Thread: Почему Вы хотите жить в России?

Originally Posted by Serge_spb

Unnecessary flattery.

Can`t see neither "intelligence" nor "conscience" in your list. Concerning the nation itself.

Don't know how to take a compliment?!

If you want to hate your country, perceive genuine compliments as useless flattery,and not acknowledge that there is anything to be proud of, then that's your right..
I am not going to argue about it. Perhaps it's true. You live there, I don't.
It's not the impression that I have though!

I haven't actually been to Russia since my childhood in the 80s, so I don't know for sure.
I know it's better off than Ukraine and Belarus where I visited recently. And I watch Russian TV a fair bit. My impression is that things are improving, at least in the cities.

Re "Intelligence" and "conscience".
Well, I certainly wouldn't credit my own country with being "intelligently" run. Most hardly any country in Northern Europe is. If you think your country is run by idiots, you are not alone! We didn't HAVE any serious problems, but we imported them from abroad, and now we have plenty as a result, but that's a different discussion.

Syria was very cleverly (intelligently) handled byRussia, and likewise Crimea. Also getting the Olympics and running them competently with no major hitches.

As a comparison, look at the USAs fiascos and fails, one after another! And compare with Russia's successes recently.

I know Russia has many very serious problems. But you started from the chaos of 92 and look how much better it got!

Western Europe is in decline, and it's mainly of our own making. Our countries are WORSE today than they were in 92. Immigration, social norms, family values, social welfare sold out, everything privatized, more poor people. For us, the trend is downwards. For you, it's going up.

I don't know what else to say. I felt really SORRY for Russians in the 1990s. Everything was tragic, pathetic and horrible. A previously proud nation that I had looked up to was literally crawling in the dust, with people resorting to begging, crime and prostitution to get by. All the ideals spitted on, and the notion that a country wasted 70 years and millions of lives on a failed project.
At least that's what it looked like from the outside.

I don't feel sorry for Russians now. Should I? Russia is emerging like the Fenix bird from the ashes. Congratulations, I think.

You Russians scrapped socialism. You sold out everything the USSR had tried to create. You can never get that back. You made your choice! (or your parents, if you are young).

But regardless of what you lost, or how bad things were for a while, today Russia is stronger and most people have much better lives than 20 years ago. In -94 the Crimeans wanted Ukraine. Today they want Russia. Maybe some other country or region will come knocking on your door...

Originally Posted by Hanna

And I watch Russian TV a fair bit. My impression is that things are improving, at least in the cities.

False impression.

I`ve got no urge to be rude, dear Hanna, but it would be better to say directly.
Your incompetence made you to write so much about nothing, the whole passages based on superficial knowledge.
And for me, there is no much reason in argument, since you have to realize a lot at first. Would be an idle talk...

Don't know how to take a compliment?!

I`ll give you a hint. A fat ugly girl who gets compliments all the time from her family. A junkie who "thinks" that he is cool, because his addicted friends say so. Is it good for them?

Another hint. Not everything that makes an average person happy can be counted by money. "For us, the trend is downwards. For you, it's going up. " - on which criteria, my friend? Have you heard anything about Human rights? What about the level of culture (n.b. I definetely mean not the number of written books or paintings hanging in Hermitage, but manners of exact citizen)? Public safety? Of course, there is no sence in watching Russia Today channel if you want to elaborate the question and see the reality.

And another hint... Since I began talking about money... Germany, Japan, South Korea etc etc don`t have oil, but are doing much better that "rich" Russia. (You can compare salaries and prices in my city (St Petersburg) with any of these - there is a link to a special website in one of my previous posts.) Why is it so?

I hate receiving advices myself, but... It would be good for you to try to read some russian classics. Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy explain such things. A hundreed years have passed, but the country is the same. We do have H&M`s and Volvo`s on our streets, but what happens in everyday life is far from being "civilized".

It is not about "country is run by idiots" like you said. It is about behaviour of ordinary people and their moral standarts.