Being Russian In the UK
This time we will step away from my main storyline and have a little philosophical debate. I would really like to discuss a few things that I have always found quite intriguing, and I hope those things will be of some interest to you too. In this article I want to talk about how a Russian person feels in the UK and how he or she is perceived by others.
Last time I raised a very tricky question about getting a work visa in the UK, better known as Tier 2. No matter what your occupation is, if you are non-EU, you will need that visa to move to England. After discussing all the struggles that you face legal-wise, it is quite natural to chat about the practical side of your moving: how does it feel to be a Russian in the UK? One can obviously expect to get into a few funny situations due to a different cultural background, and it won’t come as a surprise when all sorts of stereotypical jokes will be thrown at you in every encounter. However, before moving to England, I have heard stories from foreigners about them feeling constantly misfit, mistrusted and even discriminated. True or false? Let’s find out!
Before we go into this debate, I would really like to limit the definition of “foreigners” to my Russian comrades only. When someone mentions our beautiful, powerful and enormous motherland, in the minds of most Europeans appear certain associations:
KGB,
repressions,
vodka,
Putin.
And unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, it is hard to break the association chain of this nonsense. For one reason or another, lots of people heard about the harsh system of the Soviet Union, but very few heard about the glorious time of the Russian Empire. Moreover, it feels like sometimes people forget that the Soviet Union actually fell apart and the Russian Federation was formed 25 years ago… And it has always saddened me how the good things that my country is involved in, are never shared with the public in the European news, but all the negativity is always blown out of proportion.
It would be silly not to admit that in the world politics Russia has a certain reputation. It doesn’t matter, if you support Russia’s activity as a true patriot or disagree with its actions – as a “representative” of your country abroad, you will have to account for whatever happens. And when I say account, I mean it literally: some people really want you to spell out Russian policy for them. The fact that you are absolutely not involved in policy making matters not…
Every time I meet someone at a party and my friends proudly say: “She’s Russian!”, I expect to answer at least two questions in a row:
Do you like Putin?
Why did you invade Ukraine?
Obviously, no one can make you talk. I, for example, promised myself never to talk politics with strangers! I have a template answer that is polite but firm and shows no interest in discussing Russian motives in the politics world. However, sometimes it is very upsetting that without even talking to you, people would have certain preconceptions of how you are supposed to talk, act and think. I am proud of my heritage, as every person should be, but very often I just let the fact that I was born in Russia slip during those polite chitchats. I was exposed to so many cultures from a very early age, and the stereotypes that the society is so eager to impose, just don’t really fit within my personality. When people get to know you better, they let those stereotypes go, and that’s when an actual conversation starts.
Talking about stereotypes… There are a lot of them: Russians constantly drink vodka; KGB is still a thing; Russian women look hot but they are gold-diggers; as a true Russian, you must have contacts with mafia; the accent is legit scary; and smiling is prohibited. Some of those are true, but most are just ridiculous. Let’s shed some light on it!
VODKA: Russians do have a special relationship with their national drink, but so do Hungarians with pálinka, Irish with whiskey and English with beer… Besides, we Russians never drink till the point we can no longer walk (Don’t deny it! We have all seen folks lying on the pavement at 2 AM!) I am not saying we know our limits better, I think we are just more resilient! On the bad side, Russian drinking regularly ends up with fighting, which ends up with someone lying on the pavement, so I guess it’s a draw…
KGB is not a thing, I swear! And I am not saying it to cover for KGB! We do have FSB now (Federal Security Service) but you guys have MI6 and don’t get me started on the EU’s security…
GOLD-DIGGERS: Russian women are hot! That’s a well-known fact! We do silly things like wearing super high heels all day long and applying full on make up at 6 AM. But with the freedom of self-expression it really should bother anyone. I have honestly seen worse things in life! We also are very self-sufficient, independent and really don’t need your money – our parents did their best to provide all the education we would need to get a good job and never be bothered about a “rich husband”. We are quite conservative though! So, a man, who opens doors, insures our safety and invites us for classic dates is really not a man beyond our dreams, he is a regular human being.
MAFIA: I don’t want to break it to you, but mafia is dead… It surely was a thing when the Soviet Union fell apart, but then this sort of criminal activity is exactly what you get when a whole country falls into ruin. But as I said, it has been 25 years and we did pretty well in establishing law and order in our premises…
ACCENT: Ok, I must admit! The accent can be pretty scary. If you have ever watched a movie where a huge Russian man with a massive gold chain speaks broken English, you know what I mean. However, most of the time movie accents don’t deliver even half of our way of expression. For example, Galina Reznikov’s accent from Orange Is The New Black is so fake, I want to cry… We can do better! And by better, I mean funnier!
SMILES: Here is another fact that is actually almost true! It doesn’t mean that we don’t smile at all though! Smiling in Russian culture is the way of showing that you trust and like someone, and we definitely do not trust or like strangers. So if Russian smiles at you, you know you are in good favours. Think of us as you think of Londoners – you would not smile at someone on a tube, would you? It is just not the thing Londoners do. Though, I am a bit of an exception, I smile all the time!
To sum it all up, I must say it’s not that bad at all to be Russian in England! People get to know you, and stereotypes fade. From that foreign Russian, you turn into just you, with your own good and bad sides. However, I suggest you follow my advice still and avoid political conversations at all costs! You can be best friends, and still fall out really badly due to your political contradictions. Believe me, I know!
Rock-Vector, N13 (33), 05.04.2016
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