[Decky]

Well Potemkin you might not like them but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Beren]

Well Potemkin you might not like them but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You may be closer to Tolstoy than Lenin actually.

[Decky]

Well you can't judge a book by its cover Beren. Maybe Potemkin has just heard too many of these sorts of phrases? After all familiarity breeds contempt. Still he is entitled to dislike them, one man's meat is very often another man's poison.

[Political Interest]

I have a question about Russian culture. I am told by many non-Russians that Russia is a Eurasian country and that I would find it strange or foreign if I went there. However when I have encountered Russians in the West and consumed Russian media I have not found anything extremely foreign about this country. In fact it is only language that appears different. I do not find my values or way of thinking that different to the average Russians I know, have met or been exposed to in Russian media. In other words, I have yet to see what is so frightening about Russia and why I should be scared of her.

[Balancer]

How about Russian culture and alcoholism?

It is an ambiguous question

- Certainly, alcoholism is present at Russia.

- The problem of alcoholism is often exaggerated not only in the western, but also Russian media. Let's tell, on alcohol consumption per capita Russia isn't among world leaders today

- Generally marginal part of inhabitants, a rural population, etc. suffers from alcoholism in Russia. What affects culture a little.

- Consumption of alcohol in the country decreases from year to year. Extremely high consumption level was in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR. Millions of people lost all vital values, many had problems with work. Therefore many began to drink. Now there passed big term. Those people already either recovered, or died of alcoholism. Living now consume alcohol much less. And the government actively fights against alcohol consumption. 10 years ago alcohol could be purchased round the clock in any product stall on the street and at any age. Now alcohol can be bought only during the limited period of time (from 07:00 to 23:00 in Moscow and from 09:00 till 21:00 in other places. Sorry, I don't know how to translate 24h time in 12h ) and only to people 18 years are more senior. The effect is evident. If 10 years ago on streets still there was a lot of drunk (though much less, than, for example, 20 years ago), then today drunk on the street is almost not present.

[Beren]

What affects culture a little.

That's what I'm interested in actually, the relationship between alcohol and Russian culture. You even have your own worldwide-known national liquor.

[Balancer]

I have a question about Russian culture. I am told by many non-Russians that Russia is a Eurasian country and that I would find it strange or foreign if I went there.

In it there is nothing surprising The Russian culture it was formed under very considerable influence of the western culture.

- The first Russian tsars were Vikings from Scandinavia. All imperial sort occurs from there.

- Pyotr the First actively adopted and introduced all customs of Dutches, Germans, Swedes...

- The Russian tsars constantly married the European princesses. And even the queen Catherine the Great was born in Prussia.

- In the 18th and 19th centuries Russia has undergone huge influence of the French culture.

- In XIX and the beginning of the 20th century there was a huge influence of the German culture.

- From the second half of the 20th century we very actively absorb Anglo-Saxon culture.

In Russian a half of all words is taken from other languages

Even much of what is considered "east", actually has quite "western" origin. For example, our orthodox belief which we borrowed "east" Byzantium. But Byzantium has taken her from Greece which is considered quite "western" state

...

With what it is accepted to call "East" in the West (China, Japan) Russia, just, had not enough contact. Russia has adopted a part of traditions and customs at the Tataro Mongol, Central Asia, it is a little even at the Ottoman Empire. But it has affected much less, than the western experts, books or movies

[Balancer]

You even have your own worldwide-known national liquor.

In Russia vodka is drunk by generally working class The middle class drinks cognacs (brandy) and whisky (bourbon), more habitual for the West. At us drink a lot of wine, but people give preference not to dry tart grades, but semisweet soft.

I drink vodka only sometimes as an apperetiv to pelmeni or potato with herring. Usually I prefer cognacs.

And, in general, there are a lot of subtleties. Though influence of alcohol on the Russian culture is huge, about alcoholism at us speak more often in association with the western culture. For example, terms, like "society of anonymous alcoholics", etc. — all this goes from the western movies

And when in the western cinema show the drunk Russian mafioso in a cap with ear-flaps, in the majority it causes even not irritation, but a smile

[Beren]

I drink vodka only sometimes as an apperetiv to pelmeni or potato with herring. Usually I prefer cognacs.

I drink Jägermeister as aperitif when I'm at my parents', but screwdriver (vodka-orange) is my drink.

[Rugoz]

Now alcohol can be bought only during the limited period of time (from 07:00 to 23:00 in Moscow and from 09:00 till 21:00 in other places and only to people 18 years or more senior.

This law violates the spirit of Russian society.

Твоё здоровье!

I drink Jägermeister as aperitif when I'm at my parents', but screwdriver (vodka-orange) is my drink.

Screw you Beren.

[Balancer]

This law violates the spirit of Russian society.

I was against this law Sometimes I return after work late at night and I can't purchase beer! I am, in general, a big opponent of any restrictions and bans.

But then I see that drunk on the street there was much less. Not only at night, but also in the afternoon. People cease to drink since evening, then there is less a habit to drink in the afternoon. And I begin to understand that not all bans — bad

But I never objected to the bans on tobacco. In distinguish from alcohol in tobacco I see nothing interesting, though smoked some time in student's years. Now tobacco in Russia was very strongly limited. Cigarettes can't be exposed on show-windows of shops, they are on sale only from the closed boxes. Cigarettes don't sell in the shops located near schools. It is forbidden to smoke in public places. And so on.

[Balancer]

Example of interaction of cultures. Russian view of Winnie-the-Pooh.

It is very difficult to me to estimate as far as it was succeeded to translate the level of humour of this animated film into English (in Russian this animated film is considered exceptional). But I have tried to find at least such option where this back translation into English uses the same terms, as the English original ("Trespassers W").

[Political Interest]

In it there is nothing surprising The Russian culture it was formed under very considerable influence of the western culture.

- The first Russian tsars were Vikings from Scandinavia. All imperial sort occurs from there.

- Pyotr the First actively adopted and introduced all customs of Dutches, Germans, Swedes...

- The Russian tsars constantly married the European princesses. And even the queen Catherine the Great was born in Prussia.

- In the 18th and 19th centuries Russia has undergone huge influence of the French culture.

- In XIX and the beginning of the 20th century there was a huge influence of the German culture.

- From the second half of the 20th century we very actively absorb Anglo-Saxon culture.

In Russian a half of all words is taken from other languages

Even much of what is considered "east", actually has quite "western" origin. For example, our orthodox belief which we borrowed "east" Byzantium. But Byzantium has taken her from Greece which is considered quite "western" state

...

With what it is accepted to call "East" in the West (China, Japan) Russia, just, had not enough contact. Russia has adopted a part of traditions and customs at the Tataro Mongol, Central Asia, it is a little even at the Ottoman Empire. But it has affected much less, than the western experts, books or movies

I do not feel any closer to Germans, French or Italians than I do to Russians. Therefore I think of Russia as another European country. In fact I think that Russians are much closer to Germans and French people in their mentality than they are to Anglo-Saxons. Of course only Russians can say this with any authority, but it is my general impression. If I am in Paris I will not feel more comfortable than if I am in Moscow.

Another important point to consider is that it is not only Russia which had an autocratic political culture. Many other European countries also have an authoritarian political tradition. In both France and Germany there was autocracy. And we know very well that Germany was not always a democracy either.

I have also seen that Russian family values are not very different to my own. Their sense of what is rude and polite is very similar to what I was taught from a young age, including being extremely hospitable to guests and not saying stupid things that would embarrass others. I saw that in Russian families the mother plays a very important role in domestic affairs.

In Siberia and the Russian Far East there is a very well developed camping culture. People like to experience the outdoors. It is possible to see this in many documentaries about Russia, both in Russian and in English. It is very similar to my country in the sense of people's enjoyment of nature and the natural scenery looks very similar as well. Altai is a beautiful land.

[Balancer]

‘Masha and the Bear’ Episode Hits More Than Two Billion Views on YouTube

The seventeenth episode of the animated show “Masha and the Bear” has now been viewed just short of 2.61 billion times on YouTube in the four years since it was posted on the video sharing website. The episode is only the fifth video in the website’s history to surpass two billion views, according to Meduza.

The most-viewed video is South Korean rapper Psy’s “Gangnam Style” with 2.78 billion views. Meduza wrote that the cartoon, entitled "Masha Plus Kasha," is the only non-music video in YouTube's top ten.

In February 2015, Animakkord studio, the cartoon’s creator, won the award for the best animated series at the Kidscreen children's entertainment television summit in Miami. At the moment, 62 episodes of the animated series have been released.

// http://getrussia.com/news/masha_and_the ... ion_views/

[quetzalcoatl]

Very few in Europe identify with Russian culture. Perhaps only Serbs. Nobody cares about Russian movies, Russian music, Russian literature (perhaps except for historical). Russia has nothing to offer except for gas/oil.

Unfortunately, there's some truth in this assertion. Since Peter the Great Russia has asserted a European identity. The apex of its Europeanization was under Soviet rule. It operated under an intellectual paradigm that was hyper-European (Hegel, Marx) and its engagement with the West was central (if confrontational). The Soviet revolution was a total embrace of Western culture, not a repudiation. Soviet music, literature, cinema, dance, etc were in the mainline of European tradition. It was a big deal when Pasternak was smuggled to the West and Lenny conducted Shostakovich for a Russian audience. But those heady days are gone.

Now Russia has retrenched into a more isolationist Asian mode, reviving Russian Orthodoxy as a unifying force. Meanwhile in the Europe, even the 'concept' of a Western culture is under sustained attack - why should Europeans care about the Russians' when they are ambivalent about their own?

[Potemkin]

Unfortunately, there's some truth in this assertion. Since Peter the Great Russia has asserted a European identity. The apex of its Europeanization was under Soviet rule. It operated under an intellectual paradigm that was hyper-European (Hegel, Marx) and its engagement with the West was central (if confrontational). The Soviet revolution was a total embrace of Western culture, not a repudiation. Soviet music, literature, cinema, dance, etc were in the mainline of European tradition. It was a big deal when Pasternak was smuggled to the West and Lenny conducted Shostakovich for a Russian audience. But those heady days are gone.

Precisely. The Russian Revolution represented the final victory of the Westernisers over the Slavophiles, just as the Communist victory in China represented the final victory of the Westernisers over the traditionalists. For political reasons, the West has always tried to deny this, yet this is the reality. I think the West actually prefers a more 'Asiatic' Russia, because this would (in principle) lead it to disengage from the West. As is the case with China, the more like us they become, the more they become our direct competitors.

[Balancer]

Earlier I already wrote, with what interest I draw attention to the difference of polysemantic words in different languages. Now I remember another example of the Russian language, when the polysemy may be of interest to foreign users

In Russian, the words "marriage" and "production defect" ("spoilage"?) are denoted by one word - "брак" ("brak")

What do these two meanings have different etymologies. "Brak" in the meaning of "marriage" is derived from the ancient Russian verb "brat'" = "to take". But "brak" in the meaning of "inappropriate products" comes from the Pragerman word "brekan", from which, by the way, the English "break" happens