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Ask me about Eastern Europe

wakegrrl said:
Do you have any insight into why adoption is so negatively viewed in Russian society?
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Because the blood bond between family members is seen as the only real structure in a culture where anyone and everyone else is seen with some level of suspicion? This is a culture where you don't even use your last name except on paperwork - in all other circumstances you are Alexandra Sergeyevna which is literally: "Alexandra, daughter of Sergey". Everyone is directly identified, every day of their life, every time they use their name, with their parents.

Orphans don't have those blood bonds to anyone, they therefore owe no loyalty to anyone and are very dangerous. Or at least that's the stigma.
 
Interesting thread.

What's the average Russian response to all the money the government is spending for the Sochi 2014 games and the 2018 World Cup? Are these events for which national pride trumps practical fiscal considerations? Do people even care?
 
vadimivich said:
Because the blood bond between family members is seen as the only real structure in a culture where anyone and everyone else is seen with some level of suspicion? This is a culture where you don't even use your last name except on paperwork - in all other circumstances you are Alexandra Sergeyevna which is literally: "Alexandra, daughter of Sergey". Everyone is directly identified, every day of their life, every time they use their name, with their parents.

Orphans don't have those blood bonds to anyone, they therefore owe no loyalty to anyone and are very dangerous. Or at least that's the stigma.
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That's the most reasonable explanation I've ever heard, including from our adoption agency. Thanks.
 
deacinwnc said:
Interesting thread.

What's the average Russian response to all the money the government is spending for the Sochi 2014 games and the 2018 World Cup? Are these events for which national pride trumps practical fiscal considerations? Do people even care?
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They care, and they care a lot. Russians are extremely image conscious and they see these events as a chance to show the world they are not some backwards country full of bread lines (which it's not).

People forget that 2 of the 4 biggest cities in Europe are Russia. It's the largest country in the world by landmass. It's wealthy, has a ton of history and in many ways is a truly gorgeous country. Russians are very sensitive to the perception of being backwards, stupid and starving and view events like this as both proof of their importance, and a chance to show everyone how wrong the stereotypes are.

Sochi is a neat city, those games should be a huge success (though the anti-terrorism measures might be a bit offensive to some, given the location). The World Cup is going to be another story - the sites are huge distances apart and some of the selected host cities aren't even remotely close to ready.
 
wakegrrl said:
That's the most reasonable explanation I've ever heard, including from our adoption agency. Thanks.
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That's my best reasonable stab at the subject. It's a very real stigma though, and one Russia is trying to fight (a shrinking population needs all the babies it can get).
 
In what major cities can you drink the tap water without getting the trots? (if any)

To me, that's the ultimate sign of civilization.
 
EatLeadCommie said:
In what major cities can you drink the tap water without getting the trots? (if any)

To me, that's the ultimate sign of civilization.
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In Russia? Yeah, it's safe to drink the tap water in all the major cities. The bigger question is whether or not the pipes in your apartment are up to snuff (for example - my flat dates from the '20s, and the water comes out tasting like metal).

In most of Bulgaria, Romania, Albania though ... yeah, I might stay away from the tap water. Or in Belarus (which is the poorest, dreariest place in all of eastern europe and it's not close).
 
Oh - strange Russian water factoid (and this affects other cities that were under Soviet influence).

The Soviets were big on "one big one instead of many small ones" - so you don't have hot water heaters in your house or apartment. You have two pipes that come in, one with cold water and one with hot water - the hot water comes from a giant boiler that feeds an entire city block or larger.

Once a year, those boilers have to be shut down for maintenance in the summer - so for a week at a time, an entire block will have no hot water. Cities post schedules of when you'll lose your hot water, and people plan vacations around them, etc
 
What the hell are you still doing up? Isn't it like 6 million o'clock in Russia?
 
It's 3am. Was up late watching the Spartak Europa League match which didn't kick off till 11pm local time here, and then was talking to family on the phone.

спокойной ночи
 
vadimivich said:
Because the blood bond between family members is seen as the only real structure in a culture where anyone and everyone else is seen with some level of suspicion? This is a culture where you don't even use your last name except on paperwork - in all other circumstances you are Alexandra Sergeyevna which is literally: "Alexandra, daughter of Sergey". Everyone is directly identified, every day of their life, every time they use their name, with their parents.

Orphans don't have those blood bonds to anyone, they therefore owe no loyalty to anyone and are very dangerous. Or at least that's the stigma.
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So Ovie's name means "Alex, kin of Ovech"?
 
TuffaloDeac10 said:
So Ovie's name means "Alex, kin of Ovech"?
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No, his full name is Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (Alexander son of Mikhail Ovechkin). In day to day life his family or friends would probably just call him Sasha Mikhaylovich.

It gets a bit weird for athletes and public figures, especially ones who are global figures. Patronymics are really only used inside Russia and the Ukraine, and generally not for marketing.
 
KanhojiAngre said:
Central Asian like from Boratland?
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That general part of the world, yes.

Russians look on central Asians like Americans do Mexicans. They do all the manual labor, have immigrated in droves the past 10-15 years and send money back home. The racial tensions can be quite high at times.
 
Just watched the Three Sheets Croatia episode - makes me want to book a flight back right now. Just an awesome country and people.
 
Do Russians also identify themselves as European?

Have you ever been on any part of the Trans-Siberian Railway?
 
deacinwnc said:
Do Russians also identify themselves as European?

Have you ever been on any part of the Trans-Siberian Railway?
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Russians most definitely think of themselves as European - heck, Russia alone makes up 40% of Europe, and 2 of the 4 biggest cities in Europe are Russian (Moscow and St. Petersburg). About 75% of the population lives in Europe.

Which reminds me - it's hard to put into words how massive Russia is - it covers almost 12% of the world's land mass. It's so far the biggest country in the world it's staggering.

Yes, I've been on parts of the trans-siberian railroad, but only in the European sections. It takes 8 days to go from one end to the other, something I'd really like to do once in my life - but haven't had the chance yet.
 
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