Thread: russian immigrants

i want to improve my russian and meet some of the immigrants that have come to canada. Is there a place i would go to? like an underground russian base or something?

Where in Canada are you?

close to toronto

Toronto is full of Russian immigrants. Go to a Russian online forum
http://www.torontovka.com/default.asp?k ... rum.forums
but beware, frequently Russians on such forums aren't very friendly, especially those who post the most. So, just disregard offensive posts and don't try to argue with them!

thanks a lot, mike! one time i tried to argue with a russian, and i learned my lesson the first time, they are people who you don't argue with

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

thanks a lot, mike! one time i tried to argue with a russian, and i learned my lesson the first time, they are people who you don't argue with :wink:

I expect you will all think this is a naive question but I will ask it anyway. I have always found on one to one that Russians are polite, but a bit gruff ( rude) in public places. In what way are the Russians difficult to argue with - are they unresonable or just rude? Or stubborn?

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I was meeting many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Originally Posted by Scrabus

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I've ( have ) met many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Какая ложь!

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Scrabus

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I've ( have ) met many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Какая ложь!

-1

Originally Posted by Lampada

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Scrabus

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I've ( have ) met many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Какая ложь!

-1

Шутил...ничего не замечаешь.

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Lampada

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Scrabus

Originally Posted by majorstiffy

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I've ( have ) met many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Какая ложь!

-1

Шутил...ничего не замечаешь.

Ага, my bad.
Что-то чувство юмора меня иногда стало подводить.

Раз уж речь зашла о птичках... (с)

Once I've read a book, where some American historian (or maybe sociologist) discussed cultural differences and the way, they affected world politics. There was an interesting chapter about Russia (USSR at the time).
The author discussed how Russia's geographical location and history (namely a constant need to defend vast borders from Tatars and numerous ivasions, and forced alienation from other countries) contributed to Russian debate style.

The main difference which can cause problems and misunderstanding (according to this guy) is that Russians argue to prove they are right, while 'western' person argues to reach compromise (hmm...).
Also many Russians view compromise or agreement during the debate as a defeat, a weakness, an unability to prove their (valid) point (well, that's true to some extent). So even when they do compromise they prefer to make it look as if they didn't.

That guy gave some funny examples from USA-USSR negotiations, when Soviets compromised, but preferred to pretend that they never did, in fact, they often concealed it, while USA on the contrary usually made their compromises widely known and used this fact as a leverage in further discussions.

[quote=Lampada]

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Lampada

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

Originally Posted by Scrabus

Originally Posted by "majorstiffy":1m7ibq1f

i was sort of joking, but a lot of russians are very stubborn

I've ( have ) met many stubborn people too and they weren't russian :P

Какая ложь!

-1

Шутил...ничего не замечаешь.

Ага, my bad.
Что-то чувство юмора меня иногда стало подводить.[/quote:1m7ibq1f]Нет проблем!

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

That guy gave some funny examples from USA-USSR negotiations, when Soviets compromised, but preferred to pretend that they never did, in fact, they often concealed it, while USA on the contrary usually made their compromises widely known and used this fact as a leverage in further discussions.

Yes, I know, this is not a political thread, but still ...

The fact might be true, but I somewhat disagree with the guy's interpretation. His assumption that Soviets represented Russians was common at the time, but seems very inaccurate. Indeed, the Soviets never ever ever should have revealed they compromise with the enemy! The declaration of the Soviet Union included the goal: to expand over the entire globe. All propaganda of the Soviets from the very beginning was: "we are surrounded by the enemies; either we will conquer them or they will conquer us." The two systems couldn't co-exist. There could never be agreement on anything. Once the very delicate agreement has been set and mutually recognized, the Soviet system collapsed in just a few years.

So, as a native Russian speaker, I recognize the fact that Russians in general are publicly perceived as rude. And, at least in the country I live, a perception is a reality.

Now, is Simon Cowell rude? Oh, no!! He is just honest!
Is he Russian? I highly doubt so..

You see, the norms of Corporate America are different from the norms of Bureaucratic Russia, no doubt. And changing the rules can be difficult, especially in the beginning. After some time you get used to it, and stop being honest .. oh sorry.. rude.