Рынок

by Timur  

The Russian word “рынок” is the equivalent of the English word “market.” Just like the word “market” it is used to describe economic structures in which people trade, exchange, buy and sell, whether goods, specific services or valuable information.

Here are some examples of this discordant word:

Финансовый рынок страны уже не такой стабильный как два года назад. The financial market of the country is not as stable as two years ago.
Андрей хороший риелтор и знает почти всё про сегодняшний рынок недвижимости. Andrei is a good realtor and knows almost everything about today’s real estate market.
Она купила автомат на черном рынке. She bought a machine gun at the black market.

But most of the time when Russians, especially the elderly, refer to a “рынок” they are speaking of the food market where they buy meat, vegetables and etc.

Example:

Сходи на рынок и купи большой арбуз для гостей. Go to the food market and buy a big watermelon for the guests.

There used to be a large food market near the street where my grandparents lived in Moscow. This “рынок” had almost anything— from black caviar to bananas to rabbits. But nothing too foreign for the Russian stomach like avocadoes, mango, or—God forbid—peanut butter. The “рынок” was split into an indoor and an outdoor section. All the meat, poultry, fish and dairy products were sold inside at bargain prices and all the produce, sweets and drinks outside.

Sanitary conditions were not superb, especially in the murky, foul-smelling meat department where butchers displayed expressionless pig heads on counters, often surrounded by flies. Nevertheless I don’t think I’ve ever got food poisoning, and for thousands of people it was the place for food shopping. Outside, old grandmothers stood at corners with sheaves of cilantro, parsley and lettuce, next to them all kinds of sweets were set out on tables. If it was the right season you could buy tasty strawberries real cheap, or pull out a few more rubles and get an Uzbek watermelon.

As time passed the “рынок” became smaller while the prices doubled. The old building was demolished, most of the vendors kicked out, and everything rebuilt in a strange kind of way. The new structure has a fresh look to it now, and you will certainly find peanut butter and limes. Мangos are still rare. Overall the change was for the better, but I miss the old place.

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