The Russian language is rich and diverse, but not only in the native Russian words. The centuries-old development of Russian speech included a large number of borrowings from foreign languages. The French language has given us many beautiful words that people use daily in speech, sometimes without knowing about their French origin.
How French language penetrated Russian
Since the time of Peter I, who had cut a window to Europe, a fashion for everything French arose in the Russian nobility. Every self-respecting nobleman was required to speak it fluently. The Russian language and French alternated in speech, complementing and replacing each other. Many generations of monarchs showed sympathy for France. Famous poets loved the French language. So, French words gradually penetrated into the Russian language, and linguists say that many borrowings of Greek and Latin etymology got into our speech through French.
The close ties between Russia and France also contributed to the establishment of trade relations. Objects were brought to us, analogues of which were not in Russia. The same applies to many concepts specific to the mentality of the French. Naturally, without the corresponding words in the Russian language, the people adopted the words from French to denote things unknown until then. For example, in the mid-19th century, blinds were brought to us from France, which were used there by analogy with Russian shutters in order to hide from prying eyes the residents of the house. French jalousie translates as “jealousy”, because the owner of the house hides personal happiness behind them.
A lot of borrowing arose during the Patriotic War of 1812. War has always contributed to the interweaving of world cultures, leaving its mark in the languages of warring countries. After the war, it became fashionable to hire the French as tutors for children. It was believed that the noble children taught by the French acquire sophistication and the right manners.
