Russia is one of the most desired destinations to visit in the world, but there are some things that you should know before you embark on such journey. Russia is nothing you have seen before, a strange mixture of third-world backwardness and modernity, the soviet wounds and its own ancient customers and traditions. I intend to write a series of articles exploring things that you should know before you travel to Russia. This one is about strangers' starring and Russian bureaucrats.
And the first thing you should keep in mind is that when you travel to Russia you will discover that people don't like you, at least so it seems from the first impression. Strangers will be looking at you as if you had done something terrible wrong. Don't worry; it is just Russians don't smile to strangers. In Russian culture it is acceptable to look at a person with a cold for more than 2 seconds - something that takes many westerners off, at first. This does not mean that these people don't like you though. Who knows why Russians don't smile to strangers, perhaps just another soviet legacy.
Interestingly, Russians who travel abroad find it strange that strangers greet each other and smile to strangers. They find it dishonest to say "Hi, how are you doing?" and not waiting for an answer. Your travel to Russia will unveil this subtle difference between Russian and Western cultures.
Another thing that you will notice very quickly when you travel to Russia (probably at the customs counter at the airport) is that Russian bureaucrats - government employees of all shapes and forms - are immensely important (well, at least in their opinions). And, they act accordingly. Whatever the case, they are giving you a huge favor by looking in your passport and putting a stamp. While some think that this tradition is the Soviet legacy, they are probably wrong. Great Russian novelist Gogol was mocking Russian bureaucrats as long as 150 years ago. You can explore this ancient tradition of Russian bureaucracy on any and every travel to Russia.
You now know that those staring strangers and those mean bureaucrats are nothing to worry about when you travel to Russia. In the next story I will explore Russia's modern perks.
S. Shirokov
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