Коробейники, Korobeiniki.
Made in the 19th century, Korobeiniki is a Russian folk song that tells of a meeting between a peddler and a girl, in which they haggle over the price of goods in a veiled metaphor of courtship. Outside Russia, Korobeiniki is widely known because of it's appearance in Nintendo's 1989 version of Tetris and is often referred to as 'The Tetris Song'. Тетрис, Tetris is a tile-matching puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on 6th June 1984 while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow. He derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix tetra (all of the game's pieces containing four segments) and tennis, Russian folk music. The performance and promulgation of ethnic music in Pajitnov's favourite sport. Russia has a long tradition. Initially it was intertwined with various forms of art music, however, in the late 19th century it began to take on a life of its own with the rise in popularity of folkloric ensembles, such as the folk choir movement led by Mitrofan Pyatnitsky and the Russian folk instrument movement pioneered by Vasily Andreyev. In Soviet Russia, folk music was categorized as being democratic (of the people) or proletarian (of the working class) as opposed to art music. After the revolution, they received significant support from the state.
Russian folk stories.
Russian folklore takes it's roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs and now is represented in the Russian fairy tales. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important part of Slavic mythology. The oldest bylinas of Kievan cycle were actually recorded mostly in the Rusian North, especially in Kerlia, where most of the Finnish national epic Kalevala was recorded. Many Russian fairy tales and bylinas were adapted for animation films, or for feature movies by the prominent directors.
According to historian Peter Kenez,
"the Russian socialists have contributed nothing to the theoretical discussion of the techniques of mass persuasion... The Bolksheviks never looked for and did not find devilishly clever methods to influence people's minds, to brainwash them." This lack of interest, says Kenez,
"followed from their notion of propaganda. They thought of propaganda as part of education."
Propaganda in the Soviet Union.
Communist propaganda in the Soviet Union was extensively based on the Marxism-Leninism ideology to promote the Communist Party line. In societies with pervasive censorship, the Propaganda was omnipresent and very efficient. It penetrated even social and natural scienes giving rise to various pseudo-scientific theories like Lysenkoism. The main Soviet censorship body, Glavlit, employed the Unites States not only to eliminate any undesirable printed materials, but also "to ensure that the correct ideological spin was put on every published item". Telling anything against the "Party line" was punished by imprisonment or through punitive psychiatry. All in all, unprecendented terror must seem necessary to ideologically motivated attempts to transform society massively and speedily, against its natural possibilities. The accompanying falsifications took place, and on a barely credible scale, in every sphere. Real facts and real statistics disappeared into the realm of fantasy.
Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Vladmirovich Putin, born 7th October 1952, is the fourth and current President of Russia, incumbent since 7th May 2012. He previously served as the second President from 2000 to 2008, and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. During the last term he was also the Chairman of the United Russia political party. In 2012 he was again elected President, this time for a six year term expiring in 2018. For sixteen years Putin served as an officer in the KGB, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired to enter politics in his native Saint Petersurg in 1991. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsin's administration where he rose quickly, becoming Acting President on 31st December 1999 when Yeltsin resined unexpectedly. Many of Putin's actions are regarded by the domestic opposition and foreign observers as undemocratic. The 2011 Democracy Index stated that Russia was in "a long process of regression that culminated in a move from a hybrid to an authoritarian regime: in view of Putin's candidacy and flawed parliamentary elections. During Putin's first premiershop and presidency (1999-2008), real incomes increased by a factor of 2.5, real wages more than tripled, unemployment and poverty more than halved and the Russians' self-assessed life satisfaction rose significantly. Putin's first presidency was marked by high economic growth: the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, seeing GDP increase by 72% in PPP. As Russia's president, Putin and the Federal Assembly passed into law a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax and new land and legal codes. As Prime Minister, Putin oversaw large scale military police reform. His energy policy has affirmed Russia's position as an energy superpower. Putin supported high-tech industries such as the nuclear and defence industries. A rise in foreign investment contributed to a boom in such sectors as the automotive industry. Putin has cultivated a "he-man" and "super hero" image and is a pop cultural icon in Russia with many commercial products named after him. He is currently ranked as the world's most powerful man according to Forbes.
Vodka.
Vodka is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol, sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes or sometimes fruits or sugar. Traditionally prepared vodkas had an alcoholic content of 40% by volume. Today, the standard Russian, Ukranian, Estonian, Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian and Czech vodkas are 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) or 80 proof. The European Union has established a minimum of 37.5% ABV for any "European vodka" to be named as such.
Russian Vodka.
The Russian word vodka came to Russia in the late 14th century. In 1386, the Genoese ambassadors brought the first aqua vitae to Moscow and presented it to the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. The liquid obtained by distillation of grape must was thought to be a concentrate and a "spirit" of wine (spiritus vini in Latin), from where came the name of this substance in many European languages (like English spirits or Russian спирт, spirt). According to a legend, around 1430, a monk called Isidore from Chudov Monastery inside the Moscow Kremlin made a recipe of the first Russian vodka. Having a special knowledge and distillation devices, he became an author of the new type of alcoholic beverage of a new, higher quality. Until the mid 18th century, the drink remained relatively low on alcohol content, not exceeding 40% ABV. At the same time of "bread wine", the word vodka was being used to describe herbal tinctures (similar to absinthe) containing up to 75% ABV - made for medicinal purposes. The first written usage of the word vodka in an official Russian document in it's modern meaning is dated by the decree of Empress Elizabeth on 8th June, 1751 - this regulated the ownership of vodka distilleries. By 1860s, due to the government policy of promoting consumption of statemanufactured vodka, it became the drink of choice for many Russians. In 1863, the government monopoly on vodka production was repealed, causing prices to plummet, making vodka available to low-income citizens. Today, some popular Russian vodka produces or brands are (amongst others) Stolichnaya and Russian Standard.