What is Russian?

Hey everyone! I’m writing from the road here, as I’ve just begun ‘traveling my way home,’ which basically means I’m homeless until July when I finally make it back to the States. I prepared this entry about a month ago, so that I could post it quickly while on the road, but I wanted to wait until I officially left Russia. I had a whirlwind past three weeks between my Mankato friend Lauren visiting for a week, then Mom and Brent visiting for the following week, all while I finished classes for the semester, said goodbye, and left Moscow for good. So, I’ve barely had time to reminisce, but I’m sure once I’m on my own again next week I’ll turn some of my thoughts back to Russia.

Moscow was good to me. It took me in when I was craving stability and steadiness in my life, and it gave me a wonderful job and lifestyle that I needed. I still believe I was one of the luckiest teachers of all in my orientation group, as I was placed in a school with phenomenal teachers, coworkers, and students (most of them), a great apartment with everything I could possibly need close by, and a convenient location in one of the largest capital cities in the world.

At school, the support and encouragement I received from the Russian teachers was overwhelming, and I truly looked forward to each day of work. I enjoyed preparing lessons for my students, and when I was in the classroom I forgot about everything else except for how to make the class the best it could be. My students accepted me, respected me (most of them), and entertained me to no end. I learned so much from them, about their daily lives, their modern values, their views of the world around them, and most importantly, what it means to be Russian.

So, what exactly does ‘being Russian’ mean? This is a question that most have a hard time grappling, a question that has been echoing especially since the fall of the Soviet Union, and especially now with the recent political developments in Ukraine. Without communism, without a dictatorial leader, without Soviet propaganda, what exactly is the Russian identity? Of course, Russia is an immense country, and this question can be answered a million different ways. But I’ll tell you what my opinion is, based on the past eight months of observations, research, and experience in this intriguingly complex city.

What is Russian?

Walking.

Without fail, whenever I asked my kids what they did or what they were planning to do for the weekend, one of them would say “go for a walk with my friends.” This wasn’t some sort of translation error, this is actually what they meant. In Russian there is a specific verb for this act: to walk together as a social outing. It’s synonymous with our ‘hanging out,’ though they do in fact mean they will go for a walk, with their friends. It’s a chance to get out the house, get some exercise, and socialize, and it’s the Russian national pasttime. Moscow’s numerous parks and broad sidewalks lined with benches make this possible in nearly every neighborhood. Without fail, out on my errands, I will always see people out and about enjoying a stroll (except in the nasty winter) with their family or friends, usually arm in arm.

Family.

Russians spend most weekends with their families, whether it is at their country house, celebrating a family member’s birthday, or visiting relatives. Young unmarried Russians typically live at home until they are married, and they have a very close knit nuclear family, often with a live-in grandma or grandpa to take care of the kids while the parents are working.

Country Houses.

Besides walking, another common response to my weekly ‘weekend question’ is “went to the dacha with my family.” What is a dacha? Directly translated, it means ‘country house,’ and most true Muscovites will own one within an hour or two of the city limits. The dacha has been a staple of Russian life for many centuries, and is still very present in modern Russia. The ‘country house’ is usually just a typical house, nothing extravagant or fancy, but the point is that it’s a house. Not in the city, not in the midst of overwhelming traffic, not in an apartment building. It’s a family house with full bedrooms, a garden, and usually plots of land or forests to be able to wander in and enjoy nature outside of Moscow. Sometimes the family grandparent or grandparents will live at the dacha year round and keep up maintenance, some families go to the dacha continually throughout the year, or others keep it shut up during the winter, then return for the spring, summer, and early fall. A weekend at the dacha is a time to relax, be with family, and to enjoy the outdoors. Most of my kids try to get away without doing their homework by saying the internet doesn’t work at the dacha – in most cases this isn’t true (I always wonder if they really think they are fooling me), but in some cases it is, due to the isolation and seclusion of the houses. Most are located in little villages, as part of a regular neighborhood, much like we are used to in typical American towns. There needs to be a central grocery store and usually a train or bus station nearby, but other than that, a weekend at the dacha is all about the home. 

Also, on a side note, in most dachas there is a banya, our equivalent of a sauna, which is the desire of nearly every Russian to own. The sauna culture didn’t really hit the US, but to Russians, nothing is better than a full blast of a hot, dry steam sweat session in the winter, best complemented with a roll in the snow or a blast of icy air when you are finished. Many of my students talk about the banyas their fathers have built or desire building to complete their country house. You can go to a banya in Moscow, but the true banya is out in the forest, where you can use birch leaves to lightly slap on your skin in order to improve circulation.

Russians on wheels.

Come spring, out for a lovely weather walk, you will find yourself passed by multitudes of people on wheels, whether they are on wheeled shoes (mostly young boys like my students, from my observation), skateboards, bicycles, or rollerblades. If you care to join these fast moving people there are many stalls in the public parks which rent out various wheeled apparatus for your zipping pleasure. Moscow has also recently introduced the shared city bike program, where you can use a bank card to rent and return bikes throughout the city. It’s not much to comment on, but just be prepared for your visit to a Russian park in warm weather. You will be passed.

Fashionable.

Headscarves. High heels. Tall leather boots. Designer bags. You name it, Russian women look like a million bucks, no matter where they are and what they are doing. Even at the gym, as I witnessed firsthand many mornings this winter. Speaking of winter, let me zero in on a particularly Russian look: the fur coat.

As cold weather started approaching, I remember one of my co-teachers, Lena, stating that “a sign of a good husband is when he buys his wife a fur coat,” as she proudly showed her new birthday present off. Based on this sentiment, there must be a lot of outstanding husbands in Moscow, for in the cold winter months nearly everywhere I turned I saw fur coats. Unless you are a fur coat expert like I now pride myself to be, you must realize that once you get over the initial novelty of the coats, some of them are downright ugly. Make sure you cast a critical eye and only stare at the ones worth staring at. There are short fur coats for the fall and warmer temps, and long fur coats for the desolate winter months. There are sparkly fur coats, striped fur coats, and colored fur coats.

You must also have a matching fur hat or appropriate accessorizing headwear such as a Russian scarf to complement your fur coat, or the ensemble isn’t worth a glance.

Generous to no end.

If you are ever invited to a Russian birthday party, go. Don’t ask questions, don’t take time to think about it, just go. You will be spoiled, treated well, have tons of fun, and not be allowed to pay for anything. The Russian mentality is: if I treat everyone for my birthday, everyone will have the most fun possible. They don’t think in terms of being treated back, they just want to opportunity to show their appreciation and to create the best party ever. But of course, if each friend hosts their own party, things are evened out thoughout the year.

For each birthday at the office, we were treated to either pizza, a spread of cold cuts, cheese, and bread, fruit, some drinks, and a dessert. It was delightful to walk into the teacher’s room and realize it was somebody’s birthday. Or to realize there was a holiday coming up because you received a present from one of your students. Or be treated with a small gift because someone went out of town and brought you back a present. In short, Russians are incredibly generous.

Kids will be Kids.

“What did you do last weekend?”

“Sleep. Nothing. Eat. Computer games. Homework.”

“What do you want to do this weekend?”

“Sleep. Nothing. Computer games. Walk with my friends. Find a girlfriend.” (Unfortunately, this kid had been saying that last bit every Friday since Valentine’s Day, with no luck yet.)

What country would you expect these responses from? If you guessed South Korea, Russia, or the United States, you would all be correct. The point is, kids are the same all over the world.

The world is an oyster.

My students study English. They learn it at their public schools, then they come and learn some more at our school. But for most of them, it doesn’t stop there. They choose to learn French, German, Spanish, Italian and I even have a few kids who study Portuguese. One is interested in Korean, and I’m sure some of them have or will attack Chinese or Japanese. They listen to English, British, French, German and other music, and watch movies from many different countries. These kids, whose parents were ‘closed off’ from the world when they were young, are now embracing international and global opportunities with a passion. They know more world history than I did at the time I started college, and frequently ask me questions about history, politics, and American culture. Many of them are well traveled, and while its true that my students are probably from more affluent families than the average Russian, I’m still impressed with how well versed about the world they are. When I ask them why they want to study English, their answers vary from a desire to travel to study abroad to international work. I have one student who will be studying in New York this summer and we’ve already made plans to meet up. These kids are going places, literally. I only hope I’ve been able to help teach them more about the world that they are so curious about. Some questions regarding America I’ve received: “Do kids with no friends really have to eat lunch in the bathroom?,” “Does every school have the yelling pretty girls with the uniforms?,” and my personal favorite, “Why do you go to university if all you do is have parties?” Can’t learn everything from the movies, kids.

This is Russia

This, to me, is Russia. It’s not scary, or always cold, or full of bears. It does have a lot of vodka. I won’t deny that. It also has warm, generous, wonderful, intelligent people who are close to their families, understand the importance of working hard and live their lives to the fullest. Every country in this world has its good and bad qualities. I’m not speaking in defense or support of any specific recent political decisions, but I am speaking in general defense of the Russian people. The people aren’t making the decisions in this power play, the government is. When my mom traveled through the Soviet Union in the 1980s, she specifically recalled the Russian people as being some of the kindest people she met throughout her travels. I have no reason to counteract her statement nearly thirty years later: Russian people, at least all the ones I have met, are pretty fantastic. Don’t let the Western media deter your thoughts otherwise.

I’ve been so lucky to experience nine months in this fascinating country. I’ve learned and seen so much more than I could have hoped for.

With that, I’m signing off for a while as I finish my current travels through the Baltic countries, then take off for my travels through Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Israel before I head home. Unfortunately, I’ll only be in Minnesota for a week before heading to New York City to start a short term teaching job. If I miss you for the first round in Minnesota, I’m hoping to be back again in late August or early September! Check in here every so often to see what I’ve been up to, and as always, I’d love to hear from you or try to meet you along the way. Take care and have a lovely end of your spring and beginning of your summer!