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Okay, I’m trying to nail it down, from someone who knows: the essential Russian-ness of a nation that’s been through so much upheaval in such a relatively short space of time. Go for it Neil!
“Compared to Britain, far more pedestrians are out on the streets at any time, and that comes down to a much lower level of car ownership… There’s a lot more crowding. In Britain people don’t get too close to you, but Russians have no problem with barging straight up to you!
“There’s a sort of ‘warm jollity’ to Russians… it’s true that Russians have no problem in marching up to you and saying hello… They are a very communicative nation, they have no qualms in talking about quite delicate matters on the first time that you’ve met them! No problem with that at all!”
Conversely, Neil also says that they expect that of you and may assume that you are a little “stuck up” if you don’t deliver the juicy details. I can imagine the “British” response… Neil confirms my suspicions: “A thread of Russian humour hinges upon the common understanding that Brits are ‘cold emotionally, and not very communicative’.” Hmm, just get a few beers inside them…
“In fact there’s a Russian phrase, ‘To leave English style’, which means to leave a party, etc., and not say goodbye to a soul!” …(How familiar that sounds!)… “And a whole series of jokes that hinges on the typical English ‘lord’ in his castle… Their perception is probably as inaccurate as our perception of them, but there’s some element of truth in both…”
I guess that’s the key. We’re firing off broad generalisations in all directions here. There are enough people in both cultures to find every ‘type’ if you looked, I’m sure. But, since we’ve started in that vein: I’m getting the impression that they are more inclined to ‘live for today’, whereas we live today worrying about tomorrow…? Neil recognised something there…
“It’s probably because in the socialist system they never had to worry too much, because the State would always provide. It doesn’t now, but they are still in that mentality…”
So in Britain whilst the pubs and bars may be empty on Sunday night as the gloomy prospect of Monday morning at the office looms closer, in Russia it’s the busiest night as the population hangs on to the weekend’s hedonism for as long as possible, and sees it out with style. Or at least enthusiasm!
There is a recurring theme though. Neil keeps coming back to their placing of: “A very very high value on the impressions of foreigners, even now. Sometimes to the point of awkwardness. In the case of overbooking on a flight, revealing your accent could even result in Russians being thrown off… so that the foreigners could be accommodated, even given prestige treatment!” Or similarly the… “swapping of complementary theatre seats for the best in the house”.
This is interesting. Even grandiose St Petersburg was after classical European “rules”, having been designed by classical European architects… and there’s still the pursuit of, “Saving face and reputation so that no one should feel badly of them, even going out of their way and spending ludicrous amounts of money in the process so that people think well of them. They smother you with hospitality and they don’t let you do anything for yourself. The reason that they do this is because they know what it’s like: They fear that you’ll be treated like they are treated… and they don’t want that to happen to you.”
Paradoxically the extreme hospitality can be uncomfortable, even suffocating, and a paradox still further is that even with this stifling ‘consideration’ you may still, occasionally meet the most abrupt and extreme rudeness imaginable: The shop assistants that see no inherent worth in your being in their establishment compared to any other, and no reason to regard you better than someone passing outside on the street. The stranger who puts up a wall of indifference and disregard… until you cross the “friendship-bridge” (somehow a switch is flipped) and you suddenly find that he’ll greet you warmly and do anything for you.
There’s also, sometimes, a stereotypical “National Front” mentality, determined to rid the country of foreigners. Before the Soviet Union broke up, Neil, whilst visiting a southern state was punched to the ground and kicked in the gutter for being an “American bastard”. Hey ho.
But on a happier note, there can also be an unbridled curiosity at your Englishness and an unashamed yearning for the truth behind the random and often bizzarre tales they have heard about our culture: “Is it true that beer is free on Fridays?”, “Did the Duke of Edinburgh shoot Princess Diana?”. As Neil explains, this is: “A legacy of the Soviet Union period where they were deliberately kept in the dark, or if they were told anything about foreign countries, they were only told the bad things.
“Anything that is told to them through the official media they instantly distrust”.
This conversely has resulted in a readiness to believe what they hear from outside sources, even if to our ears it sounds patently ridiculous! As Neil puts it: “There is a contra-logic to it. They assume that everything they were told in school is wrong because they were told it by communist teachers. Even when they were told things that were right, they still think it’s wrong because a communist told them so!”
Next time:
That which filters down… Vestiges. Corruption in (not very) high places. Avante Garde ballets and Soap Opera lifestyles… anyone?
[Photo by Jeff Bauche]
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Interesting thought about mentalities difference. Indeed, Russians are less inclined to work hard, but we’re making friends much easier than the average Westerner. Is it the mysterious Russian soul – or just decades of communism, where there was almost no competition between us? Nice article, thank you!