Russian culture

I’m not a big fan of Halloween, but it is the time of year when black cats crossing the road and other superstitious ideas seem to take a center stage. Even though I’m not superstitious AT ALL, my Russian friends can be very superstitious and attentive to various omens. Most these omens emerged in the pre-Christian era, and neither the Christianity that arrived in Russia more than 1,000 years ago nor the ideologues of the Communist regime during the 70 years of Soviet rule were able to stamp out some degree of faith in them. If you’re going to live…