And then it became war. Or should we say began the special military operation. On February 24 2022 Russian troops entered Ukraine. It was allowed neither war nor invasion be called, but it was akin to both.
Speech
Putin gave a speech (see also here and here) and, one assumes, believed in a quick victory. It turned into a disaster for everyone, and over two years later, the likelihood of terrible escalation seems more realistic than that of a quick end.
War
On Friday, March 22, 2024, through Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin also spoke of “war.” See, among others.
- Kremlin spokesman now speaks of ‘war’ against Ukraine](https://nos.nl/artikel/2513788-kremlin-woordvoerder-spreekt-nu-van-oorlog-tegen-oekraine) (NIS)
- Russia is at war with Ukraine, according to Kremlin spokesman](https://www.nd.nl/varia/varia/1217438/rusland-is-volgens-kremlinwoordvoerder-in-oorlog-met-oekraine) (Nederlands Dagblad)
- Russia Admits It’s ‘In State of War’ Two Years Into Ukraine Invasion](https://www.newsweek.com/russia-admits-its-state-war-two-years-ukraine-invasion-1882209) (Newsweek)
- The Kremlin says Russia is in a ‘state of war’ in Ukraine](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/kremlin-russia-state-of-war-ukraine-putin-west-peskov-rcna144606) (NBC News)
Poetin zelf deed dat ook, en eerder, zie Putin declares ‘war’ – aloud – forsaking his special euphemistic operation (Washington Post, 22-12-2022) en In Russia, the talk is of ‘war’- even from Putin (Reuters, 08-06-2023).
This site
Even well before Operation Russia1 (read: its creator) had come to a standstill. The last piece posted was in 2021. Now the project is being resumed. It was and is mostly about the Russian language here, and it has not changed substantially. (See: How the War Has Changed the Russian Language, Easy Russian, 2023, 28 m.)
Statement
The objective once described (in the FAQ) does not change either. There is more rather than less reason to encourage learning and admiring the Russian language. It is under pressure, as evidenced by, among other things, Up to ten percent fewer people start Russian courses in Ghent (VRT, 27-09-2022) and Significantly less interest in Russian courses (Nieuwsblad, 09-09-2022).
As far as anything of a statement is needed, the editors concur: “It is extremely important just in these moments of crisis to train people who understand the ‘enemy’” - although instead of “the enemy” it could have read “Russia” or “the Russians.
Links
Many links no longer work. Channels have been discontinued, changed names or switched to Ukrainian. Also pasted-in videos disappeared, it was painfully noted. Being worked on.
Checking all links is impossible. Notification of a dead link is appreciated. Playlists on YouTube are replenished, disappeared videos have been removed.
Under development
Starting soon, is the plan, new pieces. In time, hopefully, a new form for the site. Possibly something in English as well.
Stay tuned. Мир миру
Image: The remains of Russian military vehicles in Bucha, Ukraine, near the capital Kiev, on Tuesday. (Serhii Nuzhnenko/Associated Press), Wall Street Journal, 02-03-2022
More
Language
In the years this project seemed dying or dead (see: Operation War, 2024) others started their new projects to spread the mighty Russian. There was certainly no shortage of YouTube channels teaching Russian, but there’s always room for one more – therefore, also always for more than one. Here are seven pretty new ones, worth checking out.
Amsterdam, November 4. In the queue of people waiting in front of the doors of AFAS. Where Zemfira will soon be performing. Left, right, front and back: Russian everywhere. My company almost feels at home.
Verbs work for those who want to make sentences. There - work and make, there you already have two. And try to make Russian out of that sentence if you if you don’t know работать or делать. So work, also on your vocabulary.
Even with bad news there is good news: there is a lot to learn from it. Russian news articles are excellent teaching material, even for the more advanced student.
The sixth noun, in Russian предложный падеж, is for most students the first one they learn. The reason is simple: the sixth grammatical case itself is.
OPERATION WAR
Language
And then it became war. Or should we say began the special military operation. On February 24 2022 Russian troops entered Ukraine. It was allowed neither war nor invasion be called, but it was akin to both.
