Thread: Почему Вы хотите жить в России?

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

Note, Hanna, this says the person living in "cultural capital" of Russia. Try to imagine, what do people in less lofty places feel. So much hatred, so little respect, and constant readiness to attack. Animals behave more politely.
Russia may be anyhow rich and successful in geopolitical affairs, but our people will never benefit of it. It is "by design".

Originally Posted by maxmixiv

Note, Hanna, this says the person living in "cultural capital" of Russia. Try to imagine, what do people in less lofty places feel. So much hatred, so little respect, and constant readiness to attack. Animals behave more politely.
Russia may be anyhow rich and successful in geopolitical affairs, but our people will never benefit of it. It is "by design".

Do you think people in Russia are worse than people in Ukraine and Belarus? I was in both countries, several months in Belarus and a couple of weeks and a bit, in Ukraine. I thought people were extremely kind and helpful.

In Ukraine, there were plenty of yobs and drunks about, but nobody seemed dangerous. People in general were extremely kind, I thought. Several people helped me.

In Belarus, there was almost no anti-social behaviour, it felt very safe. Extremely bureacratic country though, and that caused me some problems. However regular people helped me even though my Russian is very bad. Nobody tried to take advantage. From what I could see, people treated each other with respect.
I saw one drunk person my entire time there. He had fainted at a tram stop. The police were downright NICE to him. I heard them ask him if he was ok, needed medical care or whatever, and helped him on his feet. It really raised my opinion of Belarus. I was thinking of seeing police in several Western European countries kicking drunk people, hitting them and shouting at them. Several bystanders tried to help the man too.
I have read that in Russia, drunk people can get beaten up by police.

The only people who were unhelpful were 1) some government officials in Belarus and 2) the staff at the Russian embassy (they refused to accept my visa application for Russia, for a silly, imho invalid reason). Everyone else were either nice, or indifferent. For me, I was surprised at how nice people in these two countries were. And I thought Russia was the same.

I'd say that many people were a lot nicer to a stranger than they would have been, in a similar situation in London, Paris or Berlin.

I think that to some degree, the way that you speak to a person will dictate how they respond.
And I have been taught to treat everybody with the same respect, regardless of whether they are drunks on the ground, sweeping the floor, or they own the place. It's quite rare that people are deliberately rude to someone who treats them with respect.

Hanna, I don't say, that rude people is majority in Russia, quite opposite. Ordinary people can be very nice. You can make as many good friends as you wish.
But you will encounter unprovoked aggression, sooner or later.
There is certain percent (approaching 100% among men in power), that will do whatever to harm you, even without any advantage to themselves. Something to do with genes (and permanent drinking), I guess.

I can't compare my region to any other place except Czech, and couple others regions in Russia.
And comparison is not in favor of Russia. Czechs are more patient and benevolent to each other (let's don't speak of foreigners).
Russians are noticeably wilder.
I think Belorussians are closer to Czechs in this matter (solely from rumors, and from couple of Belorussians that I came across).
So speaking of that little percent of unpleasant people:
-Too agitated and harsh people are in Omsk.
-Calm and unforgiving people are living in Moscow.

There is a saying, that Russians can scold and criticize Russia at the top of their voice and be very convincing arguing that Russia is probably the worst place on earth, but the same Russians would hate and despise a foreigner should he/she agree with them.

Well my mother thought that Russians were incredibly rude, based on her experiences accompanying my father on business trips there. (He on the other hand likes Russians - although not the "new"). She had plenty of stories to tell her friends of how rudely she felt she had been treated in restaurants, department stores and hotels among other things.

I listened to hear stories on this (happened to her in lots of places, not just Russia) growing up, and I always thought that she brought 95% of it upon herself by having unrealistic expectations, a negative outlook and not being very polite herself...

So that's a person who did not like Russians and felt they were rude and incompetent. Happy?

Seriously - I had a very good experience, like I said, in Belarus and Ukraine which both surprised me, in different ways. I am looking forward to the opportunity of an extended trip to Russia within the next few years and I'll be able to make up my own mind. Perhaps, like you say, the Ukrainians and Belarussians are actually friendlier than Russians ?! I always thought it was a very similar situation though - not much different. I'll post and let you know when I go to Russia!

I am really put off by Moscow though, and although I've never visited it, I actually don't think I'd enjoy it. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that people in Moscow are the least friendly and helpful in all of Russia.
Seems that today, it's like London where I currently live; only more extreme in every way. More crowded, more luxury shops and dirt poor people, traffic, super expensive prices and stressed out people.
Such a city doesn't attract me at all.

And even if some Russians are obnoxious and rude, I can name at least 5 nationalities that I really don't like to have to deal with because I think are consistently quite unpleasant to have interact with, because most of them have some very unpleasant traits. Not going to list it here, but Russians is not on that list.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Perhaps, like you say, the Ukrainians and Belarussians are actually friendlier than Russians ?!

Quite possible.

Actually, sometimes I think that today we have got nothing in common except the language.
Different countries.

P.S. When you come to Russia - make a short trip outside from the city centre and visit one of the "спальный" districts. You might see a lot of new for european national. It`s better to take some russian speaking friend, though.

I always thought it was a very similar situation though - not much different.

Hanna,
don't listen to the people who have some inferiority complex about their country, ancestry and so on. They are miserable and pathetic. Such people usually try to set us on to fight.

Of course, we are one people, as three parts of the one Russian family. If you take a look at the US, you'll see that Americans much more differ from each other than even Ukrainians and Russians (and especially Belorussians).