Р is for revolyutsioner

This letter is pronounced like the English "R," but rolled, as in Spanish. In handwriting, it looks like Рр, but with the bottom of the curve in the lowercase letter not connecting.

Революционер ("revolyutsionеr") is a revolutionary, such as my cousin Kolya, who is fighting for the Bolsheviks, or my great-grandfather Sergei Maximovich, who was a Decemberist.

OK, so I've resisted meta-commentary this far (really difficult for me), but I have to go from Masha to Maya here so I can just say that I don't know how to explain the idea of a revolutionary from an 8-year-old's point-of-view. Also, I must relate how much joy I felt when I made the connection between the 19th-century Russian revolutionary Decemberists and the wonderful indie band the Decembrists. But I'm still waiting for Colin Meloy to write a song about limiting the power of the tsar through revolutionary force and failing. "I fought the tsar and the tsar won..."

П is for Pushkin

This letter is similar to the English Pp. In handwriting, it looks like Пп (a bit like the Greek letter pi)

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Александр Сергеевич Пушкин) is considered first and foremost of the great Russian writers. He lived from 1799-1837 and in this short time wrote a large opus of poetry and prose. He is best known for his short stories and poems, the most famous of which is the "novel in verse" Eugene Onegin (Remember back to the letter E?).

O is for ochki

This vowel is pronounced like the English long "O" when stressed, and shortened to "ah" or "uh" when unstressed. In handwriting, it matches the English "O": Оо.

Очки ("ochki") are spectacles. Here they are being modeled by the brilliant early twentieth century writer Isaac Babel/ Исаак Бабель (1894-1940), author of the Red Cavalry cycle of short stories.

Н is for naushniki

This letter is pronounced like the English "N." In handwriting, it looks like Нн.

Hаушники ("naushniki") are things that go over one's ears, here they are the earflaps on Papa's ushanka hat which Volodya has just discovered make fun playthings.