Hi All,
I hope this is well received - as I feel I might be able to contribute a bit to other newbies here...
The reason - well, I traveled to Latvia and Russia for several years and then stopped. Recently, I decided to give it another try... The reason(s) I explained elsewhere... Now, I'm a 'newbie' again - but not so much a newbie... - and I feel I might have a few observations to share... Perhaps they will make it a bit easier for persons starting on this 'adventure/journey'...
In military service in the US - I got to see several different countries - and the people and the culture of those countries interested me. So, over time - I started to figure out... that if I wanted to understand the people - I had to take a look at the culture and environment the people existed in... If I could understand the environment/culture - the people and their actions were much easier to corelate and understand...
So, the information I'm giving here - is 'dated' (the last time I was in Russia was in 2003/2004)... and also, my personal observations - so, if something has changed - perhaps someone will be kind enough to point out the differences now. Also, please... let's not get into a 'p*ssing contest' about someone else's thoughts... You're welcome to chime in - but let's keep it civil and not an argument ;-)
So, to start...
What struck me most about Russia (I'll deal mostly with Russia - as it seems not much is going on here with Latvia)... - was how things were a lot like the US - but wildly different... but... not so different... This is a tough one to start on.
About the people. Russians remind me more of Americans - than any other country I've gone to... This is just a generality. They are proud... ambitious... and very much 'family oriented'. Most Russians are very well educated... - and yet, there is almost a medieval undercurrent. Hmmm... what do I mean by that.
I met some wonderfully well educated ladies and men when I was there - yet, there were many, many little superstitions. Don't whistle in the home... Don't do anything across a doorstep... (shake hands - accept a delivery - you step out - or the person arriving steps in)... and the list goes on. If someone owes you a debt - they can't refuse to pay on New Year's Day... (or New Year's Eve - I never got that fully figured out)... Just lots of little things like that.
Am I saying it's bad? NO - NOT AT ALL!... just different. ;-)
What I consider normal here in the USA - well, if you want to consider the place most like a Russian city - think of Manhattan Island. The key is population density! I spent most of my time in two places - the majority in Yoshkar-Ola (a city in the Mari-El province - population over 100,000 - and this is considered a 'small city') Cars are (or should I say 'were' rare) - public transportation or taxis or foot were the main forms of travel... walking was the most common - almost everyone lives in apartment type buildings... and they come in 5, 7, 9, etc... stories... 5 stories or less - usually no elevator! - and when I was there - elevators were really 'iffy'! They didn't work more often than they did... ;-)
Apartments - there'll be a *postage-stamp* kitchen... very small refrigerator... and one bathroom… and one, two, or more 'general rooms'... Every sofa/couch is a sleeper sofa... because in this apartment will be a family - and quite possibly an extended family. Grandmother, mother, father, kids... and rooms are multi-purpose. Sleeping at night - living during the day. NOTE: I'm not saying this is good or bad - just different. Windows are small - think of how cold it gets there - and you'll understand... Remember - the most of Russia is about as far north as Canada... and the south is about as far north as the northern tier of states in the USA...
I never really saw a 'day-care' in Russia - family looks after the kids. Older children work - and live at home with mom and dad... sometimes even after they marry. It's just different - driven by the economy, etc...
So, think about it - you're walking everywhere pretty much... or you're riding a bus - so, how many groceries are you going to take home at a time? When you go to the shops - they usually charge for the bags to carry out what you purchase... So, if you don't have a plastic bag stuck in a pocket - they KNOW you're not 'local'... ;-) One thing about all that walking - it makes for some very, very lovely legs ;-)
An example - when I was in Latvia meeting Ineta - the town she lived in was a 'resort' for Russians (Jurmala - close to Riga)... Ineta was a translator and so, we tood a Russian tour to the oldest Christian 'castle' ruins in Latvia... big bus... everybody speaking Russian - it was an archelogical site - digging, etc... - on the way back from there - the bus stopped at an overlook of a couple of rivers that were important for some reason or other - no English signs, so I was clueless... - and we had to walk through a forest to get to the overlook... As we were walking... someone hollered something - (I found out later it was "MUSHROOMS!")... and it was like... everybody whipped out plastic bags - and they were off on a mushroom hunt! It was totally amazing! Forget the tour - they were all chattering and comparing what they had found! So, even on a holiday - people had their plastic bags... I'm not making fun or saying anything negative... It just amazed me... #1 - I would be absolutely afraid of doing it - because I personally have absolutely no clue - how to identify an edible mushroom if it isn't on the rack in a grocery store! ;-)
I don't think I ever walked on a street around living areas - where it was more than 50 meters to a shop... and there were different shops - one canned goods... another butcher shop... another bake shop... like I said... just different...
The busses are crowded at rush hours... so, shopping somewhere else and trying to get home with 'dinner' - would be a real pain. Word to the wise - When you're taking a taxi - keep my mouth shut and let the lady handle talking to the driver... It's much less expensive! ;-)
Now distances are in metric... and temperatures are in Celcius... - and the temps still befuddle me. I will tell you that I discovered - when you say -40 - there's no need to specify Farhenheit or Celcius... that's where the two scales meet! - and for a man living in the Houston, TX area... it's still just pretty darn cold!... sorta...
Another adventure waiting for you - the Cyrllic alphabet... :-) I'll never forget - riding the train back to Moscow - it had stopped and I was looking at another train and one car had the word "PECTOPAH" on the side... I felt like I had just conquered climbing Mount Everest when I sounded it out and it was "RESTORAN" (restaurant) - it was a dining car!!!!
Hmmmm... drinking... (alcohol) - now that's an interesting subject... When I met a lady named Luda - one of the things she stated was that she wanted a man "who didn't drink"... So, when you go to visit someone - or they come to visit you - one of the first things that comes out is a bottle of vodka... and fruit juice... - then there are 'toasts'... So, to keep from drinking - I kept saying that I had stomach problems with drinking... - yet, even at that - I had enough to feel a buzz... and I'm not what one would call a tee-totaler... So, the next day I apologized to Luda - for drinking so much... She laughed... and said... "Carl, you don't drink at all!"... which confused me. I understood better when I returned to the USA - I worked at NASA JSC and we had Russians working the Space Station and I mentioned this to a Russian I worked with. The lady looked at me and said... "Carl, to a Russian lady you don't drink... You see - a Russian man might go out and drink a couple of bottles of vodka... and still be able to walk home, beat the wife, and tear up the house!" Is this right or wrong... I don't know - it's just that - the Russian perception of drinking is very different from what I think... ;-)
Another example that shows a bit about drinking - and also a bit about the Russian family... like who really 'rules the roost'... Another lady named Iraida took me to Kungur to meet her family for New Year's... (this is their BIG holiday)... Her father, mother, etc... Kungur is about 100 klicks SSE of Perm...
When we hit the door - and the introductions were done - mother was in the kitchen and we men and teenager boys in the living room... - out came the Vodka... - Now Iraida's father was a veteran of Stalingrad... and he was quite a man! ;-) To prepare you further - I smoke - and many Russian flats have a balcony - call it protruding a couple of feet from the wall - and maybe 2 or 3 meters wide (from side to side of the room it joins)... That's where I took my smoke breaks...
So, out came the vodka... - I didn't know it - however, mother kept it hidden in the flat... So, we started... the first... then the father says... a man cannot stand on 1 leg... and the next was poured and drank... then something was toasted about needing 3... - and then... 'a table needs 4 legs'... and so on...
Well, about #4... mother came into the room... and my goodness - when she saw the vodka out... and father hoisting another to drink... her face changed... (have you ever heard the expression - of a person *clouding up and beginning to rain*?? as in major thunderstorm? ;-) )... Some voices got raised... and since I found my religion... in Vietnam... I'm a devout coward! - so, smoke break time for me... - and wonder of wonder... her father who didn't smoke - went to the balcony with me! ;-) LOL... Iraida told me - that I was protecting him... because I was a guest... ;-)
It reminded me of my mother and father - dad 'wore the pants'... mom 'ruled the roost' ;-)
Amazing people...
Now, something else to understand... here in America... there is an awful lot of talking and expecting that you have 'rights'... Forget this - it will just get you in trouble. There are 3 or 4 different types of police in Russia.. - and understand this - you HAVE NO RIGHTS... if you want to stay healty... Example: I mentioned Alexei Konychev elsewhere... well, he told me one time - never argue with the cops - it will just end badly. I was cruising around one night - and saw some cops talking to someone... Evidently - they thought they had rights... I kept my distance - and I think the person was Spanish or something - maybe French... I understand a bit of German so I know it wasn't that... - and after a bit - another cop or two showed up - and they beat the hell out of the guy... loaded him into a vehicle... and off they went. Word to the wise...
Personal experience... with customs...
Usually - I fly into Moscow - stay the night - and then ride the train to Yoshkar-Ola. On my first trip to see Iraida - I decided to fly to Kazan - and get a ride to Yoshkar-Ola from the Agency (about a 1 to 2 hour drive)... This was when Putin was arguing with the USA about missle defense... Big MISTAKE on my part...
I landed in Kazan - and the head of Customs/Passport Control there - denied me entry... All my paperwork was in order - but he had an *issue* - I was an American. The Agency driver and Iraida were there at the airport. So, I was carted off - in cuffs & leg irons - to a hotel which - in my wildest dreams I could never have imagined... it made the crappiest place anywhere else I've ever seen look like the Czar's palaces... No food (the driver got me some and brought it to me) - and the next day - I was loaded into van (handcuffs & leg irons)... and taken back to the airport and put on a flght back to Frankfurt (Lufthansa was my airline). The Lufhtansa agent apologized and explained that the Passport Control officer was just being a *dick*... - so, I flew back to Frankfurt that morning - went to Moscow that afternoon - and flew from Moscow to Kazan...
I did get my *pound of flesh* though... - When they took me back to the tarmac - after my baggage was loaded and they gave me my passport and papers at the steps to the plane... I asked the Lufthansa agent to translate to the Passport officer for me. "I like Russia - and when I am here I enjoy spending money and helping the local economy... So, what you have done is cost me about $1500 US Dollars that I am having to spend with the country that gave Russia the Great Patriotic War! Thank You." I then finished scampering up the steps and took my seat... The Luthansa agent came on board before we took off - and she came to my seat and said... "Thank You so much... When he realized what you said and what he had done - He puffed up and turned all kinds of angry colors!... and went screaming back into the airport!"... Evidently, he had pulled this crap before. ;-) When I got to Frankfurt - caught the flight to Moscow - got to the hotel - and caught a flight to Kazan the next morning... - on a domestic flight... A bit more about that in a moment...
I went into the airport in Kazan - and as I passed by the Passport control area - (outside of it as I was already admitted to the country) - I saw the official at his desk... smiled... and waved... and went on my way. ;-)
Now, another difference between Russians and Americans... I flew from Moscow to Kazan - business class... on something resembling a 727... (rear ramp steps)... When the time came to debark/unboard - I was so amazed... the business class passengers - got up, got our carry ons... and went to the exit through 'coach'... - and every single person in coach was sitting calmly in their seats - waiting until we had all gotten off. I was utterly amazed... thinking what it would have been like if this flight were in the USA... ;-)
So, this is just a little bit of what I realize and understand about Russia... If there is interest in more - I'll be glad to give those observations also...
Remember - the Russian people's customs and life-style fit the conditions there - so, don't just think it is *wrong* or *different* - if you think a little about it - you'll find that if you were there - you would probably live the same way! ;-)
So much to see - so much to understand - don't miss the Armory at the Kremlin - I saw Catherine the Great's bridal gown - Peter the Great's robes... The "Diamond Fund" - an 11 kilo platinum nugget - that a Siberian woman used to crush cabbage for soup... - a 22 kilo gold nugget... - Catherine the Great's crown... utterly amazing... Ivan the Terrible's throne... the sledge that Catherine the Great used going from St. Petersburg to Moscown...
And when you have a lady or some good friends - go to Russia for New Year's - there are no people on earth that can 'party' like the Russians... ;-) I remember Kungur - 3 o'clock in the morning - outdoor stage with a band playing - snow on the ground and all kinds of empty bottles - people dancing everywhere - some on the roofs of sheds around the plaza... at -40... Walking to the square to the Yolka tree and singing... talking... going visiting friends...
When I was living in New Mexico - a friend once told me - live in the 'high desert' for a year or two and you'll always go back... - and I paraphrase it this way - "Once you go to Russia for New Year's - and have friends there - you'll always hope to return!"... Well, I do ;-) and I'm only speaking for me.
So, I'll just say this in closing this little talk... If you're serious about bringing a lady to your country... DO NOT think that everything in your country is 'better' than in hers. It's just different... - and not always... better. ;-) There are many good things about Russia - as I guess it can be said there are many good things about almost everywhere... It is just - what one is used to. ;-)
I hope you enjoyed this and found it somewhat... informative... - and yes, admittedly - there is a lot I did NOT even talk about! ;-)
All the Best!,
Carl...
