In my opinion, Peter the Great could be a national hero of Russia.

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Рома́нов, Пётр I, Pyotr I, or Пётр Вели́кий, Pyotr Velikiy) (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother. In numerous successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a huge empire that became a major European power. According to historian James Cracraft, he led a cultural revolution that replaced the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern, scientific, Europe-oriented, and rationalist system.

Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. Heavily influenced by his advisors from Western Europe, Peter reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power. He faced much opposition to these policies at home, but brutally suppressed any and all rebellions against his authority: Streltsy, Bashkirs, Astrakhan, and the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the Bulavin Rebellion. Peter implemented social modernization in an absolute manner by requiring courtiers, state officials, and the military to shave their beards and adopt modern clothing styles.^[8] Government reform of Peter I refers to modifications made to the state apparatus of Russia during the rule of Peter I.

During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), which dominated most of Peter's reign, Russia, along with a host of allies, seized control of the Baltic Sea from Sweden and gained considerable influence in Central and Eastern Europe. Another major goal of Peter's reform was reducing the influence of the Boyars, Russia's elite nobility, who stressed Slavic supremacy and opposed European influence. Peter saw them as backwards and obstacles standing in the way of Europeanization and reform. He specifically targeted the boyars with numerous taxes and obligatory services, including a tax on beards.

Peter's reforms set him apart from the Tsars that preceded him. In Muscovite Russia, the state's functions were limited mostly to military defense, collection of taxes, and enforcement of class divisions. In contrast, legislation under Peter's rule covered every aspect of life in Russia with exhaustive detail, and they significantly affected the everyday lives of nearly every Russian citizen. The success of reform contributed greatly to Russia's success in the Great Northern War; the increase in revenue and productivity increased the strength of the Russian war machine.

 

Colours Color can influence our emotions, our actions and how we respond to various people, things and ideas. Much has been studied and written about color and its impact on our daily lives.Many people believe that colors are powers, and that colored stones are especially powerful. Here are some of the meanings of colors and the energies contained in their corresponding stones.

Colours in England:

 

 

Red symbolizes: action, confidence, courage, vitality   Pink symbolizes: love, beauty   Brown symbolizes: earth, order, convention   Orange symbolizes: vitality with endurance   Gold symbolizes: Wealth, prosperity, wisdom   Yellow symbolizes: wisdom, joy, happiness, intellectual energy   Green symbolizes: life, nature, fertility, well being   Blue symbolizes: youth, spirituality, truth, peace   Purple symbolizes: Royalty, magic, mystery   Indigo symbolizes: intuition, meditation, deep contemplation   White symbolizes: Purity, Cleanliness   Black symbolizes: Death, earth, stability   Gray symbolizes: Sorrow, security, maturity

Colours in Germany:

White – unity, lightness (единство, легкость)

Black – depression, emptiness (депрессия, пустота)

Grey - being in the know, melancholy (информированность, меланхолия)

Red - Leadership, obstinacy (лидерство, упрямство)

Yellow – honesty, criticality (честность, критичность)

Green – stability, selfishness (стабильность, эгоизм)

Colours in Russia:

Black – sorrow, death (скорбь, смерть)

Green – rest, youth (покой, молодость)

Blue – fidelity, trust (верность, доверие)

Grey - poverty, misery (бедность, нищета)

Red - life, blood (жизнь, кровь)

Yellow – life, gladness (жизнь, радость)

 

Flowers and their meaning From the origin of a flower's name to its distinctive characteristics and rich mythology, flowers are infused with symbolism and meaning. Our Flower Meaning Guide is designed to unravel these hidden mysteries, uncover these floral gems and open you up to a whole new language – the language of flowers. The Japanese call it Hanakotoba, and King Charles II brought it to Sweden from Persia in the 17th century. Hanakotoba is the Japanese name for associating certain flowers with different meanings. It is an age-old art form. Floriography – a fancy name for the language of flowers – was coined in the Victorian era, and while its original translations may have shifted over time, the notion that through flower symbolism we can express what we want to say (and may not be able to speak out loud) still holds true. We sense the personalities of different flowers and intuitively choose one over another to fit our mood or the occasion. We do it all the time. That's why we surprise someone with a bunch of bright yellow flowers to cheer them up or declare our fervent passion with two-dozen velvety roses.     ASTER With their wildflower beauty and lush texture, asters have long been considered an enchanted flower. In ancient times, it was thought that the perfume from their burning leaves could drive.   BLUE FLOWERS Blue flowers hold a special significance in the language of flowers and apparently – given their long-standing popularity – a special place in our hearts as well. Whether it's the deep blue petals of an iris. CARNATION With a history that dates back more than 2,000 years, it's not surprising that carnations are rich with symbolism, mythology and even debate. While some scholars suggest that their name comes. CHRYSANTHEMUM With a history that dates back to 15th century B.C., chrysanthemum mythology is filled with a multitude of stories and symbolism. Named from the Greek prefix "chrys-" meaning golden (its original color).   DAFFODIL (NARCISSUS) Symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings, the daffodil is virtually synonymous with spring. Though their botanic name is narcissus, daffodils are sometimes called jonquils.   DELPHINIUM (LARKSPUR) Derived from the Greek word "delphis," meaning dolphin, delphinium are also commonly known as larkspur. Other names include Lark's Heel, Lark's Claw and Knight's Spur.   GLADIOLA Named for the shape of their leaves, gladioli – from the Latin word "gladius," meaning sword – have a history than spans from Africa to the Mediterranean. Symbolizing strength and moral integrity.   HYACINTH Legend has it the origin of hyacinth, the highly fragrant, bell-shaped flower, can be traced back to a young Greek boy named Hyakinthos.     LILY Dating as far back as 1580 B.C., when images of lilies were discovered in a villa in Crete, these majestic flowers have long held a role in ancient mythology. Derived from the Greek word "leiron."   ORCHID The most highly coveted of ornamental plants, the delicate, exotic and graceful orchid represents love, luxury, beauty and strength. In ancient Greece, orchids were associated with virility.   PEONY With a recorded history that dates back thousands of years, it's not surprising that even the mythology surrounding the origin of the peony has multiple versions.   QUEEN ANNE'S LACE Legend has it that Queen Anne, the wife of King James I, was challenged by her friends to create lace as beautiful as a flower. While making the lace, she pricked her finger.   ROSE Long a symbol of love and passion, the ancient Greeks and Romans associated roses with Aphrodite and Venus, goddesses of love.   STATICE Grown for both its colorful flowers and its everlasting calyx (the green leaf that encloses the flower bud), statice is also considered an herb, referred to as "sea lavender."   STOCK A symbol of happy life and contented existence, the stock flower, with its sweet, heady-scented blooms, is native to Southwestern Greece and the Mediterranean.   SUNFLOWER While their distinctive and brilliant appearance makes it easy to see why sunflowers have long held our fascination, when they were first grown in Central and South America, it was more for their usefulness (providing oil and food) than beauty. SWEET PEA With its richly colored yet small, delicate flowers, the sweet pea's history can be traced back to 17th century Italy, when a Sicilian monk, Franciscus Cupani, sent its seeds to England.   TULIP Originally from Persia and Turkey, tulips were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where they got their common name from the Turkish word for gauze (with which turbans were wrapped).

Flowers in Germany

Pink – admiration (гвоздика, восхищение)

Lily - light-mindedness (лилия, легкомыслие)

Dandelion – happiness (одуванчик, счастье)

Rose – love

 

Flowers inRussia

Rose – love

Tulip– red- Undying love

Yellow - Hopeless love

Aster - Symbol of love, daintiness, talisman of love,trusting

Jonquil (нарцисс) - "Return my affection"

Lotus - Purity, chastity and eloquence

Peony - Shame, bashfulness

 

British humour is displayed in many types of British media, ranging from plays, political quotes, sitcoms, and some really awesome jokes.

British humour is a somewhat general term applied to certain comedic motifs that are often prevalent in comedy acts originating in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.

A strong theme of sarcasm and self-deprecation, often with deadpan delivery, runs throughout British humour. Emotion is often buried under humour in a way that seems insensitive to other cultures. Jokes are told about everything and almost no subject is taboo, though often a lack of subtlety when discussing controversial issues is considered crass. Many UK comedy TV shows typical of British humour have been internationally popular, and have been an important channel for the export and representation of British culture to the international audience.

Here is a very funny joke of how the English and the Scottish save on train fare.

Five Englishmen boarded a train just behind five Scots, who, as a group had only purchased one ticket. Just before the conductor came through, all the Scots piled into the toilet stall at the back of the car. As the conductor passed the stall, he knocked and called "Tickets, please!" and one of the Scots slid a ticket under the door. It was punched, pushed back under the door, and when it was safe all the Scots came out and took their seats. The Englishmen were tremendously impressed by the Scots' ingenuity. On the trip back, the five Englishmen decided to try this themselves and purchased only one ticket. They noticed that, oddly, the Scots had not purchased any tickets this time. Anyway, again, just before the conductor came through, the Scots piled into one of the toilet stalls, the Englishmen into the other. Then one of the Scots leaned out, knocked on the Englishmen's stall and called "Ticket, Please!" When the ticket slid out under the door, he picked it up and quickly closed the door.

Here you have two perfect examples of how the English and Scottish love to compete with one another, even in humor. Imagine how it must be during soccer season, when their teams play against each other. After all, a little good humored fun keeps a country fun and vibrant. There are some really funny quotes in the political arena as well. Here are examples of a few:

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end." Margaret Thatcher.

"The difference between a misfortune and a calamity is this: If Gladstone fell into the Thames, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, that would be a calamity." Benjamin Disraeli.

"At every crisis the Kaiser crumpled. In defeat he fled; in revolution he abdicated; in exile he remarried." Winston Churchill.

The leaders of Parliament did not only have a gift for governing, but they could also throw a good punch line as well. It’s great to know how to rule a nation with excellence, but to also know how to rule that nation with a sense of humor, that is sublime.

Let us not forget the televised version of England's priceless wit, the British sitcom. Fantastic programs such as Are You Being Served, Benny Hill, Monty Python, Keeping Up Appearances, and Waiting For God, are just a few examples of the best of English comedy. Much of the dialogues in most of these shows are priceless, and incredibly funny.

English humor reflects on the best, as well as the ups and downs of life in England. Humor helps us to look at the lighter side of things because life is hard enough as it is.

 

German humour refers collectively to the conventions of comedy and its cultural meaning within the country of Germany. Although comedy is a staple of German culture, with many Germans making light of situations in social conversation, and with a large amount of time allotted to comedy in German television broadcasting, it is a widespread stereotype outside the country that Germans have little understanding (or a distorted understanding) of humorous situations.

German distinguish between "Comedy" (using the English word) and "Komödie" (the German word of the same origin). "Comedy" refers to post-90s TV-comedy, which is characterized by comedic entertainment in the form of stand-up comedy, stage shows, modern satire, cabaret and adaptations of foreign comedy concepts, including airing of foreign shows. "Komödie" refers to films and plays.

German humour often follows many conventions which, due to similarities in cultural perception of events and day-to-day life (and other such universal themes which may be discussed through comedy), may be readily interpreted by natives of other countries.

Some German humorists such as Loriot use seriousness as means of humour. Another notable example of mock-serious humour with satirical content is Jakob Maria Mierscheid MdB, a virtual politician, and his eponymous Mierscheid Law. Begun as a hoax to falsify restaurant bills, Mierscheid has gathered sufficiently enduring pop culture recognition since the '70s to gain his own (tongue-in-cheek) entry on the official Bundestag Website.^[5]Similarly, the Stone louse (Petrophaga lorioti), a fictitious animal which was a part of a comic mocumentary video sketch, gained acknowledgement as a fictitious entry in the medical encyclopedic dictionary Pschyrembel Klinisches Wörterbuch.

However, current events situations, traditions, and cultural factors which are unique to the country may provide a barrier to the understanding of the meaning behind a joke or comedic reference to someone who is not aware of the events being referred to. This applies especially to the abundant use of local dialects and customs in Germany. In other cases the humour derives from mixing different styles of speech or opposing them to each other. For instance, the comedian Helge Schneider (DOB: Aug 30, 1955) is renowned for his absurdist and anarchical humour, yet due to the deep roots of his humour in the German language and its several stylistic levels, extensive parts of his material are lost when translated into English.

 

Traditional joke themes and forms:

· Fritzchen (Little Fritz): A boy of 8–10, who traps adults (usually teachers, parents or policemen) in witty plays of question and answer, exposing their silly or bashful adult ways.

Example: Fritzchen and his grandma walk along the pavement. Fritzchen finds a 10 Pfennig coin, but his grandma intervenes: "No, don't pick up anything lying on the ground!" Soon afterwards Fritzchen finds a 10 Mark note, but again his grandma says "No, don't pick up anything lying on the ground!" Soon there is a banana lying on the pavement, grandma steps on it and slips over. "Help me, Fritzchen!", she cries, but Fritzchen says: "No, don't pick up anything lying on the ground!" (Note that because of their being hard to come by, bananas were a highly-craved commodity in East Germany)

· Jokes about other nationalities: Germans have their own set of stereotypes about other nations, that sometimes appear in jokes. For example, Scotsmen are portrayed as miserly, Swiss as physically slow, French as sophisticated lovers, Poles as notorious thieves, Dutch as either marijuana smokers or slow drivers on motorways (typically with a caravan attached to their car), Chinese employ caricatures of Confucian wisdom. An Austrian is usually merely an antagonist of a German character, and may be presented as superior, inferior, or an unacknowledged equal.

· East Frisians (Ostfriesen) (East Frisians are a people living in East Frisia, the north-western corner of Germany): This national minority is portrayed as absurdly stupid or naive. Jokes are often in the form of question and answer, both given by the joke-teller.

· Beamte: German state officials (Beamte). Within jokes, they are considered slow and lazy, doing a nearly useless job in the bureaucracy.

· Mantawitz (Manta joke): The male counterpart to the blonde is the Mantafahrer, the male driver of an Opel Manta, who is dull, lower class, macho, infatuated with his car and his blonde hairdresser girl friend, and often exceedingly proud and possessive about things that most people would consider embarrassing. Popular in the 1990s, also the popularity of such jokes spawned two successful movies (Manta – Der Film and Manta, Manta, the latter starring Til Schweiger as the Mantafahrer).

· Antiwitz (anti-joke): A short, often absurd scene, which has the recognizable structure of a joke, but is illogical or lacking a punch-line.

· Kalauer: Short, often deliberately clumsy puns and plays on words.

· Bauernregel (Farmers' rule): Told in the traditional rhyme scheme of weather lore. There are two variants: one is really about weather, but the rule is absurd or tautologous; the other can be about any other topic, makes some sense, often with sexual connotations, and may feature word play or some real, hidden or twisted wisdom.

 

Russian humour gains much of its wit from the inflection of the Russian language, allowing for plays on words and unexpected associations. As with any other culture's humour, its vast scope ranges from lewd jokes and wordplay to political satire.

Russian humour is the integral part of Russian culture. Westerners sometimes allege that Russians have no sense of humour or admit it to be dry, sarcastic and quite often indecent. Better not try to get the essence of Russian humour. It is really very subtle based on the many intertextual ties with Russian literature, Russian cinema, politics and so on. Russian humour gains much of its wit from the great flexibility and richness of the Russian language, allowing for plays on words and unexpected associations.

Jokes

The most popular form of Russian humour consists of jokes (анекдо́ты — anekdoty), which are short stories with a punch line. Typical of Russian joke culture is a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots and plays on words.

In most cases a good joke translated into English will mean nothing to an American or a Brit. Yet some westerners admit Russians enjoy their ability to have a laugh at themselves. There are a lot of cool jokes and short funny stories called "anekdoty" everywhere in Russia. You will hear them whenever you go to a party or just are outside within the company of Russians.

There is a number of Russian joke subjects that are peculiar to Russian or Soviet culture and which make the endless plots to anecdotes.

One of the characters of Russian anecdotes is Standartenfuhrer Stirlitz, alias Colonel Isayev, a character from the Soviet TV series "Seventeen Moments of Spring" played by the popular actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov about a fictional Soviet intelligence officer who infiltrates Nazi Germany. The plot of the anecdotes makes Stirlitz interacting with Nazi officials Walther Schellenberg, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Martin Bormann, Heinrich Muller as well as with fictional female radio operator Kat, Pastor Schlagg, Professor Pleischner and other characters in the series. The plot is resolved in grotesque plays on words or in dumb parodies of overly-smart narrow escapes and superlogical trains of thought of the "original" Stirlitz.

Another popular character of the series of anecdotes is Poruchik (Lieutenant) Rzhevsky. Rzhevsky is a cavalry (hussar) officer, a straightforward, unsophisticated, and immensely rude military type whose rank and standing gain him entrance into disproportionately higher society. In the aristocratic setting of high-society balls and 19th century social sophistication, Rzhevsky, famous for brisk but not very smart remarks, keeps ridiculing the decorum with his vulgarities. Rzhevsky's (and supposedly all hussars') nonchalant attitude to love and sex, his straightforward and sometimes stupid approach to courting women is also a source of jokes.

The character of the next series of jokes is Rabinovich, an sterotypical Russian Jew. He is a crafty, cynical, mercantile, hates the Soviet government, often too smart for his own good and is sometimes portrayed as an otkaznik (refusenik): someone who is refused permission to emigrate to Israel. However this These Jewish anecdotes are not the same as anti-Semitic jokes.

One of the popular hero of Russian anecdotes is Vovochka (a diminutive form of "Vova", itself, in turn, a diminutive form of "Vladimir"). A stereotypical Russian school student (depending on the story, his age may vary from kindergarten to high school): not too bright, not interested in studying, either, prone to underage drinking, smoking, and swearing. He's apparently a subversion of young Vladimir Lenin, who was a role model character in many didactic tales for children. His most common counterpart is Marivanna (shortened of "Maria Ivanovna"), a stereotypical Russian schoolmarm, whose portrayal varies from sympathetic to outright offending. Ever since Vladimir Putin got elected President, the joke-tellers started considering Vovochka anecdotes political jokes.

The teacher is angry with Vovochka using dirty words. She asks the girls of the class to get out of the classroom when he says something again. Vovochka rushes in the room and exclaims:
- Hey, chicks, great news: a whorehouse is being built nearby!
All girls are getting up and leaving the classroom.
- Don't rush so hard, it's not yet opened!

Vovochka knocks to the window. A woman opens:
- Whaddya want?
- I want your daughter Masha. I need her as a woman!!!
- Screw off, you little jerk!
- You have misunderstood me! I've accidently kicked my soccer ball into a women's restroom!

Anecdotes about Chapayev make a significant part of military humour. This is just one of a myriad of jokes about Vasily Chapaev and his comrade-in-arms Petka. A military genius, a mythical hero, a part of the Soviet propaganda spin - Chapaev's life and death remain surrounded by doubt and debate. A Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War, he was turned into a Soviet myth and lives on in the Russian popular culture as a butt of a zillion anecdotes. Other military jokes (army humor) revolve around interaction between dim-witted non-commissioned and warrant officers and intelligent privates, who are usually conscripted students.

A number of jokes involve characters from the famous novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about the private detective Sherlock Holmes and his friend Doctor Watson. The jokes appeared and became popular soon after the screen versions of several of those stories came out on Soviet TV in late 1970s - mid-1980s.

New Russians, i.e. the nouveau-riche, arrogant and poorly educated post-perestroika businessmen and gangsters, are also very popular category of characters in contemporary Russian jokes. New Russians seized enormous wealth in The Nineties and were driving around in Mercedes cars and expensive suits, but has no idea what "style" is, only price.

Chukchi, the native people of Chukotka related to Northwestern Native Americans, are the all-time favorites, often seen as generally primitive, uncivilized and simple-minded, but clever and philosophic in a naive kind of way.

Animals. These jokes are based around animal behaviour stereotypes, which have their roots in Russian Mythology And Tales: the violent Wolf, the sneaky (female) Fox, the cocky coward Hare, the strong, simple-minded Bear, and the king of animal kingdom Lion.

Toasts

Drinking toasts can take the form of anecdotes or not-so-short stories, concluded with "So here's to..." with a witty punchline referring to the initial story.

Chastushka

A specific form of humour is chastushkas, songs composed of four-line rhymes, usually of lewd, humoristic, or satiric content.