50 and Counting

I know, I know, дорого яичко к Христову дню (“things are best on time”). So, yes, I am late with this Survival Russian piece. It would have been a much better fit for the recent 50th anniversary issue. But then we Russians tend to stretch the celebration of round anniversaries out into year-round affairs. So, in honor of the jubilee, let us look at the number 50.

Fifty is actually quite a venerated figure in Mother Russia. The 50th anniversary – 50-я годовщина – is always marked here en grande pompe. When someone turns 50 – in simple Russian, полтинник (from the 50 kopek coin’s face value, it can also mean 50 kopeks, 50 rubles, or 50,000 rubles), this is nothing to sneeze at. Only a centenary – столетие – can beat it. 

When, for example, Soviet Russia was celebrating the пятидесятилетие Великой Октябрьской Социалистической Революции in 1967,  it was quite an event.  And, had Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Russian Life a letter of congratulation, it might have sounded something like: “От всей души поздравляю коллектив редакции журнала Russian Life c юбилейным, пятидесятым годом. Желаю всем журналистам этого славного журнала, который несёт американцам правду о России, крепкого здоровья, творческих успехов и журналистских удач.” (“From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate the editorial staff of Russian Life magazine on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. I wish all journalists of this glorious magazine, which brings Americans the truth about Russia, good health, many creative successes and journalistic achievements.”)

While I cannot predict the future, it is likely that Russian Life has more than a пятьдесят на пятьдесят (or as we say, фифти-фифти) chance of publishing into its 100th year. After all, not many magazines have 50 years under their belt (or, as we say, “behind their shoulders” – за плечами). 

Our generation of Russian Life writers could well be called пятидесятники – most of us are well over forty, or, as we say in Russia, нам хорошо за сорок. And hopefully our generation is not so fitness-obsessed that we shy from having our пятьдесят грамм (50 grams) of vodka on such occasions (or maybe even два раза по пятьдесят, “two times 50”). The occasion is certainly worth it. 

The peripatetic linguist Vladimir Dal worked on his dictionary of Russian for almost 50 years. In it, he cited at least one 50-esque proverb for those who might not be inclined to celebrate this occasion: Не дал Бог ста рублев, а пятьдесят не деньги. It means, “God didn’t bless us with 100 rubles, and fifty rubles is not the kind of money you should be sitting on, so spend it.” And, mind you, 50 rubles in Dal’s time, bought quite a gala-dinner and many, many times 50 grams. 

But some may continue to object to celebrations, thinking only of the costs, of the morning after, of what might go wrong. They may retort: расходов на полтинник, а пользы на грош (literally: “it costs 50 kopeks, and is worth but a penny”). It means that something is too much hassle, with too little benefit.

Of course, there is no arguing with such people. And why bother? Life, as the swift passage of 50 years shows, is too short. Best to simply not invite such ascetic types to one’s пятидесятилетие.