Russian Stereotypes
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Most of the time when I go to a country for the first time it’s all about shattering stereotypes that I was brought up with. I did come into Russia with a lot of per-conceived ideas and stereotypes, thanks to growing up in the cold war era. and surprisingly not many of them have been shattered so far. In fact this is one of the only countries where all of my Russian stereotypes were confirmed. Sadly I didn’t have enough time to really research these in earnest since we were racing through Russa on the Mongol Rally Race. However, it didn’t take me long to get a bit of a feel for the Russian culture and it’s living conditions and here were my first impressions
Table of Contents
Russian Drinking – Bottoms Up!
The consumption of alcohol (specifically vodka) here is like no other country I’ve been to. Every time we walk into a little cafe there are always people sitting at a table solo drinking a beer with a dour look on their face. In fact – the cafes serve more booze that they do food. To top it off – the drinking is done at all times of day. We saw many people drinking at 7AM as we stopped to eat breakfast and get coffee. I have no idea if they were still going from the night before, or simply having a beer with breakfast.
Russian Architecture
The buildings in Russia are boxy and they are super fortified. I feel like I’m going into a war zone every time I enter one. but the cool thing about the Russian apartment buildings is that they look like a complete dump in the common areas; crumbling concrete, graffiti, poor lighting, and ancient elevators. But when you get through the double doors to the actual apartment – they are opulent as if you’ve walked into a whole new world.
Russian Women
Seriously – you can’t help but notice the women in this part of the world. Probably the most stunning women I’ve seen. There are no such things as casual dress for women in this country! High heels, short skirts, and beautifully made up is the norm…at any time of day and in any kind of job. Even the female border guards are wearing pencil skirts, stilettos, and their cleavage is hanging out! It’s sort of like a version of Texas on the other side of the world – big hair and lots of jewelry.
Russian Demeanor
The Russian’s body language is one that is all business…and disgust. Whenever we have talked to Russians there is no laughing and smiling – just a very serious look. No one ever seems to smile. If you smile at them, they seem more determined than ever to be as serious as they can be. There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about the customer service either! We found a few good waitresses, but they were in the minority.
I’m sure if I spent more time here in Russia – I would defeat some of these stereotypes. And I hope to do just that one day!
What country or city have you been to that met all of your stereotypes? Share in the comments!
Love the cultural detail of this post. Do you have any pictures to share of the inside of the apartment you stayed in? I wanna see the opulence 🙂
Interesting post….fun to see what you’ve been seeing there! I’m also curious about the opulence and would love to see that, too.
Have fun!
Wow, so different from the USA where painstaking effort is taken to make lobbys and entry ways so inviting. Glad to hear the apartment was cozy comfortable. I totally cracked up at the visual from your description of the lady guards in there work attire. All I could think was oh my feet hurt and my chest is cold!
The lobby blows my mind! Looks like a sketchy place! I wonder who it is that is doing all the graffiti, the people living there or can anyone get in from off the street?
Ok – here’s a few links to the opulence inside from our team’s flickr account! Quite a change huh?!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55563471@N03/6002999722/in/set-72157627210310071/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55563471@N03/6002455181/in/set-72157627210310071/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55563471@N03/6002998142/in/set-72157627210310071/
A few of my friends have travelled to Russia and from all reports it does seem to be a place that works hard to reinforce the stereotypes rather than shatter them! I’m getting more and more curious about it though and definitely want to visit sometime in the near future.
Love the shots from inside of the apartment – definitely no indication from the outside that was what was awaiting you!
All true. I used to see men walking to work in the morning with a beer in hand when I lived in the Russian Arctic…and costumer service was never really necessary back in Soviet times…
Except Russians do warm up after you break down the initial tough wall. They are some of the friendliest, most hospitable people I’ve met.
Wow. The outside of the apartment looks like a run down garage to put it mildly. What a difference on the inside. I like that this post is realistic. It’s interesting that the stereotypes live up to its nature here and it would be interesting to see how they would change given more time. But…will you have to dress scandalously to fit in?
It’s funny. )))
1. About Russian apartment – I think you chose poorest place to live. And you want say that there are no same places in America orEurope?
2. Always drink – Maybe men just finished night work and have a rest? Does people drink only in Russia? No.
3. Russians doesn’t like false smile. Smile it means “I’m glad to see you” (for people familiar) otherwise you laugh at him.
I think you didn’t meet ordinary intelligent people.
They seemed rather ordinary to me! Certainly people drink all over the world – I just never saw so much consumed at every hour of the day as I did there! True – Russians are big fans of smiling at strangers!
There are many alcoholics in each country, but it doesn’t mean that it’s country of alcoholics. Many russians don’t like drink, especially vodka. Vodka is for far north or Siberia where below -40°C, but not for all.
Maybe you guess that I’m Russian. I know many people like me who can drink only wine or champagne (nor beer, nor vodka, even not fortified wine).
If Russian tourists seemed wild for you, so it seems so for ordinary Russians.
Hi,
Thats really interesting n informative thanks for sharing. I am planning a trip to russia this summer n Im going all alone as usual 🙂 can you tell me something moe about the safety conditions like street crimes, for a brown skin tourist like myself. is it really not safe, I’ve heard a million stories about the ‘cold russia’ but is it really that bad??
Plz reply
Zohaib
This is a bias artical. Spend alittle more money next time, then you will get a nicer place.