1. A [tsarstvo] is the domain of a tsar (czar), which is the title of an absolute monarch in Russia. The word tsar, derived from the Roman name and title, Caesar, may be translated emperor, king, or prince. A number of words are formed from it by adding different syllables: [Tsarevitch], the tsar's son, prince; Tsarevna, the tsar's daughter, princess; Tsaritza, the tsar's wife, queen or empress.
2. [Boyar] was the word formerly used to mean a Russian nobleman; so a boyar-house is a lord's house;[boyarishnia], a lord's daughter. The [terem] was that part of the boyar-house in which the women's rooms were situated.
3. In Russia there is a fatherly relation existing between the ruler and his subjects which is shown in such phrases as "[the tsar father]," "their father sovereign," etc. The Russian language has many diminutives, or terms of endearment. For instance, the Tzar is often affectionately called "the little father" by his subjects.
4. "[Once said, quickly done]." This is the Russian idiom. Observe how much more lively it is than our own "No sooner said than done."
5. [The holy icons] are pictures or mosaics of Christ, or the Virgin Mary, or of some saint or martyr of the Russian church. In every Russian house there is one or more, hung in a prominent place. Every one who enters the house at once bows and utters a prayer before the icons before he does anything else. This is an old Russian custom which is still kept up by peasants.
6. Strong green wine. This is the phrase still used by Russian story-tellers to describe the drink which it was an honor to receive from the royal hand. Its strength was magical in that it was not acquired by keeping, but was always the same.
6. [For a cloudy day] is the Russian idiom very similar to our own.
7. [It is a peasant's trade] is a Russian saying which means, "It doesn't amount to much."
8. [Moujik], a peasant: his duties are those of a farm laborer, yet this phrase would not be a fair translation. This word, which is rendered "tiller of the soil," has no exact equivalent in English.