It's nice to know that even when I can't find the words to describe Russia, there are great Russian writers who can articulate them for me and friends (like Emily) to point me to them. There are lots of words in Russian that simply do not have an English equivalent. Some words, like тоска (toska) represent an idea, a state of mind, the essence of the Russian soul.
"No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom." -V. Nabokov
I miss Russia a lot today.
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