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Крещение
  [kri-shche-ni-ye]
  Epiphany

🔻On the day of Epiphany Eve (18 January), the Great Blessing of Water takes place. Believers gather in churches to collect holy water.

🔻It is believed that this water has healing properties.

🔻On Epiphany (January 19), Epiphany bathing is held throughout Russia. For this purpose, special ice holes are made in lakes and rivers.

🔻People believe that such a ritual cleanses the soul and brings them closer to God, although swimming in cold water on Epiphany is not a church rite.

🔻 Vladimir Putin also takes part in Epiphany bathing (see the video in the comments)

🔻As it was almost always frosty on this day, the following term appeared:

Крещенские морозы
  [kri-shchen-ski-ye ma-ro-zy]
  Epiphany Frosts

Video by: Комсомольская Правда
Photos: Internet

#Russian_culture

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Коловрат
  [ka-lav-rat]

🔻The word “Kolovrat” is of Russian origin and is translated from Old Slavic as “rotation of the wheel”, “circle” ('коло' - circle, wheel, ' врат' - gate).

🔻However, the ancient Slavs used the word “коло” also as an epithet of the Sun.

🔻The symbol represents an eight-rayed wheel with rays bent in one direction (there is also a six-rayed and four-rayed one, the latter was used by Hitler).

🔻The rays can be bent clockwise or counterclockwise.

🔻Kolovrat was often depicted on the shields of ancient warriors, weapons, houses, and embroidered on clothing.

🔻Eight-rayed Kolovrat, with clockwise movement means the solar energy of life, the victory of Light over Darkness and personal victories.

🔻Four-rayed kolovrat is banned in Russia due to its similarity with Nazi symbols.

#brief_and_interesting

#Russian_culture

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Валенки (plural)
   [va-len-ki]

Валенок (masc.noun)
   [va-le-nok]
🇬🇧 Valenki or felt boots

🔻 Valenki are traditional Russian winter footwear, essentially felt boots: the name 'валенок' literally means "made by felting".

🔻They are not water-resistant, and are often worn with 'галоши' (galoshes) to protect the soles from wear and moisture.

🔻The origin of valenki has been speculated to trace back to the traditional felt boots worn by nomads of the Great Steppe (including Southern Rus').

🔻The first modern valenki appeared in the early eighteenth century and became more widespread as Russian industrialization progressed, becoming cheaper and more accessible.

🔻Nowadays valenki are becoming more and more popular due to their ability to keep warm during strong frosts (minus 40'C), and the popularity of Russian trend.

There are some online shops which can offer you a wide variety of modern valenki! Сheck the link here ⬅️.

#Russian_culture

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Оренбургский платок
  [a-ren-bur-skiy pla-tok]
  Orengurg shawl

🔻This type of finely knit, down-hair lace shawl originated in the Orenburg area about 250 years ago, in the 18th century. The Orenburg region of Russia is famous for its shawls, known as Orenburg shawls "Orenburgskyi Platok" in Russian.

🔻In the English-speaking world, they are often called "wedding ring shawls" because, although the shawls are quite large, a shawl knit in the traditional fashion is so fine that it can be pulled through a wedding ring.

🔻A quality shawl is knitted from hand-spun yarn: the knitter will spin a strong down hair yarn and then ply it with commercially spun silk thread. It usually takes a month or more to knit a large shawl or a kerchief with a pattern.

🔻Because of the high cost of down hair and yarn, an original hand-made Orenburg shawl is an expensive luxury item.

#Russian_crafts

#Russian_culture

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🎎Матрёшка (матрёшки)
  [mat-ryosh-ka (mat-ryosh-ki)]

🔻 The name 'матрёшка' came from a Russian female name 'Матрёна' [mat-ryo-na].

🔻Russian Matryoshka dolls became popular in Russia only at the end of the 19th century, however, since then they have become a symbol of Russian culture.

🔻At the end of the 19th century, in the Moscow toy workshop “Children’s Education” the first Russian matryoshka was brought to life by Savva Mamontov who had been inspired by Japanese wooden toys.

🔻The largest Martryoshka doll ever created contained more than 50 pieces, and the smallest one contained only one millimeter piece.

🔻These toys have deep symbolic meaning. They represent unity and connection between people, and also represent the life cycle - birth, growth, aging and death.

🔻These toys are a striking example of how folk art can become part of the cultural heritage and a popular souvenir for tourists.

Video about the history of Matryoshkas.

#Russian_crafts

#Russian_culture

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These photos were taken at the end of 19th century and now are kept in the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography.

🔻The women in the photos are wearing traditional costumes of different regions of Russia.

🔻There are two similar basic elements - sarafan and kokoshnik.

Сарафан
  [sa-ra-phan]

🔻Sarafan is a sleeveless, high-waisted dress either cut on the bias or gored to give fullness at the hem. A chemise is needed to be worn underneath.

🔻The sarafan could be very rich looking, trimmed with lace, ribbon or gold braid, or very homemade looking.

🔻Over the sarafan a short jacket could be worn, gored and gathered at the back, and also an embroidered apron. Sometimes the sarafan was worn with a belt.

🔻You can also read about kokoshniks ➡️ here.

#Russian_culture

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• Блин (блины)
  [blin bli-ny]
  (Thin) Russian pakcake(s), blin(i)

🔻 Today is the beginning of Butter or Cheese-fare Week: a week before popular Russian holiday Maslenitsа (Shrovetide) after which Great Lent starts .

🔻During the week of Maslenitsa, meat is already forbidden to Orthodox Christians, and it is the last week during which eggs, milk, cheese and other dairy products are permitted, leading to its name of "Cheese-fare week" or "Crepe week". So, thin pancakes are the most common treat during this week.

🔻After the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the following state atheism in the Soviet Union, public Maslenitsa celebrations became even less common.

🔻After the start of perestroika and fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s, large outdoor celebrations began to be startеd up again, and much of the older Maslenitsa traditions began to be revived in a modern context.

#Russian_holidays

#Russian_culture

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Свадебные традиции
[sva-dib-ny-ye tra-di-tsy-i]
Wedding traditions

🔻 In Russia weddings are usually not held during church fasts and in May (so it is believed that those getting married will 'suffer' 'МАЯться' in marriage).

🔻 In many countries, the bride and groom shouldn't meet before the ceremony. However, in Russia, the groom must first arrive at the bride’s house, and then they go to the wedding together.

🔻The bridesmaids won’t let the groom into the house until he proves his love with money and the right answers to the bridesmaids’ questions! This is called 'Выкуп невесты' (Redemption or purchase of the bride).

🔻The bridgesmaides will ask questions like “What is her favourite book?” and ask the groom for money.

🔻To formalize a marriage in Russia, you have to have a civil ceremony at the ЗАГС (Civil Registry Office), which is the official marriage registration authority in Russia.

Check the comments 👇 for more information!

#Russian_culture

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🤍💙 Better than any words!

Poster by: an artist of «Арт-фронт» Maksim Il'inov (Rostov-on-Don) 2023

#Russian_culture

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Самовар (самовары)
  [sa-ma-var (sa-ma-va-ry)]

🔻This masculine noun literally means 'self-brewer' from само (self) + варить (to boil).

🔻Having become one of the symbols of the Russian world, samovar was not originally invented in Russia. For the first time containers for boiling water  appeared in China, but they did not have a tap for pouring water.

🔻The first samovars appeared in Russia in the late 1730s in the city Tula which became the Russian 'samovar capital'.

🔻This is where the Russian proverb comes from:
Со своим самоваром в Тулу не ездят.
[sa sva-im sa-ma-va-ram f tu-lu ni yez'-dyat]
🇬🇧 You don't bring sand to the beach.

🔻There are also samovars for one glass - they are also called 'egoist'.

🔻For the children of Emperor Nicholas II, in 1909, Tula craftsmen made 5 small (1 glass) samovars.

🔻During Easter week, egg-shaped samovars were placed on the table.

Video: Samovar Museum in Tula

#Russian_crafts

#Russian_culture

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Женщина
   [zhen-shchi-na]
   A woman

🔻The word 'женщина' was formed from the Old Russian 'жена' (wife) and came into use only in the 16th century.

🔻In the Old Russian language there was only a collective concept - 'женьство' (female gender).

🔻As for the word 'жена', it comes from the Proto-Slavic “žena,” which, in turn, was borrowed from the ancient Indian, where “zna” is 'богиня' (goddess).
Just some fuel for thought :)

▶️ Женский род (revision)

Video: AI (Шедеврум)

#useful_vocabulary

#brief_and_interesting

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Константин Васильев (художник-славянист)
Konstantin Vasiliev (Slavist artist)

🔻Since childhood, Vasiliev loved fairy tales and folk epics and visited the Tretyakov Gallery as often as it was possible.

🔻In 1969, Konstantin Vasiliev painted the painting “Northern Eagle” (pic 1). A friend told Konstantin that he had seen a large eagle in the forest and described its piercing gaze. When Vasiliev removed the coverlet from the canvas, silence reigned in the room. The friends expected to see any bird, but ... they didn’t expect to see a man with an ax. The viewers were literally pierced by an eagle gaze of a courageous man, the ruler of the taiga, inspired by nature...

🔻His paintings depict Russian and Scandinavian gods and heroes of legends and sagas. Although there are many of his paintings that depict ordinary Russian people. Severe, strong, taciturn, discreet and unshakable.

#Russian_culture

#Russian_Art

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German philosopher Walter Schubart in his book 'Europa und die Seele des Ostens' (1938) about the Russians:

🔻“Western European man views life as a slave whose neck he has stepped on... He does not look with devotion at the sky, but, full of lust for power, looks down at the earth with evil, hostile eyes.

🔻Russian people are obsessed not with the will to power, but with a feeling of reconciliation and love.

🔻An Englishman wants to see the world as a factory, a Frenchman as a salon, a German as a barracks, a Russian as a church.

🔻The West is driven by unbelief, fear and selfishness; The Russian soul is driven by faith, peace and brotherhood.

🔻Russians were Christians before they were converted to Christianity. Therefore, Christianity spread in Russia not by the sword but by itself, easily and quickly.

🔻This is where the Russian national idea comes from: the salvation of humanity will come from Russia."

#Russian_culture

#brief_and_interesting

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This is a video clip of the Rybachev family, the finalists of 'Это у нас семейное' the “It’s a family thing” competition.

🔻The video for the song “Lucky” starred mom, dad, their five children, as well as grandparents.

🔻When the Rybachevs told the president about this hit, he asked to send him the song so that it would be shown in the media and “played” on the radio.

Chorus:
🇷🇺
Я — счастливчик,
Потому что у меня большая семья,
Я — счастливчик,
Оттого, что Россия — родина моя.

Я — счастливчик
И за это небеса благодарю,
Я — счастливчик,
Как огонь от радости искрю.


🇬🇧
I am lucky,
Because I have a big family.
I am lucky,
Because Russia is my homeland.
I am lucky
And I thank heaven for this,
I am lucky,
I sparkle like fire with joy!


Source: RT на русском

#Russian_culture
#news
#sing_it_🎵

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• Андрей Клименко (худoжник-славянист)
Andrey Klimenko (Slavist artist)

🔻Andrei Klimenko (born in 1956 in Lugansk Region) is a Soviet artist known for his distinctive style of Slavic folklore and paganism.

🔻He incorporates traditional Slavic motifs and symbols into his works, often depicting scenes from ancient myths and legends. 

🔻Klimenko's paintings are characterized by their rich colors, intricate details, and powerful imagery. His works often feature anthropomorphic animals, mythical creatures, and stylized human figures, all of which contribute to the surreal and dreamlike atmosphere of his paintings.

🔻Andrey Klimenko's works focus on the beauty and mystery of ancient Slavic traditions, celebrating their resilience and enduring power.

🔻He is considered one of the leading artists of the contemporary Slavic art movement.

#Russian_culture
#Russian_Art

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Did you know Tetris was invented in the USSR?

🔻This iconic game was created in 1984 by a Soviet programmer named Alexey Pajitnov.

🔻He initially called it "Tetris" because the game's name was a combination of "tetra" (Greek for "four") and "tennis."

🔻Pajitnov didn't profit from Tetris for many years. His game was stolen and sold by a Soviet company for $87,000.

🔻Tetris is one of the best-selling games of all time. It has been played by billions of people worldwide.

Have you ever played Tetris?

#brief_and_interesting #Russian_culture

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День Дачника!
[den' dach-ni-ka]
Dacha Owner's Day!

🔻Дача [da-cha] (dacha) is a Russian suburban country house with a small garden where city dwellers have their leisure time and do gardening. It's not just a 'house in the village'! It's much closer to the family estate in miniature.

🔻The word 'дача' comes from the word 'давать' (to give). This name stuck in the 18th century, when Peter I decided that it was convenient to keep officials near the new capital, and began to give them nearby land plots near St. Petersburg.

🔻The usual meaning of a country house, adapted for living in the summer, appeared later, in the 19th century.

😉Don't forget to congratulate your Russian friends on this day!

Video by: ™️linasofa777777777

#Russian_culture
#holidays

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A Russian photographer conducted an experiment with dressing modern girls in traditional Russian costumes.

🔻The beauties display outfits from different regions of Russia from the 19th and 20th centuries. The variety is simply amazing!

How do you like it?

Video by: Лучше и не скажешь

#Russian_culture
#Russianculture
#brief_and_interesting

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🇷🇺 Some Russian beauty for you

Do you like Russian traditional dresses?

▶️Кокошник

▶️Сарафан

Video by: ™️elizabet_crow

#Russian_culture
#Russianbeauty

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