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Welcome - Добро пожаловать

 

Welcome to my website!

 

My name is Harmen Schoonekamp and I am perhaps the greatest Russian culture enthusiast who is not a Russian himself. I love Russia, the country, the people, its culture and most of all its language.

 

I built this website to share with the world what I have learned  in the course of many years.

 

On this website, you can find words and phrases (some with sound files, the voice is from a native speaker of Russian), grammar, background information on the Russian language and much more.

 

My fascination with Russia began when I was still in high school in my hometown Zutphen (The Netherlands). During history classes we learned about the tumultuous history of Russia, the wars, the revolutions, the czars, etc. In my history book there were images of soviet era propaganda posters. I couldn't keep my eyes of them. Some of the letters were strange and exotic looking, while others were familiar. I decided that I wanted to learn this alphabet and the Russian language. During a trip to Amsterdam I bought my first ever Russian study book, "Russian in 3 months" at The American Bookstore. Many more would follow.

 

After high school I studied humanistics and Russian in Utrecht.  I made several visits to Russia, to do volunteer work and for holidays. I have been mostly in Pskov, Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Right now I work partially as a high school teacher of religion and philosophy and partially as a sworn Russian translator. I live in the city of Amersfoort with my wife Nienke and little son Hidde.

 

I hope you enjoy my site. Please feel free to send me questions or suggestions regarding this site.