Question by shhh: What are Russian people usually like if you could generalize?
Just wondering. What are some characteristics of Russian people that stand out and seem to be common in most Russians.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Blondegem615
Being Russian myself, this is not a prejudiced answer. But many Russian people are very rude. If you go there, they do not hold the door open for you even if you are right behind them, they do not say thank you if you hold doors for them or pick something up from them off the floor, and they do not apologize if they bump into you or step on you.
The positives are that Russian women are very good at balancing housework and careers. They have had to grow up with both, and pretty much everyone (even the younger generations) know how to cook, sew, iron, etc.
I guess another easy generalization about Russians can be that they are very guarded and closed off people.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Ginovski says
tall and blond.
filski666 says
Can't really generalise because people are different everywhere – but if I have to here goes:
I am English but have spent a fair amount of time in Russia, and ended up marying a fantastic russian girl. My impressions of the Russians are outlined below.
Coming from a polite culture – to me Russians initially appear rude as they don't queue, don't say please and thank you as much, won't hand you your change (they put it on a little dish), won't give you the time of day – however these are really just cultural differences (it's worse in china!) – when you get to know Russians you will find them some of the warmest, friendliest people on Earth.
I have found them generally to be non-materialistic and completely down to earth.
They like to be social – in England people tend to go to a pub with the primary intention of getting drunk – Russians go to pubs to talk to friends, have a few drinks and eat some food (which helps absorb the alcohol so they don't end up the embarasing drunken wretches the English seem to become at kicking out time!)
They are very resourceful – used to making do with not much. They can be very stubborn (don't get into an argument with a Russian !! ha ha ha)
They have an obsession with the cold! – I grew up playing in the snow in my shorts and hardly feel the cold – when I first experienced a russian winter (-20C) I was only wearing a t-shirt and down jacket and I was hot – but my russian girlfriend was convinced I was about to freeze to death and insisted on buying/knitting me gloves, hat and a scarf – even though I really didn't need them. Funnily though – when she came to England, she was always cold – we would go out for walks in the country and I would be hot in a t-shirt and she would have jacket, 2 scarves, gloves and hat on and say she was cold!
I assumed it was just her – but they all seem to be like it.
I think it is something to do with in England if you go out in the cold it is no big deal – it isn't cold enough to kill you, so no-one really dresses "sensibly" – whereas in Russia it is cold enough that people can freeze to death if not properly dressed so they take it seriously and it is ingrained into them from an early age…………….hmmm I seem to be drifting away from the subject here!!
When I was studying there, I seemed to meet lots of Russians who all claimed to be "ex-KGB" and they always wanted to teach us англичанин how to drink vodka properly (by drinking a little then eating a bit of dried meat or pickle or silotka etc)
So, to summarise, er….they are warm, friendly with similar sense of humour to English, they might initially appear quite cold or guarded (maybe due to that country's troubled history, and the cultural differences) but once you get to know them they open up and welcome you into their homes – usually to a table groaning with tasty food and drink! They are easy going, non materialistic, generous and scared of the cold! 😉
They seem to be well educated, particularly in culture and science – and they are very patriotic and proud of their country.
People say Russian women are the most beautiful in the world – this isn't true – what makes this appear true is that Russian women make more effort with what they have. In England you will often see women go shopping (or wherever) without makeup, wearing ill-fitting tracksuits etc – whereas in Russia it appears that a woman wouldn't dare leave the house without making herself look fabulous first. Also, as more people walk to places there than in the west (less people have cars and if they do they are often parked 30mins walk away so good deterrent to using them to nip somewhere local)- they are generally slimmer. Also contributing to this is diet – some Russian food may appear to be high fat when you first look – but it is generally good wholesome food. (And REALLY tasty!) The difference between it and the west is it is far less processed. They don't seem to rely on the lifestyle of burgers, pizzas and sugary drinks which is gradually turning the west into a mass of obese diabetics.
better stop and see what I have written – will add more later if necessary!
Codrina says
Being an Eastern European myself I cannot help but respond to the blond girl at the top. The characteristics described by her are in no way unique to Russians – both the positive and the negative. Romanians can be very rude too and Romanian women balance many things. Those particular characteristics belong to communism – PERIOD.
In my country the younger generations are friendly, but the older ones have unfortunately been marked by communism in some negative ways. In public places there is a distance – and this distance is learned from the French, a culture admired very much at the turn of the century in E. Europe. (Tolstoy – Russia , Caragiale – Romania – authors that mention this in their writings)
Anyway… from a Romanian perspective, when I think Russians I think great ballet, awesome ice skaters, Tchaikovsky, and … yes… Stolichnaya… (vodka). I also think Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Kandinsky. With Dostoevsky comes cynicism and sarcasm, which I see as Russian characteristics.
As a people Romanians see Russian men as hard workers and hard drinkers, especially in Siberia, where a nice shot of Stoli can keep one warm. Their women are considered conventionally beautiful by Romanians.
Some men in some countries will say Russian women are promiscuous (same goes for Romanian and Moldavian girls). I disagree. The people who make those remarks do so because these girls are sold into slavery/prostitution in countries such as Turkey and Israel (National Geographic, HBO). They are promised waitress jobs, their passports are taken away when they arrive to whatever country and they turn them into hookers.
EDIT –
LOOOL – young turk – frankly Turks don't have a good image in any European country… that wasn't necessary – no offense…
*starrynight* says
WEll all the russians i have met have been here in america.. and they were all guys mostly and were very polite and were always offering to go out all expenses on them.. they would tell me to never worry about a thing if i was with them,they would take care of all.. they were always ready to go out drinking dancing, spending money, riding in nice cars.. that is based on my experience with russians between the ages of 19-24.. they also could get angry really quickly with american guys if they had a problem between them, and were always ready to fight, also very proud of there culture and where they came from.. i got a good impression from them, they make good friends.. interesting ones.