Russian Pod- Stories from Russia

Ryan tests his co-hosts' knowledge of Russian car history.  Learn about famous Russian cars like Zhiguli, Kopeika, Lada, why you would walk 30 min to your car garage, and what offends Russian drivers the most. 

Hosts discuss the movie K-19: The Widowmaker,  a 2002 historical submarine film directed and produced by Kathryn Bigelow. This movie has everything:  crazy accents, nuclear almost-meltdowns, Harrison Ford, a bunch of counting, and Liam Neeson's guns that are too big to fit in the submarine. 

The hosts talk about a classic Soviet comic science fiction film Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Occupation (Иван Васильевич меняет профессию) directed by Leonid Gaidai in 1973. The film has a time-travel machine, singing horses, Ivan the Terrible in modern times, as well as a thief and a building manager from Soviet union times ruling Russia back in the 1500s. This movie crazy and we loved it. You can watch this Soviet classic here with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a50qT9bW2Qo

If you call yourself a milk mushroom, get in the basket! and other Russian proverbs. 

Hosts discuss Russian Eurovision participants over the years- including creepy sisters,  babushkas with a dancing oven, Dima Bilan, and Dima Bilan again. Learn about Russian's successes and failures at the beloved (by some) European music contest. Links to the Eurovision performances discussed in this episode: Alsou, 2000  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw_Yg7j7ocsOlsen Brothers (winners of the year 2000) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C76xn52ZbhA TaTu, 2003 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bbGao-OxOUDima Bilan, 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA9VdXSsneoDima Bilan, again, 2008 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-72s4WzUcKIBuranovskiye Babushki, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUstrmJzyc  Lordi, Winner of 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAh9NRGNhUUDina Garipova, 2013  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHNwk3Oez8U Tolmachevy Sisters, 2014  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7HKBlAzN5IPolina Gagarina, 2015  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2gbKglCL5sSergey Lazarev, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXKcFvqaOlgSergey Lazarev, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhk6rzBqW_c Little Big, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5TJXI_Y2-YSerduchka, Ukraine Submission, 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfjHJneVonE

Hosts discuss 2019 Russian movies. Most of them involve tanks, some kind of war, and a mashup of animated movies. You can watch the trailers of the movies discussed below: ПИКОВАЯ ДАМА: ЗАЗЕРКАЛЬЕ/Queen of Spades https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4puHTUU-as Breakaway/Otryv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOFunu19cWILoud Connection/громкая связьhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlKA6Gccn0USaving Leningrad/ Spasti Leningradhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF3YJUrEj4YT-34https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UDvi5xL9wBeanpole/ Dyldahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfWhQXg4GrABillion/ Milliardhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO55ENC2uBoSober Driver/ Trezvyi Voditelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG3pq8P021YThe House Elf / Domovoi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRjUfaE6HDIHow I became a Russian (full film)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlGi47LjpNwSheep and Wolves 2: Pig Deal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ILERsIIwp0Quiet Comes the Dawnhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMXIqbOshQwGuests/Gostihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhBvB6qys7kSeven Dinnershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU2nyumwpvwMistresseshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2ErP7zXCM

Hosts tell each other Russian jokes (called anecdotes by Russians) about Russian circus, animals, Vovochka, and the Soviet Union. Lean our favorite jokes about talking cows, swimming green turds, and dick wallets. 

The hosts discuss quarantine measures and how they are handling the lockdown in Russia and the US. We talk horse meat, distancing in Russian grocery stores, and why Leysan can't figure out Russian online ordering. Russia closed its borders on March 30 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The measure came into force at all vehicle, rail and pedestrian checkpoints, and applies to Russia's maritime borders. Russia has also enacted region-wide stay-at-home orders for residents. 

Answering riddles or bribing your way to your bride, kissing as guests yell "Bitter!" and other Russian wedding traditions. Amie and Ryan try to tackle some of the Russian riddles to find out that the answer is almost never "communism". 

Ryan, Amie, and Leysan talk about different games and toys that children in the Soviet Union enjoyed in late 80s and early 90s. 

We are back from a very long break! We are sorry for being away for so long and hope this episode about very strange Russian idioms will make up for our long absence. When does a lobster whistle on a mountain? Is a toad strangling you? Follow Amie and Ryan as they try (and fail) to decipher the meaning of Russian idioms  Try to play along and see if you can guess any of the idioms correctly!  

In today's episode, we are joined by Eleanor Huntington to discuss the movie The Death of Stalin, written and directed by  Armando Iannucci. Eleanor is a host of the Podcast Good Film Hunting. Check it out on iTunes or wherever Podcasts are heard https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/good-film-hunting/id1140180259?mt=2

In today's episode we explore Russian curse words and common slang. Say them along with us but be careful with repeating them on the streets! 

Learn which one of the Russian sweets, according to Ryan, looks like a bread loaf that survived nuclear annihilation, and why Red October and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is the next movie cross-over that we can't wait to see made. Tundra Vodka and Bitters- http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2016/11/18/tundra-vodkas-and-bittersHalva- http://www.wikiwand.com/en/HalvaTalkysh Kaleve image- https://es.postila.io/post/42610220Red October Candy Factory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasny_Oktyabr_(confectionery_brand)We will also be posting images on our Twitter @TheRussianPod

In this episode of The Russian Pod- Stories from Russia, hosts dive into a strange world of Russian folktales. It's a world where children turn into animals, pikes can grant you unlimited wishes, and you pick your wife by shooting her with an arrow.

Is beef tongue still meat? How about chicken stomachs? (some Russians have interesting thoughts on that). What is the best time to announce to the nation that they have to work for 8 years longer before retiring? (hint: during a game with Saudi Arabia) Can you catch herpes from wind? (Russians say Yes!). Tune in and learn about the recent trip to Russia that brought some interesting questions and revelations. 

Have you ever tried Steak tartare? Do you know that it's named after nomadic Turkic-speaking people? After various groups of these Turkic nomads became part of the armies of the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan in the early 13th century, a fusion of Mongol and Turkic elements took place, and the Mongol invaders of Russia and Hungary became known to Europeans as Tatars (or Tartars). Tatars live mainly in Russia and other Post-Soviet countries. Our co-host, Leysan, is tatar, and wants to tell you more about her people.

While we work on the next episode, we wanted to share a segment called Tea Time where Ryan and Leysan taste Russian dishes. This is actually the earliest recording we have done so this takes us back down memory lane before we were vegan. Today on the menu we have a Russian salad "Herring Under Fur Coat" and a drink called "Tarhun". Find out what the "fur" is made out of and how to pronounce "Tarhun". Feel free to go ahead and make your own salad by following the link to Lea's cooking blog at https://bit.ly/2pQY80n Bon Apetite!

In Russia, getting pooped on by a bird is a sign of good luck. Also, Russian unmarried people should never sit at the corner of the table. Listen to this episode to learn about all the weird Russian superstitions that almost everyone in Russia follows without question.

Temperatures in some cities in Russia dropped to -88F, just as many were getting ready to plunge into the frozen water in remembrance of Jesus' baptism. We decided that this is a good time to discuss how Russians survive winter temperatures in different parts of the country. Vodka plays a part in getting Russians through the winter, but so do other less likely items such as frozen horse liver. Tune in and learn about tricks to get through rough winter or just sit back and enjoy the fact that you are not dealing with below 80F temperatures (unless you live in Oymyakon).