Thank you for this analysis, Emmanuel! Your own insights into the meaning have the most meaning.
Actually, I have taught Russian. That is not a huge brag. I can get my students an overview of the grammar, a slightly flawed version of the phonetics, a mob of useful expressions and the confidence to use their knowledge to speak to native Russian speakers, from whence they can make greater progress. I'm in the middle of Bulgakov, looking up each and every word I don't immediately know, noting the stress, etc., and began corresponding with a Russian scientist recently as part of my EMR activism. I think it is possible, if we look back far enough in the evolution of the Russian language, that the prefix "ot-" would have been considered separate from the verb, as it is with nouns. It would be possible even now to say "ot stavit'" with the infinitive acting as a noun, meaning "moving away from" or "starting from" positioning something. My far from native impression is that would be possible but awkward. With the past tense "stavil" it would be ungrammatical. So what we have here would be a man (presumably Vladimir Vladimirovich) saying "I put it aside" or that a man put it aside or stood down. I've heard "otstav'/otstav'te" used to mean "Quit it!" (Yandex says "Leave it alone!" but also meaning "Leave me alone!" https://translate.yandex.com/?source_lang=ru&target_lang=en&text=%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8C As you have been studying Russian, it's likely you've seen the word and it stuck in your subconscious. That's actually an important part of the process of learning a language. Your mind treats it like a puzzle.
It would be useful to ask one of the native Russians like Daniil Adamov on Ecosophia what they make of it. I think the mystery will remain whether Putin will decide to stand down or persuade "Morgan" to. My bet is on Morgan, because he has less to lose from it, and Putin has never been a quitter.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2024-06-16 05:49 am (UTC)Actually, I have taught Russian. That is not a huge brag. I can get my students an overview of the grammar, a slightly flawed version of the phonetics, a mob of useful expressions and the confidence to use their knowledge to speak to native Russian speakers, from whence they can make greater progress. I'm in the middle of Bulgakov, looking up each and every word I don't immediately know, noting the stress, etc., and began corresponding with a Russian scientist recently as part of my EMR activism.
I think it is possible, if we look back far enough in the evolution of the Russian language, that the prefix "ot-" would have been considered separate from the verb, as it is with nouns. It would be possible even now to say "ot stavit'" with the infinitive acting as a noun, meaning "moving away from" or "starting from" positioning something. My far from native impression is that would be possible but awkward. With the past tense "stavil" it would be ungrammatical.
So what we have here would be a man (presumably Vladimir Vladimirovich) saying "I put it aside" or that a man put it aside or stood down. I've heard "otstav'/otstav'te" used to mean "Quit it!" (Yandex says "Leave it alone!" but also meaning "Leave me alone!" https://translate.yandex.com/?source_lang=ru&target_lang=en&text=%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8C
As you have been studying Russian, it's likely you've seen the word and it stuck in your subconscious. That's actually an important part of the process of learning a language. Your mind treats it like a puzzle.
It would be useful to ask one of the native Russians like Daniil Adamov on Ecosophia what they make of it. I think the mystery will remain whether Putin will decide to stand down or persuade "Morgan" to. My bet is on Morgan, because he has less to lose from it, and Putin has never been a quitter.
But we'll see.