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Originally Posted by Vitaliy Rayz

The present GeoCurrents series has focused on the peoples of the Caucasus, examining Russia and Russians only insofar as they have impacted the region. But the Caucasus has played a significant role in the politics of Russia, and in its cultural history as well. The most prominent Russian poets and writers, including Alexander Pushkin, Michael Lermontov, and Lev Tolstoy, traveled through the region and described it in their renowned books. The “cultural exchange,” moreover, went both ways: many

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Originally Posted by Olga Kagan

Homonyms are different words with different meanings, which accidentally happen to be pronounced identically. Therefore, we don’t expect for words that are homonymous in one language to be translated identically to another one (unless the two languages are very close). For instance, the word night is translated to Russian as noch and knight, as rycar’. Thus, homonymy strongly depends on language-specific properties. As a result, puns that are based on this relation are very difficult to translate

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Originally Posted by Alexander Anichkin

I'd like to recommend to linguists and students of Russian a simple and fun resource

poiskslov.com

It does what is says – poisk slov – word search. It looks like it was originally developed for lovers of crossword puzzles and Scrabble. Yes, there is a Scrabble in Russian! Same grid, same rules, but the letters are Cyrillic. Pioskslov links to definitions from major Russian dictionaries.

Where linguists, professional and amateurs, may find it useful is in its omitted letters

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Originally Posted by Mark Galeotti

Why does every hacking and cyberscam story – real or fictional – seem to have a Russia connection?

In part, it is prejudice and laziness. The stereotype of the Russian hacker has become such a common media trope that it gets recycled again and again. It also offers a handy update for those looking for new ways to perpetuate the ‘Russian threat.’

But it is not as simple as that. According to industry analyses, Russia accounts for about 35 percent of global cybercrime

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/wo...in-moscow.html

Originally Posted by The New York Times

Of all the industrial nations, perhaps only Russia outdistances the United States in the religiosity of its people, two million of whom venerated the belt before its final stop in Moscow.