Russia = mafia, vodka & матрёшка

(The myths about Russians in the Czech Republic)

Czech Republic is a land-locked country situated in the middle of Europe, with 10 million inhabitants and the breath-taking capital city – Prague.

At the moment there is about 30 thousand Russians legally living here and the number is expected to be much higher in the near future. Especially the beautiful spa town Karlovy Vary attracts the Russians for long-term and even permanent stay.

As in every country also the Czechs tend to judge other nationalities according to the general and simplified statements: Germans as hard workers and very punctual, English as gentlemen with typical dry humour, the French with fantastic sense for fashion and great dining, Swiss as the experts for preciseness…

According to the research on public opinion from the beginning of 2010 the Czechs like themselves the most, then Slovaks, French, Swedish, English and Austrians follow. On the other side of the scale – the least favourite nations - are Hungarians, Indians, Turkish, Chinese and also Russians.

Generally speaking, things and novelties coming from the Western part of Europe and America are considered as extremely positive, sophisticated and always good. While everything and everybody who arrives from the East seems to be frightening and dangerous.

The Russians living in the Czech Republic usually keep themselves in closed communities, not interfering much with the outside world. Therefore, they remain quite mysterious for the locals.

For this reason, their current image is to a great extend influenced by the easy stereotypes arising from the disastrous common history. The 40-year long communist regime and the military occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 in particular, left a deep and painful scar in the Czechs’ souls.

In the past, the Russian language was compulsory at schools and the choice of studying other foreign languages was almost non-existent. For the elderly generation, the Russian language heard on the streets still brings back the feeling of tension and discomfort. When I started learning the Russian language a year ago I sometimes noticed people surprisingly raising the eyebrows and recommending rather German or Spanish.

Unfortunately, Russians are often described as the ones of arrogant and ruthless manners, wearing inappropriate luxury clothing and immodest golden jewellery, gaining power and influence by buying property here.

Terrifying stories about the Russian mafia (coming from the post-Soviet countries) presented by the local media does not help to improve the picture either.

Let’s hope, the next generations free from the historical burden will appreciate Russia more than only for the two “good” things of Russian origin: vodka and the famous wooden toy we all once possessed – матрёшка.

Reversing the above-mentioned negative stereotypes will still take some time and the key is to contradict them. I firmly believe the direct interactions between individuals are one of the most effective ways of doing that. As one Russian proverb says: “When you see a man, you judge him by his clothes; when you leave, you judge him by his heart”.

Many of us tend to forget about the Russian bravery during the 2nd World       War during which 27 million people sacrificed their lives to save us (Central and Eastern Europe) from Nazism. 

Moreover, Russian belongs to the Eastern-Slavonic group of languages as well as my native Czech, which makes our mutual attraction and understanding significantly easier compared to other nations. It is a fascinating language of world famous writers and poets as Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov and others.

Mastering Russian is not merely useful in today’s society as one the most spoken languages worldwide; I also find it chic and fashionable to speak it.

I have never been to Russia and my Russian language teacher is the only native I know. And that is why I want to experience the vast country of diverse cultures and rich history face to face. I am eager to get a deeper understanding of the “wide Russian soul” and make my own conclusions about the country, its citizens and national heritage.

Everyone knows that the land of Russia is spacious and the nature includes almost any kind of scenery. The area of (and also around) Petrozavodsk with its neoclassical architecture and the extravagant postmodernist sculptures looks absolutely astonishing.

For the above-mentioned reasons I would love to use the chance to broaden and at the same time, to test my current language skills in Russia. As Chekhov wisely stated: “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice”.  I wish to gain more confidence (and lose the fear) in daily speaking and improve my writing, understanding and vocabulary.

From my point of view, Russia is simply much more than mafia, vodka & матрёшка… and it would be amazing to experience it all while taking part in the summer language course in Petrozavodsk.

                                                                      By Petra Steigerova, Check Republic