Putin Warns Against Interference in Russia

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the world faces a growing “cult of violence,” and Moscow must not let events like those in Libya and Syria be repeated in Russia. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

Does the Language You Speak Determine How Much Money You Save?

A controversial new study out of Yale concludes that people who speak languages without future verb tenses like Chinese are better at preparing for the future than people who use a future tense like in English, French, and Spanish for example.

At the BBC, fewer languages and less influence?

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In this week’s World in Words podcast: after the BBC World Service announces huge cuts, what’s next for global broadcasting? Five language services are to close, and seven more will become internet only, resulting in 30 million fewer BBC listeners worldwide. Will people migrate to the web, or will the BBC – and its news values – become less influential?
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America’s love of “The Nutcracker”

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None of the original artists behind the ballet “The Nutcracker” are American. The music is by a Russian composer. The original choreographers were Russian and French, and the libretto was adapted from a story by a German writer. Yet the US seems to have made “The Nutcracker” its own. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Alastair Macaulay, chief dance critic for The New York Times, about the Nutcracker phenomenon in America. Download MP3

Video: The Hard Nut: A look back

Stories of translating, renaming and counting

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Translators are proving their worth twice in this week’s World in Words podcast: in New York, they’re helping elderly Russian speakers fill out their census forms; in Louisiana and Mississippi they’re interpreting for Vietnamese-American fishermen whose livelihoods are threatened by the big oil spill. Also, which tastes better: Silverfin, Kentucky tuna or Asian carp? Plus, a conversation about counting: some languages are more numerate than others.Download MP3

Ukraine’s political divide

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Last week Ukrainian lawmakers hurled eggs and smoke bombs in the chambers of parliament. This was after the ruling party of President Viktor Yanukovich (pictured) ratified a controversial treaty between Ukraine and Russia which extends the lease of a Russian naval base in Ukraine an additional 25 years. The brawl could signal the beginning of a turbulent period in Ukrainian politics, as Brigid McCarthy reports from Kiev. Download MP3 (photo by Ingwar)

• Battle lines drawn over Ukraine’s strategic direction
• In pictures: Ukraine parliament chaos

Census problems for immigrants

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Census workers are going door to door now. Their goal is to visit the 48 million households that did not mail back their forms. One neighborbood on the census-takers’ itinerary is a New York community home to many Russian immigrants. And language barriers and a mistrust of government are keeping many of them from participating in the census. Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska has our story. (Photo: Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska) Download MP3

• US Census Bureau
• Feet in Two Worlds

Alcoholism a ‘national disaster’ in Russia

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You might say it’s no country for old men. Russia, that is. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russians have been increasingly ravaged by disease and death. And one of the main reasons is the nation’s favorite drink. There’s so much vodka going down the throats of so many Russians, life expectancy for men has fallen to just 60 years old – about the same as in Myanmar and Haiti. The World’s Laura Lynch ventured out to the Russian countryside to find the roots of the country’s troubles with alcohol. Download MP3

• Russia’s minimum vodka price to tackle alcoholism
• Trying to break Russia’s vodka dependence

New York’s polyglot cops, Arabic online, and the planet’s most difficult language

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Our top five language stories this month: best and worst words of the year and the decade; Georgia launches a Russian language TV channel to counter the Kremlin’s message; new ventures and technologies give a boost to Arabic online; just how many cases, genders and moods it takes to make one Amazonian language the world’s most difficult; and the New York Police Department, now enforcing the law in nearly a hundred languages.Download MP3

Russian tabloid wants to be trendsetter

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Some might call it a school for scandal but a muckraking Russian newspaper publisher is calling it critical to the future of journalism in his country. Aram Gabrelyanov has created his own journalism training program – aimed and producing a new breed of reporters. Laura Lynch reports from Moscow. Download MP3

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Ukraine’s language

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Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union 18 years ago. One of the first moves Ukrainian nationalists took was to make Ukrainian the official state language. But as Brigid McCarthy reports, Russian remains the language of choice and there’s a move to change that. Download MP3

• The World in Words podcast
• Jason Margolis reported extensively from Ukraine in 2008

Recycling Russian cars

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Reporter Jessica Golloher tells us about a new program in Russia aimed at getting Russians to turn in their gas-guzzlers for newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles. It’s modelled on the US Cash for Clunkers program.

Russian submarines visit US coast

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Anchor Lisa Mullins talks with submarine analyst and historian Norman Polmar about the recent visit of two Russian nuclear-powered subs to the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Black candidate in Russia

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Correspondent Jessica Golloher visits a small village in central Russia to tell the story of what could be Russia’s first ever black candidate.