Romantic Traditions in Russia

Weddings
Weddings are of great importance in Russia. The bigger, the better. If it's not an extremely lavish affair then the families are likely to think the couple is unlikely to be happy together. Your future happiness depends on the size & splendor of your wedding. Once the wedding ceremony is over, the happy couple & their wedding party drive around the city in huge stretch limos with flowers & flags on the bonnets honking their horns. They stop at places of importance, the Kremlin, the bridges over the Moskva, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and take pictures. They do all this picture taking whilst taking classy swigs of Soviet champagne, straight from the bottle. The poor Bride has to traipse around in her dress & heels, in the freezing cold of winter Moscow and take pictures. Plus the entire wedding party dresses up to the nines, or for Russian fashion sense it means looking like girls out on a regular night out in Liverpool or Manchester. 

One such couple posing for pictures in Red Square

Flowers
Flowers are frequently bought in Russia. Not only between lovers, but also from friend to friend, mother to daughter, and vice versa. Everyone buys flowers for everyone and as such being a flower shop owner is a lucrative business. Flowers are an everyday part of life and I haven't been out in Russia and not seen someone carrying a bouquet of flowers.
However, flowers must be given in odd numbers - 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. Odd numbers are lucky. Even numbers are unlucky and only used at funerals. 

Men
The Russian men are incredible gentlemen. They hold doors open for girls. They buy flowers and gifts for their girlfriends/wives/partners . They always pay for dinner, to the extent that a Russian girl won't bring her bag or wallet with her on a date because the man will always pay. They're quick to offer assistance to a woman who needs help with her bags or help down the stairs. They jump out of their seats for elderly women or women with children.


It seems a shame to put a cynical spin on these romantic gestures. But perhaps it would surprise you to learn that domestic violence is highly prevalent and a societal norm in Russia and one in four families experience domestic violence in Russia. It's exacerbated by the fact that the offices of law & order don't view such violence as a crime, but rather as a "private matter between a couple". So you can't prosecute your husband for spousal abuse as you can in the West. Domestic violence does not have the same social stigma that it does in the West and not even the authorities are willing to prove or support that it exists. 


This is the sad fact of life in Russia. Russian women are treated as inferior to men and such are viewed as 'property' by men. You are expected to do what your man says and give him what he wants. If not. Well. This is why I have the theory that Russian girls all dress up so beautifully and wouldn't be caught dead without make-up & all the works. They do this to make up the facade of perfection, when actually under all that make-up you'd probably find a whole lot of bruises. And you wonder why all Russian girls are desperate to be a mail order bride and marry an American? 

The Soviets believed in gender equality. Well they got one thing right. 

This sure is a quirky country!

As previously noted, there are a large number of quirks here in Russia. I'm complied another little list for you to look over.

• On the tube Russians aren't plugged into iPods like we are in London, Russians actually read, albeit through different mediums - Kindles, cheap knock-off Kindles, Newspapers, Books. But they actually read, and a lot more than us Westerners do!
• They park their cars at the side of the road, or on the pavement. Leave the engine running, and sit inside their cars. Whilst seemingly serving no actual purpose. They just sit there. 
• They blast the heating in all the buildings, but it's too cold outside to open the windows and thus stabilize the temperature. This means that in class you just boil and get super drowsy. I'll admit I fell asleep in class today (shush don't tell my parents!). 
• These two previous points form the basis for my theory that the Russians have an energy superiority complex, such that they like to show off the prowess of their natural resources by heating their buildings to over body temperature and running their cars & wasting gas. They're just peacocking really. 
• There is no real Apple store in Russia. They have RE: Store in which they sell refurbished Apple products, but no way of buying legit products. You have to import them from abroad. 
• Then there's the "Rostest". Every product sold in Russia has to be certified, especially if it's an import. In order to have authorization to import something & get a clearance certificate, be it a single iPhone or a whole shipment of childrens toys, you need to pass the Rostest. 
• Russians don't do organic meat, vegetables or milk. Haven't seen anything organic. I mean they are a farming heavy nation, but you never know what's made it into the ground where the veggies are grown. 
• There is also no origin or description on the meat here. It's just chicken, beef, lamb or pork. No hand reared Scottish Aberdeen Angus Sirloin Steak here. 
• Russians also don't understand the concept of the simple sandwich. Not only is it difficult to find regular sliced bread. They don't have sandwiches, not even Starbucks does! How I have longed for a Pret BLT. 
• Russians don't believe in personal space. They will walk right up behind you, even on the escalator. It's pretty unnerving, especially as everytime they invade my space I think I'm being robbed. It's pretty normal to have someone breathing down your neck as you're in a queue. 
• Russian women mostly, some men, don't hold doors open. I must be one of the few women in Russia who actually know how to hold a door open. The number of times I've had doors whacked back in my face and nearly broken my wrist is unreal. It's not that hard to hold a door open for someone behind you. 
• Manners! There are no manners here in Russia. If I do hold a door open for someone. No-one says Thank You. No-one says Excuse Me for squishing you on the tube. Sometimes I just long for manners!
• The crisp flavors are warped. They love sour cream and spring onion, as well as crab and blue cheese. It's creepy. 
• Oh and they still have mandatory military conscription here. 

Lenin's Library - or the State Library as it now is, and a statue of Dostoyevsky (added apres USSR. They weren't fans.) 

Apologies..

I've had a busy and boring week. All my deadlines seem to be the exact same day. Someone obviously has it out for me! I've even got my first exam next week, shock horror. I'm slightly nervous because I have to do an actual valuation of a company for a pretend merger.....I thought they'd have computer programmes for this.....not that it's done by hand..! I've had numerous papers to write, and all of a longer length than I'm used to. Apparently the rest of the world writes papers of length 4000 words, but UCL the usual maximum is 1500-2000, or at least in my department. Strange. 

I've decided that Russia is basically like marmite. I either hate it or love it, depending on the day, depending on the experience. So today being squished into the door of the tube train by the male dominant tube carriage was a negative experience. But doing homework in Starbucks with Liann and being treated as we deserve is a positive experience. You win some, you lose some. 


I got my updated visa. Yay! *fist pump* I had a mild panic during the middle of the night last week realizing that it was coming up to November 25th (when my visa expired) and I hadn't heard anything about it. In due course an email was sent round and I picked up my shiny new visa. It's pretty neat and it lasts until June 2012 so I'm definitely coming back to visit & travel around Russia when the weather's a tad nicer. 

Strange smile eh? I look weird without glasses.

Oh and I'm real disappointed in the Russian weather. I was promised a white winter from mid October. All I've experienced so far has been dangerous slush or dangerous sheet ice on the pavement. Apparently Russians don't quite grit the streets like we do in the UK. Ironic that the streets are gritted better in blooming High Wycombe than Moscow. Basically the snow has been pathetic. We did get about a cm of snow over night, but by the afternoon it had melted. Walking home from class today I experienced a sort of experience like someone was shaking a salt shaker in my face, but one filled with bits of freezing cold ice. I think it was probably a nice micro dermobrasion scrub for my face. IT WAS COLD. This weather is horrendous for my hair. I might as well just not bother washing it. One step outside and the wind has whipped my bangs up in the air and made them go all squ-iff (I don't think that's in the English Dictionary. Oh well.). Point made. The weather is a disappointment. Get it together Moscow!!

Tourist Shot *cringe* and as my mother stated, "What? I AM a tourist!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Russia. My teacher, who's Russian, cancelled our class today in order that we could celebrate Thanksgiving, even if people aren't American. As an American I thought it was an interesting proposal, given that a lot of people now celebrate Thanksgiving on the Continent because it's "cool" without understanding the true meaning & history of Thanksgiving. 

But it was a lovely sunny day here in Moscow, with highs of minus 2 (which is practically tropical for here!). I spent my Thanksgiving in Starbucks with my friend, both of us busy working and getting increasingly homesick thanks to the lovely Starbucks Christmas music & holiday lattes. We then went to TGI Fridays to have a thanksgiving dinner. Basically we had an American Capitalist Thanksgiving. Nothing wrong with that though!

Another beautiful Metro station

Discovered this Metro station on Saturday night. It's called чеховская (Chehovskaya). 

Victory Park.

парк Победы

Impression as you walk from the Metro

Interesting fact about Russia. They consider their actions in World War II as being victorious, and refer to WWII as the "Great Patriotic War". They did lose a LOT of people during war & suffered greatly, over 26 million Soviet dead (that we know about). Mainly because Stalin was an idiot and decided to kill everyone 3 years before war broke out. I mean illogical or what?

Victory Park is a large memorial park to the losses in the Patriotic War. It's a massive set up & has a number of different statues & aspects. There is also an eternal flame which is in the shape of a 5 point star. It contains a museum to the Patriotic War which has a book of remembrance of names of all the Soviets who were killed, as well as examples of tanks & such. There is also a Square of Victors with various memorials to certain efforts of different Soviet regions. 

Eternal Flame

Empty....

The most dominating part of Victory Park is the giant statue of St George slaying the dragon and an Obelisk. The obelisk's height is exactly 141,8 meters, which is 10 cm for every day of the War. Though as previously mused upon, the Russian's consider their "official" involvement in World War II as being 1941-1945. Officially. 

Dizzying Heights..

Go St George!

Tut tut.

Spotted. Graffiti on one of Putin's lovely election propaganda. Well I spotted it on 2 posters. The cyrillic at the top reads фарс (Farce) - as in the elections are a farce. As well as containing a link to the leftfront website, which I'm guessing is a pro-Socialist or Communist party. 

Very interesting.

A Stowaway!!

Please excuse my brief absence from my blog but I had a funny experience last week, a British person stowed away on a plane and I had to look after them for their visit! 

More like that I had the pleasure of welcoming & introducing my Mother to Moscow last week. She came from the 10th to the 15th and stayed in a lovely hotel right in the centre of Moscow opposite the Bolshoi theatre! Mummy had a chandelier in her bedroom & a great view of  площадь революции (Revolution Square). 

We had a cultural overload during the 5 days of her visit and I showed off all the more glorious aspects of Moscow including the Kremlin, Alexandrovski Gardens, The Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Bolshoi Theatre, Victory Park, Cafe Pushkin and the Russian History Museum. We also took a moment to remember all those who have fallen in battle at a Remembrance Service held at the Anglican Church in Moscow. There were a number of diplomats & various other important military people there too. It was lovely service and was truly an honor to be able to remember the fallen among such welcoming people, as well as a bunch of charming Brits! Sometimes a brief respite from the stress of Moscow & the bustle of life in Russia is needed, and a little piece & quiet with some fellow Brits was just what I needed!

My mom's hotel even had a fountain in the middle of the main restaurant! This made for an interesting dinner. We were just flabbergasted by the decor of the room. The hotel was MASSIVE, had long corridors, glorious chandeliers & mirrors, fabulous ornate furniture, but still seemed intensely empty.

There was a photo gallery on the 3rd (or 2nd floor for us Brits) floor of all the famous people who have visited & stayed at the hotel. There was also "rogues corner" as Mummy so delicately put it, with pictures of Lenin, Stalin & other Communist Party members. The hotel was used as a headquarters for the Soviets from 1917 onwards and was only returned to being a hotel later on when Stalin wanted to show off Moscow to foreigners. 

Snow?!?

Sunday & Monday were both freezing here in Moscow! The temperature hovered at a lovely minus 8 or so (17F) but the sky was clear and filled with bright sunshine. Yesterday the weather shifted slightly, it got a tad warmer and.........it started SNOWING! Albeit wet snow which didn't stick very long on the ground. The fact of the matter is that it has officially already snowed in Moscow. It wasn't pretty enough to take pictures but I'm sure once we get some legitimate snow there will be plenty of opportunities for photos. There's been a chilly and icy wind though all week. Apparently it's supposed to snow everyday this week. I'm not totally convinced, but we'll see. All of the foreign kids in my dorm are looking forward to the snow, anticipating snowball fights, snowmen building competitions and sledging, but I'm not sure if we'll have and opportunity for this in Moscow, or if it's even allowed!


But here's a picture from last night. I joined a bunch of the other foreign kids for "stammtisch", a weekly event in which we visit a German themed brewery and have cheap beer & chat. It was a fun night and we all sat at a huge long table just like Oktoberfest! This is a picture from Red Square at 10.30pm. It was practically empty and the entire thing was lit up beautifully! It was even emptier when we left for the Metro at midnight. There's something beautifully haunting about an empty Red Square at night. 

Election Propaganda.

Here in Russia the State дума (Duma) elections on the 4th December. The dominant party here in Russia is the Kremlin & Putin backed 'Единая Россия' - United Russia

I quite like their emblem, but then again I could never support them..

There is no real opposition in the Russian political system and these Duma elections are the only democratic elections that actually occur. I saw яблоко (Yabloko) posters on the entrance to the subway, but they were promptly taken down before I could get a photo. They were quite funny as the word яблоко means apple in Russian, but sad to see them removed. Yabloko being the main opposition & liberal party, but who are constantly being harassed and attacked by United Russia.

All over Moscow are these posters which are imploring the Russian people to vote. They have a range of slogans on them, all emphasizing the date & day of the elections. The one below says "Vote for Russia, Vote for Yourself". They're all the same design, but have different slogans on them.  

Obviously the people in navy are representations of all Russians..

I can't tell if the presence of these posters is a good or a bad thing. The good thing is whilst there are a lot of these posters up, I've also seen the same number of posters advertising the newest Twilight movie, so can't be all that bad!

p.s.

It's MINUS 9 here today in Russia. 

Such fun. 

Патриаршие пруды

Dallas and I took a little trip to Patriarch's Ponds on Friday, nicknamed Патрики (Patriki). Ironically there is actually only one pond in the middle of the park, but it still has a plural for a name. These clever Russians. 
The reason we went is because this place is famous as the meeting place of the Master & Margarita in Bulgakov's book - The Master & Margarita. Both Dallas & I have recently read this book and so took the opportunity to see the real thing!

On the bench in the Park, reading the Master & Margarita.

It was a short walk from the Маяковская tube station past some of the more affluent area of Moscow. There was also a gorgeous little bakery and we stopped inside to pick up pastries. The park itself was small in comparison to other parks in capital cities, but was lovely. All the leaves were falling off the trees and there was plenty of wildlife in the pond. As well as a lady walking her pet ferret.......but no judgement here. 

Casually walking her pet ferret..

Friday was also a national holiday here in Russia. It was День народного единства (Unity Day). It is in commemoration of the day that 2 Moscow citizens expelled the Polish from Russia through a popular uprising and ended the 'Time of Troubles' in November 1612. It celebrates the unity of the Russian people without the influence or guidance of Tsar or Patriarch. This basically meant that Moscow was decked out in Moscow flags & Russian flags and the day was spent in celebration. The Russians at my dorm started drinking at 9am and shouting, "раз, два, три.....РОССИЯ!", (1,2,3....RUSSIA!) it was a lovely wake up call! 

Though this was also chosen as the day for a massive demonstration (which was made illegal under the Russian Terrorism Act - technically protesting & demonstrating counts as terrorism against the Russian nation. Hmm.). I also popped into the center of Moscow around lunchtime and was surprised to see a large number of fortified police trucks and portable jail trucks too. The police were on guard. So that put a slightly sour taste in the mouth of such a nice national holiday...

More subway art..

Instead of Where's Wally?, in the Russian underground it's more a case of Where's Lenin? His face is EVERYWHERE and his name is on all the walls. 

Halloween & other related stories..!

So my Halloween party was held last Friday. It turned out in the end that I was basically left in charge of the entire thing. I rushed around all day Friday getting last minute things, including massive pumpkins. 

I spent an hour locked in the auditorium decorating the room. I didn't let anyone in! I really enjoyed changing the room from a boring study room to an exciting & spooky party venue. I had spiders & bats hanging from the ceiling, pumpkins hanging in the windows, a graveyard by the drinks & snacks table, a Happy Halloween sign on the far wall and bats hanging on the doorway of the entrance. I was pretty impressed with my handiwork - as were all the party guests! 

It was a really great party and lasted from 9.30pm until 6am! People started going to sleep at about 4am though. What was really funny was that on Saturday morning the entire floor was silent until about 12pm because everyone was still asleep! Everyone made an effort with their costumes and some fantastic outfits were on show, including Canadian fighting hockey players, Lara Croft, a convict, Amy Winehouse, a rubix cube and many others! 

The only slight blemish on the evening was that my iPod got stolen from the party. Whilst I don't want to dwell on this negative memory, I can't help but explain about one of the best experiences I've had here in Russia. I went to the Police Station responsible for my District yesterday to report my iPod stolen. I was pretty frustrated due to the sub par pastoral care I received from my university here and my dormitory administration. Stealing of personal items does not seem to have the same gravity here as it does in the UK or US. 
The biggest surprise of all was the attitude of the police.  I had been told horror stories about the Russian police and was warned to be careful by everyone I had told I was attending the station. The Russian police are mentioned with fear and trepidation here, everyone shudders at the mention of them and they are known for being bullies, incompetent and uncaring. However, I found that this was not the case, perhaps because I'm a foreigner or a woman, but I had a completely and wonderfully positive experience with the Police and I'm so glad that I got to experience this because it's definitely made the whole "iPod getting stolen by a Russian when I'm here as a visitor in their country" situation become less of a negative thing.  


The police station was a pretty new building and I was accompanied by my Russian speaking Bulgarian friend. We were welcomed into the station and everyone who we spoke to was friendly and understanding. A friendly police officer gave me a form to fill out which I did in both English and Russian. He then scanned it into the system and filed it properly and after this we were directed to a Detective's office on the 5th floor. We were welcomed into the office by a another friendly Police Detective who then proceeded to spend 2 hours taking detailed notes from me and discussing the whole matter. He really understood the gravity of the situation and was apologetic about it all, though he also said the most likely explanation is that someone took it so as to sell it on, he didn't seem hopeful about its return. He even made me draw a picture of the "crime scene". I had my passport photocopied and was made to sign some sort of Russian constitutional agreement.....I didn't really understand what it was, but I think it was something to do with the legal proceedings if they did catch the person who stole it. The Detective then accompanied us to the exit of the building, gave us his phone number in case we needed to contact him and said "I hope that this doesn't negatively affect your view of Russia". I was so surprised that he would have considered this and I'm glad that he did, the upside is that my positive experience with the police has lessened the negatives of my iPod being stolen.

But there you go, whilst a country can have a horrendous record in terms of police, human rights and such, it can have brief moments of a positive nature. Foreigners need to be made aware of this so that they can learn that Russians aren't ALL that bad, and it can go someway to reducing the negative stereotype of Russians & Russian police but the Russian Police need to be made aware of this positive experience so that they can learn from this and evolve in a better way.