From Nyet to Da: Understanding the New Russia

[ONA 133]

It all started when my fiance sent me a link to this article: http://www.goehner.com/russinfo.htm

We talked about it and I read it and found it pretty well written... and he said that from that very moment he knew why we had fights sometimes So I decided to look for the actual book, found it pretty quickly and started reading. Ordered one from amazon for my fiance too, so now we're both reading it.

I like the book, it's quite truthful and in my opinion is pretty fun to read. I find some stuff not quite applying to me, but I'm young and you know... weird in a way... But I think it might be interesting and useful for everybody, who is interested in learning about cultures and especially for the folks with Russian spouses.

The guy, who wrote the book, had done a great deep research on Russian history and culture, that's why, I think, it might help not only in understanding Russian mindset, but also international conflicts Russia had over the years and the policy.

Anyway, I've read about half of the book and I liked it so far. So, if anybody have read it or will read it, it would be pretty interesting to discuss it. Also, if anybody comes across something similar, please, share (I know, the whole RUB forum can fall under the category of "something similar", but still).

I wish I could find something like that about the USA too. So far I've only watched "One-story High America"/"Одноэтажная Америка", which seemed pretty entertaining and true to life, and I have my personal impressions, of course, but I'd love to find something else.

[eekee 182]

Thanks for the book recommendation! I got it for kindle and will be starting it shortly...

[AmyWrites 593]

Thanks for this. I've been with my Russian boyfriend for a long time now and we still have culture-clash moments (although I'm half-American half-Puerto Rican so maybe it's worse for me!). And my boyfriend falls in the "new Russian" category, so when we first dated, I didn't expect our differences to be so large. Now that we're talking about marriage we're noticing other differences (all good, though, things that aren't typical in my culture that I wanted in a husband) in how we view families and such. So I'll definitely read this and I can see many conversations stemming from it.

Btw, it's nice to see another female who has a Russian boyfriend here. We're a minority

[sea-monkey 13]

I sent a sample to my Kindle, I'll check it out tonight.

[eekee 182]

Read it last night... pretty helpful, especially for people looking to do business in Russia, who I assume are the target audience. There were some editing errors/things out of date... like not bothering to change "Soviet" into Russian and using 80s-era statistical information. But overall, nothing new, but could be helpful.

[SMR 368]

There are some decent points in the link (I haven't read the book and probably won't) but overall I would say that it's heavy on stereotypes and light on facts. A couple things I found to be simply false. I have spent several years in Russia and never seen two men kiss unless at least one of them was very far from being sober.

In general, while this article may be useful for understanding social norms, I think it is dangerous to try and use it to learn anything about specific people. I suppose it may be useful as a starting point for doing business if you don't know much about Russia. But if you want to do business in Russia and don't know much about Russia, my advice would be don't do business or learn about it first hand.

[dogspot 90]

Looks very interesting, ONA. One of or favorite things to do is read together in English. This sounds like it will be a good addition to our materials. Thanks.

[ONA 133]

Btw, it's nice to see another female who has a Russian boyfriend here. We're a minority

If you're talking about me, I'm actually... well, sort of a majority here. I'm Russian, my fiance is American. "Sort of" a majority though cause Russian beneficiaries are not likely to post here

Read it last night... pretty helpful, especially for people looking to do business in Russia, who I assume are the target audience. There were some editing errors/things out of date... like not bothering to change "Soviet" into Russian and using 80s-era statistical information. But overall, nothing new, but could be helpful.

I'm not sure about the statistical information, but "Soviet" seems to be said to the point. You have to say Soviet referring to something that was typical of the Soviet era or to something that started at that time. A lot of history teachers I had to deal with would fail their students if they would make a mistake of saying "Russian" when they were supposed to say "Soviet". The same thing would happen if anybody would say "Russia" instead of saying "the Russian Empire".

A couple things I found to be simply false. I have spent several years in Russia and never seen two men kiss unless at least one of them was very far from being sober.

Yeah, I agree about that "fact". I found it pretty weird too Unless it was about Brezhnev. In my opinion it would've been more proper just to say that it's absolutely fine for Russian women to hold hands while walking, while in the USA it might give some people the wrong idea.

I like reading stuff like that though, it's like looking at yourself from a different angle and analyzing your own behaviour. A lot of times I would read it and say "yeah, that's exactly what I do", sometimes I would think something like "no, that's not about me at all", but anyway I think it might be useful for a lot of people, and it definitely will be useful for my fiance - of course I comment on what he has read.

Looks very interesting, ONA. One of or favorite things to do is read together in English. This sounds like it will be a good addition to our materials. Thanks.

You're welcome

What do you both read? You're welcome to share

[eekee 182]

No, there were parts where it used "Soviet" as in "Soviet people do x," not, "During Soviet times, [whatever]," as if Soviet were the present and not the past.

[ONA 133]

No, there were parts where it used "Soviet" as in "Soviet people do x," not, "During Soviet times, [whatever]," as if Soviet were the present and not the past.

I didn't notice that... I thought it was about "Soviet people would do x and it affected the New Russia" and stuff like that. Anyway, I'm on the chapter about education at the moment, I'll try to pay attention if there is such a thing at that point.

[AmyWrites 593]

If you're talking about me, I'm actually... well, sort of a majority here. I'm Russian, my fiance is American. "Sort of" a majority though cause Russian beneficiaries are not likely to post here

Still nice to see a another female here

[ONA 133]

Still nice to see a another female here

have you seen this video?

it's like a year old, but it's pretty interesting.

Edited March 30, 2011 by ONA

[slim 1,533]

I wish I could find something like that about the USA too. So far I've only watched "One-story High America"/"Одноэтажная Америка", which seemed pretty entertaining and true to life, and I have my personal impressions, of course, but I'd love to find something else.

Larry the Cable Guy has a new show on the History Channel called, "Only in America." That's a pretty cool show about "real life" in America.

I'm half-American half-Puerto Rican

Puerto Ricans aren't Americans?

[ONA 133]

Larry the Cable Guy has a new show on the History Channel called, "Only in America." That's a pretty cool show about "real life" in America.

Thanks. I'll probably be able to check it out only in the USA though, cause History Channel website doesn't let me watch it from Russia.. unless I can find it on "vkontakte"

[slim 1,533]

Thanks. I'll probably be able to check it out only in the USA though, cause History Channel website doesn't let me watch it from Russia.. unless I can find it on "vkontakte"

What part of America are you moving to? You can find hillbilly shows all over the internet!