help you learn it.  I got the idea of learning language through translating from Duolingo.  Though I knew nothing of the program and had yet to join it, its video preview explained that users would learn a language by immersing themselves into it: forcing them to learn.

This attempt failed because I did not have the correct format.  Now, to prepare for undergraduate work, I'm trying to use Duolingo (since I received an invite now and can have access).  At first, I wanted to use it for Spanish, but now I'm using it for German.  It's cute and inviting, but I'm afraid that it's not what I need for the long term.

I've reduced myself to flashcards now.  Hopefully that will help me.

Packing and Reading Russian Children Stories

Instead of amateur philosophizing, I thought I should use this blog as a journal for translating and perhaps a resource for those who are learning Russian/German.  Academically, I'm a Humanities major with an emphasis on the Foundations of Western Civilization, but I also earning a German minor.  That means I'm learning both Russian and German.  What a headache!

My Greatest Flaw

To my Professors;

While having what I thought was light a conversation with a student from the adjacent university, I became aware of an unique dynamic between myself and the other students (a.k.a. normal human beings).  I call these people "other (or normal) students" because I estrange myself from them: I'm incapable of referring myself as part of them.  I have a Napoleonic complex that Raskolnikov and I share: an egocentric outlook on life.