WHAT IDS DO RUSSIANS HAVE?

As great Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov wrote in his most famous novel “The Master and Margarita”, “НЕТ ДОКУМЕНТА, НЕТ И ЧЕЛОВЕКА” (No document – no man). He was absolutely right. We can’t go anywhere without taking our documents with us.

What are the most important documents in Russia?

Свидетельство о рождении (Birth certificate)

After a baby is born, its parents receive the birth certificate at a registry office, and it’s considered to be the baby’s official document until it is 14 years old.

Russian Паспорт (Passport)

It’s a suprising fact for many foreigners that Russians don’t have ID cards. We have internal Russian passports instead. The Internal Russian passport is a mandatory identity document for all Russian citizens residing in Russia who are aged 14 or over.

The Internal Russian passport is an Internal passport used for travel and identification purposes within Russia, which is distinct from

the International Russian passport (МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ ПАСПОРТ) used by Russian citizens to travel in and out of Russian borders

 When people get married they receive a marriage certificate (СВИДЕТЕЛЬСТВО О БРАКЕ)

When a person starts working, he/she gets an employment record book (ТРУДОВАЯ КНИЖКА)

An employment record book is an official personal document recording the employment status of its owner over time. Usually, the work record is kept by the human resources department of a person’s current employer until he or she resigns from that company.

HOW TO SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS IN RUSSIAN?

These days people in different countries congratulate each other on Christmas and wish all the best. Perfect time for gathering together with a family and spend cozy evenings near the Christmas tree.  For Russian people this holiday comes only in January (and to be honest it’s not that hugely celebrated as the New Year’s Eve) which is why all eyes are on Russian traditional New Year recipes, presents, mandarins and champagne. But it goes without saying that many Russians congratulate their relatives and friends who enjoy Catholic Christmas, send them postcards and photos with snowy and beautiful winter sceneries. Let’s learn how to say Merry Christmas in Russian and wish each other all the best!

For more Russian “winter vocabulary” check out the video lesson with Alina and Jack!

How to say I love you in Russian?

5 crucial expressions to survive in Russia

For those who has just started learning Russian language or planning a trip to Russia and knows only some common expressions from phrase book Enjoy Russian school’s made up a list of crucial Russian vocabulary. Why the survival lesson? The city of Petrozavodsk where we are situated is not that busy and intimidating as Moscow or St. Petersburg and people do not meet foreigners every single second. That’s why learning Russian here  is on the one hand super effective (people at the streets of Petrozavodsk talk to you only Russian) but on the other hand has it could be problematic sometimes for foreigner to find the way around (not for our students since they are always with Russian volunteers).  So here is our top 5.

Survival Russian phrases worth keeping in mind:

1. По карте или наличными? With a card or cash? – You may always use gestures and point to your purse or a credit card to make people at the shop/ restaurant understands you. But to feel and act like a real Russian you better ask “Pa karte ily nalichnymi?”
2. Кто последний? Who is last? Sometimes when in Russia you need to join the queue. But may face the situation when you enter the post office or bank branch and don’t see the start point of the queue. Here’s when you ask: “Кто последний?”
3. Сколько? How many (much)? Even in Moscow and St. Petersburg you can find not only self-service shops but also “old school” mini-markets where you need to ask a сashier for the goods and prices. In that case that is very important to ask how many and how much something costs or what amount you’d like to buy. How many? = сколько? (Skolka?)
4. Осторожно! Be careful! Not to witness a huge icicle from the roof kills a passer-by be ready to learn by heart Russian version of “be careful” – осторожно! (astarozhna!)
5. Finally, the expression most frequently requested by foreigners. How to say I love you in Russian? Useful to learn because here we have the pronoun – Я (I) and the verb you use to talk about  love – любить.

Next time we will give you another five. But to learn them right now sign up for free trial Skype lesson and watch Enjoy Russian video about how to greet people in Russia!

Let's learn how to talk about winter in Russian!

Dear friends! Today is the 1^st of December which means winter has officially come! To be honest here in Petrozavodsk we started wearing warm scarves and cold weather caps (not ushankas!)  2-3 weeks ago but sometimes one does not notice winter around until it’s December! Do you want to see how happy we are? Watch the video!

Russian vocabulary with pictures

Words for hairstyles in Russian

ЧЁЛКА

Чёлка (bangs) are short hair cover your forehead

КОСА

Коса (braid) has been always considered to be a symbol of the feminine beauty. There is a saying in Russian “Коса – девичья краса” (a braid is the girl’s beauty).

ХВОСТ (ХВОСТИК)

Хвост is a ponytail in Russian, the favorite hairstyle of lots of busy women in Russia.

Learn Russian in Russia! Apply for a Russian language course now!

ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE: I TRULY LIKED EVERYTHING!

Judit from Switzerland oh her Russian language course and Russian way of life in Petrozavodsk

The best way to understand whether or not the certain Russian language course meets your expectations is to ask people. Here in Petrozavodsk Enjoy Russian language school students are always ready to share their results and progress in Russian as well as to assess their living in a Russian family and communication with volunteers.

Russian lessons, host family and Russian volunteers

“The content of the language course was excellent. Good study book with the most useful topics. The groups were small so it forced us to speak Russian. I’ve enjoyed our teachers with their games, discussions, etc. very much! I could always ask questions even if they didn’t have anything to do with the topics. The teacher always answered in a satisfying way.

I had a perfect accommodation and the best host mom ever! Super friendly, helpful and communicative, of course we’ll keep in touch! I had a nice and cozy bedroom, perfect learning area with desk and couch. I always felt welcomed.

The Russian volunteers were very nice and helpful. I’ve enjoyed the people very much. They showed us good restaurants and gave us interesting facts about the city.

Administration of the program was excellent. I could always come and ask if something would have been unclear.

Why would you recommend learning Russian at Enjoy Russian language school?

Judit has focused here on  4 main points:

• good learning progress
• motivating atmosphere
• nice city
• friendly and helpful people

And added afterwards: “I truly liked everything!”

Yes, never stop learning the language. Otherwise you’ll eventually find yourself at the point you started with.  And if you are looking for the right course pay attention to the city you are going to stay, teachers’ professionalism and experience and never underestimate the testimonials of students. We believe one of  Enjoy Russian school courses could be a perfect option for you.

IT WAS VERY PROFESSIONALLY DONE!

Enjoy Russian student shares the impressions on Individual Russian language course

Klaus from Germany had been learning Russian language in Petrozavodsk for two weeks. Daily classes, constant practice with the host family and personal motivation have brought him to a great result. On the last day of classes Klaus told the story of his life completely in Russian. Without any help, uncertainty or hesitation.

“My friend from Berlin has recommended me this school. I had an individual course which met all my requirements. I learned a lot and what is more important I understood how I should learn Russian language in the future. My teacher Katya did a great job. As a result my ambition and interest in learning Russian increased. She got far beyond my most optimistic expectations on this stay in Petrozavodsk.
Communication with the family was very pleasant too. I also got a chance to meet a student from the Netherlands who was living in this family. And we had very nice evenings.
As for organization of the course I got everything in time. The moderators are friendly, efficient and flexible. I would like to participate in the program again because the school is good, teachers are very professional and kind and I had a nice homestay.
My progress in the Russian language? I improved everything. Pronunciation and spelling. Now I actively speak Russian!”

Watch the video to get a valuable piece of advice on how to learn Russian efficiently! 

Choose your own dates to start an Individual Russian language course and become fluent in Russian!

NUMBERS IN RUSSIAN

Numbers in Russian is a tough topic even for B1 students, but here is what everyone should know

1. There are different ways of declining numbers, it’s not just one rule, there are different rules for different groups of numbers.
2. You should memorize declination of 1, 2, 3, 4, 40, 90, 100 separately, 5-20, 30, 50-80 as one group, and 200-900 as another group.
3. In compound numbers like 52 or 83 both parts of the number must be declined, not just the last number.
4. Declining numbers from 200-900, you should just decline the first part (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) the same way as it is if it’s a separate number and then just add -сот (Genitive), -стам (Dative), -стами (Instrumental), -стах (Prepositional).
5. In Nominative case you should care about numbers, because the following noun can be declined differently depending on what number precedes it: 1+ Nominative (один дом); 2-4 + Genitive singular (два, три, четыре дома), 5-20 + Genitive plural (пять, шесть,… одиннадцать,… домов). But when you start declining a noun with a numeral together, the numeral is declined according to the rule, and the noun is declined the same was as it would be without a numeral:

Nomintive: Здесь стоит три дома.

Genitive: Здесь нет трёх домов.

Dative: Он подошёл к трём домам.

Accusative: Я вижу три дома.

Instrumental: Сейчас строители работают над тремя домами.

Prepositional: Мои друзья живут в тех трёх домах.

And some Russian proverbs with numbers to cheer you up!

Один друг лучше новых двух – One old friend is better than two new ones

Одна голова хорошо, а две лучше – One head is good, but two are better

Leave your comments and questions! Apply for the course if you want to master your Russian as quickly as possible! Apply here

Here is the answer to one of the most frequently asked questions - What's the difference between И, А, НО in Russian and how to use them?

The most mistakes come up in usage of И and А, because they both are usually translates as "and" in English. The main idea that you need to understand is that И is like a +, it's used to sum up things, to put them together, to the same position.
А is used to show the difference and contrast between people or things.
НО is usually a contradiction, which is pretty similar to English "but".

Some examples

Маша и Саша любят яблоки. - Masha and Sasha like apples (they both have the same feeling towards apples, the sentence shows that two people are similar)
Маша любит яблоки, а Саша нет. - Masha likes apples, and Sasha doesn't. (Two people have different feelings, they are not similar, but different)
Маша и Саша любят яблоки, но не любят бананы. - Masha and Sasha like apples, but don't like bananas.

And finally the most frequent error the foreign students have when they learn Russian

If you want to ask "And you?" as a return question - use A, not И!!!!

• Как дела?
• Хорошо. А у тебя?
• Тоже хорошо. Как тебя зовут?
• Лена. А тебя?
• Костя.
• Ты из Москвы?
• Да. А ты?
• Я тоже

HOW TO MAKE A RUSSIAN GIRL LIKE YOU? THE POST IS ONLY FOR GUYS!!!:)

Russian girls are slightly different

Most of the Russian women think that their weakness is their strength (Их сила в слабости), which means that they really like to be weak and they want their man to be strong, to take care of them, to protect them and solve all their problems. This position is quite different from the modern feminist ideas. Well, we don’t understand what’s bad about being weaker. We like the feeling of being protected by a strong man. The Russian word for “to get married” (for women) is ВЫЙТИ ЗАМУЖ, which literally means “to go behind husband’s back”. And it doesn’t mean that a man is superior to a woman, no. It means that a woman feels like she is behind a brick wall when she is married, and this brick wall is a protection and safeness, it’s the feeling of being a woman itself.

What do Russian women want?

Most of them want a family. And their family will always be the most important thing for them in their life. Russian women really want a husband and many children, their biggest happiness is to keep the family hearth, to take care about their husband and kids.

Of course we hope our husband to be kind and generous, and a good father. But the problem is that it’s not that easy to find nowadays. And the whole tragedy of Russian women is that they must be strong to bring up their children without a husband, but in their soul they always dream to find a man with whom they can be weak again.

How to make a Russian girl like you?

Well first, you must be a gentleman. Open doors for her, let her go first, help her hold her jacket when she is putting it on, help her carry heavy stuff is she is carring some. These are small things that show that you care about her, and that are really important for most of the Russian girls.

If you take her to a restaurant you should pay for her. It’s not the matter of money. Again, it’s just important for a girl to feel that you’re the one who cares about her.

Listen to her. If she tells you about some stupid things still listen to her. It’s important for every woman, not only Russian;)

If she is in trouble, don’t stand aside, try to help. Try to be the one she can trust and rely on.

Be a “prince on a white horse”. But the real one!;)