Russia is one of the most desired destinations to visit in the
world, but there are some things that you should know before you
embark on such journey. Russia is nothing you have seen before, a
strange mixture of third-world backwardness and modernity, the
soviet wounds and its own ancient customers and traditions. I
intend to write a series of articles exploring things that you
should know before you travel to Russia. This one
is about strangers' starring and Russian bureaucrats.
And the first thing you should keep in mind is that when you
travel to Russia you will discover that people
don't like you, at least so it seems from the first impression.
Strangers will be looking at you as if you had done something
terrible wrong. Don't worry; it is just Russians don't smile to
strangers. In Russian culture it is acceptable to look at a person
with a cold for more than 2 seconds - something that takes many
westerners off, at first. This does not mean that these people
don't like you though. Who knows why Russians don't smile to
strangers, perhaps just another soviet legacy.
Interestingly, Russians who travel abroad find it strange that
strangers greet each other and smile to strangers. They find it
dishonest to say "Hi, how are you doing?" and not waiting for an
answer. Your travel to Russia will unveil this
subtle difference between Russian and Western cultures.
Another thing that you will notice very quickly when you
travel to Russia (probably at the customs counter
at the airport) is that Russian bureaucrats - government employees
of all shapes and forms - are immensely important (well, at least
in their opinions). And, they act accordingly. Whatever the case,
they are giving you a huge favor by looking in your passport and
putting a stamp. While some think that this tradition is the Soviet
legacy, they are probably wrong. Great Russian novelist Gogol was
mocking Russian bureaucrats as long as 150 years ago. You can
explore this ancient tradition of Russian bureaucracy on any and
every travel to Russia.
You now know that those staring strangers and those mean
bureaucrats are nothing to worry about when you travel to
Russia. In the next story I will explore Russia's modern
perks.
S. Shirokov
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