I have now been living here for six months, which seemed to have flown by before I even said it. Indeed, this means I had enough time to experience quite a lot of the Russian life style and therefore compare it to what the West offers. Here are tow lists: one of what Russians take for granted, of what seems perfectly normal to us (natives and expats) and one of what Westerners take for granted, of what they hardly ever realize is a luxury. Whether you have always been living in Russia or on the contrary if you have never left the West, do not be surprised or horrified, just remember these are two different worlds which you can fully understand only once you have been living in them, among locals. Both have advantages and disadvantages, not always obvious, but think it twice and you will see that many stereotypes demonizing Russia are false and unfair, while the West is not that perfect either.
The West: drinking tap water almost anywhere, in cities, towns, flats, public places, even ordering it in a restaurant is a common thing.
Russia: the colour of the water is yellowish and in the suburbs brownish. People, even locals, only drink tap water after having filtred and then boiled it.
The West: people are not expected to show up at work when temperatures reach records below -5°C, or at least being late due to the weather conditions is OK.
Russia: below -30°C everyone continues to go to work, being late because of the weather is not acceptable, unless you are a foreigner who just arrived. Here are some glimpses of what the first snow falls brought us last December:
You get out in the morning and wonder where you left your car last night?... It'd better not be an emergency.
Pavements become Alice in Wonderland's labyrinths.
AFTER the streets have been cleaned.
There used to be two cars over there...
The West: the existence of animals protecting organizations.
Russia: So far I only saw it in Moscow, as I have not had the opportunity to travel out of the capital city: the city is overflowing with wild dogs living in packs and eating anything they find (garbage, dead animals, the ones who live in the metro stations get to share some food with the homeless).
The West: strikes.
Russia: what did you say? The scarcity of the demonstrations against the current president is mainly covered by the West, and the Russian newspapers will often contain biased data putting these almost non existent movements into perspective.
The West: the change of time in summer and winter.
Russia: since Mr. Medvedev's decree, time remains the same all year long in the whole country.
The West: the fear of what is unkown including strangers, who, supposedly, always turn out to be persistant perverts towards women.
Russia: extreme conditions of living seemed to have brought people closer to each other and true solidarity is the first thing that comes to your mind when a stranger offers to give you a lift to the next street when the temperature reaches -25°C. It took me time to get used to this king of true kindness, and not systematically think what the person was actually thinking. I never met people like the Russians: they offer to help you because they just want to help you. Moreover, despite all the stereotypes I had heard, I do feel safer here than anywhere else I have lived. Coming home at middnight and later is perfectly fine, I never felt in danger, followed or threatened by anyone.
The West: black people live in peace, or at least, relatively.
Russia: where are they? One of the first things that shoked me when arriving here was the quasi total absence of black people. The topic was soon brought about one night at a friend's birthday. Russians are racist. Black people are very rare because they truly are threatened and in their case, threat is a minimum. For your information the word for "black person" in Russian is "niger/negro" and this apparently the mot democratic and neutral way to say it. The word the West considers as racist is democratic in Russia. In the same way, the democratic word "black person" in the West is considered as racist in Russia.
The West: women wearing a medium are OK. Besides, they are not expected to wear 15 to 20 cm heels everyday.
Russia: Russians have the reputation of being the most beautiful women on earth, and they do look absolutely perfect. I still admire them when I see them going to work on very high heels or stiletto in the snow, on the icy pavements. Nothing seems to stop their sophisticated appearance. When asking my friends how they managed to stay on their feet, they answered me it was actually a very useful technique which French know as "le planté de bâton".
On the other hand, this beauty has a tragic cost. According to a Russia Today article: Russian women view being beautiful as an investment in their future.
“In Russia women aren’t that financially independent. They’re not equally paid and not interested in getting a job. The girls dream is to get the right guy, who will pay rent at least, or marry her or take care of her and the kids,”
The West: women have the same rights as men, therefore the same duties. I just met up with a Russian friend who came back from a week in Paris where she told me she was surprised by men's behaviour towards women. "How come men do not hold the door for women?! Why don't they leave their sit to a woman?!" she asked me.
Russia: the woman is the queen and the man serves her. I am still surprised when men wait for me holding the door for me whereas in France I would just receive the door right in my face. The woman is always first, when passing the threshold, entering a lift, sitting in a restaurant... This division of roles between the queen and her knight goes further: men are supposed to carry everything for women, including their handbag. Some may think it is really kind of him, but actually for Westerners this is often considered as a sign of weakness and dependence. Think it twice: is it really just a handbag? What does it contains and what does this content represent for you girls? We, women from the West, are strongly attached to our rights, which we won after decades of struggling, therefore our handbag which contains our wallet and most of the most expensive items we managed to buy with our own wages, symbolizes our freedom and independence. The question is: is the queen really the master or isn't she trapped by her status? It seems that women still struggle in Russia to achieve financial independence and total freedom, at least more than we do in the West.
The West: homeless people go and stay in the metro.
Russia: according to the authorities forbidding access to the metro to homeless people is a matter of national safety. As these people unfortunately most probably carry diseases, it is safer for the majority of commuters to keep contact with these people to a very strict minimum. This is why homeless people are kept just before the entrance, and if any of them dares trying to come in and stay in a tren, the police is waiting for him at the next station to kick him out. It is up to you to think the government is acting without any concern for these people or actually acts the right way, priviledging the safety of the majority. I was first horrified by such practices, but I must confess I have changed my mind.
The West: going to shopping malls without having to pass metal checking at every entrance.
Russia: when entering the main shopping malls people have to pass through security which includes a metal detector and handbag control (you sometimes get a "body control" as well). Bag and body control is also common in quite a lot of pubs and nightclubs. The darker your skin is, the more automatic and strict is the control.
The West: paying a ticket for the cinema the same price, wherever you'll be sitting.
Russia: something that unanimously shocked Westerners, just like at the theatre or at the opera, your seat is more expensive if it is better located. Furthermore, tickets will be less expensive depending on how long the film has been on screen and the day and time you buy it. After three weeks, prices drop down by half at the weekend, and by two thirds for week days morning sessions wich means you can watch movies for 1,20€ (in state cinemas at least).
The West: moving freely within your own country and the Schengen space.
Russia: as a foreigner I always thought the registration system was really tough but I found out that not only foreigners have to register within three working days when visiting another city. Russians also have to register with their national passport when they stay in another city for more than three days. For anyone not observing this period, a heavy fine is applied and for foreigners it is their company which receive them (fines can go up to 300,000 rubbles/ 7,500 euros).
The West: you have seen most of your country and most probably most of Europe as well and it seems normal to you?
Russia: most Russians have not been further than their region and surroundings (for those living in the Western part, they have never been to Siberia, "the other world" according to them; in the same way, for most people living in Siberia and further East, they have never had any contact with "the other world", i.e. Western Russia). Bear in mind that we are talking about the largest country in the world, which territory extends itself over two continents, more than 17 million square kilometres, covering 9 time zones. As a consequence, it is not surprising that very few people have travelled to the other end of their motherland. On top of the distance, add the absence of low cost flights and Eurolines affordable coaches, which makes such trips avalaible to only a very small portion of the population. For the most adventurous ones, there is still the transsiberian in third or fourth class.
The West: going to the General Practitioner (médecin généraliste) for a common cold and simply get out with a prescription.
Russia: Before trying antibiotics, doctors will give the patient the choice between different types of "procedures" (=small operations for which you have to come to the clinic every two days for several weeks). If the patient refuses and insists to take antibiotics first, they will ask him/her to sign a document stating he/she consciously refused to undergo the "procedure" and instead chose to take antibiotics which are less effective. This is supposed to discharge the doctor from any responsability in case your illness gets worse. I myself experienced the Russian "procedure" and although I was first horrified, I later understood Europeans and Russians just have different ways of seeing medicine: Russian think it is better to try to operate a patient before trying too many medicines, whereas Europeans prefer to try medicines (most of the time too many) and then, in the last resort, operate. Given the growing and alarming quantities of unnecessary pills taken each year by Europeans, one can consider the pros and cons of each "therapy". On the one hand, Russian medical practices might first seem barbarian; on the other hand, they aim at reducing the patient's dependence on medicine and therefore the need to find always stronger antibiotics as the body gets used to receive them.
The West: going to work with a cold or an angina is commonly accepted.
Russia: doctors insist to sign you a document stating that you must stay at home for as long as you haven't fully recovered from your cold. I experienced it several times and I had to go through real negotiations with my GP. Strangely enough, in a country where wages are quite low, when I told my doctor I could not miss work otherwise I would not get paid, it did not seem to be a problem for her.
Later, I had several students not showing in class because they had "temperature - 36.6". While in the West the ideal body temperature is around 37°C, Russians seem to have different standards... A bit of hypochondria in the air?
The West: national newspapers' headlines covering the century event: 5 cm of snow plunge the country into panic.
Russia: so far temperatures have not gone further than -30°C and life has not change at all: everyone still goes to work every morning, goes shopping, to the gym... Being a foreigner, I was often asked by Russians and Westerners if I was surviving the winter.
The West: waiting hours on the phone to get the internet connexion fixed, only between 10am and 5pm from Monday to Friday.
Russia: you can get someone on the phone any time day and night, including during holidays.
The West: considering marriage and children after your professional career, that is, in your mid/late thirties.
Russia: marriage is, among women, largely seen as a financial security for both them and their children. They tend to get married very young, and start a family just after getting their higher education diploma. The latter will most probably never be "useful", it is just part of the woman's life's achievements. Education is of highest importance in Russia, this is why having a higher education diploma is very important for women, even if they won't "use" it as housewives. Finally, when young people start thinking of living together (sharing a flat), their respective families start to put pressure on them: when moving in together, two young people should be married.This conservative view of marriage is still very strong in the Russian society.
The West: multiplication of retirement homes.
Russia: as it has been said before, family is a central element in the Russians' life, therefore, commitment to your parents, grandparents and other close members of your family is not questionable. Parents raise their children and later, the latters will take care of them and everyone is expected to live together, under the very same roof, and, in the USSR, when space was very limited, in the very same room. After asking several of my students and friends, I found out that Russians leave home (their parents' flat/house) very late, and it is not rare to see several generations sharing the same accommodation: grandparents, parents and children (even until their late twenties). Sometimes, children even stay at their parents' with their husband or wife and kids. This situation is not uncomfortable at all for those who live it, it is just considered as normal. This is why retirement homes are very rare in Russia (plus pensions are relatively low, which "forces" old people to depend on their offspring).
The West: knowing the origin of the products you buy (especially fruits, vegetables and fresh food), their use-by date etc...
Russia: supermarkets (big as well as smaller ones) do not show the origin of the majority of their fresh products, which of course can seem quite unusual and suspicious for Westerners.
The West: getting impatient when the queue is too long and actually ending up showing discontentment.
Russia: having experienced this situation several times, I can confirm that Russians are very patient and civilized people. We often hear that British are the most polite and Germans the most obedient, but Russia are a perfect mix of both these caracteristics. I have never heard anyone complaining or at least showing the slightest discontentment when someone was annoying the cashier up to 30 minutes to try all his vouchers with different amounts of money, to finally end up not using any of them and leaving all his products at the supermarket (by that time another employee of the supermarket had come around 5 times to cancel the sum and enter a new one). Most people in France and other European countries would have gone mad at this person but not a Russian. I witnessed such situations several times in different public places such as the post office (where you would literally wait for the employee to finish her task on her computer, whether the latter took 15 minutes typing something right in front of you absolutely ignoring your presence), the cinema cashiers (certainly the ones who ignored me the most, without even raising an eyebrow for 10 minutes, without telling me to wait or anything), the bank... But if such habits can seem a tiny bit rude to us, foreigners, we shall never forget that these are just different habits and we are not in our country so the least and best that we can do is try to understand their ways and habits and adapt ourselves to the latter. As time passes by, I found that I can only learn more out of these people, and by trying to fit in their system and adopt their habits, I just became a better person. Indeed, we are far from the widely spread stereotype of the agressive and hot tempered Russian. Try to live among these incredible people and you will get a chance to understand who they really are.
The West: English translations in main touristic attractions if not everywhere in the city, as well as supposed-English-speaking locals in most big cities.
Russia: firstly, Russia is not a tourist-friendly country. Secondly it only has two major cities (Moscow and Saint Petersburg) of touristic interest (note here that I am not saying of interest in general, I do believe Russia' richness is not all about Moscow and Saint Peterburg, on the contrary, most Russians will confirm you that these two cities do not represent Russia). So, as a consequence, do not expect a tourist information point anywhere in Russia. In fact we run into the one located in Moscow by chance not long ago. In addition to this, Russians do not often speak a foreign language (heritage of the Soviet education: why would you learn foreign languages when you are supposed to stay in your home country forever?), this is why anytime you will try to get help in English or another language, Russians will look at you strangely and, in the worst scenario case will just tell you that they won't be bothered answering you as everyone should speak Russian in this country. Is this behaviour too severe, too strict, too conservative, not enough open-minded? Or does it just reflects a patriotic effort to protect the Russian language and culture? From my experience of living among Russians, I would tend to think they are just trying to preserve their culture in an everyday more globalized world.
The West: control over the heating of your flat/house during the winter.
Russia: the government decides when, after a specific number of days below a specific temperature (these tandards are set by the government) to launch the general heating system, which you will not be able to control or stop until winter officially ended (which also depends on the government's decision, after several days of a certain temperature have passed). I particularly enjoyed this system on Christmas Eve, when I realized that, depsite a general power cut, I still would survive as the heating is set independently from the power (electricity). What can seem antique is actually a very clever concept.
The West: with the proliferation of recycling dustbins, recycling points for Christmas trees and others, recycling has gained in popularity and more than that, it has even become a fashionable attitude.
Russia: when it comes to recycling and other environmental concerns, Russia does lag behind. People seem to either know nothing about the scale of the pollution Russia releases, or they just consider that what has been OK so far will remain OK for the next generations. Are guilty the absolute absence of any recycling factory in the whole country (and the absence of campaign to raise people's concern) as well as the government tax requiring that all cars built in the last 5 years have a filter (all cars, trucks, buses and other articulated-lorries built before that period being allowed to circulate without any filter). Something stricking is the colour of cars in big cities: there is simply no white or bright-coloured car in Moscow for instance, as pollution has painted them all in a dirty brownish black.
Mud-swimming after the first snow falls, one of Moscow's main avenues, before the rush hour.
As you can see, the mini van on the right probably used to be white.
One of the advantages of such a "camouflage" is that there are very few chances for you to get caught by radars.
The West: in general European citizens enjoy access to a high standard healthcare system, with treatments involving high technologies and the latest medicines available on the market.
Russia: the majority of drugs being imported, they tend to be very expensive. Additionally, the government does not take in charge the smallest percentage of your medical costs (only veterans and very rare cases of invalitidy get a discount). Before coming to Russia, embassies do insist for you to know that you should take with you the amount of drugs you will need while living in Russia as you will probably not find there Russian equivalent (quality and price). They are right. After having to try different types of Russian drugs (either given by the GP or advised by the chemist), I can confirm that their reliability is questionable: no efficiency (in the best case scenario), scaring side effects not included in the instructions, symptomes aggravation and others...
The West: supermarkets and shops are usually all closed from 8pm and banks closed at the weekend.
Russia: most supermarkets and shops open until 23.00-midnight, which is really convenient for active people. you start wondering who would go shopping at 23.00? Surprisingly enough, a lot of people! Actually it is the very rush hour and the place is always overcrowded with employees running from everywhere to supply the shelves that are almost simultaneously emptied.
The West: you want to adopt a friendly pet? You naturally go to the closest animal house or help a friend getting rid of one of his puppies.
Russia: the common practice is simply bringing one back home on your way out of the metro. Immigrants, strangers and babushkas sell kittens almost everywhere in the city, but you can also ask for any other animal and they will get you whatever you want (whatever race, age, colour and size). And if one day you are fed up with this toy, you can simply leave it back where you took it from, this is how each metro station ended up with its own pack of old, abandoned dogs.
