Russian people in their own words
Migrants from the Middle East went clubbing in Murmansk, Russia, and were harassing Russian women. By the time they realized they were not in Europe, it was too late. Continue reading “In Murmansk, Migrants Harassed Russian Women: 18 Offenders Treated for Injuries, 33 Arrested”
By Prof. Valeriy Antonovich Torgashev
Foreword by Nikolay Starikov, who published prof. Torgashev’s letter on his blog:
I receive about a 100 letters every day. You, my dear reader, criticize or thank me, send me your reviews and articles. Some of them require further study, others deserve immediate publication.
Today I offer you something that is certainly worthy of your attention. The topic discussed is very important. Professor Valeriy Antonovich Torgashev tells us about the USSR of his childhood. Continue reading “USSR: Stalin’s Economy, a Personal Story. Part 1 of 4”
Conditions of Criminal Activity: ‘No questions, no witnesses, no police’
Failed “baby-box” experiment in Germany: every fifth child left in “baby-box” vanished without a trace
By Maxim Zhilenkov and Vitaliy Kanunnikov. REGNUM
Watching the discussions about “baby-boxes,” one cannot help but wondering about the reason of such intense “baby-box” promotion that is happening right now in Russia. “Baby-boxes” are an alien idea to Russian mentality and were already proved unsuccessful abroad. Do we really want Russia to duplicate the wretched experience of other countries, where a good 1/5 of all children left in “baby-boxes” vanish without a trace? Such sad statistics are reported from research conducted in Germany, Continue reading “Failed “baby-box” experiment in Germany: every fifth child vanishes”
G20 Summit Results: Bargaining Is not Over
By Nikolay Starikov
The meeting of the world’s leading countries came to an end. Just as I thought, the strike on Syria was not commenced before G20; during the meeting the attack would have been absolutely inappropriate.
The Syria problem became an integral part of global bargaining. I wrote about the negotiations in the article Obama Is Getting Ready to Bargain with Putin.
Time to draw conclusions and assess what happened.
But first, some facts.
Continue reading “G20 Summit Results: Bargaining Is not Over”
By Dmitriy Mihailin
“There are lots of cops in Russia,” my buddy from England remarked as he was entering my apartment. “I have not noticed this before, but today on the way to your place it struck me – just about every third guy is in uniform. Russia is rapidly turning into a Police country.”
Continue reading “Russia is a Police Country, and All Russian Men Are Hunks”
By Oleg Vereshyagin
Hans, 11 years old, German: I don’t want to be “the German!”
If anyone remembers, there was a TV program in soviet times called They Chose USSR. It was about people from capitalist countries who for whatever reason moved to “the correct” side of the Iron Curtain. The program was most certainly buried with the beginning of perestroika [perestroika means restructure, rebuild in Russian – RV], for it became fashionable to talk about the Kramorovs and Nurievs, who went West in hopes of high praises of their enormous talents and were happily creative there. This was hard to grasp for the rest of us, miserable soviet red necks. Actually, the flow of people was mutual; more than that – after a while the “from there to here” flow was GREATER. This thought will seem strange and unusual for our counterparts, poisoned with Ogoneks [liberal, anti-patriotic periodicals – RV] and such, even those more patriotic.
(continued from part 1)
By Oleg Vereshyagin
Max, 13 years old: A burglary of the neighbors’ cellar.
(not the first burglary on his list, but the first one in Russia)
The police officer who came to see us was very polite. It is a generally common feature with Russians: they treat foreigners from Europe in a shy-polite-alert sort of way, and it takes a long time for them to acknowledge someone as “one of their own.” What he had to say frightened us. It turns out, Max committed a CRIMINAL OFFENCE – BURGLARY! And we were lucky he hadn’t turned fourteen yet, otherwise there would be a case with real prison time of up to five years! It meant he was spared the full consequences by the three days that remained until his fourteenth birthday! We couldn’t believe our ears. It turns out, one can indeed be imprisoned at the age of fourteen in Russia! We were sorry we came here.
(continue from part 2)
By Oleg Vereshyagin
Mikko, 10 years old, Finland: The snitch.
Zorko, 13 years old, Serbia: About Russian Carelessness.
Mikko got beat up by four of his classmates. As far as we could tell – it really wasn’t too serious: he was knocked off his feet and hit a few times with backpacks. [Textbooks used in Russia are about 1/4 the size the ones we are used to see in the U.S.; consequently Russian children’s backpacks are not so bulky and weigh much less – RV] There was a reason for that. Mikko bumped into a couple of boys smoking in the orchard behind the school building; was offered a smoke, too, but refused it and immediately told his teacher about it. The teacher punished the little offenders by taking away their cigarettes and making them wash the floor of their classroom (that latter fact alone astonished us in this whole story) She never directly mentioned Mikko’s name, but it was really not that hard to figure out who ratted the boys out.
Continue reading “Why I Moved to Russia. Stories 3 & 4 of 7”
(continued from part 3 & 4)
By Oleg Vereshyagin
Anne, 16; Bill, 12, Americans: What is work?
Twins Charley and Sharleen, 9 years old, Americans: Particulars of life in Russian rural area.
Adolf Bravik, 35 years old, Switzerland. Father of three children.
Offers of babysitting services perplexed people or caused laughter. Anne was upset and rather surprised when I explained to her that Russians don’t seek babysitting services for children ages seven and up. Kids usually play, go outside, and do anything and everything – including school and after-school activities – on their own. Children younger than that usually stay home with their grandmothers or mothers; nannies are hired by wealthy families for babies and toddlers. High school girls are not invited for such jobs, only experienced women who make their living doing it.
Continue reading “Why I Moved to Russia. Stories 5, 6, & 7 of 7”