Blacks in Russia

[mendeleyev]

Black people have extra challenges when living in Russia, but that doesn't mean that success stories are non-existent. I'll put out this information and allow each member to evaluate the evidence.

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[Chicagoguy]

Do they still have a Patrice Lamumba University there ?  Please excuse my spelling.

[mendeleyev]

Yes they do, although these days the working name for the school is the original, the People's Friendship University of Russia. Patrice Lumumba Universityremains the official name, but it is more often referred to as PFUR in English or RUDN representing the Russian title.http://www.rudn.ru/en_new/

[Faux Pas]

Mendy
My visit to Russia late this summer will be my eighth in the last 10 years and I have seen a black man exactly two times. Once on Nevsky in Petersburg and a couple of years later in the airport at Domodedovo. Granted most of my time is spent in Siberia where the chances are even slimmer than that.

[SANDRO43]

Once a rarity, there are now a lot of black girls on FSU hookers' sites , particularly those based in Moscow. See for instance http://www.rusdosug.com/, where a search for Ethnic: african produces 300+ out of some 4,800, i.e. 6%.

[Shadow]

It would be a good idea to place some of the US millenial in Russia for a few months. They might consider their society much less racist and sexist after experiencing one where people do not use politically correct expression.
One of our friends is a "Russian black man" from the Armenian region. He would pass for a black person in the US without problems. As for racism, he did not experience it any more or less as others from the Caucasus area within Moscow.

[mendeleyev]

It would be a good idea to place some of the US millenial in Russia for a few months. They might consider their society much less racist and sexist after experiencing one where people do not use politically correct expression.

Shadow, you are so very right about that.

I often shop for various things at a large indoor mall consisting of almost 200 small business kiosks packed in row after row and hall after hall. I like it for several reasons: there is an Uzbek cafe inside that serves some of the best goat stew and lamb skewers I've ever eaten, clothing is abundant from shoes to hats to coats, etc, and electronic accessories are relatively cheap. It is at Metro Dubrovka and just one Metro stop from the Mendeleyev Journal office/studio.

Stepping inside is like entering one of the "Stans" and I do not mind that. Others however, including older family members scold me because supposedly it isn't safe. Frankly, the only feature I don't find to be "safe" are the Asian style toilet stalls with only a hole in the concrete without seats. I try to save the functions that require sitting for a McDonalds, Coffee-Haus, or My-My cafe, etc. But as to the shopping I get good deals, the merchants never disrespect me just because I have white skin, and I enjoy the atmosphere. A few years ago police raids to find illegal workers were common, but these days the hired police security seem to be of Caucasian stock and I can't remember when there was an issue that made me concerned.

These days it seems that most of the police raids on illegal workers are done at or near the train stations. That is like shooting fish in a barrel as there are always new groups arriving for work, or going home to visit family. I understand that there are legitimate concerns over undocumented labour, but the way the police treat them is with a total lack of respect, as if somehow they were subhuman. That is sad. Russian police seem to have a lot to learn about enforcing laws with professional methods when it comes to those with darker skin.