Question

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

Is there a Russian equivalent to the phrase "to speak beyond the grave?"

Also, if one were speaking about Japan, and how the West opened it up, how does one say открыть Японию without making it sound that they discovered Japan as opposed to opening it up?

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

Isn't it better to say that Japan opened up to the West? The West "opening up" Japan sounds like a forceful act akin to rape. (Not that it is related to the original question, of course.) Getting closer to the point, I don't think there is a fitting set phrase in Russian.

[khathi.livejournal.com]

It should sound like a forceful act, because it was. The term "gunboat diplomacy" describes exactly that event -- opening Japan up.