Cyprus and Norfolk, both 'vast' in Russian terms. Apparently.
A headline from the English language version of the Pravda website:
Japan drools over Russia's vast territory
Oh aye, thought I, yet more doom-mongering over military flashpoints and scope for an extension to my piece on China's trans-Amur ambitions.
What Pravda is actually referring to are the Southern Kuriles, former Japanese territories occcupied by the former USSR in 1945. Because my life is empty and meaningless, I have gone to the effort of totalling up the size of the islands - round about 1,874 square miles. For sake of comparison, Norfolk is 2,073 square miles, and Cyprus 3,572 square miles. Mother Russia herself - excluding the Southern Kuriles - is some 3,522 times bigger. So is there a word out there which might act as a 3,522 fold multiplier to 'vast'?
What Pravda is actually referring to are the Southern Kuriles, former Japanese territories occcupied by the former USSR in 1945. Because my life is empty and meaningless, I have gone to the effort of totalling up the size of the islands - round about 1,874 square miles. For sake of comparison, Norfolk is 2,073 square miles, and Cyprus 3,572 square miles. Mother Russia herself - excluding the Southern Kuriles - is some 3,522 times bigger. So is there a word out there which might act as a 3,522 fold multiplier to 'vast'?
Labels: Borders, Japan, Mother Russia, pedantry
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on Monday, July 13, 2009 at 1:07 pm.
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I'm not too sure about 'drools' either.
I've lived in Japan and can't say I ever saw them drooling after anything except perhaps penis tentacle porn manga).
I think the Russian translator needs a better dictionary or thesaurus.
I think 'desires' might be a better synonym or 'wants'
My life was empty and meaningless too. Maybe I shoulda tried JuChe.
P's C - Our Japanese friends do have quite distinct tastes in entertainment..
MJ - Indeed, and it is rich in Omega-3 and deals with that bloated feeling. Apparently.
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