"Chistotel"

Babushka asked us where she could could buy some "chistotel" which a direct translation of would be "clean body." Evidently chistotel is an herb that removes warts and skintags and is highly invasive and unlikely to be allowed into the gardens of California, no matter how "polezno" the herb may be.

Tinctures are available. But whether they are the "real herb" or some strange substitute, we do not know.

In the meantime, trying to find good information on the web was a lot of fun. Check out this article excerpt:

CHELIDONIUM MAJUS Chistotel. Outstanding hepatic means, patogenez which includes set of the direct and reflex symptoms caused by defeat of this body. Icteric colouring of a skin and especially constant pains under the bottom corner of the right shovel are indications for this preparation. Paralytic extension and a lameness of one finiteness

You can read more of the fun at the source location here.

Widow mourns Solzhenitsyn, but most Russians are unmoved - Telegraph

Widow mourns Solzhenitsyn, but most Russians are unmoved - Telegraph: "Widow mourns Solzhenitsyn, but most Russians are unmoved
Russians yesterday filed past the coffin of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the former dissident and Nobel laureate who became the conscience of a nation that did not want to listen."

This is the most accurate reporting of late on Solzhenitsyn's place in the Russian consciousness.

I recall reading "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" as a teen in highschool, and it disturbed me. The West loved Alexander Solzhenitsyn, but every native Russian I have met has responded in a blase manner to his work. So what that he described Soviet life in such detail--did it inspire? No, it simply reinforced the grim grey reality of the USSR. Most former-Soviets read to escape or to ponder the bigger questions of life. Why experience the sadness of Soviet-ness, over and again?

I do profoundly believe that Mister Solzhenitsyn's true fans, those in the West, and in the US, would have given the writer a grand funeral. Perhaps, with time lessening the impact of the USSR, Russia will come to hold him in the same esteem.

RIP.

Cool language test for Russian speakers

Я проверил свои знания русского языка и получил тройбас. Сходи, проверься?

Business as usual...tanks and drunks

Think it's an "all new" Russia? Not really, judging by this article:
Hey, tanks a lot! - Yahoo! News

The article says the tank must have malfunctioned before running into someone's home. Sure, the malfunction was alcohol-related. Vodka to tank-driver results in...malfunctioning!!

But I do appreciate the comment made by the homeowner..."Thank God they didn't shoot." (Slava Bogu!) Thank goodness indeed!

Voting for the Bear

Russia's new president, Medvedev (Medved is a bear), likes western rock music. Wow, why is that so amazing to the western press? Nearly every Russian I know likes western rock.

I would be more surprised if the United States' new president liked Russian rock, and had someone sing it on stage during the inauguration. Now wouldn't that be a blast, of sorts?

Congrats, anyway, to the new "liberal" president! Keep in mind liberal (in Russia) does not mean tree hugging environmentalist who votes yes on gay marriage. It means...willing to make changes. As long as Vladimir Vladimiromich (Putin) agrees. Hmm. We'll see. Cross our fingers.

Note: Wikipedia has Medvedev's height listed as 5'4". I wonder if that will change once he takes the office.

English as a second language headlines

While browsing through the St. Petersburg Times (Russia not Florida), I came across the headline:

Minister Says Russia Won’t Be Pressurized

I don't know about you, but it made me laugh. Obviously they're having trouble getting native English speakers on board to edit over there. It sounds like something a smug Russian would say to me to "show off" his big words. Here's a tip: talk to the natives. Hire native speakers. If all else fails, keep it simple.

Actor watch: Menshikov

I've got a thing for Russian actor Oleg Menshikov. Isn't he hot? If you haven't had the fortune to see him in a film, check out The Barber of Siberia (which is where he is particularly "hot") or East-West or Prisoner of the Mountains. Or...just check him out on what appears to be his official website.

He is not from St. Petersburg, but who cares, really? Ha ha. He did grow up near Moscow, and was not an exceptional student--but oh how he can act!

In "The Barber of Siberia" he plays the romantic lead. He's a cadet in pre-revolutionary Tsarist Russia who is a bit naive...

In "East-West", he plays a more tragic figure. His character returns to the USSR after the Great Patriotic War (WWII) and it is a grey grim film in line with the times.

In "Prisoner of the Mountains" he is the cynical Soviet soldier who morphs before our very eyes.

Of course, there are more films, but these are a few for your Menshikov introduction. Check him out; it's worth the price of a Netflix DVD, and more!

Did you notice it?

I just now noticed that the last name of the Consul General in St. Pete's is "Amend." Well, don't get me started. I don't think I've ever seen that last name in my life, and now here it is. Amend the way we do business, amend the constitution. Amend this, sucka! Or maybe it was actually "Amen" with a type-o. In any case, it struck me as unusual, and ironic. Amen to that.

Accuracy in Russian Media?

I just LOVE this not-so-subtle jab at Russian media sources from REUTERS in the UK:

MOSCOW, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Of COURSE they won't vouch for the accuracy of the news--how can they check it? How can a reporter in Russia even get any kind of truth? Russians are the masters of spin. As long as they aren't playing a classical composition on the radio, though, you know things are more or less moving along. Smack dab into democracy. Sometimes democracy just plain sucks. If it is going to fail anywhere, it'll fail over there. I think they're just going to have to compromise and hammer together their own style. The American way won't work.