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Author Topic: What makes the FSU so interesting?  (Read 437382 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1025 on: February 27, 2015, 09:15:21 AM »
Menduza quiz height=214

We must admit that the name is quite catchy, "Lets Put Russia In Its Place" will evoke emotions to be sure. Relax, it is just a quiz to test your knowledge about how Russia ranks as compared with other nations around the world.

Created by the Menduza Project, this quiz is about the important stuff: who drinks the most beer, who watches the most television, etc. Actually, it is quite entertaining. For the record, your esteemed Mendeleyev Journal editors scored a mediocre 8 out of 12. Not bad, but then again, not that great either.

So, click this link to try it for yourself!
« Last Edit: February 27, 2015, 09:19:12 AM by mendeleyev »
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Offline Brasscasing

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1026 on: February 27, 2015, 09:24:53 AM »
9/12. Got the potato, cable and tv questions wrong. >:(

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Online Faux Pas

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1027 on: February 27, 2015, 09:51:42 AM »
I only got 6 of 12 but I thought several were misleading

Offline Larry1

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1028 on: February 27, 2015, 09:59:01 AM »
I only got 6 of 12 but I thought several were misleading

That was my score also. No better than answering randomly.

Here's another quiz: http://www.theguardian.com/world/quiz/2015/feb/27/how-much-do-you-know-about-russians-quiz

I didn't do very well on it either:

Quote
Your results

4 out of a possible 11

Oh dear, looks like you can't tell your pelmeni from your pirozhki. Time to brush up

Offline Brasscasing

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1029 on: February 27, 2015, 10:05:25 AM »
Your results

2 out of a possible 11


Oh dear, looks like you can't tell your pelmeni from your pirozhki. Time to brush up

Bummer.  :(

Brass
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Offline AC

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1030 on: February 27, 2015, 10:10:35 AM »
6 out of 12.  Interesting quiz.

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1031 on: February 27, 2015, 10:59:29 AM »
That was my score also. No better than answering randomly.

Here's another quiz: http://www.theguardian.com/world/quiz/2015/feb/27/how-much-do-you-know-about-russians-quiz

I didn't do very well on it either:

I did a lot better on that one although admittingly, I really did not have a clue on half of them and guessed. Multiple choice of attitudes is pretty subjective



Your results

9 out of a possible 11

    Wow, you really know your Volgograd from your Vladivostok


Offline Anotherkiwi

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1032 on: March 01, 2015, 02:05:51 AM »
7 out of 12 on the first one; 5 out of 11 on the second.

I can only take solace from the fact that the average score on the Guardian quiz is a miserable three!

Offline jone

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1033 on: March 01, 2015, 03:00:27 PM »
Mine were 8 and 4.  But I was simply guessing on the second test.  I had no idea with most questions. 
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Offline Gator

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1034 on: March 01, 2015, 05:15:02 PM »
My scores were low as in very low.  I based it on the my conversations with the 50-70 Russians who have visited our home plus my many trips to Russia.  Clearly I am not observant, the Russians I know are not mainstream, and I am a bad guesser.      ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Offline BillyB

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1035 on: March 01, 2015, 07:32:44 PM »
My scores were low as in very low. 



Some guys are experts on Russia and the language, other guys are experts with Russian women. If I had to pick and choose, I prefer the latter.
Fund the audits, spread the word and educate people, write your politicians and other elected officials. Stay active in the fight to save our country. Over 220 generals and admirals say we are in a fight for our survival like no other time since 1776.

Online Faux Pas

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1036 on: March 04, 2015, 09:09:35 AM »

Some guys are experts on Russia and the language, other guys are experts with Russian women. If I had to pick and choose, I prefer the latter.

And some of us are experts on all of them. I take it, you don't test very well?  ;D

Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1037 on: April 22, 2015, 12:05:29 PM »
This is funny: a guy in the USA offers Russian rubles to cashiers at American drive-thru locations. While I am sure that he has broken several laws, it is humorous!


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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1038 on: April 22, 2015, 12:14:53 PM »
Obviously, the exchange rate has changed dramaticly since 2013, but the knowledge of Russian bills and coins is an important part of travel to Russia.








Now, lets go spend some:



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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1039 on: May 30, 2015, 09:16:38 AM »
To a great extent, even today, the maternity hospital experience is very different in much of the FSU than what most Western readers have experienced. Think back to the 1960s and perhaps then it was closer to the normal maternity routine to which most FSU ladies are accustomed. The modernization of facilities, birthing rooms and the equipment may be upgraded, but the general mentality has not, yet. But, there are signs that it is changing, albeit slowly.

Many FSU folk think it a tad odd for a man to be present at the birth of his baby. While that attitude is gradually changing, there is still the routine for the expectant mother to be checked into a maternity hospital, the midwives and nurses facilitate the birth, after the birth it is the nursing staff who give most of the care to the newborn, and the father arrives afterward on the day when mother and baby are released to go home.

The fathers generally arrive to much fanfare and it is common for them to arrive with flowers for the mother, flowers and/or chocolates for the staff, a toy for the child, and today much of that is captured on a video camera by family members to become part of the family's memory collection.

My prediction is that the trend toward more Western style approaches to birthgiving will continue, and so it is helpful to learn now how your lady likely gave birth to children she brings into your relationship. It is also helpful for you to understand her expectations, and how her experience of delivering a baby in the West could possibly be another point of culture shock in her adjustment process.

Here is a popular TV series, and while the programme is not really about maternity hospitals, the opening episode features the experience by two different couples and thus provides a glimpse into the experience:




One of the most interesting changes to the birth experience in the FSU is the introduction of the idea for the father to be present during much of the process:




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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1040 on: May 30, 2015, 10:37:33 PM »
Sure to generate controversy, angst, denials, denunciations, and good ole fashioned hate mail, here is a list of 25 things that the group "List 25" believe to be true about Russia. Some strike me as spot on, others, well let the debate begin.  :D

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Offline calmissile

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1041 on: May 31, 2015, 12:36:25 AM »
Mendy,  Thank you for posting the video.  I started watching it and then ran to get Larissa to watch it with me.  You have us hooked!   LOL

Please post the following episodes.  It is far more interesting than US programs.  The English subtitles allow us both to enjoy the film.  It also allows me to understand the more of the FSU culture.

Also, please tell me if it is common for FSUW to talk constantly during a move when you are trying to listen and read sub-titles?   ;D

Doug (Calmissile)

Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1042 on: May 31, 2015, 12:39:26 AM »
Quote
please tell me if it is common for FSUW to talk constantly

Yes.
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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1043 on: May 31, 2015, 12:43:52 AM »
How would you feel if your 13 year old daughter hoped to be a model? What if one of her few chances in life to break out of the cycle of poverty was to stand in front of agents in nothing more than her bra and panties?

Tough decisions, and while sad, at the same time I found myself cheering for the girls to succeed. I think that you will appreciate this special on Siberia's teen modeling factories by the BBC's Reggie Yates.


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Offline calmissile

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1044 on: May 31, 2015, 01:50:00 AM »
Great video.  It does create a lot of mixed emotions about whether to allow your child to get involved in the 'modeling industry'.

Thanks for posting, Mendy.  You are an asset to our forum that many of us hope you will not leave again.  You are appreciated much more than what is expressed in postings!

Doug (Calmissile)

Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1045 on: June 09, 2015, 01:09:23 AM »
Thanks, Doug. I have not left, but have not been able to post much lately due to swimming, and wrestling, with the Russian alligators.
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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1046 on: June 09, 2015, 12:28:09 PM »
Mrs. M had a birthday last week (25 for yet another year!) and we celebrated at home with about 25 +/- guests. It was a cool celebration and my gift to her was a new camera, along with a tripod, various accessories, and a selfie stick. Neither she nor I are into the "selfie" generation, however those are great for extending reach of a camera. Her version has a 360 degree swivel action, which I suppose many do, and that makes it even more versatile.

As you can imagine, those selfie sticks have become very popular in Russia. That being said, there are dangers to selfie sticks as this funny video illustrates:





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Offline mendeleyev

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1047 on: July 22, 2015, 12:14:00 PM »
From the Mendeleyev Journal:

Despite all the changes, some things remain the same in Russia. A few years ago the term "democracy" was amended to "managed democracy," the government's way of sugar-coating the scrapping of direct elections for regional leaders. Today, the term "democracy" is considered as a four-letter word.

While capitalism, still very much the wild West style, rumbles on for those at the top, the country continues to find itself with one foot in the old ideology of Marxism-Leninism, and the other foot in the race to make more and more money for those with the right political connections.

Despite all the talk of change, the grand statue of Karl Marx remains standing across from the Bolshoi Theatre, near the Teatralnaya Plaza and Metro station, and opposite the Plaza of the Revolution.


Karl Marx monument, Moscow. height=440
(Click on the photo for a close-up of the birds.)

While this monument to Marx has stood at this location since 29 October 1961, the first monument to the discredited theorist was unveiled by Vladimir Lenin on 7 November 1918, commemorating the first anniversary of October Revolution. Lenin's "Program of monumental propaganda" was touted to replace statues from the Tsarist era.

The original statue was nearby, on Revolution Square, which had just been renamed from its former title of Resurrection Square. The first monument featured Marx and Engels together, and due to the design quickly led locals to dub it "Two in a Bathtub."  That statue, made of plaster of Paris, collapsed a year later, and so a new marble stone was set at the present location to show where a new monument would be constructed.

Communism wasn't exactly the economic engine that Marx had prophesied, and so construction languished--for decades. The single marble stone at the new site read: "First stone of the monument to the great chieftain and teacher of the world proletariat." It would be in 1957, long after Lenin's death, before construction fully resumed. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced a competition to complete the monument, and the job was awarded to Lev Kerbel, a favoured Soviet realism sculptor.

In 2009, officials with Moscow’s Committee for Monumental Arts proposed that the monument be removed from such a prominent spot in the centre of the city. The committee argued that the founder of communism had no place in Moscow since he had never visited during his lifetime. Others have suggested that a life size statue of Vladimir Putin would be more appropriate at that site, but at least for now that idea has been tabled. Engineers say that the monument is one of the heaviest in Moscow, and therefore very difficult to move.

On the statue is an inscription reading: “Proletariat of all countries, solidarity!” At least some of the proletariat, in the form of local birds, visit the spot daily and are clearly united by showing their respect in the form of droppings on his head. It seems that the only human workers who remain united are the city maintenance crews who are dispatched to clean the statue daily.

Given the substance of his ideas, perhaps it would be just as well to allow the bird poop to accumulate.

(Photo courtesy of the Mendeleyev Journal)
« Last Edit: July 22, 2015, 12:19:59 PM by mendeleyev »
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Offline Boethius

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1048 on: July 22, 2015, 03:31:49 PM »
I have seen that monument.  I didn't lay flowers. :)  However, I think some of Marx's economic theories have proven accurate, though I disagree with his conclusions.
After the fall of communism, the biggest mistake Boris Yeltsin's regime made was not to disband the KGB altogether. Instead it changed its name to the FSB and, to many observers, morphed into a gangster organisation, eventually headed by master criminal Vladimir Putin. - Gerard Batten

Offline Larry1

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What makes the FSU so interesting?
« Reply #1049 on: July 22, 2015, 04:04:45 PM »
I have seen that monument.  I didn't lay flowers. :)  However, I think some of Marx's economic theories have proven accurate, though I disagree with his conclusions.

That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about Marxism, from British historian Niall Ferguson, who is now teaching at Harvard: "Something that's seldom appreciated about me is that I am in sympathy with a great deal of what Marx wrote, except that I'm on the side of the bourgeoisie."

 

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