You may have watched several "So you think you can dance"-like reality shows. But wait to see the opening dance of this Russian "DANCE" project:
Showing posts with label stereotypes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stereotypes. Show all posts
Russian stereotypes of IT employees (with cute pictures)
Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/31138923/IT-characters
What do Russians and Italians have in common?
Today I've found a nice post in my Facebook feed and ran here to share with you.
"It’s been nearly two months since I moved to Italy. And in these two months I’ve learned that Italians and Russians have much more in common than it could possibly make sense, both geographically and historically. The things I’m about to write are coming from a generalization of the worst kind - the one based on nationality, but I hope I manage to get through this minefield without offending anyone or falling into superficial labeling.
So. What do Russians and Italians have in common?
Sarcasm
This was a wonderful discovery that immediately made me feel at home. Italians are great at sarcasm and they use it in pretty much the same way Russians do. It’s not the English manner of: “Let me attempt to humiliate you as subtly as I possibly can, so that you don’t have any valid reason to punch me in the face”, it’s a violent, cheerful irony targeted at everyone and everything that happens to be in sight. Italians use sarcasm as a way of bonding, and the closer you become with someone, the harsher it gets. Tough love here.
Caring
If you look hungry - you will be fed. If you look upset - you won’t be left alone until you seem cheered up. If your house is invaded by aliens, there will be an uncle of a friend of a brother who once worked at disinfestation services and is ready to help: he is coming tomorrow at 7 a.m., stop arguing and get your protection suit ready. Caring is part of both the Russian and Italian DNA, and if someone likes you, he doesn’t need an invitation to start solving your problems. It’s a great thing when you need help and don’t know how to ask, but can be confusing if you are into figuring things out on your own.
Throwing money to the wind (for noble reasons)
Buying dinner for 10 people, half of whom you will never meet again? Check. Lending a third of your lifetime savings to a friend who happened to be in a terrible need of a new motorcycle? Check. Counting cents to the next salary? Check. Russians do it, Italians do it better. I thought I was used to the generosity that almost borders on a proud detestation of having money, but even I had to adjust my meter to the Italian scale.
Expensive taste
Speaking of wasting money. Moscow and Milan are surely the two capitals of designer bags. One time I decided to count all the purses that cost over a thousand euros while going home by tram. Fourteen. And there could not have been more than twenty women on the tram. I bet half of those bags are good fakes, indistinguishable from the originals until you start examining them closely, but still - it means that 1/3 of all women on the tram own a real designer bag.
Loving your country, but not liking it
This is a dangerous topic, but it seems that both Italians and Russians are used to keeping detailed lists of everything that’s wrong with their motherland. People here can talk about the beauty of Italy for hours – they are proud of it in the same way one is proud of his local football team – but many of those with whom I shared more than one bottle of wine have plans of leaving Italy at some point.
Inventiveness
Outsmarting the system for the pure joy of it is a national sport both for Italians and Russians. If there’s any rule worth breaking - it will be broken, graciously.
Love of tragedy
If you’re going to be stuck with a project late at night, make sure all the seven floors of your office know how bad it all is, how desperate you are, how deep the boss will bury your corpse if you fail to deliver. And then, when you happen to sell that line: “Buy one - get one free”, you can celebrate gloriously, because you’ve just prevented the biggest catastrophe on Earth. I’m exaggerating shamelessly, of course, but, oh, it feels like home.
Low boiling point
If an Italian is unhappy about something - you will know it; if he is delighted - you will quickly be informed. Same goes for Russians. No poker faces needed – you won’t get confused deciphering the mood of those around you. They will throw it all in your face long before you've even detected anything was wrong, and it might as well break your nose.
Passion
The wild prowess that, without a proper object, brings chaos and starts fights. You will see this glimpse of happy anger in the eyes of a Russian, as he drives his car 150 km/h into a snowstorm. You will find the same in the eyes of an Italian - even as he parks his Vespa in a quiet street. It takes one to know one".
Source: https://www.facebook.com/polina.zabrodskaya/posts/10204779617802128
"It’s been nearly two months since I moved to Italy. And in these two months I’ve learned that Italians and Russians have much more in common than it could possibly make sense, both geographically and historically. The things I’m about to write are coming from a generalization of the worst kind - the one based on nationality, but I hope I manage to get through this minefield without offending anyone or falling into superficial labeling.
So. What do Russians and Italians have in common?
Sarcasm
This was a wonderful discovery that immediately made me feel at home. Italians are great at sarcasm and they use it in pretty much the same way Russians do. It’s not the English manner of: “Let me attempt to humiliate you as subtly as I possibly can, so that you don’t have any valid reason to punch me in the face”, it’s a violent, cheerful irony targeted at everyone and everything that happens to be in sight. Italians use sarcasm as a way of bonding, and the closer you become with someone, the harsher it gets. Tough love here.
Caring
If you look hungry - you will be fed. If you look upset - you won’t be left alone until you seem cheered up. If your house is invaded by aliens, there will be an uncle of a friend of a brother who once worked at disinfestation services and is ready to help: he is coming tomorrow at 7 a.m., stop arguing and get your protection suit ready. Caring is part of both the Russian and Italian DNA, and if someone likes you, he doesn’t need an invitation to start solving your problems. It’s a great thing when you need help and don’t know how to ask, but can be confusing if you are into figuring things out on your own.
Throwing money to the wind (for noble reasons)
Buying dinner for 10 people, half of whom you will never meet again? Check. Lending a third of your lifetime savings to a friend who happened to be in a terrible need of a new motorcycle? Check. Counting cents to the next salary? Check. Russians do it, Italians do it better. I thought I was used to the generosity that almost borders on a proud detestation of having money, but even I had to adjust my meter to the Italian scale.
Expensive taste
Speaking of wasting money. Moscow and Milan are surely the two capitals of designer bags. One time I decided to count all the purses that cost over a thousand euros while going home by tram. Fourteen. And there could not have been more than twenty women on the tram. I bet half of those bags are good fakes, indistinguishable from the originals until you start examining them closely, but still - it means that 1/3 of all women on the tram own a real designer bag.
Loving your country, but not liking it
This is a dangerous topic, but it seems that both Italians and Russians are used to keeping detailed lists of everything that’s wrong with their motherland. People here can talk about the beauty of Italy for hours – they are proud of it in the same way one is proud of his local football team – but many of those with whom I shared more than one bottle of wine have plans of leaving Italy at some point.
Inventiveness
Outsmarting the system for the pure joy of it is a national sport both for Italians and Russians. If there’s any rule worth breaking - it will be broken, graciously.
Love of tragedy
If you’re going to be stuck with a project late at night, make sure all the seven floors of your office know how bad it all is, how desperate you are, how deep the boss will bury your corpse if you fail to deliver. And then, when you happen to sell that line: “Buy one - get one free”, you can celebrate gloriously, because you’ve just prevented the biggest catastrophe on Earth. I’m exaggerating shamelessly, of course, but, oh, it feels like home.
Low boiling point
If an Italian is unhappy about something - you will know it; if he is delighted - you will quickly be informed. Same goes for Russians. No poker faces needed – you won’t get confused deciphering the mood of those around you. They will throw it all in your face long before you've even detected anything was wrong, and it might as well break your nose.
Passion
The wild prowess that, without a proper object, brings chaos and starts fights. You will see this glimpse of happy anger in the eyes of a Russian, as he drives his car 150 km/h into a snowstorm. You will find the same in the eyes of an Italian - even as he parks his Vespa in a quiet street. It takes one to know one".
Source: https://www.facebook.com/polina.zabrodskaya/posts/10204779617802128
Are there really many Lenin statues in Russia?
Yes sure. Many have been removed but still there are a lot.
First, nearly every city and town and village has its Lenin street or Lenin avenue or Lenin square or all three. On the Lenin square there must have been a certain monument. If the street have been renamed, it would be Center st. in most cases (Tsentral'naya).
Second, as many factories had Lenin statues they still do. These Lenins are smaller and cuter.
Third, there are a lot of mosaics in the underground. Here you see the mosaic picture in the hall of "Biblioteka imeni Lenina" ("The library named by Lenin") underground station in Moscow.
This is small bust of Lenin which is likely to see in many Russian apartments because they were very popular in Soviet times and people do not through them out. They were made from cast iron and are quite heavy. Some use them as paperweight.The enigma of borsch
Another food stereotype I want to talk about is enigmatic BORSCH - the beetroot (and other vegetables-containing) soup. Do we really love it? Do we think it's tourist food? Do we eat it hot or cold? With sour cream, really?
The first thought I'd like to share is similar to the name of a roller coaster: in Russia we call it "American mountains", in Spain they call it "Montaña rusa" (Italy and France do the same: Montagne russe, Montagnes russes). The thing with borsch is that every foreigner thinks it's Russian cuisine and Russians know it's Ukrainian one.
There is one type of this soup which is called "Moscow borsch" and which is thin (and typical Ukrainian "real borsch" is very thick, as people say, "the spoon should stay firmly" in the plate full of vegetables and meat slices). Sure we like typical borsch to be hot and it's great way to warm oneself up in the winter time (which can last up to 6 months in nothern and eastern parts of the country).
Anyway, borsch and schi are simple and well-known Russian everyday food. A lot of people add sour cream to make the taste more smooth, but I do not like it. There are another summer type of this soup: "cold borsch", it's more violet and contains vinegar. I do not like it.
An example of "Moscow borsch" for a business lunch with a slice of black bread:
The first thought I'd like to share is similar to the name of a roller coaster: in Russia we call it "American mountains", in Spain they call it "Montaña rusa" (Italy and France do the same: Montagne russe, Montagnes russes). The thing with borsch is that every foreigner thinks it's Russian cuisine and Russians know it's Ukrainian one.
There is one type of this soup which is called "Moscow borsch" and which is thin (and typical Ukrainian "real borsch" is very thick, as people say, "the spoon should stay firmly" in the plate full of vegetables and meat slices). Sure we like typical borsch to be hot and it's great way to warm oneself up in the winter time (which can last up to 6 months in nothern and eastern parts of the country).
Anyway, borsch and schi are simple and well-known Russian everyday food. A lot of people add sour cream to make the taste more smooth, but I do not like it. There are another summer type of this soup: "cold borsch", it's more violet and contains vinegar. I do not like it.
An example of "Moscow borsch" for a business lunch with a slice of black bread:
Do Russians really eat caviar?
Well, from time to time I get questions about Russian food: what is real and what is "tourist trap" among the dinner preferences. I think I'll make a set of posts on that topic, starting with caviar issue.
We know two main types of caviar, or salt-cured fish-eggs: red and black. Red can be taken from salmon and black from sturgeon. Red is affordable (about 300-500 RUR for the small can) and black is something luxurious (3000-8000 RUR). There are different ways to produce cheap and fake caviar and every Russian can tell you a story when he or she bought a can of colored gelatin for a song thinking in a first place it was a good bargain.
To have caviar at the refrigerator in Russia means you have little feast or you are quite rich. Although red caviar is not very expensive, only few people think of buying it without any reason (not if the New Year was coming or wedding day of your son or anything else which is very exciting). My mom, for example, started to buy it from time to time and now she feels herself as a part of the royal family having a sandwich with red caviar in the morning (remember, sandwiches in Russia do not have two slices of bread, only one - because the second one on the top could hurt the caviar eggs).
This Instagram photo was made few years ago on the 7th March at my work. As you know, we have two very sexist holidays which are also bank holidays: Women Day on 8th of March and Men Day on 23th of February. People of other gender prepare a little feast for their colleagues (or schoolmates).
In this case, our boys got us the big can of caviar to make us feel as princesses :)
We know two main types of caviar, or salt-cured fish-eggs: red and black. Red can be taken from salmon and black from sturgeon. Red is affordable (about 300-500 RUR for the small can) and black is something luxurious (3000-8000 RUR). There are different ways to produce cheap and fake caviar and every Russian can tell you a story when he or she bought a can of colored gelatin for a song thinking in a first place it was a good bargain.
To have caviar at the refrigerator in Russia means you have little feast or you are quite rich. Although red caviar is not very expensive, only few people think of buying it without any reason (not if the New Year was coming or wedding day of your son or anything else which is very exciting). My mom, for example, started to buy it from time to time and now she feels herself as a part of the royal family having a sandwich with red caviar in the morning (remember, sandwiches in Russia do not have two slices of bread, only one - because the second one on the top could hurt the caviar eggs).
In this case, our boys got us the big can of caviar to make us feel as princesses :)
Touch Russia
I want to write a line dedicated to a video project I've seen months ago and liked a lot.
It's called Touch Russia:
(or you can go to official page at Vimeo to watch it there)
It's called Touch Russia:
(or you can go to official page at Vimeo to watch it there)
Long and sad faces of Russians
I have bought and am currently reading a book in English about Russia and Russians. If it will remain as nice as in the beginning I will surely recommend it here later but now I wanna mention an interesting answer I found there.
The question is, why Russians always walk down the street or ride the public transport with such a serious and sad face. Nor Americans nor Europeans can understand that.
The answer or at least the attempt to find it is in the common Russian saying. Here you are.
"The laughter without reason is the sign of stupidity".
Hush! We try to seem clever ;)
The question is, why Russians always walk down the street or ride the public transport with such a serious and sad face. Nor Americans nor Europeans can understand that.
The answer or at least the attempt to find it is in the common Russian saying. Here you are.
"The laughter without reason is the sign of stupidity".
Hush! We try to seem clever ;)
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