-
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
-
The Russian lord of the house
The strangeness of some Russian belief system can be seen in the example of Domovoy. Almost every Russian believes in Domovoy. Domovoy is a spirit of a given kin. He protects your ‘rod’ (ancestry) and looks after the house where you live. Never cross Domovoy. Domovoy remains invisible and it’s considered to be very bad… Continue reading
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Is Russell Brand an ideology?
The question of whether Russell Brand can be an ideology was brought up by one of my students in media studies one day, several years ago, when we were discussing the ideology. In order to help and bring you into the picture, ideology is a set of beliefs hold by an individual, group or society… Continue reading
-
Born in Russia. A boy, a book, and The House of Artist
When I was eleven I fancied a boy. It was that innocent, first-time crush when the ultimate wish is to spend more time together, and a kiss on the lips. It never happened. What did happen, however, was a love of a book thanks to that boy. His name was Andrei and he was a… Continue reading
-
Somebody that I used to know
We never forget about our first love, do we? Some of us are lucky and their first love is the love of their lives (the story of my grand-parents), but most of us either search for the one (real love with sparkles), or settle for the mediocrity, such as ‘settling’ with someone for the sake of… Continue reading
About Me
I am a doctor of philosophy, a university lecturer, and a lover of cats, fine wine, dancing, theatre, and human eccentricity. I was born in the Soviet Union (Moscow). I am fluent in four languages, and have spent all my adult life studying (except from 18 to 19) working and living throughout Western Europe. Despite a surname-Netchitailova- that translates from Russian into English as “unreadable”, my greatest passions in life are reading and writing. My personal struggles have made me appreciate the manifestations of weirdness that exist everywhere.