Stereotypes About Russians
Hi. I found these stereotypes in homework materials that my teacher sent me. But (avoid starting sentences with a conjunction) I find them ("stereotypes" are plural) really funny and want to share them with you. Have you heard of any of these before? Do you have some others you'd like to know whether they're true or not? Let's discuss it. (sentences start with a capital letter and end with a period [.])1. Ivan is the most popular Russian name.
First of all, it’s not a Russian name. Rather, it’s the eastern Slavic version of an ancient Jewish name. From 2010 to 2016, Ivan ranked sixth on the list of the most popular Russian male names. The top names were Alexander, Sergey and Dmitry. As for female names, the most popular is not Natasha as you might expect. It’s Elena, followed by Olga. Natalya (Natasha) is the third.
2. Russians call each other “comrade”.
Tovarishch (“comrade”) was a word coined by the Bolsheviks to replace the pre-revolutionary ways of addressing people - gospodin (Mr.) and gospozha (Mrs.). You can also say tovarishch to a woman, but it’s no longer used in colloquial speech and if you do hear it, then it’s usually said with a hint of irony.
3. All Russians wear, ushanka hats, a military belt with a buckle, valenki, lapti and a traditional Russian shirt.
You’d be surprised, but there is no “traditional Russian” clothing. The nation consists of many nationalities and cultures, and national costumes vary greatly. Ushanka is still good for winter, but it was more popular in Soviet times. When the clothing industry was state-owned, ushankas were produced according to the government’s plan. Today, most people prefer knitted winter hats. You wouldn’t want to wear an ushanka when it’s above 5 F (-15 Celsius). It would just be too warm.
Military belts were very popular in Soviet times, when it was difficult to get a decent belt. Men often used them because they had them as a part of their army uniform.
Valenki make good footwear for a snowy village or a walk in the forest, but they get very dirty in the slush of the winter city. Few urban Russians have them at home, but they usually keep a pair at their dacha. Meanwhile, lapti are almost entirely obsolete.
