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What are the best/worst things about being Russian abroad?

RussiaTourism
Susane Kork
  · 2,8 K
BA Journalism at City University. Video-Journalist for The National Union of Students. Twi...  · 8 апр 2017

Let's start with the worst. 

  1. Vodka

"Do you like vodka?" Don't even try to say "no". 

They will pour it straight into your mouth because everyone is convinced - Russians drink shots for breakfast. Mixers? Don't disappoint your friends! In fact, they will assume you drink a lot.

P.S. this picture's name on Pixabay is "Russian dinner".

  1. Political stigma

"What do you think about Putin?" "Are you a communist?" " What about your parents?  Grandparents?" "Do they like Stalin?" "Do you have Lenin's picture in your house?" 

Don't even get me started on this one. 

Picture from GamingVid

  1. Weather

"Are you cold? How can you be cold? You're from Russia!"

Never say you're freezing because Russians are not allowed to! In fact, nobody knows that in southern parts of Russia the climate is similar to the one of northern Italy! For example this is Russian health resort in Sochi

Picture from Znanie.

And here are the best things according to my LONDON BASED experience. 

  1. Food

Wherever you go, you will always stumble across Polish shop that sells 'tvorog' or Azerbaijanian takeaway that offers 'borscht' and 'pelmeni'. 

Due to similarities in the former-Soviet cuisines it is easier to feel at home. There are always nice Russian restaurants too! For example Zima in London. 

  1. Language

The grammar complexity, vast vocabulary and extraordinary pronunciation make it one of the most difficult languages in the world.  People are usually impressed with how gracefully you levitate between "Р"/rr/ ,  "Ш" /sh/ ,  "Щ" /sрch/ ,  "Ч" /ch/ ,  "Ц"  /ts/ and "Х" /kh/.  In fact, cyrillic alphabet ensures no one can understand your messages even using Google Translate.

But not to worry, it is official language to 38+ territories with at least 150 million speakers! Thus it is most likely that you will communicate easily with people from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and some parts of Ukraine. In fact, common language creates stronger bonds. 

Additionally, Russian is a good language to have in terms of employment. As it is both hard to learn and widely spoken it gives you a comparative advantage in the workplace.

Picture from Wikipedia.

  1. Russian literature

Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Bunin, Gogol, Turgenev, Nabokov, Bulgakov, Pushkin, Solzhenitsyn, Pasternak, Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva...the list goes on.

Everyone knows War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Crime and Punishment and Idiot. Indeed, Russian literature is widely acknowledged. Last year many Brits watched a BBC adaptation of War and Peace. Some of them asked me about the author and were curious to find out more. Here is a picture of Leo Tolstoy!

P.S. If you live in London there is a whole section of books in Russian on the fifth floor of Piccadilly's Waterstones. 

  1. Russian classical music

Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Shostakovich...no need to say anything, just listen.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/QxHkLdQy5f0?wmode=opaque

5. Russian history and politics

Ivan Grozny, Peter the Great, October revolution, Perestroika, Putin...The narrative is special and extraordinary, that's why many scholars in academia around the world continue to research and analyse Russian historical past. They would be excited to discuss it with a Russian person.

LSE usually does a lot of public talks, lectures and seminars to explain Russian foreign policies and history behind it. For example, this lecture I attended in the beginning of February. Vladimir Posner visited London this year and gave a lecture at UCL on the same topic.

In the light of 100 years after Russian Revolution there is a number of events going on in London. For example, this exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts dedicated to Russian art between 1918 and 1932.  The British Library is doing another exhibition on Russian revolution this month.  

Apart from that, you can find many documentaries about Russian history on BBC. For example, Russia's Lost Princesses or  Empire of the Tsars

It's exciting how much you can learn about your country from abroad. It's flattering that people from other countries want to learn about it too!

Here is a picture of Catherine the Great.

Overall, being Russian abroad can be both positive and negative. The worst part is when people judge you based on the most common stereotypes about Russia. The best part is that actually a lot of people are interested in your culture and history. 

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I am a reading a degree in Law and Politics at the university of Queen Mary. In addition...  · 3 апр 2017
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Student at Brighton University, originally from Moscow  · 17 апр 2017
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