LEVEL: Second-, Third-, and Fourth-Year Russian

PARTICIPANT(S): Andrei

UNIT TITLE: Life in the USSR and Russia: Yesterday and Today

DESCRIPTION OF UNIT: In this videoclip, Andrei, a faculty member in Saint Petersburg, discusses the differences between life in the former USSR and today's Russia, concentrating on the role of cooking and food. This videoclip is encoded in Apple's QuickTime format; you may need to download the QuickTime plug-in before being able to watch the video.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR UNIT: First watch the video and try to follow the Russian without worrying about whether you are catching every word. To help you initially, there is a short glossary of words and phrases to the right of the video. Watch it as many times as necessary in order to be able to understand it. After watching the video once in this fashion, write a short paragraph in English summarizing what you understood. Feel free to explore other units!

  • каков (а, о, ы): strong interrogative work meaning "what" and "what kind"
  • стиралный порошок: laundry detergent
  • пользоваться (+ instrumental): to make us of, utilize
  • стать = начать in this context (can also mean "to become")
  • дефицитный: in short supply, scarce
  • по блату (from блат): under the table, on the side, not officially
  • вежливый: polite, courteous
  • чёрный ход: back entrance


The Russian Language Video Project was made possible through a generous grant from the University of Denver's
Center for Teaching and Learning.


All video clips and materials on this site (www.du.edu/ahss/schools/langlit/programs/russian/resources) and its subdirectories are the property of Luc Beaudoin and are subject to intellectual copyright. All participants in these video clips have signed an agreement with Luc Beaudoin about their participation in these video clips. This agreement is on file at the University of Denver. All the names of the participants have been changed and any similarity to the identity of any person, living or dead, is unintentional. Any unauthorized use of these video clips or materials will be pursued through all available legal means.

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