Since the look of words written in Russian is different from that of western languages, you will have a difficult time trying to learn to say Russian phrases without the aid of being able to listen to them being read by a native speaker. However, once you hear the phrases, you will see that you can pronounce them using English sounds. There are 20 consonant sounds in the Russian language – The sounds of the consonants depend on the letters that follow them, so they can be pronounced as either hard or soft. The combinations of sounds mean that there are 37 distinct sounds in the Russian language that you must learn in order to say the phrases correctly.

Some phrases from the Russian language that you will find useful when you visit this country include: This phrase means Welcome and is pronounced as Dobro .This is the phrase for ”Hello”. The pronunciation is Zdravstvujte.This is the way to ask ”How are you?”in Russian. The pronunciation of this phrase is Kak dela.This phrase means what is your name?You would pronounce it as Kak teb’a zovut .You use this phrase to tell someone your name. You say it as Men’a zovut.

The best way to learn the phrases you want to say in Russian is to take a course in learning the language. Then you will understand how to construct the words and phrases on your own and not have to rely on a few phrases that you have memorized. By learning the language right from the beginning, which starts with learning the Russian alphabet, you will not run the risk of using phrases in the wrong situations, in which case you may insult your host. There are formal and informal forms of most of the common phrases. If you are speaking to a stranger, you should always use the formal version because the informal version is for use between friends.

When you see letters written in the Russian words as upper case letters, this means that you should place more stress on these letters when you say the word. There are also feminine, masculine and neuter forms of words in this language, which means that you do need to learn the grammar so that you can use the words correctly. Once you gain a knowledge of speaking, reading and writing Russian, you will completely understand the language when speaking to a native speaker.

Originally Khokhloma wood tableware were produced in monasteries and for the czar court only. At that time Khokhloma tableware production was not large scale. It was because of expensive imported tin. In 1720s after the end of the North War tin flow to Russian increased. The price went down and the material came within reach of many masters. The production and the sales of brightly painted hand made art works expanded.

In 1916 Nizhegorodskoye Zemstvo established the first School for Wood-Working Arts and Crafts in Semyonov. The folk arts and folklore flourished in Volga region near Nizhny Novgorod province. No other territory in Russia could equal it in the number and originality of the folk arts and crafts that had sprang to life and were developed in the local communities. The Khokhloma art painting on wooden tableware is the type of Nizhny Novgorod folk art craft that became most popular in Russia and foreign countries.

The “grass-leaves” decorative ornaments and their peculiar color scheme suggest that the Khokhloma art is rooted in the ancient Russian decorative culture while the imitation of gilt ornaments on wood dates back to the medieval Russian handicraft skills. The painting technique has been somewhat upgraded but remains essentially the same as in the ancient time. Khokhloma russian painting amazes you with its delicate grass pattern and festive coloring, which is based on combination of scarlet cinnabar and flittering gold against the black lacquer background. This is Khokhloma specific feature. Masters used tin powder and lacquer to obtain such gold color. Now they use aluminum powder. The art cookware are shaped on a lathe from the dried lime wood, which are turned into bowls, vases, mugs, dishes and spoons. To achieve the gold effect on wood is far from simple.

First, the unpainted articles are primed and coated with drying oil. Next they are polished with powdered aluminum. The ‘silvered’ wares are then painted with heat resistant Colours, varnished and fired in kilns. The heat turns the varnish yellow, the ‘silver into ‘gold’ and mellows the vivid design with an even, golden tone’ The Khokhloma dishes, cups and wooden drink pots were used for serving food at holiday feasts. The wooden tableware using at the Moscow house of an important statesman had to look valuable; accordingly, they were modeled on the rich painted plates decorated with real golden fabricated by the jewelers for the luxurious homes of the Russian nobility.

Thanks to the special varnish and high-temperature processing they are quite practical and safe in use. You can drink and eat using these Khokhloma tableware, because such wares not sensitive to cold and hot, salty and sour food. Apart from Khokhloma wood presents of tableware most visitors to Russia will have at least one set of Matrioshka dolls in their luggage. These dolls within dolls have long been a source of fascination. The undoing of the main doll to reveal others almost ad-in-finitem has always produced wonderment and appreciation for the woodcrafts art.