Riina's articles on Estonian vocabulary and culture are a joy to read. Skipping back and forth across the big pond and from city to forest, her observations of nature and life delight with contrast revealed through words.

Michele Berdy, who writes a column called "A Word's Worth" does something very similar, introducing readers to subtleties and nuances of Russian. The current column is a good introduction:

https://www.themoscowtimes.com...

Are they aware of each other's work? Certainly they share the same spirit of love of language!

It is an interesting pursuit to find fenno-ugric words in russian - there are many, perhaps aquired along with the land by the settlers from Kiev.