Russian JAM

Hello everyone! Today is September 7th, the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. It is amazing not only that we all live under the same sky, but also that there are absolutely identical places on our planet. Take a look at this checklist titled "Russia. The Whole World."

https://youtu.be/HUCPwzmF7hA?si=gWKij1Jyyxpn5cNw And this is a modern cover version with Yegor Creed 🎤

https://youtu.be/HUCPwzmF7hA?si=L8ITVzj5ajXMcfsn And this is a cover version with 36 million views 🍁

https://youtu.be/HUCPwzmF7hA?si=xZjaDkQRN_AXTBlr And this is a cover version with 36 million views 🍁

Say this phrase to any Russian person today: «I’ll turn the calendar over» and they will follow up with the next line: «And it’s September 3rd again» And all because today is this very date on the calendar and the entire Russian-speaking world is singing the eponymous song by Mikhail Shufutinsky 🗓

ONLY ON SEPTEMBER 1 st 2+2 =5! Every year on September 1st, Knowledge day in Russia, I give a special gift to my students 🤩 🔥 Only 3 days, until September 3rd: every 5th lesson you book is FREE! Course “Speak like a local” ◾️5 individual online live lessons + BONUS ◾️Telegram community 🎁 ◾️5 Speaking Club lessons 🎁 $140 (instead of $175) — You save $35! Start any dates throughout the entire month of September to speak Russian by 2027! 3️⃣ spots available! 💻 Text «1» in the comments or send “1” to my DMs, and I will send you all the details right away 🍒

WHY RUSSIANS NEED A SLED IN SUMMER? 🤔 Winters in Russia were always long and cold, so people had to prepare for them well in advance. This is where our popular phrase comes from: "Prepare your sleigh in summer" (meaning: prepare beforehand).

А вот и Лиозненский район, где жила семья Марка Шагала, где он рисовал свой «сказочный авангард». Моя волшебная земля 🌍 🌾💙 * And here is the Liozno district, where Marc Chagall’s family lived and where he painted his "fairytale avant-garde." My magical land 🌍 🌾💙

MY NATIVE LIOZNO THROUGH THE EYES OF MARC CHAGALL For the entire world, Marc Chagall is primarily Vitebsk and the lovers flying above it. But for me, as for the artist himself, a special place on the map is Liozno. It was here that his grandmother and grandfather lived and it was our town that gave him plots like an avant-garde fairy tale. 🏠 "House in the Town of Liozno" (1908) Chagall spent the whole summer in this house, where on the first floor lived the family of his uncle, who was a barber. On the sign in pre-revolutionary spelling it is written: "Barber Chagall" ✂️ "The Barber's Shop" (1914) This is a "continuation" of the first painting — Chagall shows the interior of a living room-barber shop. The nephew drew a medal for his uncle to joke about the boundless pride of his relative in his barbering craft. 🍏 "The Shop in Liozno" (1914) A street row with lopsided wooden houses-shops of Liozno, which in Chagall's work literally "dance" and fall over in different directions. Today, other buildings stand on the site of these wooden houses, but thanks to Chagall, Liozno has forever remained in world art history 💙

SHAGAYU K SHAGALU (I am going to Chagall) The great Marc Chagall is my fellow countryman from Vitebsk. There is another coincidence — my grandmother lived in Liozno, and Chagall’s grandmother did too! He deeply loved these places and dedicated a whole series of paintings to Liozno. And I also incredibly love the land of my ancestors 🥹 Today, a historical event is happening in my city — for the first time in over a century, the original masterpiece by Chagall, «Over the Town» (1914–1918), has been brought to Belarus, straight back to the very land where it was painted - Vitebsk. And, of course, I am immediately “SHAGAYU K SHAGALU”🚶‍♀️ (going to Chagall) The lovers soar above the roofs of Vitebsk because true feelings are stronger than the laws of physics 🤍 His soul belonged to Vitebsk, but Chagall’s art conquered the world. You can find his masterpieces at MoMA and the Met in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Knesset in Jerusalem, and his personal museum in Nice. He even painted the breathtaking 220-square-meter ceiling of the Paris Opera! Yet, right here, in my homeland, his paintings feel somehow special. Seeing the original in person, feeling its crazy energy and grand scale is unforgettable. Which Russian artist or painting evokes such strong emotions in you?