<< That's funny. Too bad thought. Those russians are going to be asking themselves what the hell is up with american literature though. >>
That's funny. Since when is Tolkien an American literature figure?
Pretty boring link: translate something into a different language freely, then translate it back into the original word for word. You'll always end-up with some funny results.
Tolkien's books are extremely popular in Russia, with some very good translations.