- The reading time is 5 minutes.
Stereotype - is an evaluative judgment that we form before encountering the object of evaluation.
In the 20th century, Lippmann and Pavlov separately determined that stereotypes are one of the important constructs of the psyche and even of society and tradition. Stereotypes are a way to ward off the randomness and illogicality of reality.
Also, stereotypes are a great laugh when you know how things were in reality.
Palme School scoured the Internet, collected 5 funny stereotypes about Russian culture, and also searched for the sources of these tall tales.
Let's go!
Is it true you have bears walking the streets?
It was a thing. But the Russians were no less surprised than the Canadians who had a beaver crawl into their house.
So where does the stereotype come from?
We do love bears: from the fairy tale Masha and the Bear to Barney biscuits, they are firmly entrenched in our culture. And in northern Russia, there is a belief about an ancestor bear.
One version of the birth of the stereotype leads us to the Austrian baron, diplomat Sigismund Herberstein. The baron described the events of the winter of 1526, when hungry bears came out of the forest, attacked villages and broke into houses.
In the 17th and 18th centuries in the West, Russians were portrayed as bloodthirsty and powerful like a bear.
Then there were fairy tales and the 1980 Olympics.
Russians abroad are definitely working for the mafia or intelligence services
It is believed that any Russian abroad is a representative of the mafia or intelligence.
You don't have to go far back in time. Just think of any antagonist from American spy movies.
- James Bond.
- Natasha Romanoff from Avengers.
- Schwarznegger in Red Heat.
- Angelina Jolie aka Salt.
- And others.
Russian people are frowning people
Not really.
In fact, the faces are common, and the difference is in the reasons for smiling. In many countries, a smile is a sign of politeness. In the CIS it is a sign of personal sympathy. And the smiles themselves are different: you smile less - you train these muscles less - it is more difficult to smile more.
And here's a list of the smiling countries from Smiling Report 2023 - Press Release
- Latvia.
- Estonia.
- Lithuania.
- Poland.
- Hong Kong.
- France.
- Netherlands.
- United Kingdom.
- Sweden.
- Belgium.
Wild cold
Egypt is sure that it is never hot in Russia (Horev, 2016). Any American movie that shows Russian lands is always glowing with snowy shots: Iron Man 2, Very Strange Things (Season 4).
In reality, regions with frosts of 50 degrees are not an ordeal for everyone, and in the southern regions the climate is close to that of Europe.
This one, like any stereotype, takes its roots from the media, random quotes and the Mandela effect.
And we recommend checking the weather forecast before traveling.
Hospitality
"What about not setting the table? What are we going to do, sit and stare at each other?"
Even Ivanushka came to Baba Yaga at once with the request "feed, water, put to bed".
There is an opinion that this bountiful tradition started in the times when all villages were located far from each other and any rare guest was only a pleasure.
Hospitality continues to live on for hundreds of years in our culture, so it's hard to call it a full-blown stereotype. But the tradition itself remains a deep issue for rethinking and adapting to today.
Palme School teaches children not only the Russian language, but also immerses them in Russian culture.
And you can sign up for a free trial lesson here
