Dublin Festival of Russian Culture

For you Dublinites and wanna-be Dublinites, there is a Festival of Russian Culture Monday, February 28th through Monday, March 7th at the Dublin City Centre. It features photographic exhibitions, lunchtime lectures, music events, and children's activities. Sounds like a not-to-be-missed event!

More info: Dublin.ie

Pancake Week

Photo by Julien Haler

In researching Russian holidays that I might adopt, I came upon Pancake Week (Maslenitsa, or "Butter Week."), a Russian folk holiday, which features the iconic Russian pancake ("blini"). Interestingly, Pancake Week is Russia's oldest surviving holiday and may have been celebrated as early as the second century A.D. Originally a pagan holiday, Pancake week transitioned into a Christian holiday, with the purpose of marking the week before Lent (think Mardi Gras or Carnival).

This year's Pancake Week is coming up very soon: it takes place between the 28th of February and the 6th of March. I dare you to try some blini out on those near and dear to you this Pancake Week. Click here for a blini recipe to try!

For additional information on Pancake Week, visit the informative SRAS.org.

Welcome!

photo by anjči

At the tender age of nine or ten, I remember watching a movie at school about a family escaping from communist Russia. From that day, I have had a fascination with Russia. Was it the culture itself that first caught my interest? The language? Fascinating, but, no. I believe now that it was the mystery of the unknown: the excitement (in my young mind) of people being trapped in their own country and having to escape.

Since then, I have learned more about Russia, but not enough to truly whet my appetite. I have taken a year of college-level Russian language classes, and I know who Pushkin is, but Russia itself remains as much a mystery as it always was. In this blog, I intend to explore Russia in as many ways as possible: from its history and literature to its food and current day events. One day, I fully intend to get a Russian stamp in my passport, but until then, my passport to Russia is right here on the blogosphere. Won’t you join me?