Russia is the largest country in the world, and one of the most enigmatic, complex, and difficult countries to write about. Several stereotypical impressions of Russia are imprinted on our psyche – be it an unsmiling babushka in a thin, shabby coat and headscarf or a glamorous model swathed in furs; the echoing crunch of boots on parade in Red Square, or the feather light grace of ballerinas in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker; the gold Rolex of a nouveau riche, or the shining domes of the Sergiyev Posad Lavra. Everything in Russia is about contradictions, from Eurasian geographical position and extremes of climate to its changing economic regimes and conflicting modern value.

Climate

Russia encompasses all climate zones except the tropical. Most of the country has harsh continental climate, with a dramatic difference between summer and winter temperatures. The village of Oymyakon, in the autonomous Sakha Republic, for example, is one of the world’s coldest places, with an average winter temperature of -56,6ºF (-47ºC). A monument there marks the day it fell to -96,16ºF (-71,2ºC). Global warming might well change things: January 2007 was the first January on record in Moscow without snow.
Southern Russia has a subtropical climate, where year-round temperatures remain above 46ºF (approx. 8ºC), and summer temperatures range between 79ºF and 90ºF (26º and 32ºC), though occasional extreme heat waves might exceed 122ºF (50ºC).

Winter in Russia lasts much longer than in Europe, and there are only three or four summer months in which concentrated agricultural labour is possible.

“Bez tsaerya v golove” (“without a tsar in his head”) in a Russian saying about somebody who does not know what he is doing. Or rather, who does not listen to the tsar telling him what to do. In the nineteenth century even Russian liberals cited autocracy as one of the three foundations stones of the Russian state, together with spiritually and a common spirit. The tradition of a powerful leader, be it tsar or a president, is still strong in Russia today.

There is no direct equivalent of the word “privacy” in Russian. The notion is translated descriptively as “necessity of a private space” or as “solitude or seclusion”. The Russian communal way of living, reincarnated in the Soviet party cells and the work units of an industrial plant, is based on the idea of sacrificing individual aspirations for the sake of a common cause: building Communism, or winning the war.


Family Unit

The Russian attitude to children can be summed up in two “KS”: Kormit I kutat (feed and wrap up warm). Parents protect, sometimes overprotect their children. The common wisdom is “Our lives were hard, at least our children will live better…”

Children are a constant source of pride; their academic, sports, or musical achievements are gladly discussed and demonstrated.There is a strong tradition of duty and respect for the elderly. Every year, on May 9, Victory Day, the war veterans parade through the streets and talk to children at schools. The Soviet tradition of celebrating the role of the veterans, publicly acknowledging their bravery and wisdom, is still kept today, through with the passage of time it becomes harder to find the veterans for those meetings. With the dramatic difference in life expectancy between men (fifty-eight) and woman (seventy-three), it is not surprising that attitude to older people means primarily the attitude to babushka, or granny.



Emotions-measuring the immeasurable

Most researches of the “enigmatic Russian soul” seem to agree on one thing: while Western culture is often based on rational decisions and planning, Russian culture is based on emotional response and spontaneity. Often when the Westerner says “I think”, a Russian would say “I feel”. The Russian language is the world’s richest in words describing emotions. The whole word admires the feelings expressed in the books of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, and Chekhov.

Top ^

Russians love to stay at home, but there is plenty to do if you decide to go out. Museums and theaters, sights ans clubs, concerts and hikes – the choice is enormous. “Cultural hunger” is a Russian expression: sometimes the lines for an exhibition of paintings or a new drama production are longer than the London lines for an exhibition of paintings or a new drama production are longer than the London lines for the Harrods sale. You can find entertainments to match not just your interests, but also your purse. In the capital, however, even the “cheap” restaurants can be quite pricey.

Russian music is a true reflection if the Russian soul: passionate, melancholic, and melodic, it embraces folk songs, Byzantine choral chanting, Eastern motifs, and Western harmony. There are plenty of places in Russia where one can hear this music, from church services to concert halls.

The above extract is kindly provided by Culture Smart! the essential guide to customs & culture. The 168-page guide retails at £6.95 + P&P and is available directly from Kuperard, the publishers of Culture Smart! guides.

CultureSmart!Consulting in conjunction with Cactus Language Training creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public sector, and individual needs. Find out more at www.cactuslanguagetraining.com.

Top ^