Dalhousie Department of Russian Studies

Anna Akhmatova is one of the most significant figures in the Russian literature of the 20th century. She became established as a popular poet in 1910s and is known to bring in a distinct woman's voice in the Russian literature of that time. Having lost many friends and family members to prisons and concentration camps during the period of Stalinism started in 1927, her later poetry became an eyewitness testimony of the Stalinist terrors. This period of Akhmatova's literary work is represented by her most famous cycle Requiem.

Lot’s Wife 

And God’s luminous messenger, larger than life, 
Led the one righteous man along the black mountain. 
But regret cried out to his wife: 
“It’s not too late, you can still catch a glimpse of Sodom, 
The red rooftops of home, 
The square where you sang, the yard where you spun, 
The tall house, its windows abandoned— 
The house where your sons and daughters were born.” 
She looked back—a sudden arc of pain stripped her eyes of sight, 
Fused her feet to the ground — 
Her flesh became transparent salt. 

Who will mourn this nameless woman? 
She seems the least of all we lack. 
Yet I, for one, can never forget 
How she gave her life for one look back. 

Anna Akhmatova, 1924 
(Translated by Meryl Natchez)

Лотова жена

И праведник шел за посланником Бога,
Огромный и светлый, по черной горе.
Но громко жене говорила тревога:
Не поздно, ты можешь еще посмотреть
На красные башни родного Содома,
На площадь, где пела, на двор, где пряла,
На окна пустые высокого дома,
Где милому мужу детей родила.
Взглянула — и, скованы смертною болью,
Глаза ее больше смотреть не могли;
И сделалось тело прозрачною солью,
И быстрые ноги к земле приросли.

Кто женщину эту оплакивать будет?
Не меньшей ли мнится она из утрат?
Лишь сердце мое никогда не забудет
Отдавшую жизнь за единственный взгляд.

Анна Ахматова, 1924 г.

📷Image: Anna Akhmatova in 1920s, photographer unknown.

22 of April is the birthday of the famous Russian-American novelist, poet and translator Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov is most famous for his 1955 novel "Lo**ta", which received wide acclaim and is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest literary works of the 20th century.

Yuri Leving, Professor of the Department of Russian Studies at Dalhousie University, has done exciting research about Nabokov's legacy. He is also the founding editor of the Nabokov Online Journal (since 2007) - an academic journal devoted to Nabokov studies. Here are some of Professor Leving's books that you might find interesting:

📖
Shades of Laura: Vladimir Nabokov’s Last Novel The Original of Laura.

Lo**ta: The Story of a Cover Girl – Vladimir Nabokov’s Novel in Art and Design (co-edited with John Bertram).

Anatomy of a Short Story. Nabokov’s Puzzles, Codes, “Signs and Symbols.”

Keys to The Gift. A Guide to Vladimir Nabokov’s Novel.

Upbringing by Optics: Book Illustration, Animation, and Text [Vospitanie optikoi: Knizhnaia grafika, animatsiia, tekst].

The Goalkeeper: The Nabokov Almanac.

Train Station – Garage – Hangar (Vladimir Nabokov and Poetics of Russian Urbanism) [“Vokzal – Garazh – Angar. V. Nabokov i poetika russkogo urbanizma”].

🔎For the full list of books please check the website of the Department of Russian Studies: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/arts/russian-studies/faculty-staff/our-faculty/full-time-faculty/yuri-leving.html

📷Photo: Carl Mydans/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

The Department of Russian Studies is proud to announce the recipients of the 2020-2021 Glazov Memorial Award:

Tia Bonvie
Sophie Girouard
Hasana Tombs
Maya Schluter-MacLean
Alec Rembowski

Congratulations! 🎉

"If you speak any lines, or do anything, mechanically, without fully realizing who you are, where you came from, why, what you want, where you are going, and what you will do when you get there, you will be acting without imagination. That time, whether it will be short or long, will be unreal, and you will be nothing more than a wound-up machine, an automation."
(K. Stanislavski, An Actor Prepares)

Every year on 27th of March the world celebrates World Theatre Day. One of the biggest names in the Russian theatre is without doubt Konstantin Stanislavski. Born in 1863 in Moscow to a wealthy family that loved theatre, he established himself as a theatre practitioner whose ideas and acting techniques became influential not only in Russia, but also around the world. He is the author of several major books on the art of performance, including the book quoted earlier - An Actor Prepares.

Photo: Stanislavski (far left) in The Lower Depths at The Moscow Art Theatre,1902 Credit: Stanislavski Centre/ArenaPal, BBC

Birch bark used to be a popular material for writing in the Ancient Rus. Unlike paper, it was cheap and therefore was used for everything from school homework to love letters and bookkeeping.

1. "Надо с Дмитра взыскать должки" (need to collect the debt from Dmitri). The manuscript belonged to a boy named Onfim. He used birch bark to practice the alphabet by writing psalms, memos as well messages to his friends.
Years: 1240-1260

2. Message from Yanka and her husband Selyatina to a matchmaker, accepting the bride suggested by the matchmaker for their son: "Хочет-таки детище твоего. К празднику ее хочет. Пожалуйста, срочно будь здесь..." (He wants [to marry] the girl, before the holidays. Please arrive here as soon as possible...).
Years: 1160-1180

3. List of property owned by Turabei - owner of a house in Moscow and lands near Suzdal.
Years: 1400-1410

The Russian expression "ни пуха ни пера" is widely used to wish good luck to someone before an important event, for example an interview or an exam.

This expression originated among hunters and technically means wishing a bad hunt. Being superstitious, the hunters avoided wishing good luck directly out of fear of jinxing the hunt.

Ни пуха ни пера to all who have upcoming exams and quizzes!

This Monday we would like to share with you some Russian winter landscape paintings.

What is your favourite winter painting?

1. Bogolyubov Alexey Petrovich - Sledging on the Neva. 1854
2. Surikov Vasily Ivanovich - Winter in Moscow. 1884-1887
3. Svetoslavsky (Svitoslavsky) Sergei Ivanovich - From the Window of the Moscow School of Painting. 1878
4. Polenov Vasily Dmitriyevich - Early Snow. 1891
5. Korovin Konstantin Alekseyevich - Winter. 1894
6. Vasilyev Fedor Aleksandrovich - The Thaw. 1871
7. Kustodiyev Boris Mikhailovich - Crepe Week. 1916

The paintings are retrieved from Tretyakov Gallery website
📍tretyakovgallery.ru
Visit the website to see more paintings by Russian artists.

We wish everyone a Happy New Year! S Novym Godom! ☃️🎄

New Year is a major holiday in many Russian-speaking countries. Before the New Year families decorate New Year tree. On New Year Eve families and friends exchange presents, have a big festive dinner and enjoy firework displays. The traditional food on the dinner table usually includes olivier (more famous as Russian salad), tangerines and red caviar sandwiches. The holiday in Russian-speaking countries borrowed many Christmas attributes during the USSR times, when Christmas traditions became secularized and Christmas itself was not celebrated publicly.

These days Christmas celebrations are becoming more popular. The holiday is celebrated on January 7th, as Orthodox Church continues following an old Julian calendar (different from Gregorian calendar followed in the secular world and by other Christians). The different calendars are also the reason why on January 14 some Russian-speaking people celebrate such a unique holiday as an Old New Year - New Year according to the old Julian calendar.

Dal Russian Studies Department Professor Yuri Leving published new books: "Poetry in a Dead Loop (Mandelstam and Aviation)" and "Joseph Brodsky in Rome" in 3 volumes.
Make sure to check them out 📖

We hope everyone is safe and healthy during the quarantine. While we all hope that the curve flattens soon and the situation comes back to normal, here are a few suggestions of the resources to use during the quarantine to expand your knowledge of Russian language and about Russia.

1. Arzamas
Educational project about the history of culture. It includes a lot of materials about the Russian culture and art and would be a useful source of information for the students with advanced Russian. The project includes online lectures, articles, podcasts, as well as photo and video materials. As the website is in Russian only, it might be difficult to navigate at first, therefore here are some suggestions on where you could start from.

Check out "Russian Language History in 18 minutes". The video is in Russian language with English subtitles and is using a funny and creative way to tell about the history of Russian language from Kiev Rus to modern times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDSn1HWY8J8&t=912s

You might also like the podcast Перемотка, which features stories from the family archives in Russia. The podcast uses a simple language, therefore making it a good material for practicing listening for intermediate and advance Russian learners.
https://arzamas.academy/special/peremotka

The website also provides an impressive choice of animation. Check out old and modern Russian clay cartoons with the English subtitles.
https://arzamas.academy/materials/1229

2. Coursera
Are you already taking any courses at Coursera? There are a few courses which might be of your interest.

Doing Business with Russia
https://www.coursera.org/learn/business-russia?action=enroll&authMode=signup&courseSlug=business-russia&showOnboardingModal=check
Understanding Russians: Contexts of Intercultural Communications
https://www.coursera.org/learn/intercultural-communication-russians

3. Virtual Hermitage Museum Visit
A 5-hours journey through Russia’s iconic Hermitage museum is not to be missed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YeFsx1rIw

4. Культура.РФ
Educational project about the Russian culture - a great source of articles, interviews, lectures, news in the Russian culture and art circles, documentaries and feature films. The website is in Russian only, therefore it will be most suitable for advanced Russian learners.
https://www.culture.ru

Stay healthy and

Russian Language in 18 Minutes Download the "Radio Arzamas" app to listen to our latest courses and podcasts! http://arzamas.academy/radio Old East Slavic and Slang, vowel reduction and sw...

Yesterday the Russian poetry was in the air. Poetry from different centuries, spanning more than a thousand years was read by the talented students from the Department of Russian Studies during the Poetry & Music Night.

@ Dalhousie University

Department of Russian Studies invites everyone for the Poetry & Music Night on March 11.

Join if you:

👉love poetry and music
👉have interest in Russian culture
👉look for an opportunity to speak Russian with native speakers and other Russian language learners
👉want to take a break from classes and assignments
👉want to meet new people
👉just have not yet decided how to spend a Wednesday evening next week.

No matter what your reason is, we are looking forward to seeing you!

📮Please send a message if you would like to perform at the event.