Dear friends,
I recently spoke to a contact of mine in Russia and since he was living in a rather typical Russian town away from the huge Moscow megapolis or even one of the major Russian cities, I asked him to share with us his simple daily experience of Russia. He kindly agreed and here is his letter below. I hope that these impression of a 25 year old man from the West will be another useful illustration of the “real Russia” which is rarely, if ever, shown to the people of the West.
Cheers,
The Saker
——-
Hello everyone!
Because the political situation relating to Russia is tense at the moment, please forgive me for writing anonymously. The Saker asked me to write about my experiences in Russia, to shed some light on a country that is still quite unknown in western Europe and North America, and this post is in response his requests.
About me: I’m from North America, 25 years old, nearly completed a Masters degree in Economic Geography, and I’m currently living and working as an English teacher in the Russian province, where I’m able to meet with and talk with a variety of Russian people: everyone from simple workers to skilled tradesmen, lawyers, and city administrators. I’m also a well-informed convert from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodoxy, and some of my friends and acquaintances are clergy (and a bishop) in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church in America, and ROCOR (the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia).
Ever since the situation in Ukraine blew up, I’ve followed the news regularly and read everything I could about eastern Europe. Most, if not all sources are biased and incomplete to a degree, and that’s just a fact of life with information. Bias doesn’t mean that you don’t listen to other sources of information, just that everything is incomplete or in error to some extent. Get used to it… it’s totally natural. The only criteria that I have for checking my sources is that 1. the information that they present is rich, complete, and ideally close to first hand; 2. the source thinks about information in rational, coherent ways; 3. their conclusions are spiritually healthy, and encourage people to get closer to God and peace, instead of to follow destructive passions (anger, lust, cold-heartedness, despair, etc.) away from God. This is how I keep my head out of my ass. Now, academic stuff aside…
Firstly, Russians are quite well-informed. Many of them are able to understand English to a basic level, so they can read western news sources. They are not impressed by western news sources, which are at best incomplete and one-sided. They are even less impressed by mainstream Ukrainian sources, that they consider to be completely insane. Yes, they can understand everything that’s published in Ukraine, since Ukrainian is quite similar to Russian. Many people also have relatives in Ukraine and, in the past, made regular trips to Ukraine. In my town, I know two such people personally. They are quite discouraged by Ukraine’s self-destruction, but they are hopeful that peace will eventually return to the country.
Secondly, Russians are nationalistic, but less so than other countries (the North American and Poland, for example… I say this because I’ve traveled in both places). Some of them put Russian flags, St. George’s ribbons, and Orthodox prayer ropes from their car mirrors, but many do not. They have a strong, living connection to their history and country, something that I do not really see in the West. Some people are concerned because they understand that their country, and more importantly, their people, are under attack by western powers, but generally they are quite confident in Russia’s strength to pull through one way or another. No Russian I have ever met has any desire for anything but peace with Ukraine, Poland, or any other country. Russia has plenty enough land already, and no desire to police or control some unfriendly territory. The people I’ve spoken with prefer to build trade and investment, without relying on military power.
Finally, Russians are not a bunch of low-achieving drunks. If you have that stereotype in mind, get rid of it now! The people I know are much more addicted to tea and yummy desserts than alcohol. The Russian education system is, in my opinion, substantially better and more rigorous than in North America, and students have many reasons to believe that good, career employment awaits them when they finish school. I am not sure of the details, but in high school the students spend 8-9 hours at school every day, 6 days every week. On the other days and during evenings, most students have tutoring or extra curricular activities, and it’s rare to see big groups of school-age kids sitting around drinking or wasting time. Drinking, smoking, and drugs are increasingly looked down on by teenagers as something done by unsuccessful people who lived in disastrous times during the 1990’s and early 2000’s. That said, there are some social problems and concerns remaining, for example: 1. porn and other unhealthy uses of computers and internet (not discussed within families, because of a conservative mindset that would rather not address such problems). This sometimes develops into promiscuity and pregnancies outside of marriage, both of which seem to be more tolerated here than in the western world; 2. Russians’ general love for driving really fast on the roads; 3. a cultural lack of concern for safety standards (religious icons in cars instead of air bags); 4. a cultural willingness to spend a lot of money (often borrowed on credit) for nice cars and clothes. This is mysteriously in contrast to Russians’ desire to save money wherever possible, using discount cards, homemade (and dacha-grown) food, etc. Russians always have a love for cute and beautiful things, to a degree not found in North America.
Regarding emigration, many westerners have the stereotype in mind that Russians all want to escape to the west. It is definitely false. Out of approximately 30 students that I teach, I know of 4 who are seriously considering leaving Russia permanently. Others are interested in studying, traveling or working abroad temporarily, while the majority have no plans to emigrate, since there are plenty of good opportunities here in Russia, and people don’t want to live far from their families. Learning other languages is a good way to improve employability though.
The last stereotype: Russian girls are very beautiful. This one is obviously true, and I was somewhat shocked when I arrived. The girls here also have the impression that western men are *better* than Russian men, with fewer problems. No, I will not elaborate and provide more details from my own life on the topic of Russian girls.
Unfortunately, I don’t have very much time at all to write a beautiful descriptive essay about Russia and experiences here. My work and life keep me very busy, and I can only write some raw and unedited thoughts.
Cheers,
K.
Thanks Saker,
this is how journalism should be made.
Readers will read and think.
Afterwards sum up and build on facts and witnesses.
That is what propaganda is afraid of – critical thinking, independednt sources, own experience, solid facts.
Valentina Lisitsa is being silenced because of her antifascist activities. The nazis reacted similarly when Marlene Dietrich refused to collaborate with them.
“So, I took to Twitter ( how many of you know I have a Twitter account? LOL) under a name “NedoUkraïnka” – a word roughly meaning “Sub-Ukrainian”, a stab at Ukrainian Prime Minister who called Russian-speaking Southern and Eastern Ukrainians “SUBHUMANS”! Yes, I kid you not. In an official written document. I am a subhuman, my husband, my mom….I mastered Ukrainian language perfectly, far better than a so-called “president” of Ukraine. But I don’t speak it to my family, I didn’t sing lullabies to my son in Ukrainian, when I sleep I never see the dreams in Ukrainian, when I will be dying my last words will NOT be in Ukrainian….
…
To give you just one example: one of my feats was to confront French fashion magazine “Elle” who published a glowing cover story about women in Ukrainian army. After the research I have shown to the magazine in my Twitter posts that the “cover girl” they have chosen to show was in fact a horrible person, open Neo-Nazi, racist, anti-Semite who boasted of murdering civilians for fun! The magazine issued a written public apology.
…
Now, the orchestra based in one of the freest democratic countries is bending over to the same kind of people, helping them to assassinate me – not as a living person yet , but as a MUSICIAN for sure.
Yes, Toronto Symphony is going TO PAY ME NOT TO PLAY because I exercised the right to free speech.
Yes, they will pay my fee but they are going to announce that I will be unable to play and they already found a substitute.
And they even threatened me against saying anything about the cause of the cancellation. Seriously. “
https://www.facebook.com/ValentinaLisitsa/posts/623465447754643:0?_fb_noscript=1
On the same subject: Canada, champion of “freedom and democracy”
When I learned that the Toronto Symphony Orchestra banned the Ukrainian-born soloist Valentina Lisitsa from performing for telling the truth about Ukraine, I was ashamed. This despicable behaviour is insulting and deeply worrying for any Canadian who cares about his country.
Once upon a time Canada was viewed as a champion of democracy and human rights. I remember my early travelling to other countries and being proud of being Canadian. Not any more.
As the old saying says: if you sleep with a dog you smell like a dog. For being a vassal to the US and a party to the Zionists, Canada has slowly moved from being an open society to a police state and, more recently, by paying lip service to the neo-Nazi government of Ukraine, is promoting a fascist agenda.
The Canadian government has initiated several actions that should upset any Canadian who is awake and still care about his country. For example, the government has defaulted on its pension obligations by illegally reducing its contribution to the health insurance of former civil servants. It sent its soldiers to kill people in countries where it has no business. It has illegally imprisoned people under phoney pretexts, participated in the tortures practiced by our American partners, supported the Ukrainians war criminals of WWII, and more recently connected with the radical rights of Ukraine. It has even provided a substantial financial and military contribution to the neo-Nazi government of Ukraine.
Valentina is right and I applaud her courage for speaking the truth in this pivotal moment in the history of humanity. I love my country but I am ashamed of its leaders and the level of passivity of the Canadian population.
I hope Canadian will learn something from Russia and emulate some of its practices.
On the same subject: EU champion of “freedom and democracy” refused entry for Snowden
I agree with you, Sunlion, about the Canadian government. I immigrated here from the USA more than thirty years ago, and I was proud of it, especially when Prime Minister Jean Cretien refused to have Canada join the US invasion and destruction of Iraq. Not now. I am totally disgusted by Prime Minister Harper and his government, and embarrassed to call myself a Canadian. He is deliberately transforming the country into a mean-spirited imitation of our neighbour to the south. So the action of the Toronto Symphony in cancelling the performance of Valentina Lisitsa should come as no surprise: they are just being politically correct in line with the Harper government’s support of the fascist regime in Kiev.
It is 70 years since the War. They are now on their second or third generation of emigrants from Europe. Many who went to the US or Canada had “histories” in Germany, Poland, Ukraine etc. Many were young enough to work their way into academic careers, or put their children into these. For example, one of the major “Ukraine and Russia” experts in Canada, who also spent some time in the US, was a university professor (died 1998) Bohdan Bociurkiw, who had a solid background in UON … and whose son Michael is in the OSCE mission to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian emigre community in Canada is very big and built up into powerful positions. They are the ONLY voice about Ukraine in Canada, so get heard also in the US where their presence is smaller.
All political type of emigrants have done this to some extent… continued the work of their ideology in their new land, and brought up their children in it, too. How come there are so many non-English surnames in politics in ALL the English speaking countries? way beyond their percentage of population? because the kids are brought up to be political creatures, even if they only extend their efforts to local government. (Economic migrants don’t do politics much, they tend to go into business, though of course at a certain level that blends into politics).
As another Canadian, these are my sentiments exactly. Your comment is offensive to dogs, though! Wouldn’t it be more correct to say that when you sleep with the Banderlog, you end up smelling like the Banderlog? Anyway, we are quickly reaching an internal and geopolitical moment of truth in this country. I’d like to be more optimistic about the outcome than I am but the long view is that we are seeing a global reordering in which necessarily involves the unmasking and defeat of the anglo-zionist order. We have been on the wrong side of history since before Harper and will remain so until we repair our relation with First Nations, repudiate armed interventions in other countries, get over capitalist extractivism, and learn how to take care of each other. Should keep us busy for a while!
Once the Americans abroad hid bihind the Canadian .
Now both are the same, two sides of the same coin.
Don’t forget the war crimes in Libya, subterfuge in Venezuela, election fraud and the latest scandal to hit the airwaves bribing a senator…Duffy Affair and these are the least of his crimes.
Time for boycott of Canada and Canadian. These swine running the colony of Canada only respect economic threats.
No travel, tourism, or product buying until Freedom is unchained from the nazi-lovefest in Canada.
Spending big on luxuries and trying to save on necessities is known everywhere, I think. It’s not an economic decision, but a psychological one. The luxury feels good. The necessity feels like a compulsion, being forced, having no choice, so there is a reluctance about it…. until they discover that home-grown fresh tastes better. I hope nobody tries to “save” by buying cheap processed foods, as it will cost them dear on their health later in life.
@ Kat Kan,
Q; I think. It’s not an economic decision, but a psychological one.
R; I try to preserve and recycle as much as I can, but when I found out that creating 1 single hamburger is the equivalent of me to taking a shower 24/7 for 3 weeks in a row, I realized that cutting down on ‘splash time’ was [and is] rather futile.
Spending big on credit is a distinctly capitalist and I think, modern American tradition. The rest of the world has caught up pretty quickly. I can remember growing up (not in the West) just how much debt was looked down upon, if it was not used to buy a house, or land. Now anything goes.
Anybody else like the “Real Russia” youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/realrussiablog ?
Ho yes, girls are definitively more beautiful in Russia and Ukraine. I was shocked, too ! A “top model” at every corner. And the second shock, more cruel, is when you come back in western Europe.
Good timing of article, I spoke to a Russian student student, in an EU country, who asked, where are you going for your internship, short answer, “Russia”. He is typical example of the diligent, hard working student from Russia. Of course, they want to experience the “abroad” as it broadens their horizon, but it also dispels the EU media myth of wanting to leave.
This article adds to what I have long believed regarding the new generation of Russians. Maybe it will not be evident to most people here in USA for another 50 years, but the Russians are remaking themselves and in a nice way. The new generations are not grim survivors of a world war or an authoritarian regime. Take a look at current pictures of youths and children – they are sprouting up like weeds and will be taller than their parents. The new Russians have opportunities and the strength to exploit them. I credit Putin’s governance for making the circumstances where new generations can prosper.
The sky is the limit.
Don’t know if my post disappeared into thin air or if there is a moderation delay. But here is the link to “The Real Russia with No Fake and No Bullshit”
Moderation to varies from 5 minutes to a few hours. Check the times on other posts.
But your link is there, just above, under a comment by me. If you meant it as a new comment on the article, go up to the top of the page and use the big comment box there, don’t “reply” to another comment.
That looked like a pretty typical rinok (open-air market) found throughout Russia. The prices seemed normal to me, not a big increase since the ruble crisis.
Finally, Saker! A SitRep from Russia. Why didn’t we think of this before? Good idea. I look forward to hearing more from K. in the future.
Ok, if you and the Saker are interested, I’ll try to send in some more stuff in the future. Thanks for reading the article!
Probably a touch OT, but I’ve just been reading how the CIA managed to subvert / infiltrate / corrupt the american student movement in the 1960’s/70s. Yes, publicly call for freedom. But 20 years jail if you reveal whats going on behind the curtains, I don’t imagine much has changed over the decades.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/23/a-friend-of-the-devil/
Hey K, a curiosity:
What is your ethnicity? Regarding immigrants, do Russians prefer people of Indo-European stock to others? Do you know other Westerners living in Russia?
Thanks.
Hey Paul,
I’m of both Slavic and western European ancestry, and people here don’t think I look different from the average European Russian. There are actually many different ethnicities here, from typical white Russians, to Asians, to people who look like they’re from India, and Africans as well. Russians aren’t really hung up on ethnicities very much. In my city, I know that there is someone from the Netherlands, but I’ve never met this person. I don’t personally know any other westerners living in Russia.
Cheers,
K.
And he is also “a well informed [at 25 years of age] convert from Roman Catholicism to Eastern Orthodoxy”.
Yes, this is true. To make a long story short, this was partly in response to 1. the deep, theoretical social sciences education system in North America, and partly as a result of 2. academic inquiry.
1. The social sciences in North America aren’t addressed in a very illuminating way. You can go off on whatever tangent you want, from feminism to post-Marxism, to post-humanism, to post-post-modernism. There’s no order in it all. Lots of talk about thinking with the body, rationalising evil actions and insanity (ex. about abortions and sexual deviation), maximising “choice” in lifestyles, etc. There is no clear idea of what the mind can/can’t go, what is the realm of a person’s spirit and what can be under control of the spirit, and how the body should be dealt with. Orthodoxy is very clear about all of those. Roman Catholicism is not.
2. Yes, it’s possible by taking a good look at history. You can also evaluate the number and scholarly quality of books written on the topic from the Orthodox side, versus those from the Roman Catholic side. You can see which church understands doctrine (like the Creed, changed by westerns), ecclesiology (bishop, or Pope, as head of the church… also monastic orders), and prayer and spirituality most consistently (ex. fasting and the Liturgy). Probably even better is to read the lives and writings of Roman Catholic versus Orthodox Saints, and attend the Liturgy, and do as the people do, and you will know instinctively what is most edifying.
@ K.
You are mixing North-American secular education and Catholic doctrine.
If you come, as you said, from a Catholic background, you should know that Catholicism also condemns “evil things”. And because of this – the Catholics, their denomination, and especially Pope Benedict XVI have been demonized in the Western media for years. Catholics have always taken a stand against evil, which also attracted a deluge of hatred from their detractors.
One of the most recent examples is the petition signed by thousands of Canadian Catholics against the improper sex ed curriculum (it seems that one of those who devised it was recently convicted for possession of child pornography and counselling to sexually abuse children), which is being pushed now in Canadian kindergardens.
History is a very complicated thing, and historians have often included their own biases in their narrative, to the detriment of the actual facts, ever since the times of Herodotus.
Tribal partisanship usually accounts very well for all human preferences, but it generally takes more than 25 years to get to the truth. If ever.
My apologies for not being specific here. I mention the education system because I wanted to know where and when the educational insanity started. Surprisingly, the first universities started not long after the Great Schism! Western Christianity was having a great love for rationalistic explanations of theology, something never found in Orthodoxy. Could they have been putting their mind too far, into the realm of the Spirit, where the mind cannot go?
Also, maybe even more importantly, Orthodoxy’s conciliar ecclesial structure is better than the Roman Catholic ultramontanist papal structure for correcting problems in professing and practicing Faith.
I have no problem with Catholicism condemning evil things. Keep doing that, although not many secularists are listening. Not many Catholics are listening either, with the insipid lack of firery rebellion against things like perversion parades every summer in western Europe and North America, for example. I do worry also about the current Pope receiving endorsements from secular organizations, like Planned Parenthood. What were Christ’s words about Christians’ relationship to the world?
Anyways, if I can put my thoughts to a point, I guess I’d say from personal experience that the path to becoming like Christ and avoiding the actions of the Devil is clearer in Orthodoxy than in Roman Catholicism.
@ K
I am beginning to see that you are indeed a well-informed young man, particularly about Orthodoxy, which does you credit as a new convert to it.
No doubt your knowledge about “Orthodoxy’s conciliar ecclesial structure” being better than the “Roman Catholic ultramontanist papal structure”, (an ideea which, if I’m not mistaken, was so expressed in the works of that famous, among the Orthodox, RC convert to Orthodoxy Vladimir Guettee), is in great measure due to the beneficent influence of your friendship with clergy from all the three church branches you mentioned.
I can only say that I wish all clergy everywhere were so interested in helping their parishioners (new and old) to aquire such specialized knowledge about their chosen denomination. Maybe then the world wouldn’t be in such dire straits today.
But… the Spirit bloweth where it wanteth, and the devil is in the details of the perpetual accuser of our brethren…
By the way, what do your parents think of your conversion, or are they of the opinion of Joseph de Maistre that it’s not true that an honest man never changes his religion ?
Actually, no, I knew only one Orthodox priest before I converted. He told me a few things about differences between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and it became clear that Orthodoxy didn’t change doctrine or ecclesiology. Roman Catholicism changed both, beginning with the Symbol of Faith, the Creed. I’ve read a lot about both, before and after my conversion.
Ouch… that’s a difficult question to answer or even think about. I had many problems at home as a result of converting, and I lost an engagement to a beautiful, Polish, Roman Catholic girl who I was very much in love with.
Well… that one Orthodox priest certainly took care to cover all the bases. I noticed they generally do.
As for the girls, don’t lose heart. Orthodoxy has a definite advantage over Catholicism: if you don’t meet your soulmate in your first marriage – you get to try a second time… and a third time…
Hmm… I don’t like this attitude much either. The Orthodox teaching is that marriage is eternal! I’m not going to get married unless I’ve done my best to be certain that the marriage will last. But life is messy and sometimes things don’t work out as planned…
From what I’ve heard, since Vatican 2, it’s much easier to obtain annulments in Roman Catholicism. For a little bit of time and money, you can be told that your marriage never existed in the first place! That’s kind of offensive and dishonest. The Orthodox concept of accommodation makes more sense: the marriage didn’t work out, but since you’re not called to be celibate and it’s better for you to receive Holy Communion than not… it’s making the best of a sad and difficult situation.
Yes, indeed. It’s much more Orthodox to accomodate everyone, and I hear that the Vatican is also going in the same direction. For why did Christ give His priests the power to bind or loose, if not to use it at their discretion ?
I must give a typical Orthodox answer to this question: yes and no! Orthodoxy “can accommodate everyone… but only by way of people’s repentance”! I am afraid that Roman Catholicism is going the way of “can accommodate everyone…” full stop.
The power to bind and loose was only given to Peter, not all priests. Bishops have inherited this power in the Orthodox Church.
@ K
You are right: ‘yes and no’ is a typical Orthodox answer.
So ‘the power to bind and loose was only given to Peter’ ? Hmm…
Christ is Risen!!!!
It depends on your perspective. Roman Catholics say that this gives the Bishop of Rome uber-bishop status everywhere. The Orthodox ask “how did Peter use his power?” and how did the early Christians act and believe, especially when they had to resolve conflicts. Consistency of ecclesiological understanding is definitely on the part of the Orthodox.
Also, did you know that the Patriarchal Sees of Jerusalem and Antioch were also founded directly by St. Peter?
Martha was always preoccupied with appearances.
Indeed He is Risen!
HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY NOVOROSSIYA
Both Lugansk and Donetsk SBU offices were first occupied by separatists on APRIL 6 last year. Both buildings were taken peacefully, without a single shot being fired. To be fair, many of the police shared the local sentiment.
It is now one year that the new Republics started their independent life. The too many lives lost since have transfused their blood into the very soil. It is theirs forever.
A good article, it is nice to see. I do wonder what you mean by promiscuity and its pregnancies are more tolerated in Russia than the West though. Pretty much every city in America I have been to is now almost completely tolerant and in some cases supportive of these things. In the High Schools many girls are drawn into a mindset that you should sleep with someone on a first date, and both girls and boys go around bragging about their “scores” the way a stereotypical jock might. Sex is also everywhere on television, movies, advertisements, the news, books, etc. Some places in Western Europe are even worse, which I observed while in Sweden where young teenagers are often encouraged and given the means for sexual relationships by their parents as young as 13 and public sex acts are not entirely uncommon.
Either way, some clarification would certainly help in this regard, and also if any changes in Russian society are occurring to move away from this (by contrast the trend in the West is decidedly towards more promiscuity). Regardless, many thanks!
Good points. Also promiscuity is very subjective. For some people (cultures/sub-cultures) even one sexual act before marriage amounts to promiscuity. And of course there are different standards for men and women. I haven’t been to Russia or Sweden but I find it hard to imagine a more hypersexualized society than the US.
Ok, I can clarify. Yes, you are correct about the attitudes of some people in the west. As for Russia, I’ve been told recently by a few people (men) that if your wife or girlfriend lives in another city, it would be “cool” to have a second one closer to you. Divorce rates here in Russia are also quite high (but this is second hand information, I can’t verify it), but decreasing. Many people seem quite happy to meet, date for 6 months (or less), and get married and have a family in their early to mid-20’s. If a baby is born out of marriage, then the mother’s family often helps with raising the child.
On the other hand, many Russians (especially ones who are practicing Orthodox Christians) are very conservative, don’t engage in promiscuous behaviour (though porn can still be a problem, even for conservative Russians) and make a conscious choice to get married for life.
Nice and straightforward letter from Russia.
Just a few thoughts on some of the points made above.
a) Promiscuity:
Unfortunately, a common theme throughout the European world (and beyond) in the past few decades. Post-modern ethics have indeed taken over, and Russia is definitely not immune from this tendencies. I will say however, that during my last visit in Russia (May last year) I noticed that young women and girls were much more conservatively dressed in comparison with girls in the West (or even Cyprus)
It is also my belief, that conservative social mores will strengthen in Russia in future years and decades. Promiscuity and other western vices flourished in the chaotic Russia of the 90s, with people also having access to previously forbidden fruit reacting in an exaggerated manner. This tendency is slowly reversing in Russia I think.
b) Buying luxuries on borrowed money:
Another cancerous symptom of late, parasitic capitalism. This is true of almost all countries in the West, and many outside of it. Short-termism and the society of optics reign supreme in our contemporary culture. Reason, culture and restraint have taken a back seat. Again, Russia exists in the same world as the rest of them, and these tendencies appear everywhere.
c) There may be a few bright young Russians (IT specialists, especially) that would currently like to move to the Silicon Valley or some other fabled region of in the West, in search for more $$$, but clearly the willingness to emigrate has diminished in the last decade or so, and will all but disappear if and when Putin’s and Xi’s Eurasian project is up and running. By then, the ghoulish 90s will be but a fading and horrible memory. But as for temporarily working abroad, many young people all over the world share that desire as they see it as a chance to live new experiences, meet people, enhance their employ-ability, having fun etc etc etc…
d) How informed Russians are:
I would not be at all surprised if the average Russian is better informed than the average European or American. The reason behind this, is that Russians have a long history of government propaganda of all kinds (communist, liberal etc) so they can better see through it. Westerners are horrifically misinformed (I would wager even in comparison with Third World populations) due to their naive belief that their media is somehow free and that their societies are somehow beautifully democratic. The “soft totalitarianism” of the West is a uniquely successful and obscene method of controlling public opinion. This has been discussed at length on this blog, and Noam Chomsky has developed this his writings very thoroughly.
Now for the light-hearted part, Russian girls:
Whereas the simple truth is that there are hot and non-hot girls everywhere, I would ultimately accept the stereotype.
I would put it this way, in the West, once you find yourself in a crowd, you have to search for attractive girls. In Russia, there is much less need to do that, if at all.
Stavros, I agree!
K,
I’d like to know what motivates the 4 students/young persons to leave Russia?
What is the attraction and where?
Or what leaves them empty or unchallenged by Russia?
Considering that Maria Sharapova recently stated she would never give up her Russia citizenship, I would think most young can see a very bright future right around the corner for Russia (good relations with China, India, Iran, Latin America, Vietnam, and Russia rebounding from being down and out just 15 years ago. All of Eurasia is on the verge of launching a new age.
Ok, here’s the list of why the students want to leave:
Student 1: long and irregular shift work hours at the factory. He wants to spend more time with his family, and thinks that he could do so if he works in the west. He’s considering Prince George, Canada.
Students 2 and 3 (a married couple, with a child): they think that they could have higher-paid work abroad, with a house instead of a flat. They’re interested in moving to Edmonton, Canada.
Student 4: he’s a political liberal, from Russian academia. He has some political disagreements with how Russia is run now. He wants to go to one of the Nordic countries, but he also wants to stay because his family is in Russia. He thinks that Russians can be “uncivilised” sometimes, for example, with unsafe driving on the roads.
Promiscuity is as old as mankind, which in turn is much older than porn. It simply doesn’t help matters to repeat church dogma when it all boils down to hormones and parental involvement and discussion of sex and protextion with their children. Growing up in Bulgaria we were told that masturbation was bad for the health too, a spillover belief from the orthodox church. I think that as educated, grown adults, we can all agree that masturbation does not have negative health effects and is far preferable for teenagers than unsafe sex and teen pregnancies, so let’s keep the “porn leads to promiscuity” non-sense out adult conversations. Other than that, nice article.
Dear K,
Thank you for your Letter. I read it with great interest :). It is good to hear from inside Russia. However, I don’t understand why Russian women think Western men are “better”.
Rgds,
Veritas
Ok, the reason behind this belief is, I think, the collapse of the USSR. Many Russian men who had stable jobs and lives during the USSR suddenly didn’t, and they turned to different vices (particularly alcohol). Russian women were less impacted. So, many Russian men didn’t have healthy male role-models while growing up, and seem less-stable and sane to Russian women. Of course, it’s only a stereotype.
Father figures had been missing for a long time. Grandfathers featured more prominently. Two generations in two huge wars lost huge percentages of marriage-age men. Perhaps that’s partly why there’s so much reverence for The Soldier. ( I’m not looking at famine and mass gulag deaths, as they were gender balanced).
After the Patriotic War, USSR was missing about a third of the male age group that would be just starting a family. Stalin suddenly got concerned about rebuilding the population. Factories and collectives already had creches and kindergartens, as women had to do much of the war effort work while the men were away fighting that war. Adding generous assistance for single mothers was one way of making those fewer men go around among the more women. Meanwhile many children born before the war grew up without fathers, too. During the war hardly any children were born.
Open these links in new tabs so you can flick between them.
The war deaths: http://populationpyramid.net/russian-federation/1955/
Ten years after the war, you can see how skinny the male side is on the population tree. The first “tooth” is the children those WW1` men did not have; 20-25 years later this reflects in another reduction in births. The huge gap at the 10-14 year olds shows how many were NOT born during the war.
The Cold War years: http://populationpyramid.net/russian-federation/1985/
Thirty years later, there is a big bulge of increase, followed by contraction where the war-time few became parents. Then growth resumes well again.
And this is what the breakup of the USSR did. Absolute shocker
http://populationpyramid.net/russian-federation/2015/
A bigger loss of population than in that great war, total devastation. The 25 year old line is 1990. Suddenly there are NO BIRTHS. For 10 years nobody can afford to have a family.
Right now, despite increased assistance and subsidies for big families, the increase is contracting again, as it is the turn of that “missing” generation to breed. It will take until about 2060 to undo the population damage caused by the first 10 years after the USSR. (Ukraine’s image, by the way, is almost identical. No other country comes anything near them).
Thanks for the reply. As you say it is a stereotype as you get western men like that too…..
That was an indeed nice report.
***
And here are the strikingly accurate impressions of another observant American-born, who has traveled widely and seen all the world’s continents – of his own country – the USA.
American Ugly, by Stojgniev O’Donnell, written as he says “From a better place than America”, http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/07-09-2006/84316-ugly-0/?mode=print
A short excerpt from it:
“… I have observed poverty in Latin America, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Africa. And it seems to me that the material poverty of America’s poor is shockingly uglier than the poverty of those other places. Confronting nomadic Bedouins living out of boxes in Africa, I sensed something positive, even uplifting in their particular style of poverty. In certain circumstances, of course, poverty is not a curse – just have a look at some of the world’s wealthier folk. And yet America’s poverty is repugnant, because one senses that it is a thorough, drenching poverty, something in which both the culture and the individual are thoroughly submerged. That ugliness is strikingly evident in America’s inner cities, as well as in suburban and rural areas. …”
Anyone who has ever come to America knows that this is genuine.
***
K, you had me from the third paragraph, with your sound criteria for determining the credibility of sources. I can’t speak for the entire “West,” but it does seem that that many people, if not a majority, determine credibility by what validates their beliefs. If the facts don’t support those beliefs, then the facts must be wrong. If more people applied your criteria, there would be a giant popping sound followed by a lot of squinting and a sudden epidemic of enlightenment.
I truly enjoyed this field report and hope that we will hear more from you.
Thank you for the comment! I do wonder, what would cause the giant popping sound…?
In all seriousness, Step 1 is having solid, true beliefs. Read up the comments, where I responded to another poster about Orthodox Christianity. Once the fundamentals are solid, then good, sane, clear thought and true enlightenment are possible.
I’m quite busy here in Russia, but if people want me to write, then I will. I’d like some more specific topics to write about though. All of Russia seems a bit too broad. This last post was just a few sketches of some aspects of life and culture here.
K, the giant popping would be the collective sound of heads getting unstuck from the place “where the sun don’t shine.” :-)
By “beliefs,” I didn’t mean religious or spiritual orientation, although sometimes they go together with political beliefs; e.g., I have never encountered the term “leftwing Christian fundamentalists.” I was referring to political dogma such as U.S. “exceptionalism and other prepackaged filter systems — including the one that comes with a Putin movable action hero.
I agree with you — at least with what I think you mean — that spirituality is a means of orientation. When one knows where he is, he has a clearer idea of what he’s seeing in front of him and what his choices are.
As for possible future posts, I don’t know what others have in mind, but what I appreciated most about your post was the personal experience. You know the misconceptions common in the West (in my case, not so much misconception but lack of knowledge) and you also understand the bigger picture, and so the personal experience you share is within a wider context automatically. I think you would know instinctively when a particular experience or event would be worth writing about. Also, now that you know others are interested in your perspective, there will be a pot simmering on the back burner of your mind. Every now and then, it will become “soup” that you feel like sharing. Again, I don’t want to speak for anyone other than myself, but if you simply shared a personal perspective now and again as the inspiration came up and your schedule would allow, I would be extremely interested and would be grateful to both you and the Saker.
hahaha I understand! ;)
Regarding spirituality, it’s a topic better dealt with experientially, not intellectually. No matter what kind of person you are, I recommend saying the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” whenever you can. Spirituality is who you really are: some thoughts, actions, or ways of life are consistent, and others are not.
Ok, I will write once the soup is ready. I like this metaphor!
Hey, K! Match me up a really beautiful, smart, rich, intelligent, strong Russian babe!!! Por favor!!!
You can have the blondes, I’ll take just one of these!
http://cdn5.img.sputniknews.com/images/101942/13/1019421396.jpg
The one with the purple thingy is not bad . . .
David, good luck!
He’ll be a better journalist than 90% of the current ones lol
Thank you for the compliment!
I just posted this to the Information clearinghouse site. I’m re-posting it here for Saker readers.
A second-hand endorsement of the quality of the Russian educational system: It has for as long as I have been in the field of Arabic studies (a bit longer than thirty years) produced many more and higher quality Arabists of all stripes than have any of the western systems. A local example: the Russian ambassador to Lebanon is a regular guest on local television channels, news broadcasts, current affairs talk shows, cultural programming, programs addressing charitably and humanitarian efforts and community and public works development, and even late-night comedy chat shows, always speaking Arabic, in both its formal and colloquial varieties. I can’t remember ever hearing him speak Russian, and only once or twice speaking English, and that was when he was being interviewed in an English-language context. The American ambassador hardly ever appears, and when he does, he is mouthing the vilest manner of one-sided, myopic propagandizing in English – probably the only language the fool speaks. The British ambassador appears much more often than the American and, to his credit, appears in association with a variety of good works, not simply to spout propaganda. But he, too, usually speaks English. I have occasionally heard him speak a few words in Arabic. A few other Western diplomats will occasionally appear speaking Arabic, but the Russian ambassador is the only one who appears to live in the language.
I would say that’s not exactly the Russian educational system…
That was a very interesting essay (I guess it might be called). Perhaps, time permitting, you could write subsequent chapters… .
This is all so frustrating and so unnecessary. Apart from a few jingoistic morons like those below, there is no enmity between the average person in the West and the Average Russian person. Being of remote Germanic/Viking ancestry and know a little history of the Rus (Swedish) Vikings and others who traded further to the South living in a harsh but spiritually animated north country, we should never fight. We are being mislead by a few psychopaths into a cataclysm that no same person wants. My. Putin and his diplomatic team have done a wonderful job of plainly and rationally laying out a position which any sane person would find acceptable. I fear it is time for people in the West to reign in their leaders and the neocon political Zionists who seem to have a death wish. We have a choice of fighting our own or fighting people with whom we should not have a grievance.