“If someone tells me there is nothing perfect in this world, I’ll show them this”:
Bread, herring and green onion, serve it nicely and add a shot of vodochka (as we tenderly call it)
Yeah, we forgot to mention: a lot of these are going to be about food - a single man’s private heaven...
There is a common sarcastic trope in Russian narrative on patriotism: to hug a birch tree and cry. Even better if there is a small cozy church nearby. Why do we cry, you may ask? We don’t know - maybe you can tell us in the comments?
Just a perfect weekend night. Imagine the smell and sound of crackling wood as it burns - it calms you down, while the music plays on your heart strings
Our grannies used to make the beds this way when guests would come. They also placed the best tea set on the table - probably the first time after being presented by your grandmother to your parents on their wedding day.
When you go to the forest to collect mushrooms - and Russians just love it - It’s usually a lottery. Will you find just one or two tiny mushrooms, or will there be so many of them you will need to take off your jacket and use it as an extra bag?
Here’s a secret: the deadliest Spetznas (special forces) captain will have a soft spot for kittens. Russians are massive cat lovers.
Nothing can be better than drinking tea from a thermos when you’re frozen after a long winter walk.
Scientists recently theorized a unique Russian quality of ruminating as a strategy to protect yourself from actual depression. We love the sadness of wintery expanses, because they allow us to be deeply absorbed in thought and deal with our problems without burying them. This is evidenced in the hundreds of paintings exploring this theme - such as ‘Winter Landscape (Thaw)’ by Alexei Savrasov, pictured here.
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