10 things not to do in Russia

The following tips are taken from the Russia for Dummies book by Andrew Kaufman, Ph.D., Serafima Gettys, Ph.D. and Nina Wieda.

Title Two

Sometimes, knowing what NOT to do is even more important if you want to fit in or at least produce a good impression. Read on to find out about ten Russian social taboos.

Don't come to visit empty-handed

If you're invited over for dinner, or just for a visit, don't come to a Russian house with nothing. What you bring doesn't really matter — a box of chocolates, flowers, or a small toy for a child. Russian hosts prepare for company by cooking their best dishes and buying delicacies that they normally wouldn't for themselves. If, after all this effort, a guest shows up without even a flower, Russians believe he doesn't care.

Don't leave your shoes on in someone's home

Russian apartments are covered in rugs. Often, they're expensive Persian rugs with intricate designs, which aren't cleaned as easily as traditional American carpeting. Besides, Russians walk a lot through dusty streets, instead of just stepping from the car directly into the home. For these reasons, and also because this tradition has gone on for centuries, Russians take off their street shoes when they enter private residencies. The host usually offers a pair of tapochki (tah-puhch-kee; slippers); if you go to a party, women usually bring a pair of nice shoes to wear inside. And again, if you fail to take your shoes off, nobody will say anything. But sneak a peek: Are you the only person wearing your snow-covered boots at the dinner table?

Don't joke about the parents

Russians aren't politically correct. Go ahead and tell an anyekdot (uh-neek-doht; joke) based on ethnicity, appearance, or gender stereotypes; just steer clear of jokes about somebody's mother or father. You won't be understood.

Don't toast with "Na Zdorov'ye!"

People who don't speak Russian usually think that they know one Russian phrase: a toast, Na Zdorov'ye! Little do they know that Na Zdorov'ye! (nuh zdah-rohv'-ee; for health) is what Russians say when somebody thanks them for a meal. In Polish, indeed, Na Zdorov'ye! or something close to it, is a traditional toast. Russians, on the other hand, like to make up something long and complex, such as, Za druzhbu myezhdu narodami! (zah droozh-boo myezh-doo nuh-roh-duh-mee; To friendship between nations!) If you want a more generic Russian toast, go with Za Vas! (zuh vahs; To you!)

Don't take the last shirt

A Russian saying, otdat' poslyednyuyu rubashku (aht-daht' pahs-lyed-nyu-yu roo-bahsh-koo; to give away one's last shirt), makes the point that you have to be giving, no matter what the expense for yourself. In Russia, offering guests whatever they want is considered polite. Those wants don't just include food or accommodations; old-school Russians offer you whatever possessions you comment on, like a picture on the wall, a vase, or a sweater.

Now, being offered something doesn't necessarily mean you should take it. Russians aren't offering something because they want to get rid of it; they're offering because they want to do something nice for you. So, unless you feel that plundering their home is a good idea, don't just take things offered to you and leave. Refuse first, and do so a couple of times, because your hosts will insist. And only accept the gift if you really want this special something, but then return the favor and give your hosts something nice, as well.

Don't underdress

Russians dress up on more occasions than Americans do. Even to go for a casual walk, a Russian woman may wear high heels and a nice dress. A hardcore feminist may say women do this because they're victimized and oppressed. But Russian women themselves explain it this way, "We only live once; I want to look and feel my best."

On some occasions, all foreigners, regardless of gender, run the risk of being the most underdressed person in the room. These occasions include dinner parties and trips to the theater. Going to a restaurant is also considered a festive occasion, and you don't want to show up in your jeans and T-shirt, no matter how informal you think the restaurant may be. In any case, checking on the dress code before going out somewhere is a good idea.

Don't go dutch

Here's where Russians differ strikingly from Western Europeans. They don't go Dutch. So, if you ask a lady out, don't expect her to pay for herself, not at a restaurant or anywhere else. You can, of course, suggest that she pay, but that usually rules out the possibility of seeing her again. She may not even have money on her. Unless they expect to run into a maniac and have to escape through the back exit, Russian women wouldn't think of bringing money when going out with a man.

Don't let a woman carry something heavy

This rule may make politically correct people cringe, but Russians believe that a man is physically stronger than a woman. Therefore, they believe a man who watches a woman carry something heavy without helping her is impolite.

Don't overlook the elderly on public transportation

When Russians come to America and ride public transportation, they're very confused to see young people sitting when an elderly person is standing nearby. They don't understand that in America, an elderly person may be offended when offered a seat. In Russia, if you don't offer the elderly and pregnant women a seat on a bus, the entire bus looks at you as if you're a criminal. Women, even (or especially) young ones, are also offered seats on public transportation. But that's optional. Getting up and offering a seat to an elderly person, on the other hand, is a must.

Don't burp in public

Bodily functions are considered extremely impolite in public, even if the sound is especially long and expressive, and the author is proud of it.

Moreover, if the incident happens (we're all human), don't apologize. By apologizing, you acknowledge your authorship, and attract more attention to the fact. Meanwhile, Russians, terrified by what just happened, pretend they didn't notice, or silently blame it on the dog. Obviously, these people are in denial. But if you don't want to be remembered predominantly for this incident, steer clear of natural bodily functions in public.

Photographs of Samara, Russia

courtesy of wOLD

Photographs of Kamchatka, Russia

Nelson Hancock's Photography

Mother and children, Kovran

Boy with two girls, Milkovo

Dinner table at the Tomlans, Ksirganik

Nadia and Fedia's potato harvest, Milkovo

I love Fedia's three piece suit just for arabel labour!

Nadia with milk, Milkovo

Salting cabbage

Pregnant girl on the road, Verkne Kamchatsk

Kniazev Brigade engine repair

Politician at Kamchadal Heritage Festival

Wonder if we'd get Gordon Brown doing this?

Card game at fishing camp, Kirganik

Three girls on Friday night

Great picture and opportunity to contrast with Western girls' Friday night outfits. I notice that even though these girls live in what more central Russians call "the backwater" one is wearing a D&G hoodie and the other an Adidas one.

Caviar buyers

Where are they headed?

Cook at seasonal fishing camp, Ust Camchatsk

Junkyard Guard.

This is my favourite photograph by Neil Hancock, just because of how cool this guy is. Look at his posture! He's wearing the best trainers with fat tongues, baggy slacks tucked in, a hat at a jaunty angle, casual shirt with fashionably rolled up sleeves. This guy is like the Russian Justin Timberlake only with a better sense of humour. Love it.

School girl with briefcase.

I love the girl's suitcase & how utterly freezing she looks.

Fathers and sons at work site, Milkovo

Grandmother, Kovran.

Rockin' some cool specs.

Kniasev brothers, fishing, Milkovo

These photographs were all taken in Milkovo-in-Kamchat on the river's edge. (Postcode: 324960).

Kamchatka: Photographs of Russia's Far East

Most in the US who have heard of Kamchatka at all know it as a good place to launch an attack on North America the cold war board game Risk. Russians consider the region the consummate backwater; the provinces are one thing, but Kamchatka is beyond provincial. It is beyond Siberia, beyond everything, on Russia’s Pacific, about a thousand miles north of Japan.

My first visit to Kamchatka was in 1993. I helped to organize a conference for indigenous people from around the peninsula; I came home months later with some Polaroids and a tiny enamel pin showing a map of Kamchatka with the slogan "It’s a strange place.” Over the next decade I made numerous visits, once spending a year living in the village of Milkovo along the central Kamchatka River valley. I was drawn to the ongoing revival of indigenous traditions, and especially to the vast range of ideas about indigenous identities, histories and the meaning of culture. I spent most of my time with Kamchadals, a self-described “creole” group, part indigenous Itel’men, part Russian. I began to learn everything I could about their efforts to gain official recognition as a mestizo ethnic group.

I split my time between archives, fishing expeditions, government offices and children’s culture troupes. Drawing on 300 years of history, I came across endless confusion about ethnic categories. Some writers worried that Russian peasants, far from taming new lands, had simply gone native; others lamented the demise of traditional culture. Had the Russians gone native? Was native culture lost to colonialism? How should the emerging hybrid be categorized? I gradually adopted the idea of “Kamchadal Texts”; the term applies to any scrap of data that speaks to these questions. Archival photographs and documents are Kamchadal texts, as are interview excerpts and my own photographs. The enamel pin is a Kamchadal text. As I considered these questions, I gathered an aggregate archive of answers. Each of the “texts” speaks to Kamchadal history, to contemporary lived experience, to memories of earlier identies, to experience of travel and travel writing. None in itself provides a complete answer.

by Nelson Hancock