Breakdown of Этот журнал создаётся известным критиком.
журнал
magazine
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
известный
famous
создаваться
to be created
Questions & Answers about Этот журнал создаётся известным критиком.
How does the sentence show that the famous critic is the one doing the creating?
In Russian passive sentences, the agent (the person doing the action) is expressed using the Instrumental case. The English word by is not translated as a separate preposition; instead, the nominative phrase известный критик simply changes its endings to become известным критиком.
Why does the verb создаётся have a reflexive -ся ending if the magazine isn't creating itself?
Adding the reflexive ending -ся to a transitive imperfective verb is the standard way to build the passive voice in Russian. It shifts the focus from who is doing the action to what is receiving it, changing the meaning from creates to is being created.
Could we use a perfective verb with -ся here if we wanted to say the magazine was already completely created?
No, passive verbs formed with -ся are almost entirely restricted to the imperfective aspect to show an ongoing process or routine. To express a completed passive action, you would use a short passive participle instead, such as создан.
Since the magazine is the object being created, shouldn't Этот журнал be in the Accusative case?
If this were an active sentence (The critic is creating the magazine), you would use the Accusative case. But in a passive sentence, the thing receiving the action becomes the grammatical subject. Therefore, Этот журнал must take the Nominative case.