CoSS
Glossary
Useful words and phrases when
learning about Russia and it children
Introduction
In every case, Russian words used in this site have been transliterated to most closely approximate the pronunciation common to the area where the children live. If the official transliteration is different, that is given in parens along with the Cyrillic spelling of the word. If this small glossary sparks an interest in Russian for you, follow these links to an online Russian dictionary, Babelfish online translation and Russian language learning and translation software at our Amazon store.
Place names
CIS
: the Commonwealth of Independent States, is an economic/political alliance between governments of former republics of the Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic countries).Kirovsk (): A town near St Petersburg where several of the older children are attending vocational high school.
Leningrad (): Name given St Petersburg during the Soviet regime
Lodeina Polye (Lodenoye Polye): Literally, boat yard. A lodye is a particular kind of boat that Peter the Great found useful and he established a boat yard at this point on the Svir River because it was close to the right kind of trees for building those boats. It's the nearest town of any size to Svir Stroi and is the administrative center of the rayon. In Lodeina Polye, there is an ill-equipped and understaffed hospital and polyclinic. Some of the older children attend vocational high school here.
Lomonosov (): A town near St Petersburg where some of the children are attending vocational high school.
NIS: Newly Independent States, a general geographic term used to describeall the republics (including the Baltics) of the former Soviet Union, which are now independent.
Podporozhe (): A town near Lodiena Polye where some of the children attend either a vocational high school or a lycee.
Svir Stroi (): Literally, an old-fashioned term for something built on the Svir. The town where the detsky dom is located.
General terms
(): bath, shower. The traditional Russian banya is very like the Finnish sauna. The banya at the Svirstroiski detski dom is a wood lined room, steam heated, with overhead showers located underground in the very lowest level of the building.banya
bolshoi (): big, great
detsky dom (): children's home
dyeti (): children
eta padarok (): a gift
gorod (): town
grupa (): group. At Svirstroiski detsky dom, this indicates the four dormitory-like living quarters within the building that house about thirty children each - and the group of children who live there.
oblast (): state
rayon (): county
sosnovaya (): pine tree
spaciba (spacibo): thank you
ulitsa (): street
vospitatel (): caregiver
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