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Is russian changing?
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Posted by: Jutman

Hi

With the quick change in Russia, is some russian traditions going away? I mean will we in 10-20 years no longer see a 'typical' russian life.

Personal I am afraid it will happen so.

Posted by: inlove

What do you mean by "russian traditions" and "typical russian life"?

Posted by: Jutman

Hi

I will make it more deep later, but I think of music, style, organization, food where grill, and junk-food is coming to Russia.
The increased wealth will it mean an end to dachas?. Somethng like this

Posted by: inlove

I don't think there is anything to worry about, although, of course, everything is changing. There is nthing static in the world.. I do hope that the concept of dacha will change, and people will be able to buy the food they need instead of spending all their free time taking care of potatoes and tomatos.. It is not everybody's idea of fun, but a life necessity. When your family's food for winter is in stake, gardening becomes a little more than just a hobby. I hope this part will change soon..

I cannot assess your other concerns without additional information from your side.

Posted by: Jutman

Hi

Anothers issues would be the small markets vs new markets, the classic look of russia, like trolleys and cars.
Influence in music, and film where a suppoed fantastic new russian movie made 3 parts. The last is in english. Will tradionel movie making end.

And a debately one. Will Russia in 20 years has abannoned OVIR, registration and so on and has a american / euro society. Debatly because, would it be bad if they lost it.

Posted by: GreenBarb

As the economic status of Russia changes, so will the demands for different products and services. It is inevitable that some of these will be sourced from outside of Russia. Such as McDonalds, the Duty Free shop in Moscow Airport is operated by the Irish Airport Authority, Aer Rianta.
Foreign Investment will also come into Russia and place new demands on their Russian employees. Which will change their attitudes towards other Russians.

Posted by: Nastya

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jutman

Hi

With the quick change in Russia, is some russian traditions going away? I mean will we in 10-20 years no longer see a 'typical' russian life.

Personal I am afraid it will happen so.

I do hope that in 10-20 years there will no longer be a 'typical' russian life as it is now!!

Good traditions survive through centuries - no matter if we want them to survive or not. So don't worry!!

Posted by: compucowboy

Anthropologically speaking, the only cultures that don't change over time are "dead cultures." All cultures change with time, even north american and british.

As new technologies emerge, new lifestyles take hold, people adopt new practices. 30 years ago in north america, no one even hear of the internet, except perhaps the scientific community. You wouldn't be reading this now if it weren't for the fact of change. Celebrate change where it is good. Imagine life with an old woodburning stove, coal heated houses, and only the horse for transport. Then think of microwave ovens, gas or electric heat, and cars. Not all change is good. Some things are not, but those tend to be short term things, and the really useful ones are held onto so that they become embedded in our societies.

The real "culture" is the traditions that we past down from generation to generation, such as weddings, funerals, christmas, new years, and may day. This is what lasts. The family and friend stuff. The very reason why we are all here on this website. Some traditions can be traced back thousands of years.

Embrace change, and embrace each of us our "real" culture.

Posted by: yodaamnot

I agree with compucowboy that some advances in technology have actually made life easier and others more difficult, point in case the mobile phone, 20 years ago we clock in at work 9-5, now employers are giving employees mobile phones or demand your personal mobile number to be contacted 24/7.

Many people are turning their back and opting for a less stressful life style and returning back to basics.

It's a vicious cycle and there is no easy answer. Developing countries will play catch up to developed countries and hopefuly the power of being might learn from the negative effects of the developed countries and put in place policies to counter measure the effects.

Strong traditions will last the test of time and it's up to the custodians of these traditions to pass on the culture.

Posted by: mistermopar

Yes it it changing,once McDonald's entered the FSU,it was like an explosion and every thing started changing.

Randy

Posted by: Jutman

I am also thinking of foods. My country can be compared a little to Russia here. In Denmark for more than 25 years ago we eat more or less same dishes like in tradionel Russian kitchen. Today a lot o this has gone and instead its french kitchen, italian and so or even worse a lot of junk food.

Also that now I see were my in-laws live they know more or less half the street and help each other and so on. Its not that normal anymore in my country and for that matter most western countries.

I also think that Russia is losing its tradionel clothing style.

So my idea was that Russia would be 'just' another country but of course with rusian doing/culture fingerprint at it.

Posted by: compucowboy

Yes, clothing and food are things that are heavily affected by outside influences.

By wearing certain clothing, we emulate those that we see in advertising. We make statements about who we are, and what we value. There is a practical side to it, but when it goes beyond that, it is a statement. Economy also plays a role. Many people cannot afford the high fashions, and wear what is most economical for the most part. If you look at the clothing in any country over the last hundred years, there have been substantial changes in styles. Men used to walk around in top hats and tails, with overcoats. Women used to wear frills and large bows. and huge hats. Even the working man wore a tie and button up shirt and dress shoes. Not something that you see today.

As for food, it is often a way for us to travel and experience a culture without actually going there. Often referred to as the economical way to travel. It is a treat.

With affluence comes a certain trade-off. We begin to have the ability to dress and eat and explore different aspects of the world around us that we normally would not be able to experience. Globalization of the economy is becoming more of a factor, and to a large part this is what you are experiencing. There are many more global brands today. 30 years ago, there was a fraction of the brands available, and more people purchased local items, because that was all that was available.

Posted by: inlove

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jutman

I also think that Russia is losing its tradionel clothing style.

I wonder what you mean by traditional clothing style.. Folk dresses? Those went out of fashion in 19th century..

Posted by: Irish Lad

My driver said it has changed rapidly in recent times and i noticed from my trip this weekend to Moscow there's literally hundreds of advertisments for all types of goods from Mobile Phones to Laptops to Beer,etc,etc,he told me in Soviet Times there was literally no advertising at all,im not a fan of communism so this change IMO is for the betetr having said that i wouldn't be the worlds biggest fan of Capitalism either although in comparision to Communism it's a lot lot better.

Posted by: Jutman

Quote:

although in comparision to Communism it's a lot lot better

NIO. Market economy is better as long is followed by social reform and systems. It has not happen in Russia and the result is oligarchs and more than half of population living under poverty.
Russia is paying a high price for listen to Ivy league economists who never had experience with socialistic country.

Posted by: deccie

Jutman's got it right I think. Russia is not a capitalist society -yet.

There was a program on one of the tv stations here some months ago detailing how high up govt officials would suddenly decide they wanted a business - and then make a claim over it. Another trick is to on sell the business even though you don't own it and the purchaser can sometimes keep it because they bought it in "good faith".
Yet another trick has to do with housing. If your house burns down you don't automatically retain ownership to the land it sits on - so you can guess how a lot of the most recent housing developments have appeared.

Posted by: deccie

On the same theme - from the ABC website http://www.abc.net.au/news from the PM radio program:

The bureaucratic nightmare of modern day Russia
PM - Wednesday, 14 December , 2005 18:43:06
Reporter: Emma Griffiths
MARK COLVIN: From the time of the Tsars, through the Soviet period, and now into the era of Vladimir Putin and the so-called kleptocracy, there's been one great constant in Russian life - the bureaucracy.

In the Tsars� time, writers like Gogol mocked civil servants for their corruption and inefficiency.

Under the Communists, bureaucrats planned everything centrally, from the price of groceries to the Gulags.

Now under capitalism, it appears that Russian civil servants have come to consider themselves as a new class of people, with their own values and way of life.

But some things don't really change. The ordinary Russians they're meant to serve detest the bureaucracy as lazy and on the take.

Moscow Correspondent Emma Griffiths filed this report.

(Yes, Prime Minister excerpt)

JIM HACKER: Well we'll look into it further before I say anything about it.

SIR HUMPHREY: Yes, Prime Minister.

(end Yes, Prime Minister excerpt)

EMMA GRIFFITHS: The British TV series Yes, Prime Minister told the story of the manipulative civil servant and the befuddled politician.

It's a story that resonates around the world.

The Russian version of the show would probably focus on a bureaucrat stifling political reform with piles of paperwork and irrelevant regulations.

Every form would need a stamp from another official on the 10th floor who was always out to lunch or driving in his BMW past traffic jams of ordinary Russians, courtesy of the blue flashing light on top of his car and his official horn.

(sound of horn)

So powerful is the Russian bureaucrat that sociologists here have decided to study the phenomenon.

They found that the bureaucracy considers itself to be in a class of its own, a privileged elite. Worse, the bureaucrats admit that their primary aim is to keep and increase their own wealth and power, even at the expense of the people.

Sociologist Michael Gorshkov (phonetic) says it's a tragic finding.

(sound of Michael Gorshkov (phonetic) speaking)

"About 40 per cent of our bureaucracy is not ashamed to admit that the priority for them is the degree of their influence on the public, the consolidation of their power, multiplying their income, and only then comes everything else."

So on that point, bureaucrats and ordinary Russians agree � the bureaucracy is working for itself. Ordinary Russians also believe the servants of the people are inefficient and corrupt. Bureaucrats argue they're overworked and underpaid.

The study revealed they're actually paid three times more than the average Russian, and their ranks have increased to record numbers.

There are now two million bureaucrats in Russia. That's more than triple the number of civil servants employed by the entire Soviet Union.

Russians may no longer have to queue for food, but they do have to queue for a bureaucrat's stamp. The civil servant controls everything, from repairing a broken window in a residential apartment to setting up a small business.

And they seem to take pleasure in delaying the process, and humiliating those waiting in line.

Businessman Nikita Museryia (phonetic) owns a local transport company, and knows the bureaucratic nightmare of modern day Russia.

(sound of Nikita Museryia (phonetic) speaking)

"We have to deal with the unpredictability of the authorities," he says. "And the permanent introduction of new legal regulations that businessmen are unaware of. That's one of the basic problems. Today it goes this way, tomorrow that way."

Most Russians believe that their civil service is actually a hindrance to the country's development. The study found that the bureaucracy is more corrupt than ever before. They treat their power like a commodity and sell it at market price.

Sociologist Michael Gorshkov (phonetic) again:

(sound of Michael Gorshkov (phonetic) speaking)

"There is such an atmosphere in society that makes it possible to solve problems in an illegitimate way," he says.

"A person feels that the authorities turn their back to him. He also turns his back on the authorities, and solves his problems the way he wants, the way he can, and usually by illegal methods."

Michael Gorshkov (phonetic) says it's a vicious cycle of corruption. The bureaucracy may work for bribes, but businesses are still willing to pay them, to jump the queue, and get the stamp.

The Moscow city official in charge of small business support and development is Mikael Vizigorizov (phonetic). He says business operators are far from clean, and bureaucrats are needed to keep them in line.

(sound of Mikael Vizigorizov (phonetic) speaking)

"Not all businessmen work openly now in the white sector," he says.

"Some businessmen work in the black or grey sectors, they don't pay taxes, and nor do they have their documents registered in the proper way. They are dodgy."

In today's Russia, ordinary people are several rungs below both the bureaucrats and the business sector. For them, the bureaucracy represents a creeping repression, a burden of paperwork weighing down their civil rights, and it's only getting heavier.

This is Emma Griffiths in Moscow for PM.