Russians! Who are they? Eurasian nation? People who combine the features of both cultures? People who claim to have a special mental organization they proudly call “ the mysterious Russian soul”? People who are great patriots and at the same time can trade their last possessions for a bottle of vodka? A nation that lived under a dictatorship for almost a century and is still adjusting to the concept of freedom.

So what is the truth about all this and what is a typical portrait of a Russian? We aim to show this to a stranger intending to visit our country.

Let’s review some facts about Russians first that might be useful for a good understanding of the national character.

The first thing to tell about us is, in fact, that we cannot speak about the Russian nation as such in strict demographic terms. Fair-haired and blue-eyed people in Russia consider themselves Russians as well as the majority of oriental Udmurts, Turkic and other tribes. It held especially true in Soviet times, and now separatist tendencies, the most obvious of which is the one based on the Chechens’ desire to be independent, have become a reality. Although there is still some talk of full regional independence, nobody is now taking seriously the separation of the ‘Siberian state’, which was a widely discussed topic in the middle of the 1990s. But some of the so-called ‘national regions’ populated with the people of smaller nationalities have become a hell for Russians in the full sense of the word. Russian people are often oppressed there and blamed for all the misfortunes happening within the regions.

However, the above are actually non-typical historical examples of inter-national relations in Russia. Traditionally, starting from the X century when the Russian state first appeared, the nations living in it had almost no serious conflicts. Now Russia is a multinational state with more than 200 different nationalities. And they are all Russians in the wider sense of the word.

Personal traits of the Russians

The first reaction for many foreigners when they hear the world ‘Russian’ will be, “Oh, Russian vodka”. In many American films Russian men are grubby drunkards in ear-flaps or fur hats, aggressive robots ready to fulfill an order of their government. Russian women in those films are fat factory workers in simple and unattractive grey dresses.

Well, this is only a partly true and simplified picture of Russians. Maybe this used to be true in the beginning of the Soviet era under the Stalin rule. At that time people fought hard to rebuild the country after the World War II. But even then there was ‘the intelligentsia’, the elite of the society that did not live like that.

As for drinking, to some degree it is the old tradition of the poorer classes. Yes, there are people who will trade everything they have for a bottle of vodka. But you should not apply this to everybody in Russia. Such people could be seen on the streets in Soviet times, and they are still there. The difference between the two periods is that now you can see many beggars on the streets that were not allowed there previously, because in the USSR everybody was to be well-to-do. And now the beggars sit with their head bowed and sometimes dangle placards explaining their homelessness, beginning: “Dear people…” Nobody could imagine this under Stalin or even Brezhnev. They are the victims of the transition from a regulated economy into the free marketplace.

Many things have changed and foreigners are no longer followed by the KGB. Half the street-names in the cities had been changed. Old Bolshevik Favourites – Lenin, Dzerzhinsky and others — had gone, and in their place came poets and writers or bland safeguards such as “Central Prospect” or “River Street”. In some cities the revolutionary statues have also gone, and Leningrad (‘the Lenin city’) has reverted to its original name; Saint-Petersburg.

A huge majority of Russians blame government for their misfortunes. Within the years of the totalitarian era many people got used to the idea that everything was decided for them and had not developed competitive and goal-setting skills and determination to achieve their goals. As a result, teacher and doctors — people of the most trusted professions — live in poverty.
In Europe, it is hard to imagine that an employee works for a company that does not pay him salaries for two years. It happens in Russia. Very skilful aircraft constructors and physicists work for industrial plants that have no more government orders for weapons production and do not pay them salaries for years! But some of Russians have succeeded in business. They have big companies with huge profits. There are not many of them, but they are very rich.

Amongst Russians, there are different people — from erudite persons who speak many languages to crooks who cheat foreigners. Majority of ordinary Russians look initially with suspicion on a foreigner, particularly if they live in places where they rarely see one.

Foreigners, in turn, have asked many questions about Russians and their way of life. Russian services are a separate story. It is impossible to explain why if you talk in English to a taxi driver he will charge more, and charge in dollars, not roubles, why a foreigner should buy a train ticket in a separate booking office for a higher price, why chambermaids in the hotels are too curious, the cars are uncomfortable, and the pipes in bathrooms are not hidden in the walls and the flats in monotonous looking grey buildings Russian people live in are too small and have the same lay-out. This is a part of Russian life, the heritage of our communist past, which is very difficult to eradicate.

At the same time those who visit Moscow and Saint-Petersburg undoubtedly admire the beauty of architecture; many appreciate tasty Russian food; Russian programmers are invited to work in the USA and Russian girls are considered to be the best wives and the most beautiful.

In order to fully appreciate the Russian ego you definitely need to come here and see it with your own eyes. Welcome to Russia.

Evgeniya Stroganova