(no subject)

[ericschnabel.livejournal.com]

Hello,
I am new to this community and hope to get a bit of insight from you. Recently, I heard a 'Russian Proverb' on an American television show. It was:

"In the kingdom of hope, there is no winter".

The Slavic department of Colorado University did not recognize it. I found a reference to it on a website, but there was nothing else. I have 3 questions.

1) Is this a legitimate Russian proverb?

2) If it is and you recognize it, would you please reproduce the phrase in Russian?

3) What is the context or meaning of the phrase? (Aside from it's use on American television.)

Thank You
Eric T.

Comments

[solito.livejournal.com]

That's a strange thing - I HAVE NEVER EVER HEARD IT - I tried to search the Web and nothing found in Russian but a lot of links in English - all quoting it as a "Russian saying"... I will continue searching but it looks weird

[friendlic.livejournal.com]

the translation is something like "В царстве надежды нет зимы"
but I didn't heard it either

[ilia-yasny.livejournal.com]

If this proverb really exist or ever existed in Russia, it's not well-known now, because I also NEVER heard it at all.

[solito.livejournal.com]

I found an interesting site with Russian proverbs and saying by Vladimir Dal - just in case it's interesting for someone (but there is no your proverb there):
http://www.niv.ru/biblio/biblio5.pl?id=005

[dair-spb.livejournal.com]

yet another "Razblyuto"? ;-)

[dair-spb.livejournal.com]

never heard it either...

[yms.livejournal.com]

I tried to search yandex.ru in different ways and didn't find any proverbs either.

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

Never heard of it or even of something that sounds similar. It also not in the Russian mentality, I'd say.

[arpad.livejournal.com]

I agreed with said above.

The label "russian" just used to give a line better sounding, not as a real reference.

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

*laughs* So, it's like one of those, "In the ancient words of Confucius: '<bullshit quote /gt;'"?

[arpad.livejournal.com]

heh :)

yea, looks like that

[noser.livejournal.com]

Just like that "na zdorovye" thing, which apparently everybody except Russians thinks is a Russian toast but instead it's how you reply to "spasibo" (you're welcome) and is never used as a toast.

Also, there's that "In Soviet Russia, we /something ridiculous/" which I never heard from a Russian, only from foreigners trying to make fun of Russians. Does anybody know where that reference comes from?

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

I have no idea where it comes from — I think it's a politically incorrect version of "backwards land" or whatever ... my friends (who are very rarely politically correct) and I toss around Soviet Russia jokes coupled with "your mom!" jokes.

[noser.livejournal.com]

I'm outrageously politically incorrect either, and I usually laugh at those "in Soviet Russia" jokes because most of them are funny :) Just wanted to know where that comes from...

[evaluna68.livejournal.com]

I believe it's from the terribly unfunny former Soviet comedian, Yakov Smirnov. I just don't get him at all.

[skeptikos.livejournal.com]

(I beg your pardon beforehand, for my awful English and misprints. Deprivation of a sleep, I feel myself stoned.)

Nobody heard about this "Proverb". Evidently, there is no proverb seems like this one in Russian. But maybe you should look for something else?

I believe you heard about the motion picture "Groundhog day", and maybe saw it. This is a beautiful film, so kind, so bright... However that may be, there is some interesting phrases that main character's talks. Phil Connors, a weatherman from television of Pittsburgh, ends his report from Punxsutawney, from annual Groundhog's festival, with the words:
"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney, and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."
Whereas Checkov is Russian writer, and this talks about winter and hope... Chekhov's dark vision of winter, maybe, made him to write something like this: "In the kingdom of winter, there is no hope." And then somebody turns this phrase over, and we've got: "In the kingdom of hope, there is no winter." It is funny, what I say, but who knows... Just bear in mind this thing about "Groundhog day" - about Checkov, the winter, and the hope.

[oryx_and_crake]

I must say that this is very far-fetched. I did a search on Yandex.ru (Russian search engine) about Chekhov, winter and hope, and the only pages containing all three words were related to "The Groundhog day".

[skeptikos.livejournal.com]

I know this is far-fetched, but as I can see, no one can offer a better version. Actually, no one can offer any version at all, except this one. But if "Chekhov-winter-hope" verion is not regarded, I just can tell you that thay have told above: I don't know anything about it. Furthermore, I can tell you: there is no any Proverbs in Russian similar to this one. That's all.

[oryx_and_crake]

P.S. The writer's name is not Checkov, it's Chekhov (different pronounciation).

[skeptikos.livejournal.com]

I know his name! - his real name is Антон Павлович Чехов, without any tranliterations. "Checkov" was a misprint, as I said. And some about pronounciation: even Chekhov sounds dissimilar to how we pronounse Чехов.

[basile.livejournal.com]

1) Not at all.
2) "Как уже ранее говорили", "В царстве надежды не бывает зимы".
3) It must be from a romantic fiction. Like Alexandre Green. (An end-of-the-XIX-century russian well-forgotten writer)

[oryx_and_crake]

He's Grin, not Green :-)

[nemica.livejournal.com]

The Russian saying is "надежда умирает последней". And I never heard the proverb you mentioned either.

[mithgol.livejournal.com]

Not a Russian proverb.

[mithgol.livejournal.com]

If it were a verse, it could be the following:

Сталью ветра разрежь дым,
Коим стянуты мы:
В королевстве надежды
Не бывает зимы.

Солнце в ауре злата
Тихо благослови:
Не случится заката
В нашем царстве любви.

{Just improvising.)

[friendlic.livejournal.com]

талант ))

This is the answer

[mrlampp.livejournal.com]

nadezhda ne postyzhaet is a quote from the Apostle Paul. It was translated in the TV show as Kingdom of Hope, but nadezhda means hope, or as the name, is commonly called Nadya. I have difficulty spelling in Russian, so this will have to do. In any event it is your answer.