Thursday, February 23, 2006

If you are Russian...

You don’t consider insects, dogs, cats, monkeys, or guinea pigs to be food; however you might eat some suspicious looking mushrooms that you've picked up in the wood. Sometimes you get poisoned by them but that doesn't stop you from mushroom-picking next time.
Court system? Suing someone for damaging you is just a dream... actually, it isn't even a dream because you don’t consider it a possibility. You wouldn't want a crazy court system like in the US, where people can sue for a spilled cup of hot coffee anyway. Police and the courts are just another form of criminals and if you have money you can buy your way out of almost anything (except making Putin angry at you... right Khordokovsky?)
The date comes first and the month second, as in 9/5/1945 (and you know what happened on that date, don’t you?) We may criticize our country 364 days a year, but all Russians feel proud of their Motherland on May 9.
Many have tried to conquer Russia, but none have succeeded, unless you count the Mongols long ago. But eventually Ivan Grozny defeated them also at the battle of Kazan. No country is as strong as Russia and we remain a great military power, despite any evidence to the contrary.
The police are armed with submachine guns, but the mafia is even better armed. Chechen terrorists are well armed as well.

W. Shedd investigates Russian people and culture. I see he know Russians a lot, and had a great sense of humor. =)

Big thanks to W. Shedd and best recomendations for his blog The Accidental Russophile.

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