Russian folk music

I had taken Russian for three years in high school, then dropped it for eight years when eastern Europe started preferring English to Russian. Then I met my roommate Mike from Russia, and he started bringing home a lot of Russians he knew. So I got to experience Russian culture without even leaving my living room. The musicians among them would start playing traditional ballads as the nights grew later.

This event was Slava's birthday. It was just before he moved back to Russia. He had been in Seattle for a few years, but unable to get residency (grr -- thank you anti-immigrant politicians), so was leaving.

Seattle, WA, USA -- April 1995