The older generation has not forgotten that in the Soviet Union, to put it mildly, trips of ordinary citizens abroad were not welcome. From that side, too few people visited us. These difficulties have led to the appearance of biased and one-sided ideas about Russia, consisting in three words - vodka, bears, nesting doll. Not the last role in strengthening the unpleasant opinion about our country was played by Hollywood, which was very popular among all segments of the population. By the way, in those years, few people singled out Ukraine, Kazakhstan or another republic separately. We were all Russian to foreigners. Now there is no iron curtain. Russians travel freely around the world, demonstrating there, “over the hill”, what our nation is. Millions of tourists come to us, too, with their own eyes see how we live, get acquainted with our culture.
What do foreigners think about Russia now? How much has their opinion changed? Some public organizations and ubiquitous journalists conduct polls from time to time, but the responses of citizens from friendly and unfriendly countries vary widely. It depends primarily on the purpose of their visit. One thing is said about Russia by tourists who came here for a couple of days with an excursion group and organizedly visiting only the attractions marked in the program. They see only what tourist guides want to show them. Foreigners working in Russia, studying here, and everyone who has been living with us for a long time can tell a completely different story, and the impressions of those living in the capital and in the outback are radically different. And the foreigners themselves are also different. Opinions about our country, for example, Americans or Germans, are very different from the opinions of Nigerians, Chinese or Mexicans. But in one thing, all the foreign guests are united: Russia is huge, it takes years to know and understand it.
Russians and alcohol
In the Western world there is an opinion that our nation is incredibly drinking. Almost all Europeans, Americans, Asians speak of this in one interpretation or another. But if you turn to the statistics of WHO, Russia does not take first, second or even third place in alcohol consumption for each of its inhabitants. In this matter, even the restrained Balts overtook us. Nevertheless, foreigners about life in Russia say that they drink a lot here. They are especially surprised at why you can drink here anywhere - in a restaurant, at a banquet, in a park on a bench, just outside. Law enforcement officers do not stop this, passers-by remain indifferent. Perhaps that is why we all seem to them such drinkers? And even foreigners cannot understand why even in the store you can buy low-quality alcohol, because it is dangerous to health. They are also surprised that in Russia the reason for a drink can be the most trifling, and the process that began with “a hundred for health” often develops into a large-scale binge and drags on until late at night, and almost always Russians who are well-received on the chest begin to conduct intellectual conversations about politics and the meaning of life, although, being sober, they try to avoid these topics. There, “beyond the hill”, only sober people speak on such topics, and when they drink, they simply have fun or talk about their real or imaginary victories.
Many foreigners, looking at our booze, cannot understand: are the Russians so rich that they find funds for such an amount of alcohol? And most importantly, how do they calmly go to work the next day after a plentiful drink?
Russians and order
Our people, as they say, have not written laws. We are accustomed to this and no longer notice how constantly somewhere we break something. But they notice. Foreigners about life in Russia say that it is the norm here or even the obligation not to follow the rules if there is no punishment for it. For them, on the contrary, it is considered normal to comply with established rules, even when there is no control nearby. Russian people without the slightest doubt cross the road to a red light if, according to their calculations, they are still far from a moving car, on platforms in the metro they constantly go over the restrictive line, although it is life-threatening, leave their cars in uncomfortable places, just not to pay for parking. Foreigners are surprised why dozens of cash desks are installed in supermarkets if they work one or two, despite the queues that are going on in them. They don’t understand why our roads are patched in the rain, and heating systems begin to be repaired in the cold. And how amazed car enthusiasts from abroad traffic cops serving in roadside bushes!
Regarding safety, foreigners speak differently about life in Russia. Natives of Latin America, Tanzania, South Africa, Sudan, which are dangerous in the criminal aspect, consider that on our evening and night streets there is paradise calm. Europeans, on the contrary, are sure that in Russian cities it is rather turbulent. Even if nothing and no one threatens life, one can easily lose property or be embroiled in scandal. At the same time, the streets are always full of patrolling police officers, therefore, according to the logic of things, the order should be perfect.
Russians and wealth
Previously, in the USSR, everyone was approximately equal. Now in our society there has been a division into the poor and the rich. Everything, as they have, in their distant America, Europe, only with Russian flavor. What surprises foreigners in our rich? The fact that most of them boast of their new status is being built at home on several floors, not in order to live there, but simply for prestige, they only shop in the most expensive stores, buy expensive cars in order to seem even more significant and significant. Moreover, if there are traffic jams on the roads (and they are always present in large cities), our rich will wait for hours, be nervous, be late, but they will never go down the subway because it is below their newly-appeared status. There is no such thing abroad. There even directors of companies without the slightest damage to their image can today come to work on an expensive car, tomorrow - on a city bus, and the day after tomorrow - on a bicycle. There, the rich do not see anything shameful in visiting ordinary supermarkets, and they are eager to buy promotional goods.
Russians and feminism
It is no secret that foreign grooms willingly choose our young ladies as wives. Foreign men about Russia say that the issue of equality is not so acute here, as, for example, in America. There, most women try to prove their independence, because of which their femininity suffers. They pay for themselves in restaurants, react painfully if they are helped to open the door or give a hand when leaving the transport. There, women, creating a family, are primarily guided by material considerations and are in a hurry to draw up a marriage contract. Most Russians are not like that yet.
Although their willpower and spirit are no weaker than those of the same American women, they like to seem weak. An American in Russia feels more like a man than at home, because our women do not interfere with his assertion at all. They are grateful for any help on the part of men, even if they can perfectly cope with the problem without them. Agreeing to become a wife, our beauties are first of all interested in whether their chosen one loves, and only then they put in second place the question of where and by whom he works, what his prospects are in the service. Some foreigners are surprised by the abundance of flower shops on the streets of Russian cities. They are perplexed why it is so important for our women that our beloved should go on a date with flowers, and why there must be an odd number of flowers in a bouquet.
Russians and culture
Russia through the eyes of foreign tourists in this regard is simply beautiful. Mostly sightseeing groups visit St. Petersburg and Moscow, and there are the most famous sights. It is not surprising that all the surveyed interviewers enthusiastically spoke about the Hermitage, the Winter Palace, the Tretyakov Gallery, Pokrovsky Cathedral, Red Square. Many foreign citizens, even advanced in the field of French culture, are surprised that people of all ages like to visit museums and galleries, and often you can meet couples in love there. Italians, Spaniards, Americans find it difficult to imagine their date with a girl not in a restaurant or even in a movie, but, for example, in an art gallery.
Almost all foreigners talk about Russia, always mentioning our Bolshoi Theater and beautiful ballet. Many girls from friendly countries dream of studying at a Russian ballet school.
Foreign guests are very surprised by the Russian love of reading. In our metro and trains, in the park on benches and in public transport, ordinary printed books and newspapers are still read, although young people can often be seen with tablets and iPhones.
Abroad, among those who have never been to Russia, there is still an opinion that men play balalaikas here, and women dance. Some foreigners who visited our country were surprised that they could not even see Russian folklore, about which they had been told so much.
Russians and food
Foreigners often talk about life in Russia, recalling our dumplings (or huge ravioli), our borsch (or red soup), pancakes with meat, the most delicious black caviar in the world. Foreign gourmets do not like jellied meat. Many do not understand how such a dish can be eaten. Even more unflattering words - about okroshka. As foreigners think, this is all that is on the table, assembled and mixed in one pan.
Our compatriots, who happened to be visiting abroad, recall that there was no abundance of food on the table, although there was enough for everyone. Russia through the eyes of foreigners looks, of course, somewhat different than the Russians see it. The former sometimes consider it a sufficiently rich power, because all the feasts in our country are held on a grand scale, regardless of the reason and material wealth of the people who organize them. For some reason, it is very important for a Russian person to make the table dishes with all kinds of salads, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese and sausage slices, fried legs and other foods. Half of all this is not eaten and thrown away, to the amazement of foreign guests.
Those of the foreigners who traveled around Russia by train cannot understand why our people, as soon as the train starts, begin to get a bunch of products from their bags, as if they want to eat on the road for the rest of their lives.
Russians and friendliness
Almost all foreign guests remember with kind words our sincere Russian hospitality. Some of the foreigners surveyed traveled to Russia by hitchhiking, asking to stay with ordinary residents, rather than staying in hotels. They all tell what a wonderful reception they were given, how they put a lot of products on the table, put them to bed in a clean bed, and even specially heated the bathhouse. The next morning, these random people became best friends for the foreign guest.
However, in general, all Russians are called gloomy by Russians and believe that our harsh climate is responsible for this. They say that in our subway, in the store, just on the street it is very rare to see smiling men, women, youth, old people. The situation changes dramatically when you turn to Russian people, for example, asking how to find a way. The gloom immediately disappears, instead a sincere desire to help appears.
Russians and business
What tourists see our country is approximately clear. And what do foreigners who live and work here think about Russia? The Chinese believe that we have very strict rules, decent salaries, high prices and a strong-willed president. They call Putin a wonderful ruler, almost like their Xi Jinping.
Europeans and Americans, working with us as managers or leading specialists, believe that in Russia salaries are below average and prices are prohibitive, even for goods that should be cheap, such as gasoline (we have many oil wells).
Regarding attitudes toward work, the opinions of foreigners about Russia and Russians diverge. Foreign experts are surprised by the unwillingness of our managers or managers to go beyond the scope of job descriptions, even if it can bring profit to the company.
If we are talking about performers, foreigners, especially the Japanese, they are surprised by their indifference to the prosperity of the common cause, endless smoke breaks, leaving work strictly on call. The Japanese have a different attitude to work. They always come to work a little earlier, get ready for work, and after the shift remain to take away their workplace, and consider this the norm.
It is also surprising for foreigners that the Russians solve many important issues “by pull”, and they like to celebrate any, even minor success, widely.
Russian cities and provinces
It is difficult to say how many foreigners in Russia live permanently or long enough. Statistics call the figure 100, 000 people. But it does not take into account those who are here illegally and are not registered anywhere. Now foreigners are considered not only Americans or Africans, but also Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks who were once their own. Representatives of these post-Soviet countries, tens of thousands of come to us in search of work. Basically, they settle in large cities, where it is much easier to get settled. All that interests them in Russia is the opportunity to make good money.
Previously, there was a training of foreigners in Russia. It was held only in the capital and several major cities. Now this case has unfolded on a large scale. We are going to study not only in state, but also in private universities, and in addition, groups that study only the Russian language come. Students like life in Russia in any of its cities, because youth is able to see only the good in everything.
Tourists who come to us for completely different purposes, clearly notice the difference between Russian centers and provinces. They always note that beauty, cleanliness, normal roads, well-dressed residents are present only in large cities. The farther from them, the worse the roads, easier at home, poorer people. There are no such differences abroad. There life in the village is practically no worse than urban. Perhaps that is why they all who can afford it, try to settle in the suburbs, and we, on the contrary, seek to leave the village to the city.
