This is the second funny typical Russian expression I want to tell you about.
In old days in Russian drinking etiquette, male visitors would be compelled by their festy female host at the end of the evening to attempt to drink a shot of vodka balanced on a posashok, a staff or walking stick. Success, drinking the shot without a spillage or breakage, demonstrated sufficient sobriety and allowed him to return home.
Should he fail, and smash the shot glass, the hopeful host would of course consider him inebriated and ensure that he stayed with her for the evening.
Now, the phrase is used to mean “one for the road” or is a signifier of the end of a drinking session. But, ladies, you could always revive the tradition, and try your luck.

Review on the Hermitage exhibition of its staff photographer Yuri Molodkovets
Called “Wrapping”
 
That was a very interesting exhibition in the garret of the Hermitage. Photographer Yuri Molodkovets has worked in the Hermitage for so long that you might think that nothing can surprise him any more. And even though he could hardly be ever surprised but when the restoration of the Terebenev staircase began a few years ago all the sculptures, standing there were wrapped in cellophane and work was soon in full swing, with brushes going to and fro.  The sculptures were supposed to stand quietly and wait. Everything was spoilt however, when   the sun began to play with the cellophane and textures of the supposedly cold marble underneath. So it became the real photo story about stone and transparency, darkness and light.
 
The next his exhibition that has already started is called “Seclusion”.
Molodkovets took these images at night over a period of 12 months. This photo project is the first time in history that the Hermitage has been filmed at night without visitors or light.

This year the winter is too warm and wet. We have already had 3 floods in St. Petersburg this year. The first one was in October (2 meters above the river normal level), the second one was in December 15 (190 centimeters)
 
The last one was just few days ago. It was not a big surprise because the wind from the Baltic was extremely strong. The floods themselves are not rare guests in St. Petersburg. We have them almost every year mostly in November. The unusual thing is to have flood in January.
 Weather forecaster say that this flood was also caused by extremely high temperature +8.6 degrees Celsius, that happened for the first time within 125 years.
 The water level was over 2 meters. The rise of water is regarded as a flood when it reaches 160 centimeters above Neva normal level. So the flood that was here yesterday became the 302 one in the city’s history.
There are 3 official types of floods in St. Petersburg – dangerous (161-210 cm), very dangerous (211-299 cm) and disastrous (300 cm and higher). Statistics says that there have already been 302 floods in St. Petersburg, among them – 232 dangerous, 67 very dangerous and 3 disastrous (1777 – 321 cm, 1824 – 421 cm, 1924 – 380 cm).
 
As you can see 2 of the disastrous floods happened in 1842 and 1924.
There is a legend that when the city was founded it was predicted that once in a century it will be under water. Who knows… we’ll see it in 2024.

We in Russia know how to start the year properly – with a good long holiday. The year begins with 8 days of holiday before the first official working day.
 Within this period we also celebrate our Christmas on January 7^th. The Julian calendar that we use after the October Revolution marks Christmas 13 days after its Western counterpart. The Russian custom is to fast on Christmas Eve until the first star appears.
 Another interesting present-day Russian feature is to follow the Chinese tradition in celebration. 2007 is the year of the Pig. Not the pigs from George Orwell’s Animal farm but Chinese pigs! According to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Pig is the last in cycle, following the Year of the Dog. Russians love horoscopes, not just the Western horoscope but the Eastern too.
The Chinese New Year doesn’t fall on specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which the Pig year actually begins. But that doesn’t bother us and that’s why our celebration is filled with Pig symbolic – puppet pigs, pig key rings and other kinds of piggy presents.

Is a semi-sweet red wine that Russians make at home. Take a bottle and three liters of old, almost expired jam or juice, then mix with 15 liters of warm water. Add 5 kilos of sugar and 100 grams of yeast. Fasten a clean rubber glove onto the neck of the bottle, so it is like a vacuum seal. Leave in a warm place. As “brazhka’” brews, the gases produced cause the glove to inflate. So tie your rubber glove on very well, or else it will fly off around the room. When the glove is fully inflated, this takes about 5 days, your “brazhka” is ready to drink. Alcoholic content is around 11-13 %. It is better if you only drink your own “brazhka” , so then you know exactly what goes in it.