Quote Originally Posted by Propp
You, poor people. I decided to break my heavenly abode and descend to Earth in this feeble form in order to inform you, that it was always "аватара" in Russian language before a generation of mortals came who don't know properly their own language and trying to borrow already borrowed words.
Speaking plain, it was always аватара of feminine gender in all books I read and all university lectures I heard before mid-1990-s, and I was very suprised to find this word in the Internet forums, and beside this, in the form of mascuiline gender.
This is not for surprising........ for one a talented as me, that is. I think we should blame it on the hippies.