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Stereotypical Perceptions
Stereotypes damage
international relations
Old images of the Soviet
Union remain in Westerner’s
minds.
The New Russia
Russia has emerged out of an
economic third world status
as, transparently, just an
indisputed nuclear world
power and a natural resources
trader.
© all rights reserved 2011
1)
Russians are communists…Not true. Fewer than 5% were
in the Communist Party on average during the life of the
USSR. However, Russians have been accustomed to
being forced to do things together for ages. The
business/agricultural terms “collective” and “cooperative”
have been used in Russia since the 1800’s, at least.
2)
There are lots of lazy vodka-drinkers…On a percentage
basis, most of the big drinking is going on outside of the
major cities. Drinking is very heavy in the low-producing
rural and agricultural regions. The Russian saying about
the relationship between poor pay and poor work is telling-
--it reflects basic human nature. Even with no incentives
or other meaningful options available, they love channeling
energy into ANYTHING that for them is meaningful and,
like in most cases, is not related to money.
3)
Siberia is a prison camp and bears roam the streets…the
greatest number of prisons are there, remnants of the
Tsarist system and additionally, those great majority added
by the Stalinist era and its labor camp system. There are
still bears around but they rarely venture out of the forest.
4)
Russians (knowledgeable people, they) often ask: “If our
country is so rich (natural resources), then why are we
mostly so poor?” This is because very few people control
the nation’s wealth in all forms, including capital, combined
with the population’s tacit and meek acceptance of same.
For seemingly educated people, this seems odd.
Russians are different in this way. This contrast, like the
contrast mentioned in the introduction (we Russians
understand ourselves, we understand you, but you cannot
understand us) will soon be clarified.
5)
Russia has over 140 nationalities…cultural diversity…etc.
Don’t pay heed to this as important. The main control
groups are Russian (Government, Business, Crime in
order of importance), Jewish (Business, Crime), and
Chechnyan (Crime management, Criminal-owned
Business). In Moscow, the sole base of power, only 35%
of the population is Russian, however. This is because the
power bases for all of the other nationalities represented
during Soviet times still live there, plus a new surge in new
skilled/unskilled immigrant labor required for growth etc.
6)
Russia definitely isn’t a tourist destination…very true.
Folks who go there usually go out of curiosity or have been
everywhere else. This is because of general negative
in the Communist Party on average during the life of the
USSR. However, Russians have been accustomed to
being forced to do things together for ages. The
business/agricultural terms “collective” and “cooperative”
have been used in Russia since the 1800’s, at least.
2)
There are lots of lazy vodka-drinkers…On a percentage
basis, most of the big drinking is going on outside of the
major cities. Drinking is very heavy in the low-producing
rural and agricultural regions. The Russian saying about
the relationship between poor pay and poor work is telling-
--it reflects basic human nature. Even with no incentives
or other meaningful options available, they love channeling
energy into ANYTHING that for them is meaningful and,
like in most cases, is not related to money.
3)
Siberia is a prison camp and bears roam the streets…the
greatest number of prisons are there, remnants of the
Tsarist system and additionally, those great majority added
by the Stalinist era and its labor camp system. There are
still bears around but they rarely venture out of the forest.
4)
Russians (knowledgeable people, they) often ask: “If our
country is so rich (natural resources), then why are we
mostly so poor?” This is because very few people control
the nation’s wealth in all forms, including capital, combined
with the population’s tacit and meek acceptance of same.
For seemingly educated people, this seems odd.
Russians are different in this way. This contrast, like the
contrast mentioned in the introduction (we Russians
understand ourselves, we understand you, but you cannot
understand us) will soon be clarified.
5)
Russia has over 140 nationalities…cultural diversity…etc.
Don’t pay heed to this as important. The main control
groups are Russian (Government, Business, Crime in
order of importance), Jewish (Business, Crime), and
Chechnyan (Crime management, Criminal-owned
Business). In Moscow, the sole base of power, only 35%
of the population is Russian, however. This is because the
power bases for all of the other nationalities represented
during Soviet times still live there, plus a new surge in new
skilled/unskilled immigrant labor required for growth etc.
6)
Russia definitely isn’t a tourist destination…very true.
Folks who go there usually go out of curiosity or have been
everywhere else. This is because of general negative
perceptions combined with remoteness, lack of good
transportation/accommodation, and few sites. Yet
some of those that do go come back as Russophiles
(about 45,000 total in the U.S., for example), saying
that they have never met such kind and interesting
people. So what is going on? Mainly, middle and
lower-class Russians are indeed among the most
friendly, kind, and generous people that can be met
anywhere, since generally people who don’t have
much are usually willing to share, not to mention that
westerners are still a curiosity for most Soviet-era
adults and their offspring. As well, most foreigners
feel Russians’ emotional levels easily; there is a pure
sense of simplicity, rawness, and civility that comes
through very easily. However, when all classes are
considered together in how they treat their own kind,
behaviors run on a flat, trampled bell-curve between
unspeakable cruelty and kindness, with less emphasis
on kindness.
7)
Lastly, those same Russophiles will often note
standards of living that seem multiple generations
behind Western ones. This makes folks think about
backwardness and isolation…Nope, it’s merely that
they have been through MANY overly-rapid and
compressed, intensely difficult, and sociologically
overly-progressive historical interludes which, when
combined with the unique Russian (100% non-
agrarian) forest-evolved hunt/gather mindset
(featuring a short-term do-or-die reality) and an
incredibly consistent lack of capital, have marginally
retarded their overall material progress compared to
the first and third worlds.
DEBUNKING RUSSIAN MYTH
...It’s merely that they have been through MANY intensely
difficult historical interludes which, combined with an
incredibly consistent lack of capital, have retarded their
material progress.
transportation/accommodation, and few sites. Yet
some of those that do go come back as Russophiles
(about 45,000 total in the U.S., for example), saying
that they have never met such kind and interesting
people. So what is going on? Mainly, middle and
lower-class Russians are indeed among the most
friendly, kind, and generous people that can be met
anywhere, since generally people who don’t have
much are usually willing to share, not to mention that
westerners are still a curiosity for most Soviet-era
adults and their offspring. As well, most foreigners
feel Russians’ emotional levels easily; there is a pure
sense of simplicity, rawness, and civility that comes
through very easily. However, when all classes are
considered together in how they treat their own kind,
behaviors run on a flat, trampled bell-curve between
unspeakable cruelty and kindness, with less emphasis
on kindness.
7)
Lastly, those same Russophiles will often note
standards of living that seem multiple generations
behind Western ones. This makes folks think about
backwardness and isolation…Nope, it’s merely that
they have been through MANY overly-rapid and
compressed, intensely difficult, and sociologically
overly-progressive historical interludes which, when
combined with the unique Russian (100% non-
agrarian) forest-evolved hunt/gather mindset
(featuring a short-term do-or-die reality) and an
incredibly consistent lack of capital, have marginally
retarded their overall material progress compared to
the first and third worlds.
DEBUNKING RUSSIAN MYTH
...It’s merely that they have been through MANY intensely
difficult historical interludes which, combined with an
incredibly consistent lack of capital, have retarded their
material progress.
