Speak Russian with Victoria

What are the most important things in life? If you have a guess, then you have a clue to the series of Russian TV musicals 'Old Songs about the Most Important things'. The first part appeared on January 1, 1995 and presented songs popular in the 1950s being sung by contemporary pop-stars. It became a blockbuster and inspired its creators, Ernst and Leonid Parfenov, to produce the other parts with songs from the 1960s, 1970s and 80s. The success of the show is based on the popularity of the singers, beautiful melodies and nostalgia. I found a YouTube version of the first series of the movie with a very nice detailed list of songs and performers on the Internet. If you like a particular song and decide to find the lyrics or the original performance, you can copy and paste the name of the song in Google search and find lots of information about it and the original movie where it first appeared, as many of these songs have their own interesting histories. It is also a very enjoyable and efficient way to memorize vocabulary and practice pronunciation of the language.

One of my favorite songs and movies from the list is " Devchata". Unfortunately, the only translation in English is "Gals", though Russian word 'девчата' is different from another word 'девушки' with the same translation. Devchata - девчата - means cheerful, friendly group of girls and it has only a plural form. The plot of this hilarious comedy tells a story about a young girl, a cook, and an orphan, who just completed her studies at college and came to a small Siberian town to work at the canteen of the loggers. She is a reliable friend, a smart person with a strong character, and she wins the hearts of the spectators as well as the heart of the local idol, a man who changes his attitude to life and women after he falls in love with her. "Devchata" is loved by many generations of Russian people and often appears on Russian TV.

Full movie with the option of English subtitles you can see on the official website of Mosfilm online mosfilm cinema.ru Direct link: DEVCHATA

You can see many more masterpieces of Russian cinematography from the leading enterprise of the film industry in Russia, Mosfilm, free on line if you visit its official websites: cinema.mosfilm.ru or www.facebook.com/MosfilmOfficial An option of English subtitles and a good quality of sound and picture will help you understand the plot and practice your listening skills if you study Russian.

Here are the words of the song "Devchata" and on line karaoke site where you can practice and sing this song:

Хорошие девчата, заветные подруги,
Приветливые лица, огоньки весёлых глаз,
Лишь мы затянем песню,
Как все скворцы в округе
Голосами своими поддерживают нас.
Лишь мы затянем песню,
Как все скворцы в округе
Голосами своими поддерживают нас.

То поднимаясь в гору, то опускаясь круто,
Бежит дорога наша и не видно ей конца,
И вам всегда помогут в нелёгкую минуту
Наши верные руки и девичьи сердца.
И вам всегда помогут в нелёгкую минуту
Наши верные руки и девичьи сердца.

«Скопировано с сайта www.karaoke.ru»