Recently, discussions about the Russian mentality and especially the difference between the mentalities of Europeans and Russians have been extremely politicized. Therefore, it is difficult for our compatriots traveling to Europe to form an objective opinion about how much the mentality of a Russian person actually differs from the European one and in which countries it is easiest to get used to local life. We set out to answer this question without prejudice and without political overtones. And for this we turned to our customers who have been living in the European Union for quite a long time.

Common Mistake

Of course, Russians and Ukrainians are sure that they know everything about the Western mentality. However, in practice it often turns out that this is not the case, and our own self-confidence plays a cruel joke on us. Moreover, many people do not even know their own mentality well enough.

Once abroad, we hardly get along with others, waste our nerve cells for nothing, and even become depressed because there is nothing around that would warm the soul. What is wrong?

You need to learn more about your own mentality in advance, analyze the peculiarities of the mentality and the cultural and social situation in the country where we are going, make a comparison and understand the mental differences. The analysis will help us assess how harmoniously we will "fit" into the new environment.

Russian mentality: its features

What is the Russian mentality? Wikipedia gives the following definition: "Mentality is a set of mental, emotional, cultural characteristics, value orientations and attitudes inherent in a social or ethnic group, nation, people, nationality."

In many sociological studies, such signs of the Russian mentality appear

• desire to put the public interest ahead of the private
• sensory perception of reality
• openness, sincerity and kindness
• acts of mercy
• negative attitude towards formalities
• prejudice towards others
• dislike for those who "stick out" and who "need it the most"
• controversy
• commitment to gift products
• the desire to solve problems amicably and in an informal setting
• neglect of health

The difference between Western and Eastern mentality

Psychologists note the following differences between the Russian mentality and the Western

The mentality of the Russian people on European soil

When everything is on the shelves

Is there really an abyss between us and the Europeans that cannot be bridged? Not at all! It is worth noting that there are quite a lot of people in the CIS countries who have a character and traits similar to European ones. For them, social adaptation is as quick and easy as possible.

“Austria turned out to be a very comfortable country for me,” says Dmitry Shashkov, a client of our company from Salzburg. - I moved here under the investment program, lived with the status of a residence permit for a little over a year, and now it has been 7 months since I received an Austrian passport. I’ll note right away that most of my acquaintances from Moscow would have had a hard time here. The Austrians are a people of business and living according to a schedule. They even have fun and relax during strictly allotted hours, which is wild for a Russian person. However, this way of life suits me 100%. I profess pragmatism and love when everything is laid out on the shelves. You clearly plan your future and know that there are no surprises around the corner.”

Useful Traits

And many immigrants find traits that are extremely useful for themselves in the mentality, culture, and traditions of a foreign people and borrow them with pleasure. It would seem that what is common between the Russians and the British ...

“Even before I applied for a residence permit in the UK and started doing business here, it seemed to me that we are quite different,” Grigory Lozovoy from Cambridge shares his impressions. – In practice, everything turned out differently. The British soul is no less mysterious than the Russian one. They also like to criticize themselves and immediately admire themselves. Moreover, their self-criticism is to be envied. They are very scrupulous about their successes, especially in business, they carefully plan things. And failures are experienced, probably no less tragically than our compatriots. What I took with pleasure from the British was their determination and self-confidence.

southern temperament

If you think that the mentality of Western civilization is pragmatism, detachment and coldness, then the southern peoples (Greeks, Spaniards, Portuguese) do not fall under these definitions at all.

“It seems that the Spaniards are obsessed with their own pleasures,” says Andrei Kartush from Barcelona. - For them, wild entertainment is a common activity that they can indulge in around the clock. This lifestyle often affects their work, which makes them very close to us. They can easily oversleep, be late. At the same time, they are energetic. Compared to the Spaniards, even the most expressive Russians fade into the background. Why do you think there are so many of our compatriots in Spain? Spaniards have a lot in common with Russians: lack of organization, unpredictability. If it were not for their overly "bulging" individualism, I would say that these are the same Russians, but much more expressive. Bribes that the Spaniards are extremely simple, sociable, sincere, hospitable. That is why Russians are comfortable in Spain. I bought a property here, applied for a residence permit and have been living for the third year without any problems with adaptation.”

If friendship, then for a long time

There are countries that are preferred by residents of certain countries or even regions. In particular, residents of Ukraine, especially its western regions, choose Hungary for immigration. There is a higher standard of living, affordable prices and favorable conditions for obtaining a residence permit and citizenship.

“It's been a year and a half since we moved to Budapest from Kyiv under the Permanent Residence for Investment program,” says our client Irina Kolganova. - Hungary is close to us in terms of mentality, if only because for a long time it was also a socialist country, and this left an imprint on its inhabitants. Hungarians are contradictory: they combine the features of East and West. In the same person you can see Turkish hospitality and German stinginess. But most often we meet positive, friendly people, especially among young people. Hungarians are much calmer and more reasonable than Russians. Probably, our emotionality and unpredictability scares them away. Nevertheless, they are loyal to migrants, it is not so easy to get along with them, but if friendship has developed, you will not regret it.”

Unfortunately, politics has spoiled a lot in Russian relations with European peoples. Also, the memory of the activities of the Soviet government, the Second World War, is still alive. This must be taken into account when choosing a country for immigration.

If we talk about countries in which foreigners respond positively to the Russian mentality, then these are Greece, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Malta. We have had practically no historical conflicts with the peoples of these countries, so you will be received there as cordially as possible.

The Russian mentality is quite tolerant in Hungary, Great Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, and France. No wonder it is in these countries that the largest number of immigrants from the CIS countries live.

When choosing a country for obtaining a residence permit or citizenship, be sure to analyze the features of your own mentality and compare with the local mentality. Only in this way will you protect yourself from unnecessary conflicts and negative experiences.

In turn, in our blog we will continue to inform you about the most profitable immigration programs in Europe and answer your questions and comments. Subscribe to our updates and stay up to date!

Mentality (mentality) (from late Latin mentalis - mental), way of thinking, a set of mental skills and spiritual attitudes inherent in an individual or social group. Recently, it has become fashionable to explain a lot in the life of this or that people by its mentality. The Russian people have a spiritual temperament, are merciful, patriotic, intelligent and have their own culture.

The Russian way of thinking appeared already in the Middle Ages. In the first literary monuments in Vladimir Monomakh's Teachings, in the Tale of Igor's Campaign, in the Tale of the Destruction of the Russian Land, there are ideas of our ancestors about space and time, about the attitude to the past, about the relationship between the People and the Power.
There was a Russian style in architecture, painting and stone construction. The passion of Russians for the construction and decoration of churches is known. This was not so much a manifestation of the piety of our ancestors, but a desire to materialize the beautiful. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, erected under Yaroslav the Wise, has distinctive features that gave it originality and beauty.

The question of thinking and intuition in the Russian worldview is a question of science and inspiration. After all, thinking is the highest stage of human cognition, the process of reflecting objective reality. Human thinking has a natural-historical nature and is inextricably linked with the practical activities of people.
In science, Russian national thinking gives rise to something that corresponds to the entire Russian way of life. Already in the XVII - XVIII centuries. the famous Russian desire for geographical discoveries, for the conquest of unknown spaces (Dezhnev, Khabarov, Atlasov, Krasheninnikov, Chelyuskin, the Laptev brothers) manifested itself. The Russian mind is a search for the path and meaning of life, widely represented both in Russian folklore and in Russian classical literature.

Patriotism is a feeling of love and devotion to one's people and one's homeland. If we talk about patriotism, then its origins date back to the times of Kievan Rus. (“The Lay of Igor's Campaign.”) The work fills the hearts of readers with burning grief when describing the defeat of the Russian army, the death of thousands of soldiers and the capture of princes, and sharp hatred for enemies when describing the devastation of the Russian land. But one cannot but be proud of the motherland and our glorious ancestors, reading the description of the strength, courage and courage of Russian soldiers. No less patriotism is shown by the unknown authors of The Lay on the Destruction of the Russian Land, The Life of Alexander Nevsky, and other works of ancient Russian literature.

And in modern times it is difficult to find at least one Russian writer who would not confess his boundless love and devotion to his homeland - Russia. When we pronounce "Soviet people", we mean by this "Russian people". But as soon as instead of the definition "Russian" you put another - say, "German", "Italian" or "American", then the phrase seems to lose all meaning. "French man" - does not sound. However, such phrases as "Ukrainian people", "Tajik people", "Kazakh people" or "Latvian people" do not sound either. We would rather say "Tajik", "Kazakh", "Latvian" or "Asian" and "Balt".
And the "Russian man" - they sound. And not only sound, but also have a very definite meaning.

Among the main features in the character of the Russian people is the boundless love for freedom. The highest manifestation of this freedom is the freedom of the spirit.
Classical examples of the search for personal freedom are given to us by the great Russian literature (the works of F. Dostoevsky).

The unfulfilled freedom of the spirit leads the Russian man to spiritual exile. In one of his letters in 1824, Pushkin wrote: “I am tired of submitting to the good or bad digestion of this or that boss; I am tired of seeing that in my homeland they treat me less respectfully than any English dunce who comes to show us his vulgarity, illegibility and his mumbling.

Obvious examples of the desire of a Russian person for freedom of spirit can be considered the widespread custom of going to sketes among Russian monasticism, as well as the emergence of the Cossacks. And it is not in vain that prominent theoreticians of anarchism appeared in Russia - Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tolstoy.
But Rus' came to replace Russia.

At present, there is no single mentality in society, since the society of the state is heterogeneous, so we can only talk about the mentality of individual groups and strata of the population.

An essential component of the public mentality of the Russian people is faith in God, Orthodox traditions, pagan customs, rituals, but on the other hand, atheism as a legacy of the 70-year communist regime also remains an essential component of the public mentality.

In the traditions of the Russian people there are many holidays and customs, both from paganism, Orthodox Christianity, and the era of post-revolutionary socialism.
Christmas, baptism, Easter, Trinity, Intercession, Paraskeva Friday, St. George's Day. Old New Year, Christmas time, Shrovetide, Apple Spas.
February 23, March 8, May 1. May 9 - Victory Day, Independence Day and all professional holidays.
Very often, any event, joyful or sad, is marked by the use of alcoholic beverages.

Unfortunately, time does not reverse. It is not in our power to reverse history in order to return to the true folk origins of life. Russia - our homeland has become a great and powerful country, which is known all over the world and which is reckoned with.

Tyutchev's four lines reveal more to us than some weighty volumes. F. Tyutchev in the famous quatrain admits:
Russia cannot be understood with the mind,
Do not measure with a common yardstick:
She has a special become -
One can only believe in Russia.

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Research work in geography

The mentality of the Russian people

Tynda 2005

• Content
• Introduction
• The mystery and solution of the mysterious "Russian soul"
• The mentality of the Russian people
• On Chinese pragmatism
• China is a land of contrasts
• Poll: Russians about Chinese
• Misunderstanding of humor in intercultural communication
• Features of the French mentality
• Poll: France is a beautiful country, the French are unbearable
• Russia and USA
• Russians about their attitude towards Americans and their idea of ​​the attitude of Americans towards us
• Conclusion
• Bibliographic list

Introduction

In my work, I will try to answer the following questions:

what character traits distinguish the Russian people (according to the authors of literary sources);

how do the Chinese, representatives of European countries, differ from other peoples;

what do the peoples of the world think about each other, what do they think about themselves;

what needs to be done to ensure that all the peoples of the world live in peace and harmony

Basic working methods:

analysis of literary sources (textbooks, media materials)

analysis of Internet materials

conducting a social survey;

I will continue to work on this topic, because. the issues of finding a common language between the peoples of the world remains relevant. The fact that human thinking is largely reactive and situational was noted by ancient philosophers. In their daily behavior, people rarely give an account of why they acted this way and not otherwise. Even Leibniz, long before Freud's theory of the unconscious, wrote that "we are three-quarters automatic in our actions." R. Chartier, who quoted him, noted that “firstly, there still remains “one quarter” of human actions, which are determined by collective determinants. The latter are not necessarily realized by individuals, but, nevertheless, govern and command the actions of people in these cases. As you know, in difficult historical periods, such as the one we are currently experiencing, the volume of significant social information increases many times over. The collective intellect of the nation is not always able to efficiently and timely process these overflowing information flows. The importance of mentality among the phenomena of this level is difficult to overestimate. Moreover, without analyzing the deep ethno-mental foundations, it is impossible to understand the peculiarities of the spiritual life of a particular people, to explain why the development of democratic and market principles in Ukraine collided with the psychological inertia of the masses, with the unpreparedness of a conservatively oriented person for worldview pluralism.

Secondly, the theoretical relevance of mental problems is due to the presence of a long period of latent development, when mentality was described and studied without calling it as such. It is impossible to detect the concepts of the mentality of this period in the philosophical literature by any external signs: the fact that they are talking about the mentality becomes clear only after reading the works.

Thirdly, different authors put different content into the same concept of mentality, which greatly complicates a comparative analysis. It is generally accepted that mentality is one of those concepts of scientific and everyday language that are difficult to define with any strict definition. If you try to somehow explain its various meanings, you will get more of an intuitive image than a logically verified category. Different authors at different times understood mentality as the contradictory integrity of the picture of the world, and the pre-reflective layer of thinking, and the collective unconscious, and the sociocultural automatisms of the consciousness of individuals and groups, and the "global, all-encompassing" ether "of culture", in which "all members of society are immersed" etc. The urgent need to systematize the existing definitions of mentality, which would form the basis of mentology as a doctrine of mentality, its nature, content, its specific manifestations, also determine the relevance of the chosen topic. (1)

The mystery and solution of the mysterious "Russian soul"

About the "mysterious Russian soul" each of the readers has probably heard more than once. And I have read it many times. What it is - no one knows (and therefore "mysterious"). Most often it is explained that the mystery of the Russian soul is in its extraordinary breadth. But what is "breadth"? Not the distance from the equator along the meridian, expressed in degrees! When you understand more thoroughly what exactly is meant by this, it turns out - three things.

First. Extraordinarily great kindness.

Generally speaking, there are good (as well as evil) people among every nation. But there are peoples where a kind person is rather an exception, and an evil one, like a hungry wolf, is the rule. There are peoples who have a lot of virtues, for example, diligence, discipline, musicality, etc. and only in last place is by no means amazing kindness. And there are peoples who have a lot of shortcomings, but it is kindness that strikes the imagination.

This is what the Russians are.

This medal also has a flip side - an amazing tolerance for oppression, endless suffering from the oppressors.

Second. An unusually humane frame of mind, when in the first place in the system of human values ​​- the fate of mankind, far in the background - the fate of one's own people, very little - the fate of one's family and absolutely zero attention - one's own destiny.

It was this mindset that distinguished the typically Russian behavior of the late 18th and early 20th centuries. - "intelligentsia" of Russian origin, which has significant differences whether from the Western "intellectuals" or from the Eastern "contemplative philosophy". Today, little is left of the intelligentsia: this breed has been uprooted generation after generation since 1917. However, the tragic fate of Andrei Sakharov, the Russian Robert Oppenheimer, with a surprisingly similar life and fate, shows that something of the intelligentsia has survived to this day. The most striking thing is that exactly the same mindset is widespread among the common people - to the last beggar, inclusive.

There are peoples where "every man for himself - one God for all", and relations between people are regulated by laws. There are peoples where everything is dominated by the feeling of belonging to one's own people, to one's kind-tribe. It turns people into a close-knit flock of animals, and woe to those who come across this flock on the way (there are more than enough examples of how different flocks of Russians come across on this path). And there are peoples where relations between people are regulated not by laws, not even by reason - by the heart. The Russians belong to them.

Unusually developed sense of asceticism. Not in the sense of complete self-forgetfulness, when, according to the Russian proverb, you have to move a mountain. Russians have no equal when they have to throw themselves into a burning house or into icy water in order to save a person. When you need to put out a fire or dig a blockage. When you need to stand to the death in a besieged fortress or go on a bayonet attack. When you need to lift the unbearable or endure the unbearable. When you need to somehow “dissolve” your life in the life of another person or devote it entirely to the cause you serve. (2)

Just one example. Hearing that one of the leaders of the American Communists went blind, one Soviet schoolboy offered him his eyes for transplantation: after all, he needs them for the common struggle against the villainous American imperialists who are oppressing the unfortunate American people! Someone can say that skillfully staged totalitarian propaganda is capable of bringing not only a Russian boy to such a state. I just want to emphasize that this is typical for Russians.

And at the same time, any tourist who comes to Moscow does not get tired of being amazed at the viciousness of the attendants, the thievery of almost everyone who gets in his way, the shameful laziness that occurs at every step. Very far from cordial kindness, selflessness, selflessness and a typical Russian tourist, who appeared before your eyes in a foreign country for him. How to combine one with the other? Is this really the mystery of the “mysterious Russian soul”?

Let's first remove various husks from this notorious "soul" and take a closer look at its "core".

Russia in this regard is distinguished by two essential characteristics.

First, the special character of the Russian community. The Russian village has gone far from that primitive stage of communality, when a person’s personality literally dissolves in the community, when he turns into a simple detail of the social mechanism of the community, like a warrior of the ancient Greek phalanx, which moved and fought as one. This condition is still characteristic of the rural community in the developing countries of Asia and Africa (including the Asian republics of the former USSR). It has a number of advantages - mainly in terms of resilience to endure hardship - but is so uncompetitive in relation to the modern urban lifestyle that everywhere in the world is in varying degrees of decay, transition to more modern forms of life.

Secondly, those national traits of the Russian character were superimposed on this combination. And it increased tenfold strength. Actually, it was community (collectivism) that helped and helps to endure the hardships of totalitarianism to the Chinese, North Korean, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Iranian, Iraqi, Libyan, Cuban and other peoples of the world who fell into this trouble.

But it was precisely the imposition of unique features of the national Russian character on the community that allowed the Russian people to endure not only the burden of totalitarianism, but also the unbearable burden of the arms race for other peoples (on an equal footing with the much more economically stronger United States of America!) and even break out of developing countries into a number of developed countries. world - albeit mainly through the military-industrial complex and its infrastructure.

Such, in our opinion, is the mystery and solution of the imaginary "mystery" of the notorious Russian soul. In our opinion, there is nothing mysterious in it. Many components of this "mystery" are present in many peoples. Collectivism is even stronger among the peoples of the developing countries of Asia and Africa. Latin America. Individualism is stronger among the peoples of the developed countries of the world. Many features of the national Russian character are also found in the mentality and social psychology of other peoples, who have their own unique character, no worse and no better than the Russian. Just a unique combination of different components, traits, characteristics created a unique phenomenon that is difficult to study and therefore acquired an aura of "mystery".

But no matter how we treat this phenomenon of the “Russian soul”, it must be taken into account and kept in mind. Otherwise, it is impossible to understand how, in what way, Russia endured the Civil War, which by an order of magnitude exceeded the Civil War of 1861-1965 in terms of its hardships, victims and economic devastation. in USA. How did she endure the complete defeat of agriculture with tens of millions of victims, very similar in its consequences to the most ferocious hurricanes ever swept over the territory of the southern states of the United States, or to the tragic events in the African Sahara of the 70s, Somalia of the late 80s - early 90s. How did she endure the mass terror by the sons of tens of millions of victims (in one way or another affecting almost every third inhabitant of the country), very similar to the tragedy of the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust or the tragedy of Cambodia during the time of Pol Pot. How did she endure World War II when she was caught unawares, unprepared for war, and had to literally cover the approaches first to Moscow and then to Berlin with corpses, when ten Russians were forced to give their lives so that the eleventh could kill one German soldier. Finally, how, and at the cost of what sacrifices, did it endure almost half a century of the Third World (the so-called "cold") war against a much stronger economically and technologically adversary.

There can be no doubt that the Russian people would have endured the burden of totalitarianism and the arms race for some more time. He was not defeated in World War III. Totalitarianism itself was defeated, which turned out to be uncompetitive in competition with the “democracy + market” system and began to decline, gradually decay from within. And then all of a sudden it collapsed like a rock and crumbled into sand. (3)

The mentality of the Russian people

The mentality of the people is an integral part of the national culture. The study of the national mentality is necessary to understand the relationship of nature, culture and society in a certain area. Man is part of the geographic environment and depends on it.

S. N. Bulgakov wrote that the continentality of the climate is probably to blame for the fact that the Russian character is such contradictory, thirst for absolute freedom and slave obedience, religiosity and atheism- these properties of the Russian mentality are incomprehensible to the Europeans and therefore create an aura of mystery, mystery, incomprehensibility for Russia. After all, for us, Russia remains an unsolved mystery. F. I. Tyutchev said about Russia:

Russia cannot be understood with the mind,

Do not measure with a common yardstick.

She has a special become -

One can only believe in Russia.

The facts show that the Russian state and the Russian ethnos were historically, geographically and psychologically "programmed" for confrontation from the outside. The Russian ethnos originated in the center of Eurasia, on a plain not protected either from the west or east by seas or mountains and accessible to military incursions, both from East Asia and from Western Europe. The only way to maintain independence under such conditions is to occupy as much territory as possible, in which any enemy armies would be bogged down.

Huge spaces, harsh climate and the need to resist the combined forces of many peoples from the West and from the East at the same time gave rise to the predominant type of subconscious and conscious psychological attitudes.

The severity of our climate also strongly affected the mentality of the Russian people. Living in a territory where winter lasts about six months, the Russians have developed in themselves great willpower, perseverance in the struggle for survival in the climate. The low temperature during most of the year also affected the temperament of the nation. Russians more melancholic, slow than Western Europeans.

The North Eurasian character of our nation has formed a type of national psychology that not only does not correspond to the prevailing world trends. But the exact opposite of them. Hence, instead of developing a commodity economy - psychology of care in subsistence farming(saving during the years of foreign intervention, but unproductive for building an intensive economy), instead of independence - habit of paternalism, instead of high material demands - unpretentiousness to the conditions of life.

The harsh Russian winters had a strong influence on the traditions of the Russian hospitality. Denying shelter to a traveler in winter in our conditions means dooming him to a cold death. Therefore, hospitality was perceived by the Russian people only as a self-evident duty. The severity and stinginess of nature taught the Russian man to be patient and obedient. But even more important was the stubborn, continuous struggle with the harsh nature. Russians have long had to engage in all kinds of crafts along with agriculture. This explains practical orientation of the mind, dexterity and rationality. Rationalism, prudence and a pragmatic approach to life do not always help the Great Russian, since the waywardness of the climate sometimes deceives the most modest expectations. And, having become accustomed to these deceptions, our man sometimes prefers to choose headlong the most hopeless decision, to oppose the whim of nature with the whim of his own courage. This inclination tease happiness, play luck V. O. Klyuchevsky called the "Great Russian Avos".

To live in such unpredictable conditions, when the result depends on the vagaries of nature, is possible only with an inexhaustible optimism. In the rating of national character traits, compiled on the basis of a Reader's Digest magazine survey conducted in 18 European countries in February 2001, this quality among Russians was in first place. 51% of respondents declared themselves optimists (only 3% were pessimists). the rest of Europe won among the qualities constancy, preference for stability.

A Russian person needs to cherish a clear working day. This forces our peasant to hurry, to work hard in order to have time to do a lot in a short time. No people in Europe is capable of such hard work in a short time. Such industriousness is inherent, perhaps, only Russian. This is how the climate influences the Russian mentality in such a multifaceted way. The landscape has no less influence. IN. Klyuchevsky reveals the landscape determinism of the Russian character as follows: “Great Russia of the 13th - 15th centuries, with its forests, marshy swamps, presented the settler with thousands of small dangers at every step, among which one had to be found. With which I had to constantly fight. This taught him to vigilantly follow nature, to look both ways, in his words, to walk, looking around and feeling the soil, not to meddle in the water without looking for a ford, developed in him resourcefulness in minor difficulties and dangers, the habit of patient struggle with adversity and hardship. .

In Europe there is no people less spoiled and pretentious, accustomed to expect less from nature and fate and more enduring. The originality of Russian nature, its whims and unpredictability were reflected in the mindset of Russians, in the manner of their thinking. Life's bumps and accidents taught him to discuss the path traveled more than to think about the future, to look back more than to look ahead. In the fight against unexpected hardships and thaws, with unforeseen August frosts and January slush, he became more circumspect than precautionary, learned to notice the consequences more than set goals, cultivated in himself the ability to sum up the art of making estimates. This skill is what we call hindsight ... Nature and fate led the Great Russian in such a way that they taught him to go to the straight road in a roundabout way. The beautiful Russian nature and the flatness of Russian landscapes taught the people to contemplate. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, “in contemplation is our life, our art, our faith. But from excessive contemplation, souls become dreamy, lazy, weak-willed, unworking. Caution, observation, thoughtfulness, concentration and contemplation- these are the qualities that were brought up in the Russian soul by Russian landscapes.

In many ways, the specific (and often contradictory) features of the Russian mentality are determined by the vastness of spaces in Russia. A huge sparsely populated territory required for its development a special type of people capable of decisive action, daring and courageous. And everywhere, during their journey, the Russians created a network of settlements - fortresses, which also played the role of economic centers for the development of the territory. Such a population was distinguished by enterprise, extraordinary love of freedom and rebelliousness. A significant part of the inhabitants fled beyond the Urals from the "sovereign's eye", and the authorities themselves preferred to keep such citizens away from the capital.

Russians were formed not in a nationally closed space, but in an open plain - the plain of assimilation. They "boiled" in this boiler. And came out of it with two fundamental feelings - feeling of powerful unity with each other and arising from centuries of experience of life conciliatory attitude towards peoples - neighbors - and to those who had to seize land, and to those who joined based on their own interests; and even more so to those who considered it important for themselves to transfer their knowledge, creative elements of their culture to the Russians.

The spirit of hostility and rivalry was alien to the Russians - precisely because of their obvious predominance, and also because of the powerful folk root they had with its Moscow core. This Russian "root" was so strong that it digested the kings of German blood, and the Baltic officials, and the Tatar Baskaks and Murzas, and their French-speaking nobility, and the Ukrainian version of Orthodoxy.

The vastness and incomprehensibility of the country's spaces could not but affect its perception by its neighbors. Emperor Alexander 3, in parting words, produced shortly before the country entered the 20th century, said: “Remember - Russia has no friends. They are afraid of our hugeness.”

A long period of careful dosing of deliberate distortion of information leaking abroad did not contribute to the formation of an objective image of the country among foreigners. P.A. Vyazemsky, a writer and friend of Pushkin, characterized such opinions as follows: “If you want an intelligent person, a German or a Frenchman, to brecze stupidity, make him express judgments about Russia. This is an object that intoxicates him and immediately darkens his thinking abilities.

“Huge spaces were easy given to the Russian people, but it was not easy for them to organize these spaces into the greatest state in the world, to maintain and protect order in it. The size of the state set the Russian people almost impossible tasks, kept the Russian people in exorbitant tension (N.A. Berdyaev). All this could not but affect the mentality of the Great Russians. The Russian soul turned out to be overwhelmed by the immense Russian fields, the immense Russian snows, it seems to be drowning, dissolving in this immensity. Long and cold winters were reflected in joyless sadness in the soul of the Russian people.

The state mastery of vast spaces was accompanied by terrible centralization, the subordination of all life to the state interest and the suppression of free personal and social forces, the suppression of any initiative that came "from below". Centralization affected the Russian spirit in two ways: firstly, the Great Russian decided that the one who manages such vast expanses, representing Russia and a great people, is almost of supernatural origin. From here - cult of personality, a sense of reverence for« father-tsar» in the soul of the Russian people. Secondly, the feeling that someone is standing above a person and controlling all his actions has resulted in such a quality of the soul as carelessness. ON THE. Berdyaev said: "The Russian soul is bruised by the breadth." The Russian soul is wide, like the Russian land, rivers, fields - everything can be absorbed by the soul of a Russian person, all human feelings of property will fit in it.

The power of breadth over the Russian soul also gives rise to a whole series of Russian “undignities”. Associated with this is the Russian laziness, carelessness, lack of initiative, a poorly developed sense of responsibility.“The expanse of the Russian land, and the expanse of the Russian soul crushed Russian energy, opening up the possibility in the direction of extensiveness,” N.A. Berdyaev.

Russian laziness (Oblomovism) is common in all strata of the people. We are lazy to do work that is not strictly obligatory. Oblomovism is partly expressed in inaccuracies, delays.

Seeing the infinity of their open spaces, the Russians resign themselves to the idea that it is still impossible to master such a vastness. I. A. Ilyinsky said: "Russia has endowed us with enormous natural wealth - both external and internal." A Russian person considers these riches to be endless and does not protect them. It breeds in our mentality mismanagement. We feel like we have a lot. And further in his work “On Russia”, Ilyin writes “From the feeling that our wealth is plentiful and generous, a kind of spiritual kindness is poured into us, a kind of organic, affectionate good nature, calmness, openness of the soul, sociability ... there will be enough for everyone, and the Lord will send more” . This is the root of the Russian generosity.

“The natural calm, good nature and generosity of Russians surprisingly coincided with the dogmas of Orthodox Christian morality. Humility in the Russian people and from the church. Christian morality, which for centuries held the entire Russian statehood, strongly influenced the national character. Orthodoxy brought up in the Great Russians spirituality, all-forgiving love, responsiveness, sacrifice, spiritual kindness.

The unity of the Church and the state, the feeling of being not only a citizen of the country, but also a part of a huge cultural community, has nurtured among Russians an extraordinary patriotism to the point of sacrificial heroism. A. I. Herzen wrote: “Every Russian is aware of himself as part of the whole state, he is aware of his kinship with the entire population.” The problem of overcoming Russian spaces and distances has always been one of the most important for the Russian people. Even Nicholas 1 said: "Distance is the misfortune of Russia."

The Russian man has perseverance and thoroughness peasant and nomadic blood ( prowess, the desire to withdraw from habitable places in search of something better, horizontal structured space, etc..) Russians do not distinguish between Europe and Asia, balancing between two models of development.

A comprehensive geographical analysis of the ethno-cultural and natural environment today makes it possible to reveal the most important features of the mentality of any nation and trace the stages and factors of its formation. (3)

On Chinese pragmatism

The sage takes care of the stomach, not of the eyes: he takes what is necessary and discards what is superfluous. (Lao Tzu. "Tao Te Ching")

The unifying principle in rethinking and processing the values ​​of various cultures and religions and their development and assimilation in China is pragmatism. It is this dominant feature of the Chinese mentality that determines the amazing adaptability of the Chinese and their ability to survive in the most difficult conditions throughout the most difficult history of the Middle Kingdom. That is why the Chinese civilization, which gave rise to one of the most mystical currents - Taoism, lives very pragmatically, does not talk about profit, but constantly follows it. Just like any Chinese, he strives to extract his interest even from a trifle. Obviously, this circumstance determines the realities faced by a tourist coming to modern China. First of all, the amazing diligence of the Chinese is striking, or rather their work in any area, despite its appearance and level. On the way to Cheng De, we watched the Chinese create earthen terraces in the mountains for agricultural work. Before us, pictures of the distant past literally came to life: a bull, a plow, a basket and a man. We saw how many kilometers of greenhouses for growing the most common vegetables, peas and beans, workers covered with mats from the night cold, and in the morning, at sunrise, they cleaned them, putting them in huge piles - and so every day. Even at a gas station quite remote from the central highway, the toilet is washed and deodorized with incense after each visit.

But if « workaholism» - a well-known feature of the Chinese, their love for trade is amazing. Wherever you are - near the museum, temple, palace, in the parking lot, at the restaurant, theater, hotel, on the observation deck, everywhere there is a huge number of merchants of various souvenir trifles, toys, postcards, handkerchiefs.

More than 500 million "unrecorded" people live in China, those who were born in a family in excess of the established "minimum": one or two children - the second with special permission. They are not registered, they do not have documents. And everyone needs to live!

China is a country of different languages, peoples and cultures. And even in the Chinese language itself, there are four tonic stresses. The slightest change in tone - and the spoken word takes on a completely different meaning. Chinese from different provinces may not understand each other at all. Therefore, in China, video information is preferred. Almost all films, performances and programs of an information and political nature are duplicated by titles - hieroglyphs in all provinces and by everyone are read the same way. But it was the presence of tonic stresses that contributed to the development of a high musical culture.

Pragmatism The Chinese are manifested in everything, in relation to health, first of all. After all, it is health care that underlies Taoism, the flourishing of Chinese and Tibetan medicine, and traditional martial arts. Every morning, passing through any city, you can observe groups of people doing qigong breathing and meditative exercises, taijiquan gymnastics. On weekends, parks and gardens are given into the possession of pensioners for recreation.

China is a land of contrasts

… Existence and non-existence generate each other,

Difficult and easy create each other,

Short and long are measured by each other,

High and low are drawn to each other.

(Lao Tzu. "Tao Te Ching")

However, upon closer examination, classical culture strikes at the same time with a certain stereotype. In China, everything corresponds to the Taoist canon and is therefore stereotyped. In accordance with the principles of Taoism and its symbolism, the odd number “9” will prevail in architecture - it is the most beloved, a little less often “7”, and there will never be an even number, especially “4”, because it is equivalent to the concept of “death”. At the same time, symmetry prevails, usually associated with the principle of unity of opposite principles - female and male (Yin and Yang). Therefore, in front of all the palaces there will be figures of two lions: on the one hand, a lion, putting its paw on a ball - a male symbol, denoting power, and on the opposite side, a lion, under whose paw there will be a child - a female symbol, denoting fertility. All buildings, in accordance with the principles of Taoism, will be adjacent to the mountains with a back wall, and with a facade - to go to a river or an artificial reservoir. True, the symbolic elements of the harmony of the Cosmos are intertwined here - earth and water, and in the middle is a person, with purely practical, functional ones - protection from enemies, of which the Chinese have always had a lot.

Chinese gardens - the most harmonious combination of opposites Yin and Yang: nature and architecture, verticals and horizontals, emptiness and fullness. In any garden, three elements are necessarily present so that a person can live in it: water, rocks and plants. The color scheme will always consist of five colors, according to the Taoist ideas about the five elements. In addition, the color scheme also means the characters' characters - both in fine arts and in sculpture. The color scheme is used even in a religious ceremony. And, of course, the use of animal symbols is canonical, in which the first place is occupied by the dragon, personifying water and performing protective functions. Tiger, turtle, horse, unicorn are popular. Among the flowers, preference is given to the lotus - a symbol of purity. Clouds are also a symbol of the sky, the cult of which occupied a paramount place in the life of pre-Confucian China. Hence the ancient name of China - China. Dragons on the roofs perform a protective function, protecting all the living from the power and interference in their lives by evil spirits. The same functions are performed by the famous curved roofs with tightly sealed tubes of tiles, as well as peculiar labyrinths from the gates at the entrance to the dwelling of a medieval Chinese.

With all the originality and specificity of Chinese history and culture, in contrast to the history and culture of our country, one can see their common features. These include collectivism - or community, benevolence And hospitality, the ability to artificially create difficulties and then overcome them (5) .

Poll: Russians about Chinese

As the survey showed, 42% of Russians, judging by their own words, positive image of China. In groups, the respondents talked a lot about the fact that the Chinese are a hardworking, patient, wise people:

« Well, everyone knows that the Chinese are the most hardworking people in the world. And they proved with their diligence, their work» (DFG, Novosibirsk).

« The country is civilized. And so - this is a country of hard workers ...» (DFG, Novosibirsk).

« Patient people. It seems to me that their whole history<об этом говорит> « (DFG, Moscow).

« Very resilient people» (DFG, Moscow).

« They are very wise people» (DFG, Samara).

« This is an old, wise state ...» (DFG, Novosibirsk).

By the way, respondents aged 50 years and older (48%) speak about a positive image of China much more often than on average. This attitude of representatives of these socio-demographic groups, apparently, is largely due to the perception of this country as one of the last "strongholds" of the communist order. It should be noted that modern television pictures from China - not with pagodas, but with a red banner, a sickle and a hammer - only reinforce this image, fairly seasoned with nostalgic feelings.

Another group more likely than average to say that they have a very positive image of China are people with higher education (53%).

More than a third of Russians (36%) say they have a good neutral the image of the eastern neighbor, and more often than on average, this is how young respondents (48%) and people with secondary general education (41%) define their ideas about this country.

Negative The image of China was formed by 12% of the respondents. It should be noted that residents of the Siberian (17%) and especially the Far Eastern districts (29%) speak about the negative image of this country more often than others. It is there that the problem of illegal immigration of residents of the "under heaven" is extremely acute.

« 25% of Vladivostok are Chinese. Free passage of the border, free sale and purchase, that's all! In the center of Vladivostok - houses, restaurants, everything is Chinese. Likewise in Transbaikalia» (DFG, Novosibirsk)

« We have a lot of unemployed ourselves. Well, why do they come from there, without any visas?» (DFG, Novosibirsk).

Another 10% of the respondents found it difficult to answer the question, what image of China has developed in their minds.

As for experts, two-thirds of them have a positive image of China, a quarter have a neutral one, and only one sixteenth of the experts surveyed speak of a negative image of their eastern neighbor.

The “peaceful expansion” of China in the Far East causes considerable concern among the respondents:

« Everyone knows that they populate Siberia and that's all. They take out everything... They take out both wood and furs, and that's all. They are being introduced, and there is a gradual peaceful seizure of territories» (DFG, Samara).

« They populate our territories ... They slowly occupy our territory» (DFG, Samara).

« In general, if you look at military history, they almost never acted as an attacking side. They acted in a peculiar way: they seemed to let the invader through, and then assimilated. And the fact that there are a lot of Chinese in Russia now is more likely that they will slowly creep in there, creep in ...(DFG, Novosibirsk).

Finally, the traditional fear of the "multitude" of the Chinese, judging by the remarks of the focus group participants, is still present in the mass consciousness:

« And this billion fears me. Causes concern» (DFG, Moscow).

« The fear for the whole world is Chinese expansion. Because it is developing very well, the population is very large, the army is very strong. So in the future there are fears that it will seize territories» (DFG, Samara).(6)

Misunderstanding of humor in intercultural communication

Misunderstanding of humor as a result of insufficient competence in intercultural communication can be divided into several types:

misunderstanding of everyday humor associated with the absence of similar realities in their culture,

misunderstanding of certain accepted etiquette norms,

misunderstanding of the deep values ​​of the corresponding culture.

Misunderstanding of humor, based on ignorance of realities, is easily removed in the presence of comments. The exception is a play on words: a native of another culture understands that, probably, in another language, such a random coincidence of homonymous units may turn out to be funny, but since these words are by no means homonyms in their native language, there is no comic effect. The clarification associated with the form of words, in fact, eliminates the unexpectedness of the semantic clash that underlies humor. Similarly, jokes based on rhymes do not cause laughter. Such jokes are not very characteristic of English culture, and in Russian jokes they are registered in our corpus of examples, mainly in relation to primitive jokes.

Usually, anecdotes associated with various classifications regarding ideas about other peoples cause a smile. Even if the essence of the anecdote is not immediately clear, the bearer of Russian culture can easily guess that the very structure of the anecdote should suggest its climax. For example, the following anecdote translated into Russian does not quite fit into the idea of ​​Russians about Italians, but becomes clear due to the context:

How to convince a skydiver recruit to make the first jump?

The American needs to be told: "If you are a man, you will jump!"

To the Englishman: "Sir, this is a tradition."

Frenchman: "This is a lady's request."

German: "This is an order."

Italian: "Jumping is forbidden!"

The last remark in the joke is built on a contrast, this contrast is based on a typical image-stereotype of an Italian in the eyes of Europeans.

More complicated is the anecdote with a confused classification:

Paradise is a place where the policemen are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and the managers are Swiss. Hell is a place where the chefs are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, the police are German and the managers are Italian.

The British treat their policemen with respect, German policemen are known for their harshness, French cuisine is also known for its sophistication, and English cuisine is criticized by the French and other Europeans (note that modern English cuisine is largely international). The Germans are known in Europe for their love of mechanics and precise mechanisms, the stereotype of the Italian is a passionate lover, the Swiss are famous for their discipline and good organizational skills, the idea of ​​reliability is enshrined in the concept of `Swiss bank'. This anecdote becomes clear to Russian listeners after the comment, but Europeans often traveling around the countries of their continent, this confused classification causes a genuine smile: they remember that in France no one could fix their car, in Italy they had to spend a lot of time at the airport due to administrative problems and irresponsibility of staff, etc. In other words , such anecdotes are based largely on personal experience, i.e. on the conscious experience of incomprehensible realities.

Here is another anecdote that plays on the stereotypes of representation of foreign ethnic groups:

German, American and Swedish police are participating in a contest to see who is the best at catching criminals. The task is given: a hare is released into the forest, and it must be caught. The Swedish police set up animal informers throughout the forest, interview all the plant and mineral witnesses, and after three months of intense searching, they come to the conclusion that there are no hares in nature. The Americans break into the forest, roam the forest for two weeks, cannot find anyone, set fire to the forest, killing everyone, including hares, and do not apologize to anyone. The Germans get down to business and two hours later they return with a badly beaten bear, which yells: “Yes, I am a hare, I am a hare! Just don't kick me!"

From the point of view of the British and Americans, the Swedish police are overly scrupulous and liberal. In our opinion, the Swedes were in this series by chance: it was necessary to build a kind of classification of cruelty and show that there is a people whose police are too soft on criminals. The American police are distinguished not by sophisticated cruelty (here the priority belongs to the Germans), but by insufficient competence, which is compensated by the manifestation of brute force. Attention is also drawn to the lack of tact emphasized by Americans (“they don’t apologize to anyone”), the latter sign is painful for those cultures where it is customary to observe the norms of politeness, primarily for English culture. This anecdote is in general terms understandable to the bearers of Russian culture, imagining the behavior of American supermen from films and knowing about the brutality of the Germans during the war. (7)

The British showed a complete lack of understanding of Russian realities associated with proper names in jokes:

Aunt Valya: “Dear guys! Vova Glazunov from Moscow won the first place in our drawing competition on the theme "Vanya and the Bear". He has the most beautiful drawing. True, grandfather Ilya helped him a little ... "

The British may not know that Ilya Glazunov is a famous contemporary Russian artist. Also, the idea of ​​a child submitting to a children's drawing contest a picture he was helped to draw seems strange to the British: the idea violates the British notion of `fair play'. Similarly, the English do not understand the attitude of Russians to prompting during the exam: we have a friend who refused to prompt you during the exam, unequivocally assessed as a traitor, in English culture, refusal to help in such a situation is not perceived so sharply (punishment for cheating, `cheating at the exam" is quite severe).

The British had difficulty understanding very specific Russian jokes about the KGB:

A man calls the KGB on a pay phone: “Hello, KGB? You're doing a bad job!" I ran to another pay phone: “Hello, KGB? You're doing a bad job!" He ran to the third one: “Hello, KGB? You're doing a bad job!" He feels a hand on his shoulder: “As we can, we work.”

The specificity of these jokes is that state security is endowed with supernatural abilities and is evaluated positively. Such an attitude to power is contrary to the norms of carnival culture, the reversal of values ​​and the nature of the anecdote. It is no coincidence that there is an opinion that jokes of this kind were specially invented in the analytical departments of the KGB in order to create appropriate stereotypes among the population. By the way, the abbreviation “State Security Committee” itself was also jokingly deciphered with a positive connotation “office of deep drilling”. ):

NASA is wondering why the left SHUTTLE solid-propellant booster exploded, and in the KGB why the right one didn’t explode ...

Even without taking into account the fact that in this text the functions of foreign intelligence are attributed to the KGB, the bearers of Russian culture emphasize the ability of our special services to carry out the most fantastic operations. The British perceive such a text as pretentious and partly national-chauvinistic.

Frank apologetics of the authorities is no exception in Russian jokes dedicated to the meetings of top leaders. Here is a children's anecdote from the Brezhnev era:

Brezhnev arrives in America. American President Reagan says: "Press that button!" Brezhnev pressed, and found himself under a cold shower. After some time, Reagan arrives in Moscow. Brezhnev tells him: "Press this button!" Reagan pressed, nothing happened. Pressed again, nothing happened either. He says, “What is this? Here we are, in America ... "And Brezhnev told him:" Your America is no more.

The British did not find this anecdote funny, the reaction was a polite smile, in some cases a shrug. It cannot be said that the respondents (and these were citizens of the United Kingdom) felt solidarity towards the United States, but frank praise of the power of the USSR in the genre of anecdote seemed strange to them. It is interesting that at the same time jokes were circulating in which Brezhnev was shown as a very weak person, these jokes did not cause misunderstanding among the English respondents.

Speaking about the realities of our culture, incomprehensible to the English respondents, we note that anecdotes about the police are very specific to Russian culture. The attitude towards law enforcement officers among the bearers of Russian culture is sharply negative. The police in the mirror of the anecdote is distinguished by corruption and narrow-mindedness. For example:

A traffic policeman comes home, angry and frozen - he earned little while standing on the highway. A schoolboy son opens the door for him. The traffic cop shouts: “Give me the diary, if I got a deuce, I’ll whip it!” The boy runs to his mother in tears: “Today they just gave me a deuce!” “Okay, don’t be afraid,” the mother says, and puts fifty rubles in her son’s diary on the page with the deuce. The boy with horror gives the diary to his father. He, frowning, flips through, reaches the page with a banknote, puts it in his pocket, sighs with relief and says: “It’s good that at least everything is in order at home!”

This text seemed difficult for the British, they understood that it was about the inadequate behavior of a policeman, but the whole system of Russian realities turned out to be closed to them. They had to tell them that the police on the roads, the service of the state traffic inspectorate, now, by the way, renamed the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate (GIBDD), is almost always perceived in the minds of the bearers of Russian culture as extortionists, unfairly fining drivers for minor traffic violations. It is clear that the tellers of jokes are the victims of the unfair control of the state over people. The carriers of modern Russian culture also know the procedure for presenting a driver's license to a policeman, usually a banknote is invested in the license. The humor of the cited text is that instead of a driver's license, a student's diary appears - another reality that is absent in English culture. English schoolchildren do not have diaries, which are a rigid form of control over children.(8)

The British could only superficially appreciate the following joke:

At the exhibition of fire departments:

- Uncle, why do you need a helmet and a belt?

- Yes, baby, when I climb into a burning house, but if something falls on my head, then the helmet will save me.

- Ugh, I thought that the muzzle would not crack.

A superficial understanding of this text is a boy's mockery of a fat fireman. In this sense, we have before us an anecdote-trap. But in this text, the British do not understand the linguocultural presupposition: a firefighter is a person who sleeps all the time in the service, so he has a swollen face that needs to be bandaged with a strap so that it does not crack. The boy in many Russian jokes is a trickster provocateur who inevitably confuses an adult. In the most prominent form, this function is expressed in a series of jokes about Vovochka (many of these jokes are rude).

The results of our experimental analysis of the perception of anecdotes showed that the sign "rudeness" did not appear in the answers of the respondents, both from the English side and from the Russian side (however, we did not consider frankly obscene anecdotes, although they should also be accepted in a special work to conduct an objective study A number of English jokes were perceived by the Russian respondents as extremely insipid. The British have the same reaction to the refined jokes of the countries of Southeast Asia:

The monkey king ordered to get him the moon from the sky. The courtiers jumped from a high cliff, crashed, and, finally, the most dexterous of them managed to jump to the moon and brought it to their master. Passing the moon to the king, the courtier asked: “O great king, I dare to ask, why do you need the moon?” The king thought: “Really, why?…”

Such anecdotes are philosophical in nature, make you think about life, perhaps with a smile, but they can hardly be attributed to spontaneous jokes.

The English respondents were at a loss when trying to understand the anecdote, which includes a value that is very specific to the Russian linguistic consciousness:

Announcement in a Ukrainian newspaper: I am changing a 3x4 m carpet for a piece of lard of the same size.

In the minds of Russians, salo is the favorite food of Ukrainians, the anecdote contains obvious hyperbole. At the same time, the carpet acts as a measure of value, which in our apartments was often hung on the wall as a decoration and which was considered as a valuable investment. In English, there is no one-word and unambiguous translation of the Russian reality `fat', there are words meaning fat, lard, the British do not understand the hyperbole in the size of an immense piece of lard, and finally, they perceive carpets only as a comfortable floor covering, and not at all as a piece of art or a demonstration The British also cannot understand the specific banter of Russians over Ukrainians and vice versa, although similar relations take place between the British and the Scots, the British and the Irish, etc. The elements of mutual misunderstanding in intercultural contact, presented in a caricatured anecdotal form, are, in apparently, an ethnocultural universal, but the qualities of another people to be ridiculed are specific.Note that the British could not understand a very typical anecdote for intercultural misunderstanding between Russians and Ukrainians:

Wife: Why did you hit me, I didn't do anything!

Husband: It would be for that, I would have killed in general.

The presupposition that a husband has the right to hit his wife seems strange to the British, although in a large number of jokes about mother-in-law such a presupposition does not raise questions. The British, in principle, do not understand an unmotivated action: faced with a world in which, in principle, there are no causal relationships and which Russians perceive as cheerful for this very reason, the British experience a kind of cognitive discomfort. This leads to the conclusion about the orderliness of the world as a value in the English-speaking mind.(9)

These kinds of jokes stand in stark contrast to jokes that exaggerate and caricature certain human qualities. Our corpus of examples includes a humorous miniature on the subject of "radio interception":

Actual radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations (so it says)

Hail: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

Reply: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Hail: This is the Captain of a U.S. navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Reply: No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Hail: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER ENTERPRISE. WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE U.S. NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!

Reply: This is the lighthouse...your call.

Radio recording from a Navy report.

Request: Please change your course 15 degrees north to avoid collision.

Answer: I recommend that you change your course 15 degrees to the south in order to avoid a collision.

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In a book about Germany and the German mentality (“Watching the Germans”, “Germany Without Lies”, etc.), which was reprinted with updates, I had to compare the Germans with us. Not all readers agreed with me, but I am grateful to all of them: the book that you hold in your hands was born in disputes. For whom is it written? For every inquisitive person who is not happy with the knowledge that he already knows everything. This book is intended primarily for the inhabitants of Russia. It can also help foreigners understand Russians, find a common language with them, and adapt to Russia faster and easier.

Who are we, why are we the way we are and where are we going? How do we impress and attract foreigners? Is it true that the Russian soul is mysterious, and what are its secrets? Is it true that Russia, which we lost, was completely different? Why was it in Russia that the state first proclaimed the goal of building communism? How did the Russians influence the rest of the world? Why in Russia, the richest country in terms of its resources, people live poorer, and most importantly, not as comfortable as in developed countries? Is it possible, having understood the Russian character, to answer the question of what to do and to predict what awaits us? Ages, rulers, laws are changing, but do we understand where we are moving and what is stopping us? Maybe for this we need to understand ourselves and once again look in the mirror? Unpleasant? Recall Gogol - he took the epigraph to his "Inspector General" proverb "There is nothing to blame on the mirror ...". Someone will say that the mirror is crooked? But even in an attraction with crooked mirrors, it is interesting to look at yourself from the outside, and it won’t hurt to laugh at yourself. I had the opportunity not only to live in Russia for a long time, but also to spend a lot of time abroad. After that, much here becomes clearer. This book is based on my personal impressions, consistent with the research of sociologists. They are supplemented with materials from foreign and Russian press.

In the West, laziness, drunkenness and lack of culture are attributed to Russians, while domestic authors sometimes deny real problems. Discussions do not stop - there are and will be written hundreds of books and articles about the Russian mentality: the topic is inexhaustible. I am grateful to the authors with whom I managed to get acquainted, and I regret that it is not possible to list all of them. I will mention at least some of the comedians - Zhvanetsky, Zadornov, Irtenyev, Gorin, Shaov, Yankovsky, Melikhan, the authors of well-aimed statements on this topic.

Traditional ideas do not take into account the fact that in recent times the way of life of Russians, the mentality and system of values ​​have changed markedly. It is extremely important in which direction these changes are going and where they will lead. On the Internet they ask: “Is it possible to average all Russians? Everyone was very mixed up. My friends and I have a pedigree from Uzbeks and Chechens to Germans, British and Balts.” I will answer: the purpose of the book is to identify the main, common features of Russians, not necessarily belonging to each of them. We are talking about traits that, in my opinion, are inherent in the majority or even in the minority, if such traits are found and significantly affect our lives. If the book compares Russians with anyone, it is primarily with the peoples of developed and especially European countries. Because Russia is a country of high culture, close to European. Any nation has its pros and cons, and you will not find even two completely identical people. To some, the word “mentality” seems like a petrified rule, into which they personally try to fit it, and this is nothing more than “average temperature in a hospital”, which even before our eyes is changing and which everyone measures in their own way. Every reader probably has his own opinion about the Russian mentality, and he will find something to object to me. I tried to harmonize my thoughts with the research of sociologists, to supplement them with materials from the foreign and Russian press, and yet the book is based primarily on my personal impressions. Everything that is said in the book is just my views and value judgments. Everyone is entitled to other views, and I do not claim to be the ultimate truth. On the contrary, it is desirable that this book give rise to reflection and debate. In a dispute, truth is born - provided that both parties argue with mutual respect.

It is impossible not to admire our people, who have managed to master a vast territory and create a great culture in the most difficult conditions. Although the majority of Russians are nice and sympathetic people, this, of course, does not exclude contradictions or flaws in the Russian character. I want to reassure the reader that the author was not recruited or bribed by anyone. If, dear reader, your soul hurts for your country and you want life in it to become better, then you are certainly a patriot and this book is addressed to you. And if you don't want to change anything, because you are convinced that everything that surrounds you here is the best in the world? If you think that only enemies can talk about shortcomings? Then you are also a patriot. But a patriot of a different kind, and I advise you not to read this book: it is not for you.

In parts one and two, we will talk about the first impressions of foreigners when they meet Russians, that is, about those features of Russians that are striking. Gradually, we will move on to those features that require a closer acquaintance.

I am grateful to my wife Galina Tomchina for her invaluable and major help in editing the book, and also to Olga Papysheva, Maxim Tomchin, Leonid Zakharov, Mikhail Itsykson, and Lev Shapiro, who read the book in manuscript, for their valuable comments.

Russia is recognizable to a Westerner, but in some moments it is completely unpredictable. This is a completely different culture, a completely different society ... We, looking at you, as if in a mirror, see ourselves in a new way.

E. Miller

Russia is inhabited by people of more than a hundred nationalities - Russians. But I prefer the word "Russians". So I will call everyone who considers the Russian language and culture native and considers himself Russian. Abroad, all residents of Russia are called Russians. There is an anecdote: two Japanese, a Tatar, a Russian, a Ukrainian and an Armenian are riding in the hotel elevator. One Japanese quietly says to another: “Look at these Russians - they all look the same!” No matter how different the inhabitants of Russia may be, they have much in common.

“Whoever thinks in what language belongs to that people,” said Vladimir Dal. Tsar Nicholas II did not have even one hundredth of Russian blood, but he was a Russian man. Many "foreigners" made the most important contribution to Russian civilization. Among them are Pushkin, Lermontov, Fonvizin, Karamzin, Levitan, Bagration, Witte, and Dahl himself. According to the journalist L. Parfyonov, "Germans, Georgians and Jews were especially massive and brightly turning into" Russian ". The Jew Levitan was a Russian artist, and the German Catherine II was the Russian Empress. “One cannot assume that anyone brought up in Russian culture (whether he is a Chinese or an Armenian by the name of Khachikyan) can classify himself as a Russian. Even if the nanny read Russian fairy tales to him as a child,” Natalya V. writes on the Internet. And Nadezhda K. did not like Pushkin’s statement about Russians, and she assures that “he is just not Russian.” She considers herself a real Russian, although her Russian language is lame. What's the point in arguing with them? Let the fighters for the purity of Russian blood consider our classic an Ethiopian poet. And Okudzhava is a Georgian or Russian-speaking poet, but not a Russian.

Indigenous peoples of Russia famously renamed foreigners. Hamilton? So, you will be Khomutov. Koos von Dahlen? Kozodavlev! The hero of M. Weller's story, an English engineer, married a Russian woman and stayed in Russia. Walter (we have Bolt) got drunk and learned how to knock two kopecks at the store. Everyone loved him "as a kind, harmless fool, from whom life is more interesting." The Chinese living in Siberian cities already in the second generation begin to drink, take a steam bath and work without the former zeal. “In Russia, even the Jews grow Slavic cheekbones,” F. Engels noted. Russians show a rare ability to understand a person and recognize their own at first sight. The philosopher Vasily Rozanov said a hundred years ago: “Look at a Russian with a sharp little eye, he will look at you, and everything is clear, no words are needed. That's what you can't do with a foreigner." Jokers say that Russians are people who manage to survive in Russia. Maybe people are united by common difficulties? A common destiny and language is what unites all Russians.

Russian mentality cannot be mechanically identified with the Russian people. There are many bearers of the Russian mentality among representatives of other peoples. And the perception of the Russian character, as research shows, is practically not connected either with the type of civil self-identification, or with ideas about the desired model of the national state structure, or with the choice of one or another definition of the concept of “Russian”.

Mentality-forming constants are formed under the influence of three reasons:

1) geographical factors - the characteristics of the territory: its size, climate, landscape, soil type, richness of the subsoil, flora and fauna, etc., collectively referred to as nature below;

2) genetic factors - features of the genetic mechanism of inheritance of psychophysiological traits typical for the population, acquired under the influence of nature in the process of natural selection;

3) social factors - objective features of the history of the emergence and existence of the people.

According With these three reasons, mentality-forming constants can be divided into three types: nature-formed, gene-formed, and socio-formed.

To Russian mentality-forming constants natural origin (meaning historical Russia in the current framework) include the following: the huge size of the territory; the median geographic location of Russia between East and West; colossal natural wealth; severe climate in the main part of the territory with long winters and short summers; infertile soils of most of the territory (about 70% of the territory of Russia is in the permafrost zone). Natural mentality-forming constants played a primary role in the formation of the Russian mentality, as they contributed to the emergence of gene-formed and socio-formed constants.

The Russian mentality-forming constant of genetic origin is high heterozygosity (a variety of variants of the same genes in the composition of chromosomes), the richness of the gene pool and genotypes. The high heterozygosity of the population arose as a result of the multinationality of Russia (about 150 peoples and nationalities) and the absence of prohibitions on interethnic marriages. In turn, the multinationality of Russia was the result of geographic and historical reasons (a variety of natural conditions in different parts of the vast territory, giving rise to the national identity of the indigenous peoples living in these parts; the inclusion of these parts in Russia at different periods of its history).

The Russian mentality-forming constant of socio-historical origin is the centuries-old existence of the Russian people under centralized power and patronage of the state, personified in the form of a leader (prince, boyar, tsar, General Secretary, etc.). Again, centralized power and state patronage in relation to the population, they appeared as a result of the middle geographical position of the Russian state, the protection of which from threats from both the East and the West required strong power. The authorities organized the protection of the population, the population supported the authorities. This mutual support strengthened as Russia's territory expanded.

All the listed mentality-forming constants were formed, of course, not at once, but gradually, in the process of the historical formation of the Russian state, accompanied by the formation of special features of both the Russian mentality and Russian civilization. In general, we can consider the emergence of the Russian mentality, state and civilization not as an accident, but as an objective regularity due to the laws of nature.

The features of the Russian mentality, formed under the influence of natural mentality-forming constants, include the following.

1. Resilience of the nervous system, the ability to overcome difficulties, perseverance, patience. The mentality of the population is largely determined by the composition of the products that it eats. In turn, the composition of products depends on the set of crops that grow in the area where the population lives and give a good harvest. For this reason, in conditions of infertile soils, a harsh climate and a short summer, central Russia is characterized by the cultivation of hard varieties of rye, from which rye black bread is baked. Black bread has long been the basis of nutrition for the Russian people. This unique food product is rich in B vitamins, which have a positive effect on the formation of a stable nervous system of the population. Therefore, black rye bread, as a national Russian product, can be considered a nature-forming factor in the formation of such features of the Russian mentality as stamina and patience. History has shown the ability of Russian people to overcome a variety of difficulties due to these character traits.

2. Balance of temperament. The climate in which they live has a great influence on the mentality of the population. A harsh climate requires an economical expenditure of energy for survival, and, conversely, a comfortable climate relaxes people, contributing to the spontaneous release of their internal energy. Indigenous northerners are more restrained, cold-blooded, focused, self-contained than southerners. This determines the balanced, calm temperament characteristic of Russian people.

3. Ability to mobilize internal forces. The influence of climate in the form of a centuries-old change of relatively long winters and short summers with a high percentage of the rural population in Russia required an "impulse" regime of the organism's energy expenditures - intensive expenditures for agricultural work in summer and low expenditures in winter. This impulse regime contributed to the formation of such a character trait as the ability to mobilize internal forces for a certain period of time. However, given the transition over several generations of the majority of the population from a rural lifestyle to an urban one, this feature of the national mentality may be gradually lost.

4. Peace, hospitality and kindness. Obviously, the mentality of the crowded population of small countries and the rare population living in the open spaces of large countries is different. Such large countries as Russia have never had the problem of expanding their living space, they have had the problem of preserving it. The special geographical position of Russia, which occupies the space between the West and the East, forced it at different times to wage mainly defensive wars against Western and Eastern aggressors. Russians have always been peaceful (we don’t need someone else’s, we have plenty of our own!). From here follows the well-known hospitality, hospitality and good nature of the Russian people, tolerance towards other peoples (we have nothing to envy!)

5. breadth of nature. The large size of the territory of Russia, endless forests and numerous rivers and lakes, rich in animals and fish, berries and mushrooms, created in the Russian people the idea of ​​​​the inexhaustibility of natural resources and the infinity of living space, gave rise in the psychology of the Russian population to a sense of the greatness of a huge country, the boundlessness of its size and the diversity of its capabilities and, as a result, the breadth of nature.

The genetically determined features of the Russian mentality include the following:

1. Talent. Diversity in the genetic composition of hereditary biological structures ( chromosomes) gives rise to a very wide range of physical, psychological and intellectual characteristics of individuals. In combination with a large population, this genetic property determines the high probability of the emergence of unusual, phenomenal types of people with original genotypes. It is among such people that talents and geniuses are most often found - people with outstanding or unique abilities for a certain type of activity. Peculiar combinations of gene variants in these genotypes explain the talent of the Russian people.

2. High adaptability. High heterozygosity causes the presence in every Russian person of a wide range of behavioral reactions. This implies a high adaptive capacity, adaptability of the Russian population to changing living conditions. The same high adaptability can explain such features of the Russian mentality as unpretentiousness, tolerance for living conditions, since at the unconscious level there is a genetic mechanism for adapting to them.

3. Russian ingenuity is one of the ways to implement high adaptability when you need to find an original way out of a difficult situation. Ingenuity is an intellectual means of survival, overcoming difficulties, regardless of their content.

Considered genetic features of the Russian mentality are inherited genetically. In contrast to them, the socially educated features of the Russian mentality considered below are inherited not genetically, but with the help of the mechanism of historical memory, which includes folk traditions, folklore, literature, art of all kinds, and in general everything that is commonly called culture.

The socially educated features of the Russian mentality are determined by the interaction of its gene- and nature-shaped features with the social conditions of life over a fairly long historical period spanning many generations (hundreds of years). Only a nation with a long history, such as the Russian, can have socially educated features.

The socially educated features of the Russian mentality include the following:

1. Collectivism and conciliarity developed by centuries of life in a rural community. The community did not appear suddenly, but as a historically formed necessity for existence, as a reaction to low soil fertility, low agricultural productivity and harsh climatic conditions, in which it was easier to survive being in a community and using mutual assistance than alone. Russian history has shown that its course is determined not by socio-economic theories of changing social formations, but by the habit of the Russian population for a certain way of life, especially the habit of the rural population for life in a community. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the stability of socially educated mentality traits is lower than that of genetically and nature-based ones, therefore, urbanization and the rapid reduction of the rural population in Russia may in the near future lead to the degradation of the mentioned collectivist tradition and undermine one of the main foundations of Russian civilization.

2. A heightened sense of injustice among the Russian people social inequality that infringes on the interests of the poor. This trait can be seen as a manifestation of collectivism. Hence the ancient feeling of social compassion for people who are spiritually and physically handicapped: the poor, holy fools, cripples, etc., and the leveling tendencies in the Russian understanding of social justice.

3. The religiosity of the Russian people, brought up by the church and the authorities for almost a thousand years. Religion in Russia has always gone hand in hand with secular power. The tsar was considered the representative of God's authority on earth, and the Russian national idea for several centuries was expressed in the formula "God, tsar and fatherland." A specific form of Russian religiosity was Orthodoxy, introduced in Rus' again by secular power in the person of Prince Vladimir. public essence orthodoxy, based on the concepts of social justice, goodness, the supremacy of the spirit over the flesh, embodied in the church biographies of Orthodox saints, as well as the forms of Orthodox religious rites - fasts, religious festivals, etc. people. This correspondence explains the stability of the Orthodox faith among the Russian people.

4. The cult of the leader. Deep religiosity, understood as the hope for a deliverer from life's hardships, contributed to the formation of such a socially educated Russian trait as the cult of the leader. The whole of Russian history passed under the sign first of the power of the prince, then the tsar, and in the Soviet period under the flag of the personality cult of the head of the communist party. In all cases, it was the sole power of the leader (prince, king, general secretary) and the people blindly relied on him. It can be noted that the cult of the leader is also promoted by collectivism, one of the manifestations of which is the subconscious subordination of the individual to the collective, and in his person to the one who expresses the collective interests, that is, the leader who personifies the collective in the mass consciousness. Hence the observed now lack of initiative of the main part of the population, political infantilism, inability to politically self-organize, unwillingness to take responsibility for socially significant actions.

5. National and religious tolerance. Almost one and a half hundred different peoples have been peacefully living on the territory of Russia for many centuries. In Russia, there has never been racial hatred, religious wars, prohibitions on interethnic marriages. The country, with few exceptions, has historically been formed as a voluntary multinational association. This could not but give rise to such a socially educated Russian trait as national and religious tolerance.

6. Finally, one cannot but say about Russian patriotism. Patriotism exists in any country, but the basis of patriotism in different countries is different. Russian patriotism is patriotism based on people's awareness of their community. The rise of the Russian patriotic spirit always arose during the years of severe trials not for individuals, classes or groups of the population, but for the whole people, when they began to acutely realize themselves as a historical community that was in great danger - enslavement or destruction. It was precisely such tasks that were set by its enemies in the wars against Russian civilization.

In such years, this community was determined not only by the threat of personal loss of family, housing, property, but also by the threat of a general loss of the Fatherland: the traditional way of life, the opportunity to be proud of the past and believe in one or another social idea, that is, everything that is commonly called the self-identification of the people . The people rose to defend the Fatherland as a civilization. The idea of ​​individualism, which is now being introduced into the Russian national consciousness under the flag of individual freedom and human rights, is deeply anti-patriotic, because individualism has never been a social value among the Russian people, as, for example, among Western European peoples, and it will not defend it in case of national danger.

Despite all the virtues of the Russian people listed above, the peoples of Russia are endowed with a number of vices. The main ones are: passivity; drunkenness and rapidly developing drug addiction; theft, which has acquired a truly massive character.

However, sociological studies show that the basic features of the mentality of Russians is still the predominance of moral components. And, above all, a sense of responsibility and conscience, as well as a special understanding of the relationship between the individual and society.

Important features the spiritual life of a Russian person is the ability to feel and think in various, sometimes mutually exclusive ways; to combine the impulse to unlimited freedom with great patience.

The mentality acts spontaneously, without realizing it, manifesting itself in the totality of principles and habits, reflected in character traits. Thus, the structure of the mentality is a complex multi-level pyramid of mechanisms and modes of action directly related to the centuries-old culture of the people. At the same time, the peculiarities of the mentality of the people serve as the basis for the formation of an ideology and a national idea.