The main differences between Russians and Europeans. How do Russians differ from residents of European countries?
We all know from our school history course about the Hunnic invasion, which caused, as historians say, the “great migration of peoples.” Historians, however, are silent about where, in fact, these Huns disappeared. To paraphrase famous movie: “There were Huns. We don't deny it. But then the Huns self-destructed.”
And this applies not only to the Huns. Since nomadism arose, and this happened in the 2nd millennium BC, hordes of nomads have repeatedly swept from East to West along the steppe zone of the Northern Black Sea region, sweeping away everything in their path. These were the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, Magyars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, Mongols. Someone maybe I forgot to mention? But these are enough.
All these flows of nomads in Europe inevitably ended up in the seas and oceans, since for them Europe represented giant trap, with the wide side facing the steppe and the narrow side facing the Atlantic. Or they resisted the previous newcomers, and after fighting for a place in the sun, they settled there, forming the ruling elite. These elites dominated the local indigenous agricultural, mainly Slavic population or previous newcomers. The occupying tribe became dominant over the aborigines, forming a ruling elite. Aborigines are not only an autochthonous population, but also previous newcomers mixed with autochthons. The indigenous population was forced, like it or not, to adapt their language to the language of the invaders. This is how the current diversity arose European languages. This is also where the weak connection between what is written and what is spoken comes from, especially in French. Hence the fact that many peoples do not know how to clearly articulate many sounds, in particular the sound “R” - they burr in different ways.
How are Russians different from Europeans?
The tribes that later became Russian lived in Eastern Europe. Their names are known from the “Tale of Bygone Years”: Northerners, Polyans, Drevlyans, Radimichi, Vyatichi, Krivichi, Ilmen Slovenes. Large tribes. They inhabited forest-steppe and forest zones. Hordes of nomads sweeping across the steppe zone only partially affected this array of Slavic tribes, destroying those who lived on the border of the forest-steppe and steppe and driving those who survived deeper into the forest zone.
This is how everything continued until the end of the 8th century, until the “northerner” Slavs, who lived on the Don in the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets, Oskol, Psel, and Seim rivers, created a professional army consisting of princes, heroes and warriors. In this they were helped by their allies in the fight against nomads - the Don Alans. The Alans by that time already had a professional army. Until this time, the Slavs did not have professional soldiers. The militia took part in military clashes.
From among the “northerners” the first Russian (East Slavic) princely dynasties arose: the legendary Oleg the Prophet and Igor the Old. The word Rus itself meant red, the fighting color of the Slavic professional army. Blonde meant red back then.
Since none of the East Slavic tribes had any professional military personnel, the created military organization was able to quickly bring these tribes under its control. This process began under Prince Oleg the Prophet, who told the northerners:
“I am an enemy of the Khazars, so you have no need to pay them tribute.” To the Radimichi: “Who do you give tribute to?” They answered: “Khazars.” And Oleg says: “I am an enemy of the Khazars, so you have no need to pay them tribute.” To the Radimichi: “Who do you give tribute to?” They answered: “To the Kozars.” And Oleg says: “Don’t give it to Kozar, but give it to me.” “And Oleg ruled over the Derevlyans, glades, Radimichi, and with the streets and Tivertsy they commanded the army.” See The Tale of Bygone Years. Probably, under Oleg, the Smolensk Krivichi were also annexed to Rus'.
Under Igor the Old and Olga, the Drevlyans were conquered for the second time, under Svyatoslav Igorevich - the Vyatichi, under Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, the Novgorodians (Krivichi and Ilmen Slovenes). It seems that the “baptism” of Novgorod “by fire and sword” was the conquest of Novgorod by Russia, and the legend about the calling of the Varangians was the invention of a chronicler who wrote 200 years after the events described to legitimize this conquest. One can also assume the opposite, that the legend about the calling of the Varangians was invented in Novgorod in order to prove their seniority in relation to Kyiv. In any case, this legend is a later insertion into the texts.
So everything East Slavic peoples, who in ancient times spoke practically the same language in the 10th century, were united under the rule of their Slavic elite. There was no need to adapt to the language of the foreign invaders. The political unification of tribes under the rule of their elite, book writing, education, and Orthodoxy led to the unification of the language over a vast area, which turned into the modern Russian language. Therefore, the modern Russian language is the most common of Slavic languages.
Modern Russian is a language that arose as a result of natural development ancient language Aryan agricultural Slavic population. That is why the Russian language and Sanskrit, which was the language of the Aryan elite ruling in India, have so much in common. I repeat, this became possible due to the fact that Russians have never in their history been ruled by foreign-speaking elites.
This is the fundamental difference between Russians and Europeans. The Europeans appeared as a result of the fact that the local aboriginal agricultural population was ruled by foreign aggressive elites of nomadic pastoralists.
The big difference between Western Ukrainians (Westerners) and the small difference between Belarusians and Russians is a consequence of the fact that for some time they were outside the Russian space under the control of Poles and Lithuanians.
The revolution of 1917 is largely the result of the lack of faith of the Russian people that the ruling elite is its own national elite.
“The Tsar is not real!!!” and the queen especially. This may have been the main reason for the fall of the Romanovs.
P.S. Another important difference between the agricultural East Slavic tribes, which later became known as Russians, was that they were organized on the principle of a territorial community, for which blood relations were secondary. For nomadic pastoralists, future Europeans, on the contrary, a blood-related organization was characteristic.
P.P.S.
With the Bulgarians and Hungarians, no questions arise regarding their resettlement to Europe, since these migrations took place relatively recently in the 1st millennium AD. However, it is not at all obvious that the Celts and Germans also moved to Europe, but 500 - 1000 years earlier. Therefore, I provide information confirming the movement of Celts and Germans into Europe from East to West.
CIMMERIANS, CIMBRIANS, CELTS.
Plutarch writes: “Still others said that the Cimmerians, known in ancient times to the Greeks, constituted only a small part of the tribe, for they were only rebels and fugitives led by a certain Lygdamidas, whom the Scythians forced to move from the shores of Maeotis to Asia, and that the largest and most warlike part The Cimmerians live near the Outer Sea, in a country so wooded that the sun there never penetrates through the thicket of tall trees that extend all the way to the Hercynian Forest. The sky in those parts is such that the pole stands extremely high and, due to the declination of the parallels, almost coincides with the zenith, and the days and nights are of equal length and divide the year into two parts. It was from these places that the barbarians moved to Italy, who were first called Cimmerians, and later, and not without reason, Cimbri.”
Diodorus Siculus, ancient Greek historian of the 1st century BC: “The wildest of the Gauls live in the north, as well as in the lands of neighboring Scythia... Since they are widely known for their strength and ferocity, some say that these are the Cimmerians, who in ancient times passed throughout Asia, but soon this name was distorted, and they began to be called the Cimbri"
“Who were the Celts? Scientists are learning a lot about the lives of ancient people by studying them funeral ritual. Around 800 years ago BC, the inhabitants of the northern Alps burned their dead and buried them in urns. Most researchers agree that the ritual of burial in urns among the Celts slowly gave way to the burial not of ashes, but of bodies, although, as already mentioned, mutilated ones. Oriental motifs can be discerned in the clothing of the buried: pointed-toed shoes, the nobility wore trousers. We must also add the round conical hats that Vietnamese peasants still wear. The art is dominated by patterns of animal figures and grotesque decorations. According to the German historian Otto-Hermann Frey, there is an undeniable Persian influence in the clothing and art of the Celts. There are other signs pointing to the East as the homeland of the ancestors of the Celts. The Druid teachings about the rebirth of the dead are reminiscent of Hinduism. "
For more details, see: http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/10396/ (Science and life, THE CELTS - A MYSTERIOUS PEOPLE, WHOSE DESCENDANTS STILL LIVE IN EUROPE TODAY)
FRANKI.
Gregory of Tours in his “History of the Franks” in the 6th century does not consider them a local tribe and writes:
“Many people say that the same Franks came from Pannonia and first of all settled the banks of the Rhine. Then from here they crossed the Rhine, passed through Thoringia and there, through the districts and regions, they chose long-haired kings from their first, so to speak, more noble families...”
He writes about the Huns:
“So, the Huns left Pannonia and, as some say, on the eve of Holy Easter they came to the city of Metz, devastating everything in their path...”
http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/rus/Greg_Tour/frametext2.htm
But we know that the Huns came, at least from the Urals and Pannonia, for them an intermediate point of migration. This can also be expected in the case of the Franks.
This is not surprising, since Pannonia is a passageway for nomads on their way from East to West along the Danube. To the north and south of the Danube there are mountains - the Carpathians and the Balkans.
Burial of the Frankish king Childeric.
“... Quite by accident, on May 27, 1653, one mason, clearing a place for the foundation of a new building in the outskirts of the Saint-Brice quarter of the city of Tournai, on the right bank of the Escaut, dug up a purse with a hundred gold coins minted during the time of the emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, starting with Theodosius II (408-450) to Zeno (476-491). Pieces of silk fabric, gold threads, weapons, precious jewelry, and gold items were also discovered here: small bees decorated with garnets. A skeleton of a man no less than 180 cm tall was also found, wearing a ring with a personal seal on his finger, which read “King Childeric”...
...Twenty meters from the place where the remains of the king are believed to have been found, it was possible to discover three separate burials in rocky ground, in which were the skeletons of a dozen horses - the skeletons were intact, undivided, which indicates the killing of the horses that became the subject of sacrifice . Was it done for the occasion? royal funeral? This conclusion is suggested by the fact that burials of soldiers of the 6th century were cut into the burial grounds, as well as the dating of the bones using the carbon method. In previously known cases of horse sacrifice associated with the rites of the 5th century Germans, who buried them next to a warrior, horse burials on such a scale had never before been encountered. The amazing scale of the Tournaisian sacrifice suggests the presence of a royal burial ground here. We do not undertake to say anything more definite...”
http://krotov.info/history/06/3/lebek.html
“According to the Hittite tradition, horse sacrifices were made at the funeral of a king or queen. After the burning of the deceased kings, the horses were killed, and the horse heads were buried along with the royal ashes. This tradition is confirmed by finds of horse skulls in Western Asia in the Osmankayasy burial ground. They date back to the 17th-14th centuries. Don. e."
See Wiki "Cult of the Horse".
The burial of Childeric indirectly points to the ancestral home of the Franks - Asia Minor. The Scythians and tribes of the catacomb cultural-historical community, who lived in the Azov region and Ciscaucasia, also practiced burial with a horse.
"catacomb cultural and historical community
In the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. in the steppe regions of Eastern Europe there was a catacomb cultural-historical community, named after characteristic feature funeral rite burials of the deceased in special catacomb chambers dug into one of the walls of the grave pit.
The catacomb community occupied a vast area from the Dniester almost to the Volga. In the south, the boundaries of the range are marked in the Ciscaucasia; there are catacomb monuments in the Kuban and Terek. There are numerous local variants, perceived as special cultures.
The settlements have not been studied enough. In the Azov region, the remains of rectangular houses on stone foundations with adobe walls were found. The length of the houses was at least 14 meters.
The basis of the economy of the catacomb community was pastoralism and agriculture. Part of the population led a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Undoubtedly, metallurgy and metalworking existed. The first metal products, however, came from the Caucasus, as evidenced by both the analysis of the metal and the types of products. Later, the development of copper ore deposits began.
In the vicinity of the city of Artemovsk, ancient mines, slags, and smelting remains were found. Evidence of specialization are the burials of foundry masters. Handled daggers and knives, flat chisels, adzes, eye axes and various decorations. Gold items are rare.
High development Vehicle attested by the remains of wooden four-wheeled carts and models of covered carts made of clay.
Catacomb burials took place under mound-mounds, which sometimes reached very large sizes (one mound in Kalmykia had a diameter of 75 meters and a height of 8 meters). Such mounds were erected, of course, not over the graves of ordinary community members. As a rule, one deceased person is buried, but there are also joint burials of a man and a woman, adults with children. There is evidence of the violent killing of women during the burial of a man. The funeral ritual is associated with fireplaces and altars, and the placing of funeral food in the grave.
The large size of the mounds and burial structures for people who occupied a high position in society, and the differences in burial goods and ritual indicate the level of social and property stratification among the bearers of the catacomb community.
Some graves, for example, are accompanied by the BURIAL OF MANY HORSE SKULLS. All this indicates a society with a rather complex structure and high level social organization.
other cultures of Central and Northern Europe
The territories of present-day Upper Austria, Holland and Western Germany in the middle and end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. were inhabited by tribes of a special culture, after which their characteristic mound burials remained. Bronze weapons and, in small quantities, sickles were found in them. The study of the settlements of this culture suggests that the population who left these monuments may have had experience in cultivating the land, but their main occupation was still semi-nomadic CASTLE BREEDING..."
FRENCH.
"Old French language (French francique, German Altfr;nkisch) is an ancient Germanic language that died out in the 8th century, spoken by the Salic Franks who conquered Roman Gaul at the end of the 5th century. About 100 thousand Franks gradually migrated south from territory of modern Flanders, which they settled in the 3rd-4th centuries.In Romance-speaking Gaul, the Salic Franks were surrounded by a large (6-8 million) Gallo-Roman population, and therefore over time lost native language, which went out of use by the end of the 8th century. However, the Franks for a long time formed the basis of a new ruling class Gaul, and therefore their language played important role superstrate in the formation of the modern French language, including its name. In French Numerous Frankish borrowings are preserved (jardin, bande, guerre, fauteuil, rang, blond, blanc, bleu, brun and others)"
see Wiki article "Old Frankish language".
VANDALS, GOTHES.
Procopius of Caesarea directly says that the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths and Gepids are Sarmatians. Sarmatians are nomads who defeated the Scythians.
“The Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea personally interacted with various barbarians during his service, participating in wars against them in the 530s. He did not notice much difference between the Vandals and the Goths, referring them to a single group of Gothic tribes:
“In former times there were many Gothic tribes, and there are many of them now, but the largest and most significant of them were the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths and Gepids, formerly called Sarmatians, and the Melanchlenians. Some authors called them getae. All these peoples, as has been said, differ from each other only in names, but in all other respects they are similar. They are all white in body, have light brown hair, are tall and good-looking; they have the same laws and profess the same faith. They are all Arians and speak the same language, the so-called Gothic; and, as it seems to me, in ancient times they were of the same tribe, but later they began to be called differently: by the names of those who were their leaders.”
see Wiki article. "Vandals"
Any resident former USSR Anyone who travels abroad knows how easily foreigners single out our fellow citizens and unmistakably recognize them as “Russians.” It seems that you speak English well, and have shopped around in local stores, but no, anyway, almost any foreigner, taking a fleeting glance at you, immediately guesses that you are “Russian”.
The “Russians” themselves have many hypotheses why they are so easily “calculated”: here are the eternally preoccupied gloomy faces, and the specific “pink” color of gold jewelry... there are so many hypotheses...
But these hypotheses do not explain anything, because the Swedes, for example, walk around Europe with such gloomy faces that the Russians care about them as they care about the Sahara. And pink “Russian” gold has been at the peak of fashion for many years in Europe and has ceased to be a purely Russian attribute.
To be honest, when I used to travel around the world on short trips, it also bothered me quite a lot, that I would be recognized so easily, and I also built theories about why “Russians” stood out so much.
And only after settling in Europe for good, I understood how this is done, and now I can unmistakably recognize a “Russian” from a distance of 100 steps. However, if you ask me to list specific characteristics in which a “Russian” differs in appearance from a European, I am afraid that I will not be able to do this.
Can you list the specific characteristics by which “pop” music differs from “non-pop”? You won’t be able to list them, but when you hear them, you can immediately identify them. This is approximately how “Russian” differs from “non-Russian” abroad.
Formally belonging to European culture, Soviet culture developed for a long time in complete isolation (and even now this cultural isolation remains largely preserved) and eventually acquired such numerous specific touches and nuances in the culture of behavior that appearance, gestures and manner of communication, which, each insignificant in itself, together form a very characteristic appearance of the Russian.
- A married couple walks down the street sluggishly quarreling and sorting things out? - Russians!
- Are you arguing at the counter about what type of sausage to buy for dinner and can’t come to an agreement? - Russians!
- The wife lingers at the display window, and her husband impatiently drags her further by the hand - Russians!
- Did you publicly shout at the child or, even more so, spank him? - Russians, definitely!
- A lady is blocking an aisle in a supermarket, people are squeezing past her, and she doesn’t even move or apologize? - Russian, no options!
- Does a person not hold the hotel door when his companion squeezes in with suitcases? - Russian!
- They greeted him, smiled at him, but he doesn’t answer “because they don’t know each other”? - Russian!
The “Russian” generally does not tolerate “fake European smiles”, and therefore smiles only at jokes or at ladies he intends to fuck. Well, or vice versa, for men, if the “Russian” is a lady.
For 100 years, citizens of the Soviet empire were trash, decay and expendable material for the state. This attitude naturally spilled over into the relations of “Russian” citizens with each other.
For a Russian, any other person is a person and a special person, worthy of attention only if he has some kind of personal relationship with this person. If there are no personal relationships, then any stranger for the “Russian” - decay, empty place, which is not worth paying attention to. Moreover, even the fact that a Russian has a personal relationship with someone does not mean at all that the Russian will express at least some respect for him.
The specifics of Russians’ communication with each other and with other people are so obviously different from the specifics of communication of both Europeans and Asians that they immediately give away the “Russian” in its entirety as soon as he begins to “communicate.” Or vice versa, as soon as he does not start communicating.
However, a lonely Russian in the bare European steppe will be just as easily identifiable as a Russian in conversation.
The appearance of a Russian gives him away.
A Russian may not even suspect that any clothes purchased at the Cherkizovsky market actively broadcast a signal to others - “this is Russian.” Even if it doesn’t seem to differ in appearance from the same clothes bought in Europe, and even if it has a European label on it.
Let me clarify that when I say “clothes purchased at the Cherkizovsky market,” I mean “any clothes purchased in Russia.” It doesn’t matter where, in the market or in some branded salon, like Zara, Calcedonia or Bershka.
Over the 100 years of isolation of the Soviet empire, world fashion trends somehow reached it in a roundabout way, and therefore, at the very least, Soviet tastes in clothing correspond to European ones. But with specifics.
This specificity arose due to the fact that over the course of these hundred years, semantic gaps in fashion, which invariably arose due to isolation Soviet culture, were filled out based on local realities, local concepts, local tastes and capabilities. As a result, a Soviet style of dressing emerged, which is essentially European, but with a fair touch of Sovietism. This plaque still persists to this day.
Since the beginning of the 90s, global manufacturers of clothes in the “mass ready-to-wear” category, having understood the tastes of the Soviet public, began selling models in Russia adapted to this taste. Not to mention the market know-name, where this taste comes out of all the cracks.
“What are the differences,” you ask?
But who can tell you, this is not a formalized thing. How, for example, does a Van Gogh painting differ from an “imitation of Van Gogh”? Some indescribable, but clearly noticeable touches. It’s the same with clothing. Maybe in some place somewhere there will be more lace and glitter. Or these laces are of a different shape. Or sewn a bit elsewhere. Or the buttons are slightly differently located and of a different style. Or some special planochka sewn ...
It's difficult to explain. But if you have lived in Europe for at least a year, you will easily acquire the skill of distinguishing “clothes from Russia” at first sight.
However, if a Russian tourist bought all his junk in local European stores, then he will still be different, because he will wear these clothes differently, and combine toilet items in a completely different way than the locals do. Not worse, not better, just different.
No English woman, for example, would think of choosing a beach T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops by color and style. Because it's a beach! Casual! So if I see a lady wearing a beach ensemble like Evening Dress- that means Russian!
Well, or polka. Only the Polish woman will have a different hairstyle.
Because in all Russian hairdressing salons, both in the cheapest and in the “elite salons”, hairstyles are somehow mystically They make sure that their bearers bear the mark “cut in Russia.” God forbid, I don’t want to say that haircuts are bad in Russia. They cut hair normally, sometimes even very skillfully and beautifully. But it is identifiable. Maybe there are some special cutting technologies there, I don’t know. But the work of a Russian hairdresser is just as identifiable as the work of a Russian plastic surgeon.
Just like the work of a Russian jeweler.
The color of gold is actually nonsense, pink, not pink, it can be different. But the style - yes! The product of any Russian jewelry factory cannot be confused with anything else. This again is difficult to explain. I could probably again refer to the analogy with Van Gogh, but I will do it differently. Browse the Internet through the collections of different jewelry houses: European, American, Japanese... and then go to any jewelry store in Moscow. You will immediately understand the difference. You can't help but understand!
Well, have you figured it out yet? Why is it useless to ask the question: “What can I do so that they don’t recognize me as Russian abroad?”
But if you do ask it, I will answer: “Nothing can be done. To do this, you will have to permanently settle in Europe and for a long, long time, drop by drop, squeeze the Soviet people out of yourself.”
To be honest, I don't know what a European is. Of course, there are European values, and they are mostly shared by people living in Europe. But in the same way they find a response in the hearts and souls of other people: Russians, Chinese, Ukrainians. If the concept of a European hides a person living in Europe, then I don’t see much unifying force behind this term: people who can be described this way are too different.
Partially the answer to your question was given in Dostoevsky’s letter to Maikov, which I cited earlier, in particular, there is a dialogue with the following content (Dostoevsky, being in Germany, talks with a Russian interlocutor who has expatriated to Germany):
Dostoevsky: What exactly did you expatriate for?
Interlocutor: Here is civilization, but here we have barbarism. Besides, there are no nationalities here; I was traveling in a carriage yesterday and couldn’t tell the difference between a Frenchman and an Englishman and a German.
Dostoevsky: So, this is progress, in your opinion?
Interlocutor: Of course
Dostoevsky: Do you know that this is completely false. A Frenchman is first of all a Frenchman, and an Englishman is an Englishman, and to be themselves is their highest goal. Moreover, this is their strength.
Therefore, when you say “European,” you become like Dostoevsky’s interlocutor, who believes that there are no more nationalities in Europe. And this, of course, is a huge mistake, and, unfortunately, a large number of people from the former USSR are susceptible to it (with the exception of the Baltic states, they have already learned from their own experience how heterogeneous Europe is). Even the Europeans themselves at some point believed in it and created European Union. For now, this experiment is still ongoing, but the number of Eurosceptics is growing more and more. On this topic, I advise you to look at Munk Debates: Debate on Europe.
Speaking about the difference between a European and a Russian, it seems to me that the Russian intellectual, unlike the French or British, more easily renounces national identity, considering it some kind of relic of the past, this also determines the emergence of Russian cosmism, when a person is considered a “citizen peace." However, the flip side of the rejection of national identity is disdain and lack of a sense of connection with the Russian history common to us all, and in some cases - outright gloating over Russia’s failures, and even the conviction that “if Russia had failed, then there would have been no loss.” , no unrest in humanity." You can’t imagine how many Russian emigrants are sarcastically wondering if people are still shooting in the streets and enthusiastically asking about lawlessness and despotism in modern Russia. In the end, there is a completely unusual type of people, those who say that they love Russia, but against their will, they hate it, Russia. Once again I will give the floor to Dostoevsky:
“But here’s what I noticed: all these liberals and progressives, mainly from the school of Belinsky, find it their first pleasure and satisfaction to scold Russia. The difference is that Chernyshevsky’s followers simply scold Russia and openly wish it to fail (mostly fail!). These same offspring of Belinsky add that they love Russia. And yet, not only do they hate everything that is slightly original in Russia, so they deny it and immediately turn it into a caricature with pleasure, but what if they were finally presented with a fact that could not be refuted or spoil the caricature, and with which one must certainly agree, then, it seems to me, they would be painfully, painfully, and desperately unhappy.”
“We differ from Europeans in that we like to scold our government, we work very hard, have very little rest, we do not spare nature, we do not take care of our health, we constantly change laws and do not comply with them. And we still consider ourselves the most read and cultural country world, although this has long been untrue.
Gennady Skvortsov,
pensioner
Unfortunately, my foreign friends love Russia, but are afraid of it. And when they come to visit, they adapt to those around them so as not to attract attention to themselves. That is, they stop smiling friendly, saying hello in stores, and giving up their seat on public transport.
Yuri Koltsov,
programmer
In my opinion, today Europeans differ from Russians in their curiosity. Sometimes it seems that our compatriots are afraid to let something new and unusual into their lives. This is why it is so difficult for us to take root with new formats. educational programs, cultural exhibitions, fashion news “catch up” with us years later. My comment is not a reproach, but rather an appeal to people living in Russia not to settle for the usual. Progress brings more benefits than destruction. It's important to remember this.
Anastasia Vasilchenko, PR specialist
I visited Europe for the first time 15 years ago. Then Russians could be immediately distinguished in the crowd. By the tense facial expression, by the manner of crossing the street, by the abundance of makeup and gold jewelry on women. Now that Russians have begun to travel more, dress more interestingly, and it’s harder to tell the difference. Young people have adapted especially quickly; they can easily be confused with locals abroad.
In general, to be honest, we still have to learn a culture of behavior and study. If I go on vacation abroad, I try to choose places where there are few Russian tourists. Relaxing among foreigners is much more pleasant and calmer than with compatriots.
Egor Sbitnev,
photographer
I wasn’t too lazy and found on the Internet what Europeans say about Russians:
Be prepared for the fact that when making an important request, a Russian friend will never say “please” or “thank you in advance.”
In Russia, for some reason, they knock on the office door and immediately enter without waiting for an invitation.
In Russia, any question or problem can be solved through an acquaintance.
Russians do not understand when a foreigner comes to Russia for permanent residence. They believe that it is necessary, on the contrary, to leave the country.
When you visit a dentist in Russia, they immediately ask you: “Where does it hurt?” When they hear that nothing hurts, you just showed up for a routine dental examination, they are surprised. In Russia, people go to the doctor when something really hurts. But mostly they tolerate it or self-medicate.
As soon as one of the Russians has the slightest reason to celebrate something - be it a birthday or a promotion, they immediately bring treats for all their colleagues (sweets, chocolates, cakes and alcohol). This tradition seems strange to foreigners - usually the hero of the occasion expects gifts from his colleagues. But in Russia it’s the other way around.
Don’t be surprised if you are invited to celebrate the New Year in Russia at 11 pm, until 6 am you will drink cognac, champagne, herring under a fur coat, Olivier salad, then you will be put to bed, and the holiday will continue in the apartment for another three days.
For some reason, Russians sit down “on the path” before traveling. And silently. It's like they're going to a cemetery.
Russians love to scold their Motherland, but at the same time they cannot stand it when foreigners criticize it.
Veniamin Proskurin,
teacher
Of course, Russians are different from Europeans. How else? The very course of centuries-old history has given rise to these differences. European culture is based, first of all, on the ancient one, and we were deprived of this heritage. Their first university appeared in the 22nd century, ours only under Catherine the Second. Someone was constantly attacking our vast territory; we had to constantly defend ourselves from attacks. These wars dealt blows to the economy and demographics. The Europeans quickly consolidated in their small states. And they robbed (there’s no other way to say it) other countries.
There are an infinite number of such examples from history. There is only one conclusion: Russia is for Europe (and the whole world as a whole) big child, who is not accepted by the company because of his size and “otherness.” Therefore, this must be understood and accepted. And be proud that you were born in great Russia. Which is unlike any other country in the world!
Kirill Sobolev,
entrepreneur
Recently, one of my friends living in Italy said that foreigners in terms of attitude to life, positivity and emotionality are radically different from Russians, because they never knew what it was like to eat pasta with kefir and what it was like to wear the same things over and over again. 5 years.
Yulia Ivanova,
shop assistant
I married a Russian woman and am very happy about it. It amazes me how culturally educated people in Russia are. Or rather, it’s not even education - it’s an interest in culture, in art. Here they go to theaters, concerts, read books - and they do this all the time. You are also very open, kind and sincere.
Janis Reke,
police officer
I was in three countries - Belgium, France and Italy. The difference from Russia is felt immediately. In France, it was striking that all passengers entering the public transport greet the driver. And he smiles back at everyone: “bonsua.” I was pleased with the abundance of beautiful chairs that stand in the parks. They are not bolted to the asphalt or chained for safety. You can calmly take a chair you like and sit on it in the shade under a tree or place it next to a pond where ducks swim. Can you imagine this situation here in Russia? In Belgium, not a single store is open on weekends (only those that are aimed at tourists, and even they work on a shortened schedule), everyone actively relaxes in parks, rollerblades and bicycles, lies quietly on the lawns with a book in their hands, next to children are playing. On weekends, we “break away” for the whole week: we make “raids” to markets and shops, do laundry, wash, clean, make repairs and completely forget about rest. In Italy in the middle of the day " holy time" - siesta. Italians rest for two (and in some places three) hours a day: all institutions, shops, pharmacies, and hairdressers are closed. Having rested, everyone gets back to work. In Russia for last decade practically erased from working life the word "break". On the signs we write: “We work without breaks and weekends.” And more and more often - until 22-23 hours. And then we wonder why Russians suffer from depression and complain about constant fatigue. And the most important difference between Russians and Europeans is their facial expressions. There is a kind of calmness and self-confidence on their faces. We have tension, dissatisfaction with everything and concern: “what does the coming day have in store for us?”
Ksenia Semenenko,
entrepreneur
Gentlemen, do not confuse tourism with emigration! Europe is not as good as it seems. Families there have long had commodity-money relations. They borrow money from each other (and their children too) at interest, they sign marriage contracts, and they allow same-sex marriages. In everything - cold calculation and austerity. On a birthday, everyone goes to congratulate the birthday boy in a cafe, and there everyone pays for themselves. A man will never pay for a woman in a restaurant. And we do everything with our hearts. And our women are the most beautiful!
Yuri Kushnarev,
driver
An anecdote on the topic: when everything is fine, a European works calmly and well, but when everything goes wrong, he panics. When everything goes wrong for a Russian, he mobilizes and does the impossible. When everything is fine, the Russian suffers.
This is where we differ from each other.
Evgeniy Stolbov,
serviceman
Prepared by Irina STUKALOVA
This topic is dedicated to the difference between the mentalities of Russia and Europe and America.
Because every damn day I see how Russians try to analyze Western posts and people’s actions in their usual way, and look for connections where there are none at all. Therefore, with this post I will provide some answers to some questions.
I also want to note that in different countries the same Europe has many differences. And what may be typical, for example, for France, is not at all typical for England.
1. Social environment and well-being.
The social environment in Europe is favorable. Many Russians are convinced that the standard of living is high only from salaries, but no, almost 70% of this comes from the social environment. That is, how well people feel in the country. How safe they feel even in dark alleys. How simple and easy communication with strangers. How welcoming, friendly, and ready to help and respond people are. What kind of relationship do they have between a man and a woman and how does this communication take place? The social environment influences all means of communication, from acquaintances and friends to unfamiliar strangers, relationships between men and women, relationships between adults and children, adults and adolescents. In this regard, in different European countries the social environment is not the same but fluctuates a little. The countries with the best social environment are considered to be all of Scandinavia, and the worst are the Baltic states and France.
Social environment in Russia - Ass. Let's say it straight. Why doesn’t a Russian smile and everyone knows that there is no time for smiling in Russia. In Russia there is a tictanic split between men and women, which means this will directly affect basic needs: Love, care, respect, sex, the need for recognition as an individual, for understanding. In general, look at the Maslow table. In addition to the titanic split between men and women, the social environment does not allow Russians to easily trust strangers, perceiving them either as enemies or not well-wishers. Simply put, in Russia everyone is almost each other’s enemy. Excessive demonstrativeness, turning on the thieves, turning on the alpha guy, especially adds to the problems for Russians. The atmosphere around the alpha guy is always oppressive and gives birth to the same intermediaries who in the future will throw aggression into society to show their importance. In general, Russians are full of advice on how to make everything worse in their homeland, as if there is some generator of problems that does not allow them to live happily and develop their civilization in prosperity.
2. Raising children
The photo shows a typical Western or European family.
Education in Europe is a dialectic. They talk to the child. The child is perceived as almost an equal, without trying to communicate from top to bottom. The child is almost never commemorated or ordered, except in very rare cases. They don’t scold because mom’s mood is not right. Usually among Europeans a good relationship with parents, and adolescence goes smoothly. Another feature of a child is the value of his comfort zone. it is important!. The child himself can choose what he should wear for a walk, where he should go, when he should eat, sleep, and when he should play games.
As a result, children grow up to be optimists. They were loved in childhood and they live peacefully in the future. They easily communicate with new people and start conversations. They are able to build relationships with the opposite sex easily, seriously and for a long time, to create happy families where harmony and communication are in order. Mom to dad at the same time best friend, both wife and lover. and the same in reverse. They do not have childhood complexes, and life in life brings pleasure. And even the rare disabled people generally spend their entire lives surrounded by a bunch of friends and cannot call themselves oppressed, or that their life is a nightmare - in general, everything is usually almost always good or even excellent.
In the Russian family, training prevails. Very often you can find families where the child directly remembers what, from the position of the European family, is wild, terrible and harmful, or rather destructive for the individual. In Russia, children are raised with complexes and pressured through life; all their lives they hear orders: “Stop, go, sleep, look, eat, don’t make noise, don’t scream, clean up after yourself, turn off the TV, turn off the computer, WHO WAS TOLD TO SLEEP!” and this is all only in the best case scenario. At worst, there is always a dismissive attitude. Flogging. One of the problems of children in Russia is excessive emotionality or complexes among the parents themselves. A parent can easily exterminate evil on a child, Bad mood If a parent’s mood is ruined at work, everyone, including the children, will be at risk. Also in Russia they abandon children while they cry or abandon them with problems “Figure it out yourself, you need to do it”
The consequence is that an infantile couch potato person may grow up who is afraid to take a step left or right in life. Afraid to act, afraid to experience new things. He may be prone to aggression, dominance if his parents behaved this way with him or he grew up in such an environment. If your parents scolded you it would be irrelevant emotional personality with contrasts and emotions from aggression to happiness, outbursts of anger, and more. If you were beaten in childhood, you will beat your children, and perhaps your wife. In all cases, serious difficulties appear in communicating with other people, tightness, complexes and blocks coming from childhood.
This whole topic is well known in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It’s strange that in Russia psychologists work so poorly that no one knows about these phenomena. Or maybe it’s some problem generator that forbids them to say this, who knows? :)
3. Relationships between a Man and a Woman.
Relations between men and women in Europe generally proceed differently in different countries. For this reason, I will mainly talk about Scandinavia and England since they are best known to me.
Few guys will be interested in a big-ass woman. The entire emphasis in relationships in Europe is on communication, communication and mutual understanding. This is the main thing. In Scandinavia, for example, people quickly find a life partner, and the choice almost always depends on how the relationship is built between a man and a woman. How pleasant they are with each other, how much they have formed a friendly corner. How much they know how to negotiate and live in harmony and unity. Most often on the Internet you can see a lot of cute couples lying on the sofa, hugging. No, they are not friends for 2 weeks or 2 days, they can be friends like this for years and decades. They build relationships on mutual understanding and internal harmony between them - it’s all there, it’s true. This happens because the main trump card is communication. In Europe, they won’t kill themselves over a woman or a guy who didn’t reciprocate, because non-reciprocity means that there is no communication, there is no harmony, which means why should we kill ourselves? And if something seriously doesn’t work out for them for a long time, and mutual understanding in protracted problems, rest assured, they will separate. They will not suffer there for a long time with the "wrong" and "unsuitable for the soul" person. Likewise, a European will not build a relationship with a girl for beauty, unless he leads the lifestyle of a bachelor and is simply having fun. A European girl will not cut, this is almost nowhere to be found. Relations between people are based on consent and harmony.
In Russia, as usual, what the hell. very often you can see a bet on appearance. I myself have many friends who have found virgins, about whom I speak directly - Rozhey came out, the rest is not important. And so it is. Many friends generally communicate with their friends to a minimum; they have a number of problems in which Europeans would have left a year ago if they “communicated” like that. Often they have nothing in common but live in the same apartment. It's trash to have such a relationship in the clear ass, and continue this business. However, the Russians do not expect another, if the girl does not saw, then life is already a success. If it does not require gifts at all nishtyak. Not only is there a serious stake in understanding between M and F in Russia, but the social atmosphere of constant negativity adds drive. It seems that the Russians are doomed to suffering.
4. Attitude towards nudity
5. Appearance, makeup, glamor, sexuality
Appearance, makeup, glamor, sexuality are usually not shown much in Europe. As I already said, people rely on communication; in this regard, glamor cannot survive at all. European women can easily go out in public without makeup - that's true. This directly depends on her attitude to the world. The fact is that she is open to the world, she is positive towards it, a European woman presents herself as she is and does not try to please everyone. This is very good, in many countries they use a minimum of makeup at all, and in those countries where the stakes on appearance are lower, the results are the most happy relationship between people. For example, Sweden, first place with the most beautiful girls peace. However, do Swedes think about their appearance? No. They are just who they are, and guys in Sweden almost never choose a girl based on her looks. Firstly, Swedes are the same, and secondly, in Sweden, as in Denmark, the main emphasis is on communication, understanding, harmony.
The Russian woman enters the world immediately with enmity. She was taught from childhood to be mysterious, to hold back all the details, because of this, she developed not a direct but an indirect type of thinking. I once wrote about the meta-program of lies, which said that as soon as a woman is convinced that she should be mysterious, she begins to behave not directly, but indirectly - at the first stage. On the second appear manipulativeness, deceit, on the third super selfishness. As one Russian joke says, “The mind of a Russian woman is busy with “how to make him do...”.
Speaking about the appearance of Russians, there is one very harmful joke for the development of humanity. Makeup and nudity. Europeans have always observed that Russian girls are excessively fond of undressing, and makeup is generally a separate issue. The fact is that a Russian man is accustomed to makeup and not the natural appearance of a person, and he is turned on by a woman in makeup and not by a woman in her natural appearance. Against this background, a Russian man will recommend that even his own wife quickly put on makeup, since he is not used to seeing a person as she is, but only in makeup. In general, this is all very destructive for culture, everything that happens, from problems in communication to appearance through instincts. Remember? I talked about a lot of Russian friends who found themselves women who “came with a face, the rest doesn’t matter.” This is the situation.
Equality
I’ll say right away that in Europe and even in the USA Feminism is not particularly popular, few people remember it - They remember mostly Russians. But equal rights they are - and it is very good.
In Europe, no one sponsors anyone, so no one will ever choose a partner based on benefits. If a girl wants something, she earns it herself. If a man wants something, he earns it himself. Independence develops, and most importantly, people do not choose each other for their own benefit. As I have said many times, in a relationship the main focus is on communication, understanding and harmony. If this is not the case, then there is no need for it. In general, this is probably where equality ends, well, the door is not opened for ladies, there are no special privileges, it doesn’t matter, everything is simple. None negative consequences this has never happened to anyone.
Lack of equality in Russia. Well here more people they will remember what I am. Sponsor a woman, the woman will win all the cases, the woman demands money, the woman chooses not by communication but by benefit. At the same time, the man is taken for a show-off, “a man must”, “a man must achieve”, as a result, the man does not live by his goals, not by his convictions. And he constantly tries to justify some other people's expectations. If he does not cope, he has inferiority complexes, which can develop either into aggression, or into excessive demonstrativeness, and almost always excessive emotionality. A man who can’t cope almost always begins to violate someone else’s comfort zone, trying to prove to others that “you’re a man, endure it, you’re a man, you’ll succeed,” and so on. And in general, splits and problems are caused to Russians in this very way. This is a state motivation program.
In general, in Russia the problems are both inequality and social environment, all this is like a lump superimposed on one another and there are more and more problems that it becomes a problem to disentangle them. Once you solve one problem, 10 more will remain. At the same time, Russians are forced to believe that inequality is good and equality is bad. well.. maybe so, maybe the Russians are happy with this regime, which now let them live :)
Comfort zone
Damn it, I almost forgot a very important point.
Comfort zone, or personal space zone. A very important thing in human development. A person should not feel that something is being forced, imposed on him, etc. There are countries in Europe that have problems with this, France, the Baltic states and, like, Italy. The leader is clearly France. There they will definitely quickly teach you what is good, what is bad, what you did wrong and how to live correctly. But these problems do not exist either in Germany, or England, or Scandinavia. The comfort zone is highly valued. If you don't want something, ok, no problem, it's your choice. Even children are raised this way - if you don’t want to eat porridge, okay, don’t eat it. If you don't want to, okay, don't sleep. The comfort zone learns equally with the ability to communicate between people, since, for example, a non-European, simply because of his habits from his own country, begins to show pride that is not at all appropriate in Europe, or to show off, or to impose himself like a dog - this is not necessary.
In Russia it is very similar to both France and Japan. Everyone teaches everyone, reads morals, teaches life. This is especially pronounced in certain periods of life. We all know Russian grandmothers. But it's not just grandmothers, it's almost everyone. Even a child in Russia is reminded of what he should do and what he should not do.
Conclusion.
Russia needs a psychiatrist.
