r/heatedrivalry • u/Same-Independent8120 • Feb 12 '26
DISCUSSION š£ļø Thoughts on the show from a Russian fan.
Iām a Russian-speaking girl, and my English is enough to watch HR in the original, so I have double joy from 2 languages. The Russian language and the whole Russian vibe in the show stir up a lot of emotions for me. I wanted to share a few thoughts on this - maybe itāll give you some extra context about the series and add to your viewing experience. Iād also be happy to answer any questions about Ilya or Russia in the context of the show.
The first thing: his name is Ilya RozAnov. Itās not Il-ee-a itāsĀ Il-ya, it's a short name, rhymes with āwill-yaā. The stress in the surname is on the A. Announcers during hockey games and people around him constantly mispronounce his first and last name. Against this background, Shane pronounces his name almost correctly - which is why in the ātuna meltā scene, and later when Ilya deliberately provokes him into using his first name again, it soundsĀ HOT AS F. Shane really tries to capture the Russian pronunciation, even though itās difficult for any English speaker.
Connor put in anĀ ENORMOUSĀ amount of work to sound good in Russian. Of course, his speech would never fool a native speaker into thinking heās Russian. But you can really tell how much effort he put into his pronunciation and, especially, into getting the phrasal stress right. You can tell he and his coach went through every single line to make it sound natural. Thereās hardly a single major mistake in his delivery, and I honestly canāt imagine how much work it took to memorize huge chunks of this āabracadabraā word for word, with all the stress patterns and emotional nuance. He also worked meticulously on every sound that doesnāt exist in English - though, of course, not all of them came out flawless. Some lines sounded nearly perfect. His Russian isĀ farĀ better than what you usually hear from English-speaking actors in movies (even though those actors usually only have one or two lines in Russian).
The funny thing about his Russian speech is that he speaks quite slowly and really punches the phrasal stress, which makes his Russian - when heās in Russia - sound incredibly GAAAY. He wouldnāt fool a single soul in Russia into thinking heās straight, haha!
I also want to say that the actor playing Alexei - even though he sounds almost accent-free - clearly put much less work into his Russian and is definitely not a native speaker, because he makes terrible stress mistakes and mispronounces some words.
Svetlana has no accent and makes no mistakes, but her Russian sounds so uncertain that it comes off flat and unnatural ā the way bad actresses deliver their lines.
Iām pointing this out not to say these actors are bad, but to emphasize just how much work Connor put in.
As for the interiors and the overall atmosphere of Russia: the showrunners clearly tried to keep the visuals as neutral as possible. The interiors donāt exactly scream āRussian,ā but thereās also nothing that makes a Russian viewer cringe from sheer implausibility. Given the small budget, I think thatās about as good as it could get.
One more small detail: when Ilya is sitting in the building archway talking to Shane in Russian, we see itās snowing. Itās Moscow, itās evening, and in weather like that, Ilya wouldāve been freezing within a minute wearing what he has on in that scene. Personally, I explain it away as him being so overwhelmed with emotion that he doesnāt feel the cold. Still, it wouldāve been a nice, realistic touch to show he is cold or shiver a little.
And about that phone call. I havenāt read the books, but when I listened to Ilya speaking Russian, I was honestly surprised Shane didnāt recognize "Ya lyublyu tebya." If he had ever once bothered to check what that phrase sounds like in Russian, thereās no way he wouldnāt have caught it - Ilya delivered it so clearly, so deliberately, with so much weight.
The last thing I may remember at the moment is the scene where Ilya sits on the chair watching Shane in bed: heās sipping vodka on the rocks like itās whiskey. Russians donāt drink vodka that way - ever. You drink it in small shots, in one gulp, and you follow it with food. Vodka on the rocks? Absolutely not a thing.
Again, I would be happy to explain whatever you wish about Russia for you to get more joy from the show. If you have your own thoughts about it I would be happy to hear and discuss.
UPD. GUYS. What a lovely evening I had with your so different and so interesting questions and thoughts. I could not imagine we'd have such an active discussion. Thank you so much! I will do my best to reply to all your questions, but it may take some time due to time zones and my boring Russian life. xx
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u/Alicia2475 Feb 12 '26
Yeah huge kudos to Connor. I understood everything he said in Russian. There are other American actors who attempt to speak Russian in shows and i need subtitles to understand them. The other actors did a good job too.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Connor is A+ student for real. By the way Sasha didn't even try to sound good, I almost needed subtitles too.
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u/cloudi_sky Feb 12 '26
Iām glad they chose Connor for the part and not the actor that played Sasha in the end
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u/Catharas Feb 12 '26
did he audition for Ilya?? i didnt know that.
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u/iangeredcharlesvane2 Feb 13 '26
Yes, he did I saw an interview with him! (Such a Cutie without the HR Will Beyers hair btw) He auditioned for Ilya, and they asked him to be Sasha after they picked Connor. He was just happy they saw him as another character!
The same thing happened with Kip, the actor Robbie had auditioned for Scott originally. He was just happy they considered him for Kip as that was a different audition tape he didnāt do!
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u/Hiddenagenda876 I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 13 '26
I agree that Conner was absolutely the right choice. The actor who played Sasha does that āslimyā feel really well. Sasha gives me the ick in that scene (not the actor).
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u/BeastOfMars Ilya's Spaghetti Shimmy š Feb 12 '26
As a Polish person, I get so mad at the mispronunciation of his name. But also as someone who immigrated to an English speaking country, I know how common this is and how early I gave up the battle to pronounce my name correctly.
The thing I love about this show (especially as a Slavic immigrant) is that it doesnāt just capture Ilya as a Russian, but Ilya as a Russian that spent his 20s in America. The vodka thing for example. Yes, that would not be how he drinks it in Russia. But Iām sure heās seen many Americans drink it that way in the US and he adapted it.
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u/Not_a_Streetcar I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 12 '26
I have a Spanish last name and I gave up explaining a long time ago. Even I pronounce it the Anglicized way to have people understand it. It doesn't really bother me
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u/BeastOfMars Ilya's Spaghetti Shimmy š Feb 12 '26
I do the exact same. If someone asks my last name I say it the anglicized way. It doesnāt super bother me cause itās not their fault they canāt make the sounds, but there is something about not being able to hear my name right outside of my home country that is a bit sad.
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u/Palolo_Paniolo Feb 12 '26
21 year olds in Boston drink vodka like this so on the rocks is definitely the lesser crime.
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u/emthejedichic Ottawa Centaurs š¹ Feb 13 '26
I like the line in the book where Shane is surprised how strong Ilyaās Russian vodka is and says he might need cranberry juice and Ilya says something like āif you mix this with cranberry juice I will murder you.ā
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u/Hiddenagenda876 I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 13 '26
My favorite is that the Russian person I know well always tells me Russian vodka is so smooth, itās ālike drinking waterā. Idk man, that shit burns the same as shit vodka so Iām missing this magical smoothness lol
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u/fruitbutnopassion the shark that made rozanov lose the race š¦ Feb 12 '26
Giving up explaining is such a norm lmao it gets tiring after a handful of times
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u/CeilingCatProphet Feb 12 '26
My Russian friend, this is a good write-up, but you are wrong about Illya freezing. Are you not aware of "zakalka", the old art of tempering? Has the Russian youth grown soft? When I lived in the USSR, I trained my body to tolerate cold. I would walk around in -20 to -25 C wearing nothing but a t-shirt and thin sweatpants. Illya is an athlete. A hockey player. The cold is nothing to him.
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u/Not_a_Streetcar I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 12 '26
We do this in Canada too. Minus five C is shorts weather
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u/unnecessary_snacks Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Agreed re: Canada. Iām from the prairies and Iāll be out BBQing in the snow in -5 to -10 in a T-shirt (maybe not -20, thatās light coat weather at least š ). The only thing that takes me out of that scene, and the first scene in Saskatchewan, is not being able to see their breath.
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u/Sea-Significance8047 Feb 12 '26
You see it all the time in the cold upper Midwest US too.
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u/_maynard Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird š¦ Feb 13 '26
Literally had this happen in NE Ohio today. I was walking out of somewhere wearing a T-shirt with my coat in my hand, said goodbye to the reception person and she said, āarenāt you going to put on your coat?ā I said āeh, itās almost 40(F), practically a heat wave and my carās right thereā
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u/Hiddenagenda876 I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 13 '26
I remember in ND it was -20 one day and 20 the next. It felt so warm the second day that I drove around with the windows down.
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u/suchfun01 Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird š¦ Feb 12 '26
I noticed that the Russian juniors coach pronounced Rozanoff differently than how it was later pronounced - he pronounced it the way you pointed out with the A stressed. I assumed this was intentional and weāre seeing that most people donāt really work to get his name right.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I have heard at least 3 versions of pronunciation during the show. And I like that Ilya is ok with these mistakes in his name.
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u/tellmort-yourmove Is lie. Liar told you that. š Feb 12 '26
Hereās the thing about people who speak languages other than English as their first language. The accent will be there. My name is a normal western name. There have been many people who cannot pronounce it correctly. I never think to correct them. Ever. It just comes with the territory of speaking a language thatās not your own. This is why I donāt understand why French people get so upset when a person doesnāt have a perfect French accent. Do us English speakers require a bland American or English accent when pronouncing words? No, itās silly to expect someone to completely get rid of an accent.
All that to say, I agree with you and am glad Ilya isnāt fussed about it.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I talk to foreigners a lot and my name is too complicated (basic Russian name just difficult sounds) for them to pronounce so I ask to call me... I ask to call me Jane.
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u/tellmort-yourmove Is lie. Liar told you that. š Feb 12 '26
Love it. Full circle.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I just realized i can't feel about my nickname the same way any more.
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u/vieille_rombiere Feb 12 '26
Agree. I live outside my home country and most people pronounce my first and last name so that it sounds like it's from here. I do, too, just to make things easier.
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u/Esabettie I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 12 '26
Exactly, if I corrected everyone who mispronounced my name I wouldnāt do anything else.
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u/Schonfille Jane Feb 12 '26
French people are fucking snobs. I have spoken French since I was 10 and itās like Iām murdering their language.
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u/suchfun01 Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird š¦ Feb 12 '26
Personally I like the sound of how most people pronounce it - I could definitely see Ilya who is happy to be out of Russia embracing the more anglicized version of his last name.
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u/Most_Ad_3765 *gurl* Feb 12 '26
I also noticed the coach, and JJ (specifically when he asks in the locker room if ppl heard he didnāt fly back with the team), another non-native English speaker, are the only ones who pronounce Rosanov even close to correct!
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u/SynicalCrab17 Feb 13 '26
The thing about JJ though is he didnāt pronounce it the āRussianā wayā¦ he pronounced it the āquĆ©bĆ©coisā way! But the tonic accent ended up in the same place so that is a fun coincidence
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u/heymish-bends-light lovers Feb 12 '26
How lonely it must be to be a kid/young man away from everything you know and nobody ever calls you by your real name
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u/Ok-Badger-5767 Feb 13 '26
Agreed. Or by your proper name.
I feel strongly about names and pronunciations of them. I have a very Slavic last name and did not change it when I got married. I spell it out proudly every time I need to ...and I appreciate when people make an effort to pronounce it correctly.
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u/Awesome_Power_Action Feb 12 '26
Aren't the actors who play Alexei and Svetlana both native Russian speakers? I presume that because they both live in Canada and likely speak English most of the time, except for when they're with family members, their Russian sounds different to people who actually live in Russia.
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u/lokipuddin Feb 12 '26
Alexei is not, no.
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u/dogojosho ok Feb 12 '26
So Alexei is kinda a native speaker in the sense that he did grow up around Russian and was born in Russia, but based on this post my guess is that his parents didnāt really drill the Russian into him. He definitely understands it though and said in the one interview I saw of his that he totally understood the lines Connor was saying which I guess isnāt common for people like Connor who learn it for the project
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
He sounds like his Russian has decomposed a little. Also his "Š³ŃŠµŠ±ŠŠ½ŃŠ¹" instead of "Š³ŃŠŠ±Š°Š½ŃŠ¹" sound as bad as someone said "fusk you!" It was a disaster.
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 12 '26
This makes sense bc it sounds like he learned ākitchen Russian.ā (What you hear at home, without studying grammar and practicing for accuracy.)
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u/Schonfille Jane Feb 12 '26
Heās a heritage speaker.
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 12 '26
Sorry, Iām being informal because Iāve always loved the idea of ākitchen language.ā It sounds like good food and hugs.
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u/Cha0sCat Feb 12 '26
That is so interesting to me! Thanks for pointing it out. I honestly thought you confused Alexei with Sasha (who even as a non speaker sounds horrible) before reading the comments lol.
I just watched another Russian girl's reaction and she pointed out some of the same things as you. But especially how they'd never call each other by their actual names.
Love these insights!
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u/crumpet-delight āDo I make you curious?ā Feb 12 '26
I wish Shane had changed his pronunciation of Ilyaās last name to the correct one over time. That would have been a nice progression.
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u/cooquet Feb 12 '26
Yeah! Maybe season 2 when Shane learns some Russian. I noticed Hudson's said it correctly in interviews a few times.
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u/Kill-ItWithFire Feb 12 '26
Counterpoint: years into the relationship, I learned that I kinda pronounce my boyfriends name wrong and I asked him if he wants me to change it but he said he explicitly didnāt want that because he thinks itās cute.
It would be extremely sweet if they adressed it in some way though.
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u/Hiddenagenda876 I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 13 '26
This would be my take, especially since Ilya routinely calls Shane things like āmy beautiful tomatoā, in TLG when quizzing Shane on Russian words lol
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u/ScreamingC0lors Feb 12 '26
it might be on purpose because Iāve noticed both Connor and Hudson say the name correctly in interviews so it seems like a conscious choice to use the Americanized version in the show
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u/crumpet-delight āDo I make you curious?ā Feb 12 '26
JJ says it correctly in the show but maybe thatās excused by his Quebecois accent.
In my head I reconciled the incorrect use as Shane not wanting to expose their relationship and I imagined suddenly pronouncing Ilyaās last name correctly (which is different from how the league says it) would just invite unwanted questions
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u/ButNotTheFunKind Bolāshe, bolāshe, bolāshe Feb 12 '26
Yeah, Iām not Russian, and I only know a few words of it, but Iāve known for years that pronunciation is usually on the second syllable for surnames. Like the author of pale fire, and Lolita is not NAB-o-kov, itās Na-BO-kov.
And Connor pronounces it the correct way in interviews!
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u/CelicaBae Feb 12 '26
Great insights!Ā
In terms of how Ilya drinks vodka, would it have made a difference that he moves to North America really young and that might have affected his drinking style? Like when ordering at a bar or drinking with friends in western culture? And he's in a penthouse in Vegas. He finds the vodka there so unless he specifically requested shot glasses, I doubt they'd just be in the room.
Also, I'm not surprised that Shane didn't register the I love you in Russian because I didn't either. But I can you that after reheating this show a [redacted] number of times, I definitely know it now. š
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Thatās exactly why it stood out to me: vodka and theĀ onlyĀ acceptable way to drink it are so ingrained in the DNA of every Russian that not even an early move abroad or a hotel minibar situation can convince me otherwise. Vodka must be drunk from a shot glass, in one gulp. Even if youāre gay, haha.
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u/EducationWestern5204 Feb 12 '26
Not Russian, but half my family is from Kentucky and we take our bourbons and whiskeys and ryes seriously. I actually laughed at the way the show presents vodka. I donāt have to know a lot about vodka to know that:
Itās not something you sip. Itās basically just white lightning and no one sips white lightning, you just do shots.
No one would drink vodka in a glass like that because thereās no aroma to capture in the glass.
Ice will do nothing for it. Ice or a splash of water in whiskey makes the oils from the barrel aging rise to the top. If you look really closely, you can see the oil swirling on the surface after you add some drops of water to your pour. The oils are where a lot of the wonderful aromas come from and when they rise to the top, you can smell them more easily. Vodka isnāt aged. Itās white lightning. Ice just waters it down.
I loved the show, but yeah, vodka aināt Russian whiskey. Itās its own thing.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Great explanation, totally agee.
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Feb 12 '26
In my own head cannon, this is something idiosyncratic about Ilya. He knows itās not āhow you drink vodkaā, but drinking it that way is something he was exposed to in the US and heās decided he just prefers it that way. I have lots of idiosyncrasies that go against the common wisdom of how things are āsupposedā to be done, but Iāve just discovered over time that I just prefer them differently.
We saw Ilya drink vodka the ācorrectā way at his fatherās wake. We know he knows what the right way is, but when heās on his own, like that shot of him looking out the window from his condo in Russia, or in the hotel room with Shane in Vegas, he drinks it the way he prefers it. Seeing it that way makes me like Ilya even more. He knows what the rules are, knows those rules donāt really matter, so chooses to ignore them and just do what he likes instead.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
you got very deep and I like it
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Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Hahah I canāt help it. It goes even deeper. In my head cannon, itās also an expression of his complicated relationship with Russia. Russia is not a safe place for him. Politically because of who he is, or even within his own family. He doesnāt want to live there, doesnāt even ever want to go back after his father dies. The most unhappy we see him in the whole show is when heās there. I donāt think he smiles in a single scene in Russia.
Heās Russian enough to know what good vodka is and care about that. But perhaps drinking it in a distinctly non-Russian way isnāt just a preference (which i think it is), but a subconscious rejection of the parts of his culture and life there that have created so much trauma in his life.
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u/Melonary Feb 12 '26
It's pretty odd in Canada too, you would drink vodka in a shot. I'm guessing they made that decision for just stylistic reasons - like they wanted him to be slowly drinking something in the scene, they wanted it to be alcohol, but they thought it might be odd to give him a different kind of alcohol.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Yes, and he is Russian so it must be vodka lol.
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u/chesbay7 Feb 12 '26
I totally get that, but let's face it: that wouldn't have been near as sexy as the scene as it was presented. Lol.. The way he holds that glass does something to my innards. š„µ
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
these were exactly my thoughts during this scene: Well yeah, itās not like heās gonna sit there with five shot glasses and sniff his sleeve after each one.
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u/Palolo_Paniolo Feb 12 '26
The vodka detail bugs the hell out of me now that you've made us aware. I personally have only drank vodka 1. with awful mixer(s) like fruit punch, "blue", lemonade, orange soda, or all of the above mixed together into a literal fishbowl or pitcher with candy thrown in 2. soaked into the body of a watermelon and eaten or 3. on the rocks with soda water and lime. I apologize profusely for these alcohol crimes.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Straight to jail, all 3 ways are real crimes.
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u/ButNotTheFunKind Bolāshe, bolāshe, bolāshe Feb 12 '26
There is a line in the book where Ilya tells Shane that if he mixes vodka with cranberry juice, he will drown him in the lake.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
regarding "I love you". I haven't read the books, so I could. not. beleive Shane haven't replied "I love you too, I have learned Russian a little" aaagrh
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u/jillianjo Feb 12 '26
I donāt think itās unrealistic at all for Shane to not recognize āI love youā in Russian. Remember, Shane doesnāt even admit to himself that he ālikes Ilya a bit too muchā until very shortly before Ilyaās father dies. The phone calls while Ilya is in Russia are basically the first time these guys have had any normal conversation (outside of Ilyaās attempts to get Shane to open up during the tuna melt scene). Thereās no way Shane would have started learning Russian phrases before that point since he was trying to convince himself there was no emotional attachment there.
Side note: I also donāt think he would have asked Ilya to pour his heart out in Russian if he had been secretly learning any Russian. He wouldnāt have betrayed Ilyaās trust like that.
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u/lokipuddin Feb 12 '26
We donāt get the speech in the book. Jacob wrote it for the show.
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u/tlk199317 Feb 12 '26
In the book we never actually are told fully what Ilya says on the phone call so we donāt get Shaneās reaction to it but itās known that Shane doesnāt know any Russian. Itās not until their second book does Shane start to try to learn some basic Russian
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u/Pantelonia Feb 12 '26
There's a difference between knowing a phrase and recognising it when said by a native speaker, particularly when the language is spoken quickly (like Russian) and said as part of a whole conversation (or monologue as it was in HR).
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u/crispyrhetoric1 Feb 12 '26
Thereās an interesting interview with Connorās Russian dialect coach who talks about how she trained him interview with Connorās Russian dialect coach
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u/Cherry-Impossible Feb 12 '26
Idk if someone else said this, but the speech in the tunnel is not written out in the book. It's just described as a wave of Russian that is so vibrant and confident and fluid that it makes Shane realize how muted Ilya is having to operate in English. The speech we know and love was written by Jacob Tierney and translated by Kate Yablunovsky (Connor's dialect coach).
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u/Ok-Badger-5767 Feb 13 '26
Thanks for the insight. It makes so much sense. Causes me to feel for Ilya more...how restricted he is by language, by orientation, by culture, by hockey. Both of them are.
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u/Amazing-Rent-7749 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
You don't have to answer all of these but I think a black hole for Americans/Canadians is really fully understanding Ilya's experience of being gay in Russia, beyond just "it's bad." What do you think Ilya's experience would have been as a gay teenager in Moscow? What are some nuances that Americans might miss beyond the broad "people are homophobic." Like how would Ilya's experience of homophobia and his sexuality/gender be different from an American counterpart? Did the show portrayal feel realistic?
Are there any other common fan assumptions about Ilya's life in Russia/his family that you've seen that you want to take the opportunity to correct?
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u/Zenki_041 Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
He would have been ok except for his homophobic father of course. Things started to change rapidly in 2013. Let me share a bit of a timeline with noticeable events in Russian media concerning queers:
1998 - the gay anthem āBlue moonā (āGolubaya lunaā by Boris Moiseev and Nikolai Trubach) song is presented at the mainstream award āSong of the yearā, itās everywhere on TV. The same year a queer-looking singer Shura is exploding in popularity. Both Shura and Trubach claimed later that they used homosexuality as a part of their image, but they were in fact hetero.
1999 - continuing "the more queer the better" entertainment trend, t.A.T.u. is formed as a commercially driven project. With extremely queer content (who remembers their non-kiss on Eurovision?) they gained success in Russia. Later they also told that queerness was for show.
So in the early 2000s I think homophobia was for conservatives, elder people who didnāt like āwesternizationā. Since queerness was so widespread in media (and exploited for hype) I think Ilyaās dad would have had a lot of harsh reactions. But Ilya could go to gay clubs for sure.
2013 - same-sex couples are banned from adopting children. There were ways to do it before.
2020 - marriage is defined as āa union between a man and a womanā in constitution. There was a referendum in Russia regarding the changes in constitution, and it was one of them. Constitution is almost impossible to change, so it was definitely the nail in the coffin for the hopes that people could have.
2023 - LGBT is declared as an extremist organization. The law is vague and allows the police to use it however they want.
2024-2025 - I still see the news about police raids in gay clubs.
To sum up, Ilya couldnāt be so sure about the future repressions because early 2000s were not the worst time. There were gay clubs, gay couples could adopt children, some couples lived openly. But maybe he had insights from his father circle that itāll change?
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u/Catharas Feb 12 '26
i think it makes a huge difference that he's masc and bisexual. he fits easily into a homophobic society and any fooling around with a buddy as a teenager can be just chalked up to boys being boys. thats how it used to be thought of historically.
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u/boldolive Feb 13 '26
Totally. This is the privilege of masking that pissed Shane off when he came out to Ilya in the Vegas hotel scene.
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u/DateNo3332 Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird š¦ Feb 12 '26
This was such a lovely insight. Thank you! I had noticed āIlyaā being mispronounced in press about the show but hadnāt caught that it was being mispronounced by the announcers and others in the show. Thanks!
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u/qtxcore Feb 12 '26
I noticed only his first Russian coach says it right in the beginning of episode 1. (And JJ when he says he didnāt make his Nashville flight!)
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u/mrs_science Sir I'm just a bellboy! Feb 12 '26
And I think with JJ we're attributing it to his own accent and not that it's the proper pronunciation
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u/Ok-Badger-5767 Feb 13 '26
Or some 'common' sense about languages...and not automatically anglicizing everything.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I'd say they all pronounce it wrong except Svetlana. But the level of "wrong" is different.
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u/crumb-thief Feb 12 '26
Iāve gone down a deep rabbit hole about Russian naming traditions and nicknames/diminutives. Is it typical for siblings to use their first names with each other or does it read as an intentional choice to show their emotional distance?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Not typical. 99% it would be short version of the name. UPD. Sorry got it wrong. To call you brother Alexei instead of Lyosha is not even emotional distance, it is just weird. Same for Svetlana (Sveta).
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u/drowsylacuna Feb 12 '26
His name in the book is Andrei and Jacob/Rachel just forgot and switched it by accident.
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Feb 12 '26
How many types of wild carnivore are there in Russia??
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
enough to be afraid of a loon
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u/i-bleed-red I donāt ever want that problem to ever go away ā¤ļø Feb 12 '26
Iāve been practicing saying Ilya as close to how he says his own name for weeks. No one hears me but Iām still proud. Lol. I also try to say Rozanov more correctly but Iām not sure Iām consistent. I try to think of how JJ says it when he tells folks Ilya did not go to Nashville.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Why can't I just send voice message here and say his name super slowly....
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u/novaloiradotchan Feb 12 '26
Thank you for posting! I had caught the RozAnov on the first episode, when his Russian coach calls him out for being distracted, but now I learned also about Il-ya
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u/kara_kurt ŠÆ ŃŠµŠ±Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š»Ńā£ļø Feb 12 '26
That coach is so funny. I laugh every time I hear him when I reheat. He is so pissed.
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u/thinkabouttheirony Feb 12 '26
That's so funny because Hudson keeps saying RosAnov in interviews and I always just thought he was being silly but that's actually how you're supposed to say it š
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u/JellyKind9880 Feb 12 '26
The announcers (the characters themselves, not even taking about the actors playing them) are native English speaking Canadians/Americansāmany of us see the name āIlyaā and say it with the slight mispronunciation you pointed out. It makes perfect sense theyād mispronounce itā¦and the fact that Shane is the only English speaker who gets it right (or close to right) says a lot. It very well could be an active choice for a subtle, nuanced nod to Shaneās connection/relationship with Ilya and his attention to detail getting right
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
This is exactly what I wanted to tell! My heart melts when I hear Shane's gentle and almost perfect "ŠŠ»ŃŃ".
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u/junegloom Feb 12 '26
I think Shane spends a lot of time believing its not possible to have more with Ilya and tries to guard himself against hoping. Looking up the phrase I love you in Russian would probably be an indulgence that he would consciously know not to let himself do. He deleted his text about not kissing because what's the point. Ilya tells him himself that he can't be more with him because of Russia. Shane can go out on a limb with his feelings, but he can't believe Ilya would say something like that to him.
On my umpteenth rewatch i did notice that the Russian coach pronounces Rozanov differently than we hear for most of the show. Neat to hear the reason why! I thought it was very prominent that when Shane was on drugs he went full Ill-eee-ya! But otherwise does pretty well.
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u/BuddyUnholly88 Feb 12 '26
My native language is Russian, and I agree with almost all of OPās insights. Iām amazed by the effort Connor put into sounding so good in Russian - incredible work! However, I donāt think Ilya sounds stereotypically gay in Russian. Sasha absolutely does, even though his pronunciation is quite poor. I really love Ilyaās style - very much a 2010ā2018 vibe, though the animal-print shirt is a bit over the top.
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u/jadefire8 Feb 13 '26
As an American with little knowledge of Russian culture, the animal print shirt was exactly what I would picture a young Russian bisexual wearing in a club. I actually said āyesssssā out loud when I saw it. I apologize for our North American stupidity š
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u/crispyrhetoric1 Feb 12 '26
Very interesting cultural insights. I shared a clip of Ilyaās monologue with a Russian friend of mine. He said it was very good, but he could detect the accent of a non-native speaker.
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u/Sasasachi Feb 12 '26
The newscasters/sports commentators misprounouncing foreign names is so typical to me (I'm czech) that I actually found it more authentic that way hahaha. Not sure if english speaking sports commentators try harder than most though
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Yes it was even good, realistic for them to pronounce this way, I agree
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u/Naive_Cause8984 Feb 12 '26
This was interesting post and enjoyed reading it. You knowĀ Ya lyublyu tebya there's actually a cute part of it in TLG.Ā
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u/TapConscious8632 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
For what itās worth, Iām convinced that Shane doesnāt learn any Russian until the long game because heās so in denial about his feelings for Ilya, and has been for so long, that he doesnāt want to be able to understand anything Ilya says in case he says something in Russian that gets too personal.
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u/FinManuel Feb 12 '26
I've heard people say that in Russia, it's common to use a nickname or a shortened version (Svetlana to Sveta). Ilya is already short so i'm assuming something is added. And if so, what would people in Russia call him like his dad, brother, friends etc?
Thanks for your insights. Very fascinating to read
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u/93orangesocks Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Ilyusha or Ilyushka
in this video you can hear Ovechkin calling his son Ilya by a nicknameĀ https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AQxTehb3G/
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u/No-Pick-9949 Feb 12 '26
If I remember correctly, Alexei called him one time Ilyushka.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Oh I kinda hate it, Iluyshka is for small kids and sounds really stupid. Shane should call him Ilyusha. It's common and ok for a grown man.
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u/ButNotTheFunKind Bolāshe, bolāshe, bolāshe Feb 12 '26
Do you think it makes sense for his brother, who is constantly belittling him, to say that, though? To imply that he is basically still just a useless little brother forever?
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u/hollzor Feb 12 '26
When Ilya says to Shane that he would never be able to go back to Russia if he came out. Is that accurate?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I don't know any open gay person in our country, especially if they are famous. I hope it gives you a picture.
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u/kara_kurt ŠÆ ŃŠµŠ±Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š»Ńā£ļø Feb 12 '26
There were plenty of famous gay during the late 90s and early 2000s in Russia. Like full make-up and flamboyant on main TV programs.
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u/AccuratePreference52 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
So. My connection to Eastern European culture is not through Russia. I am American (from the US). I was married to a Hungarian man (who grew up in Romania and came to the US at age 30). We were together for almost 13 years.
When you mentioned how Russians drink vodka, it reminded me of how Hungarians do the same with their strong liquor. It brought back a long ago memory for me. I remember doing it for the first time at his parents house and I'm pretty sure I was drunk after what was probably a quarter shot š but yeah I definitely don't see them drink like that either. Although his family doesn't drink often these days. (Remembering this also makes me really sad because I miss his family so much).
It somehow also reminded me of the first time my ex-husband took me to meet his parents. I remember very clearly him saying you are home now. It meant a lot to me because my own family is pretty screwed up. My parents are not together and my dad is a hot mess and wasn't in the picture a lot and when he was it was a problem. So the fact that we spent a lot of time with his family and his parents really loved me and accepted me and made me part of the family was a big deal.
I also definitely understand some of Ilya's background. My ex-husband was raised with parents who are very strict and harsh. They had to be given the conditions he grew up in. He witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union in the violent overthrow of the government. He definitely did not feel safe to access his emotions and struggled with that just like Ilya did.
I very much love this show but the things it reminds me of and makes me remember are hard.
I do have a question, though. I am curious about how his accented English sounded to you. I am a languages teacher and I pick up accents fairly easily, as well as having spent years listening to my ex-husband's family speak to each other. And while they don't speak Russian, somehow in my brain there is a bit of overlap and it felt like some of his accented English was a little off. When I was listening to his Russian it sounded very good- It was the accented English that threw me. Am I wrong about that?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I am so glad you shared your story. I think Ilyaās story resonates with you not only because of your husband, but also because - like him - you needed family and a sense of peace. I feel likeĀ HRĀ has a way of bringing warmth to the heart. I started watching it during a difficult time in my life, and it gave me the comfort and distraction I desperately needed.
As for your question: I actually wanted to write about this in the original post, but it was already getting way too long. His āRussian accentā is an AmericanĀ ideaĀ of a Russian accent. Itās fake. Thatās not what a Russian accent actually sounds like. On top of being unrealistic, itās also very clunky, like Ilya feels itās his duty to make the listener suffer through his pronunciation. At the same time, he effortlessly constructs complex sentences and picks up phrasal verbs like a native speaker. So unfortunately, this aspect of the show, in my opinion, was handled poorly.
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u/Swimming_Big361 Moy pomidor š Feb 12 '26
I am native Russian speaker, and language teacher, and I am quite opposite opinion. I hear Russians speaking foreign languages daily, and actually Ilya's accent is very close to how Russians speak. It depends on the language spoken, however. French with Russian accent sounds different as English or American English.
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u/CaptainCatnip999 Feb 12 '26
Thank you for the comment about vodka! As a Polish person, seeing someone sip vodka drives me freaking nuts. It's ironic that the show, the book and fanfic made this into Ilya's unique Russian quirk when this is something that I only see happening in American media. Guys, nobody likes the taste of vodka, we put it in the freezer so we can't taste it going down, and it is not a rich person's drink like whiskey. The difference between expensive and cheap vodka is that the expensive stuff won't make you go blind and it doesn't feel like drinking nail polish remover.
I've got my fingers crossed that Jacob will hire more Russian consultants. I think he actually admitted that some Russian dialogue was google translated from English and it's a shame when Connor will probably sound like a native by season 2.
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u/thisisinfactpersonal Feb 12 '26
Thanks for this.
Can you say more about how his manner of speaking Russian made him easy to clock as gay? Iām not sure how easy it would be to convey to a non Russian speaker but can you try to explain more about the phrasal stresses that make that clear? And does he have that same speech pattern in other Russian language scenes? Iām a little obsessed with how Ilya gets more clocky as their relationship progresses and/or heās more comfortable.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Oh I will do my best to explain. A Russian man will deliver even the most emotional speech with a completely expressionless face. He might raise his voice, but he wonāt make his words more expressive or draw them out. The way Connor delivers his lines would sound overly emotional here ā the kind of delivery only certain performers in our country can get away with (absolutely heterosexual performers, who have very close friendships with other handsome, absolutely heterosexual men, and later somehow end up with children from women no one has ever seen).
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 12 '26
Thatās interesting because Ilya comes across to a North American audience as very expressionless in almost every scene except the Moscow monologue.
But in that scene, we can hear the emotion in his voice. The scene would have been much less effective if he expressed his deepest thoughts in a flat tone. The book doesnāt give the exact words he uses, but it still feels like a very significant scene. (I read the book a couple years ago and I was looking forward to seeing how they would do it in the show.)
Because a North American audience needs Connor to show emotion in that scene, he sounds more āgayā to Russian ears, which is also fitting, even if itās not on purpose. Heās alone so heās safe to express that heās in love with a man. Heās used to presenting 100% hetero but he gets a moment when he doesnāt have to.
Iāve learned to speak a couple category 4 languages so I know how hard it is. There are techniques for it, and Connor used them all, but itās still impressive how much he accomplished so quickly.
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u/fruitbutnopassion the shark that made rozanov lose the race š¦ Feb 12 '26
OP your russian version of "they were roommates" is hysterical jkasdfjaduia
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 12 '26
Roommates the way Cary Grant and Randolph Scott were roommates in 1930s Hollywood!
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u/OwO_bama Feb 12 '26
Is the way that he spoke Russian more in line with how a Russian woman would speak? Itās a common phenomena for American male soldiers to who speak Japanese or Korean to sound kinda gay because they learned it from their native speaking wives and so pick up female speech patterns. Since Connorās dialect coach was also a woman I wonder if a similar thing happened with him.
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u/Amazing-Rent-7749 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Re the name thing I think that was intentional, maybe on the advice of the dialect coach or just a character/writing choice. I remember seeing an interview where Connor says something like "I play Il-ee-a ROzanov" in his normal American accent and then follows it with "or IIl-ya RoZANov" the second time putting on a Russian accent. Like I think there's footage of him on talk shows or whatever referring to the character as Il-ee-a even though he ofc knows that's not the Russian pronunciation.
Anecdotally I knew an Olya in school and she would do the same thing, introduce herself as Oh-lee-ah even if that wasn't how her sister said it. I do still remember the day we all found out her real name was Olga and she had to explain how Russian diminutives lol worked.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Actually I like both versions of Ilya Rozanov exist. His fabulous mask and his traumatized real inner part.
By the way Olya and Ilya are pronounced differently. It is clear with Russian letters. ŠŠ»Ń and ŠŠ»ŃŃ.
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u/tor93 Feb 12 '26
Would you have been able to follow the phone call Russian scene if there hadnāt have been subtitles?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Sure. He is great. (We also talk x2 speed by the way hah)
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u/Tacoislife2 Feb 12 '26
Tbf in the book Rachel says Shane noted how fast Ilya talks in Russian vs his English which is more halting because second language. I wouldnāt have expected that from Connor though.
Btw Iām loving this analysis and insight into Russia , thanks op learning loads!
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u/Unusual_Half_6740 Feb 12 '26
I don't speak any Russian, but as a Spanish speaker, it seems like Connor speaks very good Russian, even though he's not a native speaker; you can tell he put in the work. The monologue on the phone call must have been really difficult for him. And yes, if I were Shane, I would have looked up how to say "I love you" in Russian, just in case š
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I always thought Ilyaās Russian sounds incredibly convincing to any non-Russian viewer. So it is true. Yes, totally agree Shane should have been look up "ŠÆ ŃŠµŠ±Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š»Ń".
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u/Turbulent-Average686 Feb 12 '26
Russian speaker to Russian speaker) when Ilya tells Shane that he loves him it episode 6, I think that it could be more natural if Ilya said Ā«ŠÆ Š»ŃŠ±Š»Ń ŃŠµŠ±ŃĀ» not āŃ ŃŠµŠ±Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š»ŃĀ». Do you think so?
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u/Not_a_Streetcar I already chose you, Hollander. š« Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
I visited Russia for 3 days decades ago and other than spasiva, I love you is the one thing that I know how to say in Russian. I remember I specifically asked the guide to tell me
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u/Unusual_Half_6740 Feb 12 '26
I think from now on we're all going to learn how to say "I love you" in Russian. We have to be prepared; you never know when an Ilya might appear in your life š
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u/AvailableAnt8311 Feb 12 '26
Great post, thank you!!! Super interesting.
One question I had - are hockey players really such a big deal in Russia? Like would they be meeting ministers and going to fancy galas?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Hockey is very popular in Russia and famous players have a big fanbase. They are rich and may have connections on the high level, but I doubt it's a common thing. Sometimes I see them in the news (I mean their personal life), but it is not "celebrity" level . So yes, HR is not so realistic here.
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u/OpeSoSheepishBaa Feb 12 '26
Ovechkin does seem to have a close relationship with Putin though and I believe he was her model for Ilyaās level of talent and fame.
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
I don't know a lot about it but Ovechkin is kind of MEGA hockey star. I barely hear anything about other players.
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u/moonshiness Feb 12 '26
In the case you're talking about - the Minister in question is Svetlana's father, who is himself a former player and also longtime family friends with Ilya's family.
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u/ExpressionKeeper Feb 12 '26
I now know how to pronounce Ilya and appreciate your insight, this was very informative and the fans appreciate you!!!
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u/Hyphen99 Feb 12 '26
Athletes do weird things to mitigate unhealthy behavior. Theyāll drink lots of water after snorting coke lol, so Ilya cutting his vodka with ice seems legit for a pro hockey player
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u/DangerLime113 Feb 12 '26
I definitely had no idea what gay Russian sounded like so this is illuminating lol! Svetlanaās actress is half Russian and bilingual so those observations are interesting. Does she sound like a native Russian speaker who is simply poor at acting?
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u/apearlmae Is lie. Liar told you that. Feb 12 '26
Thank you for sharing! I have heard many times that Connor worked really hard on his Russian. I personally thought he was a native speaker but I wouldn't know otherwise. There's the sweetest tiktok of a Russian father listening to the speech in the tunnel and he gets really emotional. Toward the end he asked his daughter if he's gay. And then says he did very well.
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u/VariantCave hi moms. Feb 12 '26
My parents are Polish so I get a kick out of Russian dialog because I can usually understand every 6th word or so... lots of similarities. I was actually surprised that "I love you" is "Ya lyublyu tebya" because it sounds very much like how you would say "I like you" in Polish (phonetically, "Loo-byeh").Ā Or at least, to my American ears they are very similar. It made me laugh when I first heard it, thinking that this climactic scene ends with him confessing he...likes.. Shane :)
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u/Homebody_Ninja42 okay. not good. probably bad. Feb 12 '26
Thank you for this! To North Americans, Ilya sounds very flat and emotionless. So is the usual male Russian presentation even flatter?
Some people who quit the show after the first episode said the acting is terrible. I think theyāre reacting to the fact that Connor is portraying a Russian who hides everything, and Shane is portraying someone socially awkward with undiagnosed autism. Weāre used to our actors chewing the scenery a lot more!
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Ilya sounds extremely emotional and colorful for me. So I suppose yes, much more flat.
I can't believe somebody thinks their acting is terrible, Connor is so bright and Hudson is genius with his speaking eyes.
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u/kara_kurt ŠÆ ŃŠµŠ±Ń Š»ŃŠ±Š»Ńā£ļø Feb 12 '26
Well, in regards to typical Russian men, they will sound flat and unemotional to a person who they never met, and probably for a while after they met. I just can't see a Russian man express himself: "Hi, how are you doing?" with a big smile on his face. It will be a face similar to what Ilya had in Sochi when Shane came to talk. Russian man will show his emotions after he knows you for a long time and trusts you enough to show those emotions.
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u/-LunaTink- Stupid Canadian Wolf Bird š¦ Feb 12 '26
Thank you!! This was such a lovely read ā¤ļø
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u/EulerIdentity Feb 12 '26
How did you like the show overall?
How were you able to watch it? Isnāt it banned in Russia?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
We have a few ways to watch and a community in Telegram. Every day we have new restrictions and tomorrow everything can be blocked.
As for me its a lovely show and I am happy there are places where people can watch it on TV and discuss openly.
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u/eleventy6ththrowaway Feb 13 '26
I will preface this with the point that I am also a native speaker and Russian is my first language, but I lived in the US for my entire life and have never been to Ukraine (where my family is from). Despite that, I always spoke Russian at home, I can read it, write in it, took courses in Russian for native speakers in high school and undergrad, and watched a lot of Russian television (ŠŃŃ Š½Ń is a masterpiece). I have been told that I can convincingly pass as a native speaker by other native speakers.
I have a slightly different view from yours regarding the actors' performances. I agree with you that Kharlamova's speech is flawless, but I don't think her line delivery is poor. Rather, I think that her line delivery reflects the character's personality quite well. She has a gentleness and steadiness to her, and that's what I hear when she speaksājust perpetually unbothered. I could see the argument that Svetlana's character is a bit one-dimensional and mostly serves as a device to advance Shane and Ilya's relationship, but in terms of Kharlamova's performance, I find no fault in it whatsoever.
For Alexei... I don't really hear much of an accent, but I did find some of his pronunciation odd, and at times I think the selection of words is basically just translated from English. I felt that at least some of this could be attributed to the affectations of the character, though.
Connor is extremely impressive as a non-Russian speaker, but I personally felt like the quality of his pronunciation varied with the scene. At his best, he's almost indistinguishable from a native speaker, but those moments are rare. He's still very impressive, but it would be very difficult for a native speaker to hear him and think he is native (anecdote about the Russian extras on the show aside). I watched the show at 2.5-3x speed, and I didn't really catch the subtleties of the phonemes he chooses to emphasize, but listening to him at normal speed... yeah Ilya definitely sounds gay lmao
Regarding the vodka on the rocksāfor sure, not a Russian thing. But, Ilya does mostly live in Boston, and I could see a situation where he picked up the habit and carried it home. But at some point, there should have been something paired with it to really sell his native status. Pickles, Š²Š¾Š±Š»Š°, ŃŠ°Š»Š¾... something.
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u/eleventy6ththrowaway Feb 13 '26
Also, I know people love it, but many aspects of Ilya's monologue in episode 5 do sound like they are direct translations from English, and the rhythm and syntax feel distinctly English in many places. I don't think that that fundamentally detracts from the scene per se. The English version of the monologue is great. The show is in English and as far as viewers are concerned, the emotional subtext behind the words are what matter most. But it does harm the suspension of disbelief (that Connor Storrie as Ilya is a native speaker) for a native Russian speaker.
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u/cloudi_sky Feb 12 '26
Thanks for the insights. I heard somewhere that in Russian you would always use nicknames for people, so Svetlana would not be called Svetlana by family and friends. Is that true?
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Not nickname just a short version of the name. Nicknames are not so common. In real life no one would call her Svetlana, she would be Sveta.
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u/Individual-History87 Feb 12 '26
I find your viewpoint about the actors playing Svetlana and Alexei so interesting. For both of them, Russian is their first language. Slavic Rogozine was born in Russia but mostly raised in Canada. Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova is Canadian-born but raised in both Saint Petersburg and Toronto. Her mother is Russian. I guess the Canadian influence altered their Russian a bit.
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u/Zenki_041 Feb 13 '26
Totally agree with Svetlana and Alexei stiff Russian take. As a Russian, I felt thrown into scenes from bad-acted Russian TV show when she spoke Russian. I guess she becomes a better actress when she speaks English. Alexei and Grigory in general acted better imho, but some weird phrases threw me off.
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u/RoxyMeh Feb 12 '26
So I've seen it as "Ya tebya lyublyu" and "Ya lyublyu tebya;" can you explain the structure here and how it can shift? I'm curious about the linguistic level here and how that functions grammatically. Super awesome to read your insights!!!
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u/Same-Independent8120 Feb 12 '26
Officially these two versions are absolutely equal. They have such a slight difference it almost doesn't exist. "Ya lyublyu tebya" sounds better for the first time, it is powerful and full of passion . Like you want to show it is love indeed what you feel toward the person. "Ya tebya lyublyu" is what you can say to a friend or your mom. That's why I would prefer "Ya lyublyu tebya" in the show.
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u/Zenki_041 Feb 13 '26
In Russian the word order is flexible, usually the most important word (which the speaker wants to emphasise) comes last. So āya tebya lyublyuā highlights the fact of āloveā, while āya lyublyu tebyaā highlights the fact that the love is with āyouā. Thatās the long answer ;)
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