Various questions about Russia in the 1920s - 1940s

[yiskah]

Hi all, I'm doing the final fact-check of a novel I've written set largely in Leningrad between 1917 and 1942. You've been so helpful in the past that I was hoping you might be able to assist in tying up some of my final loose ends

Comments

[ilien]

1. If you give me the names of the streets you want to mention, I'll try to google their history in Russian - there definitely should be something on the runet

[yiskah]

Thank you so, so much for all of this - it's enormously helpful!

1. Thank you (and for the link below) - and I will get back to you if there are any specific street names I can't work out.

2. Maybe it will help if I give a bit of background to the scene: I have a teenage boy who, in a moment of frustration (he is in a music lesson and keeps getting something wrong) repeats a very obscene phrase that he has heard an older friend use. In my original draft my 'placeholder' phrase was 'fucking son of a bitch' - ideally I'd like something that's more than one word, a bit colourful if possible! Any ideas would be gratefully received...

3. Right, I have just gone through to see what phrases I would need to replace. The most common is an expression of mild frustration - some equivalent of 'for God's sake' in English. Also an expression of mild surprise (an equivalent of 'oh my God') would be great! The rest I can probably replace with mild obscenity. ;)

4. and 5. - both super-helpful, thank you!

6. On accents - let me link you to my last

[ilien]

For #7 my husband suggested Упырь: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D3%EF%FB%F0%FC

[yiskah]

Interesting - upir is usually translated as a vampire, which suggests something more sophisticated than what I'm trying to conjure up - but if I stick to using the word 'upir' rather than translating it, it might work. Thank you!

[ilien]

Here's what I could find about the names of the streets: http://panevin.ru/calendar/tags/pereimenovaniya/ . I think it should be enough for your purposes.

[lilacsigil]

In 1941 they had Sulfa drugs so they'll probably give those orally and pack the wound with powder as well.

[yiskah]

Perfect - thank you!

[ilien]

Here's the Wilipedia article for Gulag in Russian: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%A3%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%B3 , it has a large, but vague part on underage criminals. The general idea is that underage criminals were kept separately from adults, and the type of penal colony would depend on whether it's the child's first criminal record. Also, as far as I get, a child could be punished as of the age of 12, but generally wouldn't get to Gulag until the age of 18. Age of 16 is also mentioned, but they mostly speak about 18.

In a penal colony the kids would (and I think they really would, it wasn't just propaganda) get a 7-year school education, which was pretty good at the time.

[yiskah]

This is great, thank you! I think I am just going to have to make my character a couple of years older to be on the safe side...

[ilien]

That's definitely the best solution.

[ilien]

Here's more on schools.
Don't mind me, I've just finished a particularly nasty translation and googling random facts is, apparently, my way of relaxation. If you no longer need the facts, just ignore me :)

Here's the article on school education in Russia. http://slovari.yandex.ru/~%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/%D0%91%D0%A1%D0%AD/%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B5%20%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5/

Here's the abstract for the time period in question:
Постановлением СНК СССР и ЦК ВКП (б) "О структуре начальной и средней школы в СССР" (15 мая 1934) С. о. ш. была унифицирована: стала 10-летней с разделением на начальную (4 года), неполную среднюю (7 лет) и среднюю (10 лет). В годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-45 возникли новые типы С. о. ш. - школы рабочей молодёжи и школы

[yiskah]

I need as many facts as you're happy to provide! Seriously, I am so grateful for all of this - feel free to keep googling if you're enjoying it! :)

[serpent_849]

THIS about faking the information you need post-war.
My grandma listed herself as one year older in order to join Komsomol sooner. Whereas many of her peers claimed a younger age that they really had, and as a result they struggled in their final years of work before retiring, as biologically they were 3-4 years older than what their documents said.