02.02.2010
Russian Mini Lessons
for intermediate and advanced students| | More Language
Resources
Click the Russian
keyboard for texts, audio, video, and
other resources for students of Russian! |
Below is an archive of the Russian Mini-Lessons featured in the SRAS newsletter over the 2010 school year. Please see our FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS for a list of all lessons, arranged by subject. To subscribe to the newsletter, and receive a free Mini-Lesson each month, simply sign up. Back to Table of Contents Социальная поддержка семей - Family Social Support Services Birth in Russia - Рождение ребенка в России
Part 4 - Часть Четвертая In Russia, all mothers are eligible for особая социальная поддержка и защита государства (special social support services and state protection) beginning from the moment she finds out she is pregnant, up until her child reaches the age of three and sometimes longer. First, Russia's трудовое законодательство (labor legislation) demands that employers retain лояльное отношение (loyal relations) with mothers. For example, new employees are usually subject to an испытательный срок (probationary period), during which time they may be let go for any reason. However, pregnant women and mothers of children under eighteen months are exempt from this rule and may not be terminated - including if they become pregnant during the probationary period. An employer may not dismiss a pregnant woman, a woman with a child under the age of three, or a мать-одиночка с ребенком до 14 лет (a single mother with a child under the age of fourteen). The woman can quit voluntarily, but will otherwise only legally lose her job if the company goes out of business. These women also have the right to demand to shift to part-time work and to decline to go on business trips. They are prevented from working работа сверхурочно (overtime), ночные смены (night shifts), or on weekends or holidays. In addition to a regular lunch break, working women with children under the age of eighteen months are also given перерывы на кормление ребенка ("child-feeding breaks"). These are supposed to occur каждые три часа по тридцать минут (every three hours for thirty minutes each) and must be considered part of their paid working time. Unfortunately, the time it would take most women to travel home and return to her workplace is not subject to this same rule - making the law a largely unworkable one for most women. All workers in Russia are entitled to отпуск в двадцать восемь дней (twenty eight days of vacation) and to be paid for those vacation days. Pregnant women are additionally entitled to отпуск по беременности и родам (maternity leave - also commonly known as декретный отпуск) for семьдесят дней до родов и семьдесят дней после родов (seventy days before and seventy days after giving birth). В случае если женщина ожидает больше одного ребенка (in the case that a woman is expecting more than one child), she is entitled to eighty-four days leave prior to giving birth and 110 days after. During her декретный отпуск, the woman is also entitled to пособие по беременности и родам (benefit for pregnancy and birth). This is paid в размере ста процентов среднемесячного заработка (one hundred percent of her average monthly wage) for each month she is on leave. The state is responsible for paying this benefit to the employer, who must then transfer it to the mother. The benefit is capped at 34,583 rubles per month. All benefits are revised every year. All numbers listed in this mini-lesson are current for 2010. One US dollar, as of January, 2010, is equal to about 30 rubles. If the expectant mother visits a prenatal clinic на раннем сроке беременности (in the first trimester), she will additionally receive a one-time state benefit of 413 rubles and will be eligible for free лекарства и витамины (medicines and vitamins) from the state as prescribed by her doctor. Russia began these programs to encourage women to visit the doctor early, as this has been shown to reduce complications later in the pregnancy. After the child is born, the parents receive a one-time пособие по рождению ребенка (child birth benefit) of 10,989 rubles. This benefit is provided by the state and delivered via one of the parent's employers (or the Social Services Fund if neither parent is employed). This one-time пособие по рождению ребенка is paid for each child. In addition, women who give birth to their second or any subsequent children are entitled to receive материнский капитал ("maternity capital"). This is a certificate worth 343,278 rubles that may be spent on specific things. Up to 12,000 rubles may be spent at the mother's discretion. The rest must be spent on улучшение жилищных условий (improving living conditions - i.e. purchasing an apartment), получение образования ребенком (obtaining an education for the child), or формирование накопительной части трудовой пенсии матери (applied to the mother's retirement savings). There are also special benefits доступные только москвичам (available only to Muscovites) which are provided by the Moscow city government. While some other cities and regions offer programs of their own, none compare to the size and diversity of Moscow's programs. If both parents hold (or the мать-одиночка - single mother - holds) постоянная регистрация (permanent registration) in Moscow, they may receive 5,500 rubles for the birth of their first child and 14,500 rubles for their second and any additional child. This постоянная регистрация is also commonly referred to as "прописка" (registration) and is held only by Russian citizens. If these Russian parents have тройня (triplets) or more children born at one time, they receive an additional 50,000 rubles. There is also the «лужковская выплата» ("Luzhkov Payout" - named for the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, who initiated it), which is paid to молодым семьям (young families) who have a child while both parents are (or the мать-одиночка is) under 30. This "payout" is calculated via the official прожиточный минимум (living wage) calculated by the city each year. For 2010, the official "living wage" is 5790 rubles per month. Young families receive пятикратная величина прожиточного минимума (five times the living wage) for their first child, seven times for the second child, and ten times for the third and any child thereafter. This is a one-time payout. Moscow also offers натуральная помощь ("natural help" - this term refers to benefits paid in a form other than cash). It is available for all children, regardless of economic circumstances, who are under three years of age. The program provides, at various stages, молочные смеси (baby formula), молоко (milk), творог (cottage cheese), and кефир (kefir). Parents can claim these products by obtaining a рецепт (prescription) from their local pediatrician. Based on the рецепт, the parents receive their ration from local молочно-раздаточныe пункты (dairy dispensaries - also known as "молочные кухни," or "milk kitchens") every two days. After her maternity leave ends, the new mother has the right to take additional leave known as отпуск по уходу за ребенком (childcare leave). This leave is divided into two time frames with differing benefits. While the child is less than eighteen months old, the mother receives a пособие по уходу за ребенком (childcare benefit) of 40% of her average salary, but not more than 13,833 rubles per month. If she is unemployed, a new first-time mother will still receive 1,500 rubles per month and unemployed mothers of two or more children receive 3,000 rubles per month. The отпуск по уходу за ребенком may last until the child is three years old. However, if the mother continues the leave after the child is older than eighteen months, her benefits are reduced to only 50 rubles per month. However, this leave still guarantees her a job with her former employer until the child is three years old. Thus, in total, new mothers in Russia can expect about $13,000 in monetary benefits from the state to be paid from the time of conception to the time that their first child turns eighteen months old. Mothers of a second child can expect about $24,000. Muscovites can additionally expect about $1150 for their first child and $1800 for a second child. These figures are not including the value of any натуральная помощь they may receive. In 2009, Russia recorded its first demographic increase in a decade, with a growth of .012%. This came partly from a small increase in childbirths and mostly from a surge in immigration to Russia. The authorities have been quick to emphasize the childbirths as the source, however, and to at least partially credit these extensive benefits and government-guaranteed job security as being a source of these new Russians. Back to Table of Contents Худые, Толстые - The Thin and The Fat Many words referring to being overweight have positive lexical connotations in Russian. Before the revolution, only the well-to-do could afford enough food to grow plump, and thus it was a sign of success. Throughout Soviet times, the ideal woman was usually presented as a stout working woman. To this day, being heavy remains much less stigmatized in Russian culture than in Western culture. That said, this, like all culturally-sensitive topics, is not one to discuss in reference to someone within earshot unless you know the person very well and are confident you will not offend them with any words you choose. The word "полнеть" is roughly equivalent of "to fill out" in English, but can be used in Russian to describe even someone who is becoming overweight. The verb's adjective form: полный (stout, full) is usually defined as "containing in itself as much as it can or should hold," and is often used to politely describe "full-bodied" people or those с избыточным весом (with extra weight). The verb "поправиться" also has distinctively positive connotations. In addition to meaning “to gain weight,” it also means "to be cured," "to have improved health," and "to correct a mistake." Interestingly, it is also not uncommonly used to mean "to take the hair of the dog," meaning to cure the hangover by taking another drink. Even the adjective жирный (fat), which is rude to use when referring to people, can carry positive connotations. Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary defines it as "saturated with useful substances, juicy," and gives the example "жирная земля" (rich earth). Frequently, gaining weight or even being overweight is associated in Russian literature as a sign of being successful and living "the good life." For example, Ivan Goncharov writes in his An Ordinary Story of Aleksandr, a young man who is living life to the fullest, "Она не могла нарадоваться, глядя, как Александр полнел" (She couldn’t help being happy, seeing how Aleksander was gaining weight.) Even in harsher instances, the references are often forgiving. For example, in Fathers and Sons, Turgenev writes: "Управляющий вдруг обленился и даже начал толстеть, как толстеет всякий русский человек, попавший на 'вольные хлеба.'" (The manager had suddenly grown lazy and even began to get fat, as does any Russian person after falling on the gravy train.) The noun "толстяк" or "fatty," is generally rude, but innocuous enough that there is a chain of "plus-sized" clothing stores in Russia called "Три Толстяка." One would not expect such a store to do as much business if its name were derived from the even ruder жиртрест (fatso) or жирняк (fatty). It is also interesting to note that a respected Russian last name, one associated with nobility and great authors is "Толстой," derived from the word meaning "fat." There is even the last name "Жириновский," which one of Russia's best-known politicians, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, adopted for himself, replacing his original, Jewish last name of Эйдельштейн with something more ethnically Russian. Even his supporters sometimes refer to him with the nickname "Жирик" – a diminutive that would also mean "fatty." It's even the title of his Russian Wikipedia entry. In contrast, the last name "Худых," derived from the word "худой," or "thin" is very rare. Худяков is more common, and is associated with some famous figures (including at least one famous artist and a modern director of music videos), yet undoubtedly pales in fame if compared with Толстой. The words related to недостаточный вес (insufficient weight) are more frequently given negative connotation. In literature, "худоба" (thinness) is often associated with "нездоровье" (ill health). In Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy writes: "как ни страшен был брат Николай своей худобой и болезненностью прежде, теперь он еще похудел, еще изнемог." (Although his brother Nikolai had been so frightening before because of thinness and morbidity, he had now grown even thinner, more exhausted.) "Tощий” is word that means "thin" but also "empty." To illustrate uses of its verb form, Dal's Explanatory Dictionary gives as its first two graphic examples: "Не болезнь истощила его, а кровопускания" (the sickness had not thinned him, but the bloodletting) and "он истощил труды и состояние безуспешно" (he was worn thin from work and constant failure). Another related verb is "тошнить" which means "to purge" or "to vomit" – the result of which, of course, is being "тощий" – empty and eventually thin. The word "худой" can also mean "bad" or "cheap." For example, the saying "худой товар с рук долой," means roughly "cheap goods should be dropped immediately" (i.e. not purchased). Another (better known) example is "лучше худой мир чем добрая война" meaning that is better to live with something unpleasant than to fight about it. "Polite" names to refer someone who is thin are also more uncommon in Russian if compared with polite names for someone who is heavy. One example is the relatively innocuous "худенький" which would refer to someone not unappealingly thin. There is also the adjective "стройный" which would refer to someone with a thin, yet still athletic build and is associated with the secondary definitions of "well composed" and "harmonious." A ruder version would be to call the person a "скелет," or skeleton. Attitudes toward weight are changing in Russia, with more and more people going to fitness centers on a regular basis, and following the latest diet fads. Today many young girls would like their boyfriend to be накачанный (hunky) and хорошо сложенный (well-built), and guys prefer to have a стройная подружка (athletically-built girlfriend). Meanwhile, a large percentage of Russians have a positive attitude towards moderate amounts of excess weight in themselves or other people. As they say, "хороших людей должно быть много" - which is play on words in Russian and roughly means "You can never have too many good people" and "you can never have enough of a good person." Back to Table of Contents --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Find Out More!
Heath and Safety in Russia
The SRAS Newsletter
Library: All About Russian
Eurasian Regions and Cities
Journal for Students
More Free Resources!
Questions or comments?
Contact the editor
« back to Educator Resources archive
|
