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What’s Russia like? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| armatura Triglot Newbie Armenia Joined 5992 days ago 17 posts - 21 votes Speaks: Russian, Armenian*, EnglishC1 Studies: German Studies: Spanish | Message 17 of 110 25 August 2008 at 12:25pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Well, I've been living in Moscow for 2 years. What can I say... it may seem a nice place to a short-term tourist from a developed country, but to a foreign student from developing country it's just another big cruel city which "doesn't believe in tears". What you feel in every-second of living here is that you are NON-RUSSIAN (should I explain this term to you or does it explain itself brightly enough?).
1. you've got no real rights here, every policeman can stop you in the street without any reason and try to get out of you some money (even in case your documents are all right) 2. every hostel director can keep you in dirt and cockroaches and tell you "get the hell out of the hostel if you don't like it, there are thousands of others who will like it at current price" 3. the most of old women may attack you hysterically in bus/metro if you don't let them have your seat quickly enough. 4. although it's one of the most multinational cities, the most of the local people just can't stay calm when someone's speaking in his\her native language, especially if the language is not European. 5. there's a great problem here that bothers both Muscovites and non-Muscovites: BUREAUCRACY. You'll feel (strongly) it in every governmental organization. 6. if you use public transport to get home, the city doesn't make a nice picture at night, it's full of smoking, drinking and loudly cursing people, homeless people (including children) with shadows under the eyes, prostitutes etc., there's sticky stink of alcohol and vomit in the night streets and stink of acetaldehyde in the morning metro. What you'll like in Moscow: 1) girls :) they're nice, both Russians and non-Russians. I've found my love here, she's of Central Asian ancestry. 2) the ecology: (uptown) Moscow is a surprisingly green place with a lot of parks&woods with cool&clean air. Although I've written many sad things about the city, I wouldn't say all of the people here is bad. Moscow is the center of CIS, there are many talented people living here, people who understand that this is a temporary situation - a result of economy reorganization, strong people with conscience, people of knowledge, culture and science, people who know many languages and tend to learn more, people who are trying to make this city better, to make it a decent European capital. And I believe they'll make it. P.S. I've been also in other regions of Russia (Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Vladimirskaya oblast, Voronezhskaya oblast), and I can say Moscow and the remaining Russia are quite different. My post concerns only Moscow. Edited by armatura on 26 August 2008 at 9:42am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Alvinho Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 6234 days ago 828 posts - 832 votes  Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish | Message 18 of 110 25 August 2008 at 2:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
I appreciate your sincerity....I won't certainly stay at any hostel in Moscow or anywhere else because any owner who treats their guests that way.....it's a compelling reason to shut down their business and become a homeless then...only a pig does that... Policemen who stop you on the street to grab money from you?....it happens to any outsider or mostly foreign tourist in Brazil too, by far in Rio de Janeiro.... Living in the most expensive city in the world, attempting to get over burocracy, corrupted policemen, being treated like trash by most locals....I'd rather keep living in Latin America somehow.....unless I was a footballer like Wagner Love who must still be playing for CSKA, earning lots of money...... Edited by Alvinho on 25 August 2008 at 3:08pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7015 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 19 of 110 25 August 2008 at 8:08pm | IP Logged | |||||
Different in what way? The opposite of what you wrote for Moscow? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| armatura Triglot Newbie Armenia Joined 5992 days ago 17 posts - 21 votes Speaks: Russian, Armenian*, EnglishC1 Studies: German Studies: Spanish | Message 20 of 110 26 August 2008 at 10:23am | IP Logged | |||||
No, not actually opposite, but quite different. People outside Moscow are softer, kinder, less intolerant to non-Russians, more willing to help each other. Police bothers non-locals not so often as in Moscow, less bureaucracy, less hysteria. Life (apartment rent, food, transport) is incomparably cheaper outside Moscow. There's a Russian saying - "Moscow is a sovereign kingdom inside Russia, which has nothing to do with the remaining Russia". 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Alvinho Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 6234 days ago 828 posts - 832 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish | Message 21 of 110 26 August 2008 at 10:31am | IP Logged | |||||
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you mean it is better to live by Lake Baikal than in Moscow or St.Petersburg, in any town nearby, don't you?....they say St.Petersburg is richer and safer than Moscow....is that true? Edited by Alvinho on 26 August 2008 at 10:59am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| William Camden Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6272 days ago 1936 posts - 2333 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, French | Message 22 of 110 26 August 2008 at 2:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Some of the provincial cities of Russia have changed much less from Soviet times than Moscow has. But since many of the post-USSR social changes have been for the worse, that may be no bad thing.
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| armatura Triglot Newbie Armenia Joined 5992 days ago 17 posts - 21 votes Speaks: Russian, Armenian*, EnglishC1 Studies: German Studies: Spanish | Message 23 of 110 29 August 2008 at 6:18am | IP Logged | |||||
If there was a good cardiology school and some relatives/friends who'd accommodate me near Lake Baikal I'd prefer living there to living in Moscow. There was a time when I was thinking of going to Tomsk, its a rather friendly place though somewhat cold :)
I haven't been in St. Petersburg yet, but my friends tell me it's much beautiful and culturally rich city, a decent European capital. As for safety... in St. Petersburg skinheads (ultranationalists with hostile treatment of "non-white" foreigners) are much widespread than in Moscow. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Chamberlain Triglot Newbie BelarusRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6030 days ago 13 posts - 13 votes Speaks: Belarusian, Russian*, English | Message 24 of 110 29 August 2008 at 9:15am | IP Logged | |||||
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armatura is right about Moscow. I have a few points to add.
7. moving aroung the city is quite difficult especially in rush-hours. It doesn't matter what kind of transport you chose. You'll find that undeground and walk are much faster than taxi sometimes. 8. Muscovites have their own accent which can be noticeable if you have resided in other Russian city. 9. Moscow is noisy. So are Muscovites.
10. Moscow old (and not so old) women often get hysterical about everything it is their way of life. But if you can take mentioned peculiarities easy you'll probably like Moscow very much. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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