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Special Reports

2015 Quarter 3 Issue 24

About Shini Russian

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When the Poles think about something Russian probably first things coming to their mind would be Dostoevsky books, Tchaikovsky music or…Matryoshka dolls :)

The latest ‘Inside Out’ will help us to know the Russia and Russian better. 

Does everyone in Russia travel by Trans-Siberian railway and wear fur caps? 
These and other questions will be answered by Konstantin Glazukov from EASTEX ETS.


Country

What associations, first of all, raises your country?
Foreigners usually say that it is enormously big, very cold, full of resources and famous for its beautiful women and a mysterious “Russian soul”. Well, all of that is true to some extent (though, our summers can be very hot too), but Russians themselves would add some more critical points: Russia is a first-to-be-in-the-space, a country of amazing natural landscapes, fundamental scientific research, world-famous literature and ballet, traditional values and generous warm-hearted people.

What are the most important dates during the whole year?
The most beloved and grand-scale holiday is New Year, which is celebrated on the 1st of January - it’s the time of the night - long feasts, fireworks,gifts exchange… Orthodox Christmas is being celebrated after that on the 7th of January and it is - on the contrary - a quiet family gathering and a religious landmark. The most important historical date is the 9th of May - the World War II Victory day, when the Soviet troops finally defeated the Nazi. Our country paid with 26 million lives to gain this victory - and not just for ourselves,but for the whole world. So for us it is a great day of memory, national pride and respect to the heroes of that time. There are ceremonial parades all over the country, people gather in the parks, sing the old songs,and give flowers to the veterans.

What are the pros and cons of your country?
Size and scale of Russia are its greatest advantages, but at the same time a reason for many difficulties. On the one hand, our vast territories provide us with all possible resources - energy, mineral, water supply,wood, land for cultivation, etc. But on the other hand it is very hard to build a proper transport infrastructure throughout all these territories and to keep all the regions equally developed.That’s why there are serious disproportions in the living standards between different regions.

What are the most interesting/ the funniest / the most pleasant traditions in your country?
Interesting tradition is a Maslenitsa Feast - the week before the Easter fast. This holiday originates from pre-Christian times and was always perceived as saying “goodbye” to winter. People gather for folk festivals where they burn jack-straws symbolizing winter and eat pancakes, which symbolize the sun - same round and golden) If we talk about everyday traditions-the guest will always receive the best food and accommodation possible,as hospitality is one of the main features of the Russian character.

What will you give the foreigner,to feel the real ‘taste of Russia’?
A ticket to Trans-Siberian railway - because the best way to feel the “real taste of Russia” is to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok and see everything yourself. By the way it will take you the whole week to do this route by train)



Work

What is the specific of work in the Russia?
In Russia people tend to evaluate their job same important as their free time and also strongly believe in the principle “the client is always right”. If your working hours are already over, but there is an urgent request, most of the people would stay extra hours to respond it. Even more obvious it is in B2C sector, where everything is operating in such a way that it is convenient for clients to do the shopping - no breaks for lunch, working till 9 or 11 pm, open 7 days a week. There is no contradiction with labour legislation, as in that cases people just work in relays, so that it is comfortable for everybody.

What are the bestsellers?
There are big differences between the regions of the country and also between the financial capacities of different families. For certain groups a “best-seller” product is a flat in Moscow, while for the others it might be simple bread for dinner… Well, as everywhere in the world Russian men love cars and new gadgets and girls find it necessary to buy one more pair of beautiful shoes from time to time.

What products imports and exports Russia?
According to statistics the main export products of Russia are fuel and energy, mineral products, metal products, chemical products - which account for more than half of all the export structure. To CIS markets specifically we also export significant volume of transport vehicles, food products and wood. Russia is also famous for its high quality military hardware and expertise in nuclear plants construction. As far as import is concerned - the most significant category is equipment and vehicles, than go chemical products, food products and clothes.

How do entrepreneurs operate in the market? Are they active, taking part in the fair or organize something themselves?
Middle size and small businesses are important part of market activity in Russia. Their owners are usually confident and active people, risk-takers by nature, while they are also cautious and conservative when needed. Business associations, labour unions and government grants are not really widespread in Russia, so our entrepreneurs prefer to count on themselves, trying to win the market by offering more competitive products or service.

What, in your opinion, is the most valuable national trait in the workplace?
Ingenuity is the main national feature at the workplace - when external environment is chaotic and unpredicted, no rules exist and no experience to follow - we are the best to come up with the right solution in this very moment. Russians might be a bit disorganized, as frames and regulations contradict our inner creativity but if you need to solve an “impossible problem” or do anything in restrained conditions - we’ll find the way to make it.

Happy hours

What are the favorite activities of Russians? How they spend their free time?
Russian people love nature and it is common to have a summer-house or a cottage outside of the city. Sometimes it is situated in the old village, where the person’s ancestors come from, sometimes it is a fashionable modern house in the newly build community. Anyway, people often spend the weekends and their holidays in these places - especially in summer time - taking care of the trees in the garden, going fishing, swimming in the lakes, cooking grill food outside, etc. Many people are involved in some kind of sports throughout the year - playing football, ice-skating, running, biking, martial arts. A common way to spend an evening in the city is meeting friends, going to the cinema or theater, or just staying with your family.

True-born Russian could not live without… ?
Without the feeling of “eternal horizon” in Russia) We love this understanding that you have all these never-ending and wild forests behind your shoulders, still unspoiled with civilization, belonging to all of us and nobody in particular… that you can hypothetically walk by foot for months and never reach the border of our country, that you can spend the whole life discovering all this heritage and have enough space and resources to realize any plan appearing in your imagination. It gives us a feeling of special kind of personal freedom, which a true-born Russian can only have in Russia and which can be hardly described or translated to other languages.

What the Russians know about Poland?
For us Poland is a brotherly Slavonic state, geographically situated I the heart of Europe. Many Russian people read the books of Stanislav Lem and Andrzej Sapkowski, Frederic Chopic is one of the main composers in the world musical heritage, Polish actress Barbara Brylska was one of the beauty icons in the Soviet Union… We also know about the significant input of Poland in the fight against fascism and the battle of Montecassino. It is remarkable that even though Warsaw was completely destroyed after the war, Polish people managed to restore the city as it was to the full extent - with great love and respect to the history. And of course such beautiful sites like Krakow, Zakopane resort, Malbork castle are points of great interest for Russian tourists.

What is the most frequent subject of jokes in Russia?
Russians might joke about politics, different national traits of character, family relations…but the most favorite are different quibbles and jokes with wordplay. Unfortunately - untranslated. The only solution to know them is to learn Russian.



Special Reports

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