Americans have some stereotypes about Russians. But they are far from the worst, as many people think. Americans consider the most beautiful women in the world of Russian women. In the understanding of an American, a Russian woman is a woman with voluminous forms, with make-up, well-dressed. Such a woman knows how to work and cooks very tasty. According to American people, a Russian woman only does what she cooks a lot and very tasty.
As for Russian men, Americans consider them rich, the dashing 90s affected, when America was forced to get acquainted with the “new Russians”. Americans also consider them strong, physically healthy and strong. But despite this, according to the inhabitants of America, every Russian man is an alcoholic.
Russian food. Americans are not aware of the rather rich selection of Russian dishes. They know only borscht, dumplings, pancakes, jelly. There are Russian restaurants in America, but Americans are wary of such food. If any of the Americans managed to taste real Russian pies, then they were sure that it was Russian women who cooked them best. As for booze, it is, of course, vodka, according to the Americans, absolutely all Russians drink it, and in large quantities.
Russian rules. Americans are sure that Russians disregard all laws, especially traffic rules. In this, the Americans are most likely right, since there is a huge concentration of reckless drivers in Russia.
Americans believe that wild bears walk everywhere in Russia. If an American comes to Moscow and does not find a bear there, he thinks that in any case there are wild animals somewhere outside the city.
Russian smile. Americans think that Russian people are very sad and withdrawn. Most likely, the opinion has developed due to the fact that the Americans themselves are very smiling. The American smile is often feigned. They are taught this from childhood, but there are no Russians. Therefore, compared to Russians infrequently.
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Some people know that foreigners have a positive attitude towards Russian girls, but not many people know what is so special about them that they attract the attention of men abroad.
Foreigners have always admired Russian women. They attract the attention of men with their femininity. While abroad, girls always strive to look good: makeup, high-heeled shoes and an elegant suit, all this immediately catches the eye of foreigners. They easily recognize a woman by her appearance, because girls not only take care of themselves, but also behave quite modestly and gracefully.
Also, foreigners say that in women, more than in others, there is romance and femininity. They still want to see the real ones from their companions. However, no matter how a foreigner behaves, Russian girls remain quite nice in any situation and can almost always keep up the conversation at the proper level.
Men abroad claim that every woman has a bit of madness. They are so spontaneous and sweet that it's hard not to pay attention to them. This is what distinguishes them from such sensible, restrained and constrained foreigners.
Slavic girls prefer flashy clothes bright colors. They always stand out from the crowd. The only downside is that they can't always find the line between bright clothes, the desire to stand out from the crowd and vulgarity.
It is known that Russian girls are the most submissive, tidy housewives and caring mothers. Very often, foreigners choose Russian ladies as their wives, because they are patient and enduring, they always try to support home, keep the house clean and comfortable, behave modestly in society, but in bed they try to be temperamental and relaxed. They are looking forward to when their husbands return from work, cook for them delicious dinner and in the evening pleasant and intelligent conversations. There are many more positive qualities, for which foreigners love so much, and you can talk about them endlessly.
What do Americans think of Russians? popular question which is of interest to many. There is no unequivocal opinion of Americans about Russians, although there are certain well-established opinions among Americans about who Russians are and in general what they do there in such a big country like Russia.
From my personal experience, I can say that in most cases, Americans have a rather superficial opinion about Russians and Russia in general. Why? There are several reasons for this. First, Americans are rather indifferent about other countries and about people in general. The indifference is not that they do not help each other, but that they do not care about what is happening in other countries (as long as it does not concern US interests and does not spin on TV and in newspapers every day) or simply how the other is dressed a man sitting in an elf costume opposite. No one will tell him anything special, because it is “his freedom” to dress as he wants and tell another how to behave indecently, especially a stranger. This is a slightly different indifference that may be related to some extent to American materialism, personal selfishness and the liberality of the average American.
On the other hand, more advanced Americans who travel and communicate with other nationalities have a clearer and more accurate idea of Russians. However, the most popular opinion about Russia among Americans is that communism still exists in Russia and that Russians are very smart. The first conclusion is connected with the parents of Americans, who most likely grew up in the 60-80s, when Russia was part of the USSR and after the appearance of children did not really know anything about the changes in Russia, and therefore taught the children what they heard and knew themselves. Again, I repeat that most Americans are not interested in Russia to such an extent that they even know such basic things that Russia is a democratic country. The second conclusion about the fact that Russians are smart is connected with our literature, history, ballet and many other things for which Russia received world fame, including the USA. I have met many Americans who have read Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment" or Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" (in translation) and have a very high opinion of our literature and the country as a whole. In addition, for many of them "Crime and Punishment" is a favorite book.
There is also a fairly well-established opinion among the male population of America that Russian girls are very smart and beautiful, although many guys and not only in the USA probably have this opinion. Although I didn’t hear it that often, but still, many guys aged 20-35 told me about it. Another part of the guys probably thinks that it's not quite decent to say this to me as a Russian guy. But most of them have approximately the same opinion about the beauty and intelligence of Russian girls. What is it connected with? It's all about comparison local girls and personal experience Americans with Russian girls. Firstly, american girls it's pretty big circle girls. It can be white, black, Asian, Indian, Spanish. The last three categories may be second-generation “native” Americans, so they can be included in this group. Most American women lead a rather simple and promiscuous life, starting from school, when you see young girls going to school in pajamas and not really looking after themselves. Many American women are spoiled by their parents or simply by their lives, while Russian girls, growing up, become smarter and more confident in life. Of course, this is all my subjective opinion, but to a greater extent this is what I saw and noticed. Seeing this, an American guy will certainly give preference to a Russian girl, who most likely also knows how to cook. In my personal experience, only 3 out of 10 American women I met said they knew how to cook.
Another common belief about Russians is that we are wild and a little greedy. In other words, scumbags. I hear this quite often and not only from Americans, but also from Asians and other nationalities. I usually try to understand how they got this opinion and ask why they think so. In the end, it all comes down to the fact that they watch on YouTube about crazy Russians who walk on the roof of high-rise buildings, jump into snowdrifts from the fifth floor, or some other wildness for them (well, for us, harsh everyday life). It's hard to argue with such video facts, but I always say that they should not generalize their opinion about Russians. All Russians and Americans are different in behavior and character. If I remember something that I forgot, I will definitely add it.
As a student, I traveled to USA for work. I was a little upset by the opinion of some Americans about Russians. But even more upsetting was the fact that many of the guys with whom I arrived confirmed the conventional wisdom about my compatriots. What do Americans think of Russians?
What do Americans think about Russians: myths and truth
The first shock I experienced even before the trip. When they asked me for documents for a visa, they specified that I must smile in the photo. How so? It's an official document! It turns out that for residents of the United States, the “person on duty” is smiling face. While we're in ordinary life not prone to such manifestations of feelings.
So, what kind of prejudices can be found in the United States in relation to Russians:
- All Russians are beggars. Needless to say, the well-being of the average Russian student is much lower than that of the American. Therefore, sometimes I had to hear funny questions. “Do you have magazines in Russia? Have you ever eaten cookies? Would you like to take home my started tube of shampoo that did not suit me?
- Russian girls are easily accessible. And, rotating in the student milieu of emigrants, I can notice that many of them really were not distinguished by chastity. It rather made me sad. Because sometimes I had to explain that I came to the USA to work, not to have fun.
- All Russians dream of staying in America. In this regard, the Americans look at us the same way we look at guest workers from Central Asia.
There were several other funny moments. For example, some Americans think that Russia helped the US win second world war . Or what Georgia(in English "Georgia") is a state of America (as Georgia, which is spelled the same). But I think most Russians know just as little about the US.
Should we be afraid of the Americans
The average American knows the whole set of stereotypes about the inhabitants of Russia. But this does not mean that he will consider you a lost bastard and a bear trainer. He is well aware that this is a stereotype. And treat you with disdain.
In general, the people of the United States are amazing friendly and open people . They are easy to contact and happy to help you with everything. But after a couple of hours they forget about your existence. Such is the mentality. Maybe someone had a different experience?
Why do stereotypes appear in perception not only individual people but also of entire nations? Obviously, this is due to the banal lack of information and the lack of opportunity to make a personal impression. So twenty-five to thirty years ago, things were between the Russians and the Americans: politicians from both sides tirelessly spawned "horror stories" - one more terrible than the other.
However, the "iron" curtain, which for almost half a century prevented us from seeing each other better, collapsed in the nineties, finally giving a chance, if not for rapprochement, then at least for a more detailed acquaintance.
Since then, the stereotypes that formed in the minds of Americans and Russians began to crumble. long years: now even the most rigid in his political views It is unlikely that an American will seriously assert that Russia is such a wild wooded area where bears roam, and the Russians themselves are terrible-looking bearded and always drunk men dancing to the balalaika.
However, some Americans still believe that Russia is one continuous harsh Siberia, terribly surprised when they are told that there are also subtropics in Russia, and Sochi, for example, very much resembles their native Florida with its landscape. However, it is hardly worth looking for the reason for such ignorance in the persistence of stereotypes: it is most likely a banal ignorance of geography.
Of course, in the eyes of an American tourist or a businessman who has come to Russia for the first time, there are still enough exotic things, but the impressions cannot be compared with the wild stereotypes of past decades.
So, what is the opinion of Americans about Russia and Russians - Russians, as we are usually called, regardless of our real nationality?
In general, the impressions are quite positive: Americans really like Russian hospitality. True, they are always very embarrassed by the tables laid in their honor and with a slight reproach they blame the owners - they say, it was not worth spending so much money. However, the culinary skills of our hostesses delight them, bordering on admiration, since most Americans do not burden themselves too much with preparing lunches and dinners: they are honored with ordinary convenience foods from supermarkets and restaurants fast food like MD and Wendy's.
They also adore our pastries - ordinary rye bread, its taste and aroma are especially delighted: I had to watch how the Americans savored it - just like that, without anything. They are surprised only by the fact that we habitually call rye bread black - why black, they always ask.
Coming to the house of the Russians, at first they are surprised at the need to take off their shoes: this is not accepted in America. But, having lived with us for some time, they begin to recognize the hygiene of this approach - some, returning home, even buy a few pairs of cheap slippers and then offer them to all guests. They say this: indeed, it’s better to buy slippers for everyone than to carry a heavy washing vacuum cleaner around the house after the guests.
People
Americans who have visited Russia call Russians like this: "sad Russians" - sad Russians. What kind of sadness do they see in us? This is not really sadness, but the absence of the habit of smiling for no reason: in stores they were met by saleswomen with stone faces, in cafes and restaurants - the same impenetrable waiters.
The most genuine amazement in half with admiration (among American men) and undisguised envy (among American women) are always caused by our girls and women - they are well-groomed and fit twenty-four hours a day, managing to look their best even with meager incomes.
True, the "mysterious Russian female soul"- has long been in the category of legends: the boom of the 90s for Russian brides has long passed, and those Russian women that Americans now meet on the Internet and in real life sometimes cause contempt, disgust and distrust: many potential overseas suitors have made a discovery for themselves - Russian women are prone to deceit and begging, what greatness of soul is there?
Alas, born new look Russian women are scammers (‘scammer’ in English is a scammer) and kept women. Time will tell whether this shameful image will become an ingrained stereotype or happily sink into oblivion.
We also have a reason for pride - the attitude towards older family members: old people living out their lives in nursing homes are a rarity for Russia. Americans sincerely admire our respect for the elderly, but they are in no hurry to adopt it, complaining about eternal employment and the inability to devote time to their old parents and grandparents.
Perhaps this pragmatism and some indifference are the result of the usual resettlement of barely fledgling children from their parental home: in America, it is not customary to live under the same roof with growing children and bother with their problems. Obviously, in old age there comes a time of reckoning - children who stand firmly on their feet do not see anything shameful in sending weak parents under supervision to a nursing home.
Roads and...
Our roads, especially in the outback, are a real test, full of extreme sports, for overseas guests. By the way, what they sincerely do not understand is the abundance of expensive and bulky cars on the streets of provincial towns: why such an uncomfortable car, they wonder, if difficulties with driving and parking inevitably arise? But our people have always loved show-offs, so the usual common sense he is not instructed.
Americans are also unpleasantly surprised by the experience of communicating with our traffic inspectors - in America, no one will stop the driver just like that if he has not violated anything, and if he has violated, then court proceedings and a decent fine for the first time are the only scenario: no amicable agreements and banknotes in the "gilded pen" will not.
jokes
The American thick-skinned, probably, only the lazy one didn’t walk with us: for some reason, it is believed that Americans are completely devoid of a sense of humor. Of course, our humor regarding popular personalities, politics, relationships with a mother-in-law or with a boss is really incomprehensible to them - if only because their mother-in-law always lives separately and visits once every hundred years by invitation, and respect for the rights of each individual American - the highest goal any government, sometimes brought to the point of absurdity.
They still have humor, but it is their own and very primitive, if we evaluate it from the standpoint of our ability to laugh at life's troubles, tempered by wars, shortages, bureaucracy and the housing issue.
Service
What we have in the highest degree unobtrusive, we know from birth and are no longer surprised by this: rudeness, shortfalls, body kits and outright ignorance of the buyer or client are so common. Americans are rightly indignant at the fact that there is no government for workers in trade, car service, hotels and hairdressers, and in malls markets are terrifying smells. Alas, here we are up to America with its rights of buyers to grow and grow. Maybe someday we will grow up - hope is still alive.
This is how people on the other side of the ocean think of us: they admire us when we deserve it, and they are indignant when our orders, behavior and habits really cause outrage. This view may not always be objective, but it is interested and sincere.
We have long ceased to be enemies, which means that we will definitely find mutual understanding, adopting the best: we have a lot to learn from each other.
... With a terrible rattle at the level of the fifth floor of a skyscraper, a subway train rushes by. It seems that the carriages enter the apartment, sweep away everything in their path, and, having made a huge hole in my head, move away. I'm in Brighton Beach - the Russian district of New York - the subway works around the clock, I can't sleep ...
AWAY FROM POLITICS
In America, I found myself in the midst of Ukrainian unrest. "Take a picture as it goes down iron curtain", friends joked. And I didn’t see any curtain, even manifestations of everyday nationalism towards Russians. In the south - in Georgia, Alabama - where our man can still be surprised, only a warm welcome.
Are you from Russia? - Teresa, the owner of the peach plantation, sincerely rejoices. - Got far! Welcome, Russians are a rarity here.
Teresa shows me where the most fruitful places are in the garden (peaches, nectarines, delicious American blueberries, huge plums grow here), and in parting she pours half a fruit basket as a gift.
Eat with contentment, she says with a smile.
My return gift - an amber brooch in the form of a rose - touched the American unusually. She was happy, waved her hand after me for a long time ...
What do Americans think of the war? It seems like a lot of people don't know about her. Working hard for days, giving babies to a nursery in order to pay off loans for housing, to TV and the blogosphere, where now the front line of Ukrainian events, these simple people, far from politics, have no time to be distracted.
If I hear news about Ukraine, only in the car, - says Laura, an employee of the diner. - And immediately I switch to another wave, war is scary. It would be better if it all stopped.
Some Americans were personally affected by the war. In the city of Birmingham at a concert of a local symphony orchestra A security guard approached me. Heard that I speak Russian - and told my story ..
My brother married a girl from Ukraine, there was a wedding there, and when the shelling started, they disappeared - there is no connection with them, we don’t know what to do, - he shook his head.
DISPUTES ON THE BEACH
In New York, where the tour of the Bolshoi was a triumph (there were so many American spectators that the place had to be arranged under the dome of the hall), the degree of Ukrainian events boils, of course, in Brighton Beach. In an area where more than 100 thousand of our ( last years a wave of emigration poured in from Uzbekistan and Ukraine), only talk about Donetsk and Lugansk. There are serious battles on the beach, sometimes Corvalol is required.
Upon learning that I was from Russia, Teresa, the owner of the peach plantation, poured me a gift. A photo: Zhanna Boychenko
Now the enmity between Russians and Ukrainians is a hundred years old, - Grigory from Odessa says sadly, he takes everything that happens to heart.
On the air of the local Russian radio, interspersed with questions about how to fix the phone, “calm down” the rumbling sunroof, Russian Americans reflect on the new political reality. The Ukrainian crisis has become for many a reset in relations between our countries, and a time when it's time to pack your bags.
Enough! - suddenly declares to me in the hearts of Marina from a neighboring apartment (I rented an apartment on Brighton Beach). - For ten years I have been illegally in America, I worked as a cleaner, a nanny, I recently lost my job, I don’t have medical insurance, I haven’t seen children for 10 years! Gotta go back...
All those who could not legalize in the States, get an education, integrate into the system, repeat the fate of Marina. I saw in America the wealthy homes of our scientists, computer scientists, musicians, and the poverty of those for whom this country has remained pipe dream. They unanimously tell me that in the USA it is necessary to plow, in Russia life is easier.
AMERICAN WASHING
Brighton Beach Avenue (the main street of the district) today makes a dull impression - a unkempt market perched on a metro line, hopelessly stuck in the cooperative 90s. Time seems to have stopped - here they still paint their lips with pink mother-of-pearl lipstick, wear tights with stripes and wear gold, which was massively stamped in the USSR. Brighton is a way of life, some of its inhabitants, having lived in America for years, do not know English. And many live here modestly - rooms in high-rise buildings like Khrushchevs (for some, this is social housing), there are no dishwashers and washing machines - due to the closeness of communication, technology is not provided.
Anatoly Kashpirovsky is still held in high esteem by our compatriots and creative meetings with him are an endless stream. A photo: Zhanna Boychenko
I feel like I'm in a hostel - I put my clothes in a trolley and take the elevator to the laundry. Washing the American way is amazing - you have to go back and forth three times to wash (it costs $1.25), put the clothes in the dryer ($0.45) and watch the process at home on the internal TV. By the way, it's great to get acquainted in laundries: if a neighbor has only shirts and socks in his basket, he is definitely a bachelor.
The fact that cockroaches are found in Brighton is an unsurprising event (in high-rise buildings there is a garbage chute). But bedbugs! In the Russian store, advertisements for exterminators are constantly being played, and specially trained dogs regularly raid houses, calculating bloodsuckers. And everything would be fine - the ocean is nearby, a great beach, but the round-the-clock rattle of the subway ... How you want silence!
FREE BOTOX AND LEFT INTERNET
Along with the disturbing news from Ukraine, sadness hovers in the companies of unsettled immigrants. Those who have not received an American passport and even a green card tell me with envy about a monthly social program of $ 300 in case of job loss, a good pension with a set of utility benefits (loafer grandchildren live on it with their grandmother), and a personal assistant that the state pays lonely or sick pensioner. Full-time our now American old people are fed, walked, driven to doctors (free taxis) by our less fortunate fellow citizens. The work is hard! I was told that one lady could not stand the whims of her patient and killed her, now she is sitting.
The worst thing is to get sick at such a job, Sonya from Armenia tells me. - You come back, and the place is occupied ...
The most persistent do not lose heart. On the beach, people enthusiastically say that you can inject Botox for wrinkles, as if for a migraine, and this will be covered by insurance. How to rent a bed in a rented kopeck piece for $1200 per month for $20 and save. There are craftsmen who will cheaply carry out the Internet stolen somewhere, you just need to carefully wipe the dust around the modem. God forbid, hurt, disappear. And this is already according to Zadornov - only a Russian person can think of such a thing! Or according to Kashpirovsky - a psychic lives in New York, gives sessions in Brighton Beach. Helps!
