Tales from Russia
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Weird Russians
Every time I mention that I am Russian, I can always register some fascination mixed with deep suspicion on the face of my interlocutor. Russians are considered to be weird and big. It’s the biggest country in the world, with long history, enormous culture and habits that leave the rest of the world population always […] Continue reading
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Russians and the meaning of life
Russians like deep feelings and philosophical discussions. You won’t meet a Russian, who doesn’t believe in ‘cudjba’, ‘ducha’ and ‘toska’. These three words mean: fate, soul, and a sort of nostalgia, that is difficult to translate directly. However, toska has real part in the Russian culture. It’s a sort of dwelling, dwelling over life, dwelling […] Continue reading
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Each Language has beauty in it
If you ever listen carefully to languages, you will hear a particular music in each of them. In the English language I hear Robbie Williams, Taylor Swift, and Shakespeare. It is funny, playful, mad and pure orange. If I might assign an animal to this language, it would definitely be a monkey or maybe even […] Continue reading
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Elena: A Love Story for Humankind
After catching a brief glimpse of a woman’s face on a friend’s Tinder page, world-famous pianist Elena Sokolova’s life is plunged into total chaos and collapse. The quickly vanishing image is the face of her missing twin sister Olga, separated from her in a Russian orphanage at the age of eight, and who Elena has […] Continue reading
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Bad hair day
Let’s first start with describing the hospital. It was a lovely place, full of nice patients and amazing staff, run by the good for the humanity NHS (National Health Service of England), where we received great food, nice rooms, and excellent care. Coffee was always available. I met there Natasha who told me, she was […] Continue reading
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Born in the Soviet Union. A phone prank
When I was growing up, during the times of Gorbachev and Perestroika, which as you probably know, resulted in total change of the regime, as well as, of the whole country, things used to be different. Around the age of sixteen or seventeen I was contemplating the end of the Soviet Union and the way […] Continue reading
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Born in Russia: my summers in a Cossack village
I had beautiful summers in Russia. Children are quite lucky in Russia as they get three months off during summer months! It is a nightmare for the parents, but total delight for the kids. Three full months of fun, three full months of the joy of childhood, freedom and exploration!I was sent each summer to […] Continue reading
About Me
My name is Ekaterina and I am a Doctor of Philosophy, lecturer and writer. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 27, because of psychoses, I have kept on going, despite the odds. In my daily life I work, look after my son, and have friends around the world. I speak 4 languages fluently and I lived in 4 different countries.
Porcupine's wisdom 