Привет из России or Greetings from Russia

Привет из России / Greetings from Russia

Top six most famous things associated with Russia

After a couple of google searches, questionings and visits to some souvenir shops in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg I came to a conclusion that the most recognizable things associated with the Russian culture are bears, vodka, kokoshnik, matryoshkas, khokhloma dishes and balalaika. Of course, I am exaggerating a bit right now but...

... can it really be much more than a sales pitch based on some already existing stereotypes? How much do matryoshkas have in common with the real life in modern Russia? As you might be guessing, not that much.

Neither my friends nor me have ever had any matryoshkas in our homes. And we don't really eat pirozhki from Khokhloma dishes. Many people just order pizza or boil sausages and have them with some salad or pasta and we normally get our kitchenware from IKEA or some similar places. Globalization is reaching everywhere. And no, we don't drink tea from samovars. Electric kettles and water coolers instead.

Our women don't walk around in kokoshniks. I have never worn one, that's for sure. Have never even tried it on. Sometimes we do wear ushankas, however. And I am a proud owner of a really attention-getting (in a good sense) and warm one!

I don't go to the forest every day to see the bears. I wish I could, however. I would really love to have a pet bear at home but unfortunately I can't right now. Although if I become a millionaire one day I will definitely adopt a huge fluffy fella but only if I manage to find a friendly one deep in the woods that won't gobble me too soon.

Aha, and I can't play the balalaika, I can only play the piano a bit due to my mum's tremendous efforts. Actually most Russians either play the piano, the guitar or the violin if they play anything at all. Or perhaps the drums since rock and metal have become popular. All the other instruments are quite exotic.

As for vodka, ha-ha, that's not that rare. But in reality, a lot of people are either quite indifferent to alcohol, or vodka is not their favorite drink. My royal majesty, for example, much prefers mulled wine and Baileys Irish Cream. Sorry :-) Not vodka.

So I guess if you would like to know the real modern Russia, not the stereotypes or some historical stuff from Ivan the Terrible, Kievan Rus or some other Prehistoric times which most Russians don't really know themselves, there can be some better ideas.

That's why I have made up my mind to write a series of posts called “Привет из России or Greetings from Russia” about the things that can be popular among average Russians or can be part of our real everyday life. Such as music, films, food, books, TV, fashion, free time activities etc and maybe I will write a little about Dostoevsky :-)

I hope you will discover lots of new things about this wonderful country and fall in love with it if you still haven't.

Have a good day!

Warm greetings from Russia and a big bear hug!