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An Introduction: Shivaji Bhaskar, Assistant Professor (Russian) SOFL, IGNOU

Objective Dear learners so far you have learned about the Russian Alphabet, Vowels & Consonants and Gender in Russian language with the help of certain examples. You have also learned about Personal Pronouns & Possessive Pronouns in Russian and about the fundamentals of agreement between Nouns and Adjectives endings.

Cont… You have also been introduced to the Verb Conjugations and Interrogative Words & Expressions in Russian, Days of the Week & Months of the Year and Case system in Russian etc. in a detailed manner. Further you have also learned about the Nominative and Prepositional case of Russian, use of о ком? (about whom?) о чём? and about the nouns & adjectives endings in prepositional case and You have also learned about the Verbs of Motion in an accurate manner with the help various examples.

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Now in this lesson you will be learning about Common Russian Phrases, Greetings in Russian and how to introduce yourself in Russian. Further you will be introduced to the along with this you will also be learning a few more new Russian words and expressions. Common Russian Phrases

Let’s listen to some common Russian phrases now. By learning these common expressions you will be able to converse in Russian in a better way. These are such common expression which we generally use in our day to day conversations. Let’s listen to the lesson now and pay attention to the words and expressions:

Russian English Equivalent Доброе утро Good morning Добрый день Good afternoon Добрый вечер Good evening Здравствуйте Hello Привет Hi Рад тебя видеть Nice to see you Как поживаешь? How are you? Спасибо, Fine, thanks! прекрасно! Неплохо! Not so bad Как Вас зовут? What's your name? Меня зовут... My name is... Спасибо Thank you Большое спасибо Thank you very much Не за что That's all right Пожалуйста Please; You're welcome Извините Excuse me; Sorry! Простите Excuse me Ничего, That's all right пожалуйста Ничего страшного No harm До свидания! Good-bye! Пока! Bye! Увидимся See you К сожалению, мне I'm sorry I should пора идти be going Счастливого пути! Have a nice trip! Вы говорите по- Do you speak английски? English? Я плохо говорю по- My Russian is bad русски Говорите, Could you speak пожалуйста, more slowly? медленнее Я понимаю I understand Я не понимаю I don't understand Greetings in Russian

Let’s listen to some dialogues now. These dialogues have been included in the AVM for making you more conversant in Russian. These dialogues consist of general vocabulary of greetings. By attempting these dialogues you will be able to greet people in Russian. Let’s listen to the lesson now and pay attention to the words and expressions:

Dialogue 1

English Greetings Russian Greetings Tom-Hi! Том-Привет! Anton- Антон- Good morning! Доброе утро! Tom- How are you? Том-Как дела? Anton- Антон- I am fine, thank you; Хорошо, спасибо!А у and you? тебя? Tom- Том- I'm fine, thanks! Хорошо, спасибо! Dialogue 2

Pavel: Good evening! Павел-Добрый вечер! Anna: Good evening! Анна-Добрый вечер! Pavel- How is life? Павел-Как поживаешь? Anna- So-So,Thank you Анна-Так себе,Спасибо! Pavel- You're welcome! Павел-Пожалуйста! Anna- See you! Анна-Пока! Pavel- Bye! Павел-Пока! Dialogue 3

Olga- Hey! Friend!I missed you Ольга- Эй, друг Я так сильно so much! скучалa по тебе Alex- Hello! How are you? Алекс- Привет! Как дела? Olga- I am fine, thank you! Ольга-У меня хорошо, спасибо! Olga-What's new? Ольга -Что нового? Alex-Nothing much Алекс -Неплохо Olga- Okay! Ольга - Хорошо! Alex- Okay, see you later! Алекс-Хорошо!до встречи! Olga- Good bye! Ольга -До свидания How to Introduce Yourself Let’s listen to the dialogue now. This dialogue is important because this activity will lead you to introduce yourself in Russian. By doing this dialogue you will understand the basics of Russian greetings, how to ask something, how to express your thoughts and expressions in a better way.

Let’s listen to the lesson now and pay attention to the words and expressions:

Do you speak Вы говорите по- (English/ английски/по- Russian)? русски? Yes, Just a little Да, немного What's your name? Как вас зовут? My name is Anton Меня зовутАнтон Nice to meet you! Очень приятно! You're very kind! Вы очень добрый! Where are you from? Вы откуда? I'm from ( India/ Я из (Индии/России) Russia) I'm (Indian) Я Индиец /Индианка Male/Female Where do you live? Где вы живете? I live in (India/ Russia) Я ( живу) вИндии / в России Did you like it here? Вам здесь понравилось? India/Russia is a Индия/Россия wonderful country замечательная страна! What do you do for a Чем вы занимаетесь? living? I work as a (translator/ (Я) работаю businessman) (переводчиком/ бизнесменом) I like Russian Language Мне нравится Русский язык That's good! Это хорошо! How old are you? Сколько вам лет? I'm (twenty, thirty) Мне (двадцать/ years old тридцать) лет I have to go Мне нужно идти I will be right back! Я сейчас вернусь! Some more useful Russian phrases English Russian Welcome Добро пожаловать! Excuse me! Извините! Sorry! Простите! Help! Помогите! Fire! Пожар! Stop! Стоп! I understand Я понимаю I don't understand Я не понимаю Please speak more Пожалуйста slowly говорите помедленнее! Please write it down Запишите, пожалуйста Do you speak Вы говорите по- English? английски? Yes, a little Да, немного Where's the toilet? Где находится туалет? How do you say ... in Как сказать ... по- Russian? русский? How much is this? Сколько это стоит? Thank youvery much! Огpомное спасибо! /Большое спасибо! Mention not! / It’s Незачто! Okay! Happy Birthday! Поздравляю с днѐм рождения! Merry Christmas! С Рождеством! Happy New Year! С Новым Годом! Best wishes Всего хорошего! Good luck Удачи! Have a nice day Хорошего дня! Have a nice meal Приятного аппетита! (Bon appetite) Happy journey (Bon Счастливого пути! voyage) Common Russian Family Words Семья family Родители parents Бабушка grandmother Дедушка grandfather Мать mother Отец father Жена wife Муж husband Тѐтя aunt Дядя uncle Сестра sister Брат brother Дочь daughter Сын son Дети children Внучка granddaughter Внук grandson Russian Cuisine

Russian cuisine is distinctive and unique,and as any other national one, it was formed under the influence of different environmental, social, geographical, economic and historical factors. The main feature of Russian cuisine is considered to be an abundance and variety of products used for cooking. There are numerous dishes made of dough such as pies, cakes, rolls, , etc. as well as unleavened dough, including dumplings and homemade noodles. Cont…

Being a country of Orthodox Christian religion which implies numerous fasts, Russian cuisine offers a great number of vegetarian dishes including mushrooms, pickles etc. The Russian culinary palette is also rich in meat, poultry and fish dishes which are served on various occasions. Lets learn about these interesting dishes one by one: Bliny –Блины

Bliny (so-called pancakes) are a kind of dish which is cooked on different occasions. Russians eat them on different times of the day as a desert, snack or even the main course. Bliny are served with following such as: sour crème, , salmon, caviar and many other ingredients.

Cont…

Bliny are especially popular on Maslenitsa ( Butter week – a week before the Lent). Blin is a symbol of the sun, which is represented not only in the shape but also in the warmth you feel on the cold day.

Borsch-Борщ

Borsch is a very popular soup in many East European countries. You can recognize it by its reddish-purple color and sour-sweet taste. In Russia this soup is known has been made for hundreds of years.

Borsch was the favorite soup of the royals like Catherine the Great and Alexander II. It was loved by the writer Gogol. Even ballerina Anna Pavlova was fond of this high-calorie soup served with goose. Cont…

There are a lot of different kinds of borsch recipes. The main ingredient of this soup are beets. Traditional borsch is cooked with meat or possibly poultry, but you can also find vegetarian versions of this soup. The other include cabbage, carrots, potatoes, onions and tomatoes, and in some regions it might also include kidney beans, apples, turnips, marrows. Borsch is traditionally spiced with garlic, herbs and sour cream. Shchi- щи

There are numerous varieties of this soup in Russia. There is sour shchi made of sauerkraut or green shchi with sorrel, spinach or nettle. Shchi has been known in Russian since 9th century and cabbage was first brought to Russia from Byzantium. Due to its simplicity, it has become quite common meal prepared by different strata of society. There is another factor which added to its popularity. It might be cooked with or without meat which makes it compatible with different religions in Russia. Sirniki - Сырники

Sirniki is a popular dish in Russian cuisine. They are small pancakes made of cottage cheese. Usually people eat them for breakfast or as a dessert served with jam, sour cream. The name "sirniki" derives from the word "siir" which means "cheese" in Russian but also means "cottage cheese". The main ingredients are cottage cheese, eggs and flour but we often cook sweet sirniki with raisins or dried apricots. It's very tasty to cook them with bananas.

Kasha - каша

Kasha is considered as one of the most common dishes in Russian cuisine, known since times immemorial. Kasha is not only oatmeal; it is everything what is made of whole grains (buckwheat, oats, wheat, millet, barley, rice, etc) as a main ingredient. As a result, here are so many varieties to prepare and different ways to serve it. It might be cooked in the morning for breakfast or served as a side dish or even as a main meal in the evening. Pelmeni- Пельмени

Pelmeni or meat dumplings are extremely popular in Russia, but historically this dish has eastern origin. The word "pelmeni" is derived from two words of Finno-Ugarian language.

Cont…

For these people, dumplings meant not only delicious meal, but also an important component of the archaic ritual. Dumplings were very popular in Siberia and later in the 14th century were discovered by the Russian explorers. Cont…

Frozen meat dumplings are ideal for the cold climate. They can be perfectly preserved through the winter without losing their characteristics, and meat, hidden in the dough, does not attract wild animals.

Traditional Ural pelmeni are stuffed with three kinds of meat - beef, lamb and pork. But you can come across lots of other meat or fish fillings. In Siberia pelmeni are even cooked with the bear meat.

Varenyky- вареники

Varenyky are stuffed dumpling are very popular in Russia. They are made of unleavened dough and stuffed with various savory or sweet fillings. The word "Varenyky" literally means "boiled thing" as dumplings are cooked in boiling water. Cont… In old times Varenyky were a popular meal in peasants' families. They were not eaten every day, but mostly on Sundays or on weddings, christening or other important holidays. There was a tradition of bringing Varenyky as a gift to the mother of a newly-born child. The friends of a happy mother would say "Be always full like a dumpling", thus varenik would symbolize the continuation of the species. Among most popular fillings are potatoes, mushrooms, cottage cheese, fish , meat or cherries, plump, strawberries. You can try vareniki in numerous Russian restaurants or find them frozen in shops. Varenyky are usually served with sour crème. Varenyky may also be topped with sweet fruit sauce.

Pirog - пиро́г

Pirog is a big Russian pie which could have a savory or sweet filling. There is a great number of pirog recipes. Besides a huge variety of dough – leavenous, puff or sponge - there are also different types of , such as open (with filling on the top), closed (with filling inside) or layered. Some kinds of pirogs are specially prepared for certain celebrations, such as matchmaking or a wake ceremony. Varenye - варенье

Varenye is a traditional Russian home-made jam. It's very popular in Russia to make jam at home out of strawberry, apricots, cherry, raspberry and other fruits and berries of the season. Kvass – квас

Kvass is a traditional Russian beverage. It is quite refreshing and mostly prepared during summers. It is also known as a fermented rye bread drink. Summary Dear learners in this lesson you have learned about Common Russian Phrases, Greetings in Russian, how to introduce yourself in Russian, some important words related to family. Further you have also learned about Russian Cuisine. In the next course we will be discussing more about the remaining aspects of Russian Language. Further we will be discovering more interesting things about Russian language & culture.

Thank you!