Matryoshka’s diary
5 facts about the Veliky Ustyug Estate Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will share a few interesting facts about Veliky (the Great) Ustyug, the estate of the Russian Santa Claus – The Grandfather Frost. Fact 1. Our Russian Santa Claus lives in Veliky Ustyug, where some magic happens. It […]
What do the Russians do during the winter holidays? Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. Happy New Year! Thank you for being part of the Matryoshka’s family. This week I will share a few interesting facts about traditional festive activities that are popular to this day. What is Svyatki? While Syatki has pagan […]
Watching one of the most famous Soviet films of all times with our author Elena Killiakova Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will share a few interesting facts about a very Soviet movie that we love to watch as we approach the end of the year. This is one of […]
Have you been to Kaluga? If not, we will take you on a virtual tour of the 2020 New Year’s capital of Russia. Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. With the new year being just around the corner, I am going to share a few interesting facts about Kaluga, the 2020 New Year’s […]
The author of Matryoshka’s diary Elena Killiakova tells about friendship in Russia Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will shed some light on making friendships with Russian people. You might think that it is not a big deal and I am sure you might have made friends in a blink […]
The global community of ethnic Russians abroad Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will share a few interesting facts about the global Russian community or Russian diaspora. Brighton Beach: the stereotypical Russian diaspora Before I moved abroad, whenever someone was talking about Russian diaspora, I would immediately think about Brighton […]
The real story of bears walking in a Russian city Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will answer probably some of the most common questions that I get asked as a Russian – do bears wonder the streets of Russia? Where in Russia do polar bears live? Can you see […]
How do people live in the Russian countryside? Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week we will focus on something that not many foreigners get to experience while visiting Russia – the life in the Russian глубинка [glubinka] or the countryside. The capital (Moscow) and the Northern capital (St. Petersburg) usually get […]
Rus’, Russia, Russian Federation… how not to get lost in the names of one of the most beautiful countries in the world Welcome to the new edition of Matryoshka’s Diary. This week I will share with you some of the names that we call Russia that are not that commonly known to foreigners. Many people […]
The author of Matryoshka’s dairy shares the reasons for learning Russian Summer is over and fall is the perfect time to start studying Russian. Have you always dreamt about reading Dostoyevsky in the original? Or would you like to impress your Russian friends with your knowledge of the language? Here are a few reasons to […]