Russian For Dummies

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yanvar’(een-vahr’; January)

fyevral’ (feev-rahl’; February)

mart (mahrt; March)

apryel’(uhp-ryel’; April)

maj (mahy; May)

iyun’(ee-yun’; June)

iyul’ (ee-yul’; July)

avgust (ahv-goost; August)

syentyabr’ (seen-tyabr’; September)

oktyabr’ (ahk-tyabr’; October)

noyabr’ (nah-yabr’; November)

dyekabr’ (dee-kahbr’; December)

Note that while English capitalizes the first letter of the name of the month, Russian does not.

Say you’re considering taking a trip in November or August but aren’t yet sure about the date. If that’s the case, you indicate the month of the trip with the phrase v (v; in) plus the name of the month in the prepositional case, as in v noyabrye (v nuh-eeb-rye; in November) or v avgustye (v ahv-goos-tee; in August). See Chapter 2 for details about cases.

Note that the word for November changes its original accent in the prepositional case. This change (called a “stress shift”) affects all months ending on -abr’/-yabr’.

Talking about specific dates

When you want to say a chislo (chees-loh; date) in Russian, you need to put the ordinal number indicating the day in the form of neuter gender and the name of the month in the genitive case, as in:

Syegodnya pyatoye oktyabrya (see-vohd-nye pya-tuh-ee uhk-teeb-rya; Today is October 5).

Zavtra dyesyatoye iyulya (zahf-truh dee-sya-tuh-ee ee-yu-lye; Tomorrow is June 10).

Poslyezavtra dvadtstat’ chyetvyortoye marta (pohs-lee-zahf-truh dvaht- tsuht’ cheet-vyor-tuh-ee mahr-tuh; The day after tomorrow is March 24).

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More often, we use years to indicate when a certain event took, takes, or will take place. To make this statement, use preposition v + the year in the prepositional case + godu (gah-doo; year), as in:

v tysyacha dyevyatsot pyat’dyesyat vos’mom godu (v tih-see-chuh dee- veet-soht pee-dee-syat vahs’-mohm gah-doo; in 1958, Literally: in the one thousand nine hundred fifty-eighth year)

v dvye tysyachi syed’mom godu (v dvye tih-see-chee seed’-mohm gah- doo; in 2007, Literally: in the two thousand seventh year)

v dvye tysyachi sorok vos’mom godu (v dvye tih-see-chee soh-ruhk vahs’-mohm gah-doo; in 2048, Literally: in the two thousand forty-eighth year)

To indicate the year in which an event takes place, you only have to put the last ordinal numeral describing the year into the prepositional case. For more info on ordinal numerals and forming the prepositional case, see Chapter 2.

Surveying the seasons

Although some places in the world just don’t have vryemyena goda (vree- mee-nah goh-duh; seasons, Literally: times of the year) — take, for example, Florida or California — it’s still a good idea to know how to say them in Russian. Here they are:

zima (zee-mah; winter)

vyesna (vees-nah; spring)

lyeto (lye-tuh; summer)

osyen’ (oh-seen’; fall)

A popular Russian song says V prirodye plokhoj pogodye nye byvayet

(v pree-roh-dee plah-khohy pah-goh-dee nee bih-vah-eet; Nature doesn’t have bad weather). This line is another way of saying that every vryemya goda (vrye-mye goh-duh; season, Literally: time of the year) has its own beauty.

Where Do You Want to Go? Picking a Place for Your Trip

Have you ever asked yourself Kuda ty khochyesh’ poyekhat’? (koo-dah tih khoh-cheesh’ pah-ye-khuht’; Where do you want to go?) or Kuda ya khochu poyekhat’? (koo-dah ya khah-choo pah-ye-khuht’; Where do I want to go?) In the following sections, you find out how to talk about different countries in Russian.

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Indiya (een-dee-ye; India)

Yaponiya (ee-poh-nee-ye; Japan)

Novaya Zyelandiya (noh-vuh-ye zee-lahn-dee-ye; New Zealand)

Visiting Russia

If you’re reading this book, you may be considering a trip to Rossiya (rah-see- ye; Russia). Great idea! You won’t regret it. Where would you like to go first? We recommend that you begin with Moskva (mahs-kvah; Moscow), Russia’s bustling stolitsa (stah-lee-tsuh; capital), and Sankt-Pyetyerburg (sahnkt-pee- teer-boork; St. Petersburg).

You’ll find quite a few things to see in Moscow, including the following:

Kryeml’ (kryeml’; Kremlin, the old town and the seat of the Russian government)

Krasnaya plosh’ad’ (krahs-nuh-ye ploh-sh’uht’; Red Square)

Tryetyakovskaya galyeryeya (tree-tee-kohf-skuh-ye guh-lee-rye-ye; Tretyakoff art gallery)

Pushkinskij muzyej (poosh-keen-skeey moo-zyey; Pushkin art museum)

Kolomyenskoye (kah-loh-meen-skuh-ee; the former tsars’ estate)

Novodyevich’ye kladbish’ye (noh-vah-dye-veech-ee klahd-bee-sh’ee; Novodevich’ye cemetery, the burial place of many famous Russian people)

And if you have a particular interest in staring at dead bodies, then go to Mavzolyej (muhv-zah-lyey; mausoleum). Vladimir Lenin’s mummy is still there for display.

If you like Russian history, literature, and culture, then Sankt-Pyetyerburg is a must. Our advice: Visit St. Petersburg at the end of May and beginning of June, during the byelyye nochi (bye-lih-ee noh-chee; white nights). That’s what Russians call the short period in early summer when it almost never gets dark in the north. Pyetyerburg is the city where, as pyetyerburzhtsy (pee-teer-boorzh-tsih; people born and living in St. Petersburg) say, Kazhdyj dom muzyej (kahzh-dihy dohm moo-zyey; Every building is a museum).

Here’s a list of a few of the places we recommend you see in Sankt-Pyetyerburg:

Ermitazh (ehr-mee-tahsh; the Hermitage museum)

Russkij muzyej (roos-keey moo-zyey; Russian Museum)

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In response, you most likely hear:

A kuda imyenno vy khotitye poyekhat’? (uh koo-dah ee-mee-nuh vih khah-tee-tee pah-ye-khuht’; And where exactly would you like to travel?)

To answer this question, use the expression: Ya khotyel/khotyela by poyekhat’ v (ya khah-tyel/khah-tye-luh bih pah-ye-khuht v; I’d like to go to) + the name of the city you want to see in accusative case, as in:

Ya khotyel by poyekhat’ v Moskvu i v Pyetyerburg (ya khah-tyel bih pah-ye-khuht’ v mahs-kvoo ee v pee-teer-boork; I would like to go to Moscow and St. Petersburg) if you’re a man

Ya khotyela by poyekhat’ v Moskvu i v Pyetyerburg (ya khah-tye-luh bih pah-ye-khuht’ v mahs-kvoo ee v pee-teer-boork; I would like to go to Moscow and St. Petersburg) if you’re a woman

Now listen carefully as the travel agent lists available pakyety i tury (puh- kye-tih ee too-rih; packages and tours). If anything sounds appealing to you, your next question may be about the cost and what the package includes: Chto eto vklyuchayet? (shtoh eh-tuh fklyu-chah-eet; What does it include?)

With the best deal, the cost includes the following:

rassyelyeniye v gostinitsye (ruhs-see-lye-nee-ee v gahs-tee-nee-tsih; hotel accommodation)

gostinitsa pyervogo/vtorogo/tryet’yego klassa (gahs-tee-neet-tsuh pyer- vuh-vuh/ftah-roh-vuh/tryet’-ee-vuh klah-suh; one/two/three star hotel)

tryohk/dvukh razovoye pitaniye (tryokh/dvookh rah-zuh-vuh-ee pee-tah- nee-ee; three/two meals a day)

zavtrak (zahf-truhk; bed and breakfast accommodation)

ekskursya po gorodu (ehks-koor-see-ye puh goh-ruh-doo; city tour)

poyezdki v (pah-yest-kee v; trips to) + the destination in the accusative case

posyesh’yeniye muzyeyev (pah-see-sh’ye-nee-ee moo-zye-eef; museum admission)

samolyot, tuda i obratno (suh-mah-lyot too-dah ee ahb-raht-nuh; roundtrip flight)

posyesh’yeniye opyery/balyeta/tsirka (pah-see-sh’ye-nee-ee oh-pee-rih/ buh-lye-tuh/tsihr-kuh; tickets to the opera/ballet/circus)

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Your visa

Kak dostat’ vizu? (kahk dahs-taht vee-zoo; How to get a visa?) is the milliondollar question for anybody wanting to travel to Russia. You have three options, depending on which of these circumstances best describes your situation:

Your travel agent arranges the trip for you, and you’re officially a turist (too-reest; tourist) who stays in a hotel.

You’re going to Russia v komandirovku (f kuh-muhn-dee-rohf-koo; on business) and have an ofitsial’noye priglashyeniye (uh-fee-tsih-ahl’-nuh- ee pree-gluh-sheh-nee-ee; official invitation) from an organization in Russia approved by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

You have friends or relatives in Russia who are officially inviting you. These people should be extremely devoted to you and willing to state that you’ll be staying with them at all times before you leave, and that they agree to feed you while you’re there.

Which of the three situations gives you the easiest chance to get a visa? Certainly the first one. All you have to do is call your travel agency, and they take care of it for you. If, however, you decide on the second or third options, be sure that before going to the Rossijskoye posol’stvo (rah-seey-skuh-ee pah-sohl’- stvuh; the Russian Embassy) or Konsul’stvo (kohn-sool’-stvuh; Consulate), you have a stamped official letter from Russia containing the pertinent information, which we describe with the second and third options.

Here’s the list of documents you need in order to podat’ zayavlyeniye na vizu (pah-daht’ zuh-yav-lye-nee-ee nuh vee-zoo; to apply for a visa):

pasport (pahs-puhrt; passport)

dvye fotografii (dvye fuh-tah-grah-fee-ee; two photos)

dyenyezhnyj ordyer na 150 ili 200 dollarov (dye-neezh-nihy ohr-deer nuh stoh pee-dee-syat ee-lee dvyes-tee doh-luh-ruhf; money order for $150 or $200)

zayavlyenie na vizu (zuh-yav-lye-nee-ee nuh vee-zoo; visa application)

ofitsial’noye priglashyeniye (uh-fee-tsih-ahl’-nuh-ee pree-gluh-sheh-nee- ee; official invitation)

The mistake most people make is offering a check or a credit card in place of a money order. Please know that the employees of the Russian Embassy won’t accept them, no matter how much you plead. And a final word of caution: Before you decide to apply for a visa, check with the Russian Embassy Web site at www.russianembassy.org. Regulations constantly change!