Теракт в Париже / The Terror Attack in Paris

Russian language practice from the contemporary Russian media - mourners at Moscow's French embassy

Audio content: Moscow residents expressing their reactions to the November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris.
Visual content: The French embassy; the informal memorial created by Moscow residents.

Video at tvrain.ru
14 November 2015

As I promised in the last entry, here are some Russian reactions to the mid-November terrorist attacks in Paris. Just as we saw in the previous video, a common Russian response to public tragedy is to bring flowers to a meaningful site. Here the informal memorial has been set up in front of the French embassy. Some particularly interesting comments–both fatalistic and resolute–come at the end, so those are the moments I have transcribed below.


 

0:00-0:25

Мужчина: Скажи всё-таки, почему вы сегодня сюда пришли?
Молодой человек: Чтобы выразить соболезнования гражданам Франции. Это большая утрата для нас. Мы солидарны с ними.
Журналист: У вас был кто-то там, знакомые?
Мужчина: Нет.

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Авиакатастрофа в Египте / The Plane Crash in Egypt

In light of recent events it seems appropriate to bypass other potentially interesting topics and devote a few posts to the recent terror-related tragedies. This post presents material on the crash of the Russian plane in Egypt. An upcoming post will showcase an excellent video I found of Russians responding to the attacks in Paris. (Use the tool in the sidebar to subscribe if you would like to be notified about new posts.) The current post contains two videos. Scroll down to view the second one.

On October 31 a plane operated by the Russian charter airliner Kogalymavia / Когалымавиа (operating under the brand name Metrojet) crashed in the Sinai peninsula. The plane had just departed the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh for St. Petersburg. All 224 people on board died. Most were Russian tourists returning home from vacations. As of today the cause of the crash has not been officially established, but several figures involved in the multinational investigation have said it seems likely that a bomb exploded on board. The terror group ISIS (Russian “Исламское государство” or “ИГИЛ”) claimed responsibility for the crash soon after it occurred.


 

VIDEO 1 (above)

Audio content: Russians voicing sorrow and condolences; Patriarch Kirill leading a mourning service; Orthodox liturgical music
Visual content: Memorial sites in St. Petersburg with piles of flowers and candles; an Orthodox church service, church interiors, parishioners taking part in the service

Video from Первый канал

The opening images in this video are from the St. Petersburg airport Pulkovo. In Russia it is common to bring flowers, especially carnations, to a memorial site. Later in the video you will see shots of Orthodox memorial services in St. Petersburg and in Moscow at the resident church of the Muscovian and all-Russian Patriarch Kirill. Note the distinctive tall thin golden candles that are commonly lit in Orthodox churches, the heavily decorated walls and icon screen, and the head scarves worn by most women inside Orthodox churches.

Transcript

0:25-1:00

Мужчина: Это такая трагедия для Петербурга, и, я считаю, в целом, для всего города и для нас, мы не безразличные люди и специально приехали.

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