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Helen Rosas Costa

Brian Benington
DANC 1010
22 March, 2015
Life History Interview: Russian Culture
The Russian culture is one of the older European cultures on Earth. I chose this
culture because Ive always been fascinated by how its culture has been under the radar
and has never really been anyones focus. I always hear somewhat about how Russia used
to be but I didnt have a clue of how the culture is now.
My interviewee is Pavel Kravtsov, he grew up in Russia until he was 12 and
moved to America with his mother and sister. I picked him because his culture is the
polar opposite of mine. Brazilian culture is very open and intimate while Russians are
more reserved. Also since he had actually spent his childhood in Russia while I only
spent a few years in Brazil would show me what its like to grow up in another country.
We held the interview eating ice cream at the movie theaters. I only consulted
with him to get confirmation of where we should have the interview. As the interview
started I went to record and he got a bit nervous about who would hear the interview. I
told him it was just easier for me to record than to write down and to go back to it. He
was relieved because he wanted to be able to express himself fully without having to be
careful of his words. I felt the interview went alright as far as interviews go, it felt more
like a conversation then asking questions.
At first we spoke about how the Russian culture differed from American culture.
What he said American culture was how were always trying to work hard to getting
something bigger, better, and shinier. Russian culture, he said, is more laid back and
relaxed. They are hard workers but once they have gotten to a comfortable level they stop

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instead of always needing the best or better than someone else. They reach a point to
where they say I have everything I need I dont need more money. I agreed with him on
that because it is similar to what Brazilian culture is, we work when we have to but life is
meant to be enjoyed so we dont stress too much on what someone else has and what we
have to do to get it.
During the first question of the interview he brought up the stereotypes of Russia.
He said that Russians work smarter versus harder and that brought up the stereotype of
the Lazy Russian. Since then there havent been many stereotypes. He also mentioned
that after the Cold War everyone forgot about Russia. Going along with the Russian
mentality, he mentioned that Americans they work hard but they dont really think much
besides what they have to do, what theyre going to eat, and what the same stuff for the
next day. As put by Pavel, Americans do what theyre TV, radio, and media tell them. He
also stated Russians have more philosophical talks, especially since many times they are
drunk. I thought this was a little double stereotypical but it is his point of view.
As we went on with the interview he talked about the Russian personality. Pavel
said that Russians are very blunt and that they dont smile a lot. An example of the
bluntness would be if between friends one called some random heavier set person on the
street fat, yes its true they are but in America its frowned upon to be so mean. The
common theory is that theyre rude and look very angry but in reality they just dont feel
like smiling.
Concerning government Russians expect the government to take care of them
because they work so hard for their government. As Russia has been and is now they do
have a very large government-based mentality. They dont necessarily just hand

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everything to the government but they expect free healthcare and housing to be cheaper
and other basic living commodities. Pavel also mentioned that the mentality of Russians
are that they will talk a lot about changing the world and how things should be a certain
way but when it comes down to taking action they wont do it. He says its because the
mindset is that theyre one little person in a huge world, how much of an impact can they
have? They may also say that its something the government should have regulated it and
should take initiative.
I asked him about his family and what makes them a family. He responded that
its a coincidence that theyre a family. He described it as they just all happen to live in
the same house due to circumstances and that he has to rely on her for a few more years.
As opposed to what my image of a family is which is the cookie cutter version of a
mother, father, and children and such. I believe in other ways of being a family but when
the word is brought up that is the first thing I think of.
The story of how his family came to be was his mother married his father and had
him and divorced a year or so later, when he was around 10 his mother remarried and had
his little sister and her father left his mother for another woman, she then met an
American man online and came to America with her kids and married and ended up
getting divorced, she is now with a man which she doesnt get along with but they are
still together but not married. He does not socialize with his family much. I asked him if
he considers most Russian families are like his but he says his family is a special case. He
considers a family a man and woman and blood relation. Or he says also the word family
comes from the Spanish word familia which means passing down of the last name.

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As the interview went on I asked questions that were more his personal take on
things versus the overall Russian culture. I asked what eye contact meant to him. He said
that if someone has constant eye contact it could mean theyre creepy, interested, hates
you, or a million other things as well as avoidance could mean those same things. I
assume that in Russia there is no formality or offense with eye contact as is seen in other
cultures.
Concerning the Russian culture on food, since Russia is a collectivist culture
versus and individualist culture they tend to share food with others like a banquet versus
having individual plates. They are very giving with food and other things. As with food
preparation, women usually prepare the food. There are meals that men prepare but they
are more simple dishes than the kind of meals women prepare. There is no custom with
their way of eating; you eat when you get food. In honoring someone they dont have any
special customs they just dont eat if youre not there.
With modern day clothing, Russians show their status by how they dress. Middle
class and lower class Russians will wear very plain clothing with neutral colors and
nothing very flashy. Opposite to that is the high class where they wear very westernized
clothing and name brands. Pavel mentioned that the higher class attempt to imitate
American culture in their dress. Women tend to put more into what they wear versus what
men do with their clothing. Men like to wear warm clothing like wool, fur, sheepskin, etc.
Russian men try to dress very manly as to not look like a homosexual since in Russia
they are very homophobic.
When asking about holidays it has to be specified. Before the Russian Revolution
they celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday because a majority of Russians were

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Russian Orthodox Church. Easter is still celebrated but not as a religious holiday. After
the revolution the country became mostly atheist and they looked for a holiday that had
all the non-religious elements of Christmas and winter. They adopted the New Year
holiday and just added Christmas trees, presents, and feasts just with a Pagan figure as a
sort of Santa Claus. When talking about dancing its more connected to Russian traditional
dancing but they dont do it as much as they did in the past. It has become more of the
modern day dancing of jumping around or slow dancing with some you care about.
Lastly we spoke about his experience in the United States. He said in modern day
everyone has forgotten about Russia and that no one really cares or knows any
stereotypes and hasnt been treated any differently. He says they may mention something
about drinking, Putin, and Ukraine but he doesnt really care. He stated that he says
stereotypes are there for a reason and people can laugh at their own stereotype. He
believes he is more prejudiced and judgmental to others than anyone is to him.
He believes that in America we are very focused on Christianity. For example, the
president is sworn in with his hand on a Bible, God is mentioned in our dollar bills and
other political documents, and that the government pushes for Christian beliefs. Atheism
is looked down upon a lot in school systems and amongst people. He also believes that
its unfair that someone Christian could have every Sunday off because of their religion
but if someone else asked if they could have Sundays off to do another activity it would
be rejected. What would be the difference of one activity to the other?
Through this interview I learned a lot about how the Russian culture has evolved
from how it is usually portrayed than to what it actually is in modern day. Because of the
Red Scare and other war related events we have this mindset with Russians. I feel like in

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any culture, including my own, that if there is something a majority of people do than the
mindset is that everyone does it and you are stuck with that stereotype. Also if you are
close to a country, such as Ukraine is to Russia or Brazil is to Mexico, people tend to
generalize and combine the cultures. When I started the interview I believed that people
would generalize or be more prejudiced to him but in reality it doesnt seem to happen as
often as I believed and when it does its as a joke or is insignificant. My perspective on
how foreigners are treated in the US has changed but not entirely. While my mindset that
people of different skin color are generalized together, when people know where
someone is from they can either learn more about the culture or have their assumptions
put to rest. It seems like that religion is more emphasized than origin from the stories he
told me and that is something I never thought of being part of the religious majority. I
also have to put myself into perspective and not assume something of a culture when I
know nothing of it and to just be open minded to something that is new.