Quote Originally Posted by Hanna View Post
Well, I thought so too, but there was a girl called Olya who used to be on this forum and was quite active. She said that although she lived in the centre of Moscow she had never known anyone who was not Russian or from an ex Soviet country. I was really surprised to hear that because i personally know a few non Russians who have lived in Moscow for shorter periods. But she said it as if it was completely normal.
The later is absolutely impossible, unless she never left home. Moscow is full of legal and illegal immigrants from former Soviet republics, they are everywhere. Maybe she's never been friends with one, but that does not mean she was screened off "foreign" influence or beliefs altogether.
But why would they care, if they live in the middle of Siberia and practically never meet anyone who is not Russian or ex Soviet...
It's a special brand of Russian patriotism: being worried sick of what other people might think of your country, and then getting angry ("what the beep do you know anyway!").
How would they know unless they speak good enough English to read English speaking media?
You don't need to speak English to be aware to some extent of what's going on. Especially now, when Internet exists. Mass media always have been devoting quite a lot of attention to what foreigners think of Russia too.