Sturmovschina
stür’- müv - shee’ - nüv n. storming a task

Early-Mid 20th-century Russian expression.

Westerners often consider Russians to be shiftless and lazy. Their style of work may be puzzling to outsiders. However, it has a logic all its own, rooted in the peasants' seasonal cycle of activities. That cycle is based on the weather, which leads to months of idleness giving way to short but intensive periods of planting and harvesting.

As novelist Leo Tolstoy once explained, "The Russians harness their horses very slowly, but they ride with great speed."

Russian people have little patience for daily chores and fixed schedules. They prefer to get things done in sudden bursts of activity. This style of work became known in the Soviet period as sturmovschina, or 'storming a task.'

based on an article in Time (Magazine) December 7, 1992

Labels: russia, russian, soviet, Sturmovschina, tolstoy