(no subject)
Who's familiar with the phenomenon that is the new russians? Unless you're russian, you probably don't know what that is. It's the Russians that recently got wealthy and are now living it up all over the world, preferably in the most glamorous places. They can be distinguished by the overly trashy/labelly things they wear and the insane amount of bling and the flashy cars and houses. The more extravagant the better and the more they can embellish the appearance of how wealthy they are the better. Where did they come from? They're all children of communism supposedly.
Having grown up in Russia I don't actually know too much about it. I was only 13 when we left and I knew precious little about the political situation in the country, only what it was like in my daily life. And things were a lot different than they are here.
When we landed I felt like I was on a completely new planet. I don't think there was one thing that was the same and felt familiar. Only my mum and my brother. The food was different, the houses were different, the streets and even the air itself - I was amazed at how clear and crisp it was.
First thing I ate was bread and that tasted like cotton wool and strawberry yogurt which I gingerly tried had the weirdest texture ever. Nothing tasted the same or looked the same and going to a supermarket was a shocking experience that I remember to this day. I think my aunt who took us there for the first time was thoroughy enjoying our reaction.
Not too many people I know got to experience this kind of newness and I have. It made me appreciate the life I have here and the possibilities it offers in regards to everything.
It's difficult to describe life in Russia during communism without sounding like I'm feeling sorry for myself for having lived it. I think the best way would be to say that we had the absolute basics and most of the time it was difficult to get even those. And by absolute basics I mean that toilet paper was a luxury and sanitary products were once in a year happiness. If you needed to buy a notebook for school you lined up for 4 hours. If you heard that a store in town got candy in (not chocolate candy of course) you lined up for 4 hours and bought as much as you could afford. Biscuits came in huge bags by the kilo and I had to go get milk twice a week and bring our own container. And another container for sour cream. My mother got a chocolate bar once and we ate it one tiny square a day. Chocolate, like oranges, was once a year if I was lucky. Maybe less.
You went to the stores to buy milk and bread, and nothing much else - they were all empty.
Everything else could be purchased from the markets from private sellers, who were nervous about selling things especially if they were clothes obviously imported from overseas.
So that's the way it was... My clothes were hand me downs from my mum (although I did get my very own pair of leather sneakers, it was a big event) and my favourite thing was to browse through German sewing magazines where everything was shiny and amazing looking.
Nobody worked too hard because there was no need to put in effort. You were going to get a salary for as long as you were employed and if you worked for the Communist party, your job was guaranteed forever and so was your salary. My father did that - his job was to go drink with his buddies daily in his office and get a salary and that's what he did. When the regime broke down he was left with 0 skills and 0 chance of employment anywhere. I suspect that the shortage of everything was because of this very same reason - no one worked and produced anything because they didn't have to. They would still get paid whether they did or not.
I don't talk about it much because I am ashamed of where I come from. I'm not proud to be Russian. I feel ashamed of my country and ashamed of my people. What have they achieved? An extraordinarily corrupt, poor and immoral culture? A poverty level that millions had to suffer through for decades? Art, music, literature - where is it? Am I supposed to be proud of a handful of poets and artists during the 19th century? Bask in the past glories of a forgotten culture while ignoring the reality of the failed and miserable culture of the last 100 years, yeah right. I hate it when people tell me that I still have a Russian accent. I also hate it when my mother tells me to be proud to be Russian because of Pushkin or Tchaikovsky. Like, whatever. I like what Americans did with their country better, thanks. They maybe be wrong politically sometimes but at least over there no one has to line up for 4 hours to get a roll of toilet paper.
It's so weird to think that the only reason I'm here is luck and chance and I could be living a hopeless life in a small mining town in rural Russia, probably married and with a couple of kids by now. Working somewhere and dreaming about being elsewhere and wondering and wondering. Or, I could have gone to Moscow and tried to land a western businessman, that's always a possibility. Honestly I don't know which path I would have chosen in my life and neither of those seem appealing.
Yet here I am in Australia about to go live in America with all the freedom and promise in the world. I can earn money, I can travel, I can buy a house, I can do anything and go anywhere. Except if I go to Russia they'll be disappointed that I'm not one of the new Russians and deem me a failure.
Having grown up in Russia I don't actually know too much about it. I was only 13 when we left and I knew precious little about the political situation in the country, only what it was like in my daily life. And things were a lot different than they are here.
When we landed I felt like I was on a completely new planet. I don't think there was one thing that was the same and felt familiar. Only my mum and my brother. The food was different, the houses were different, the streets and even the air itself - I was amazed at how clear and crisp it was.
First thing I ate was bread and that tasted like cotton wool and strawberry yogurt which I gingerly tried had the weirdest texture ever. Nothing tasted the same or looked the same and going to a supermarket was a shocking experience that I remember to this day. I think my aunt who took us there for the first time was thoroughy enjoying our reaction.
Not too many people I know got to experience this kind of newness and I have. It made me appreciate the life I have here and the possibilities it offers in regards to everything.
It's difficult to describe life in Russia during communism without sounding like I'm feeling sorry for myself for having lived it. I think the best way would be to say that we had the absolute basics and most of the time it was difficult to get even those. And by absolute basics I mean that toilet paper was a luxury and sanitary products were once in a year happiness. If you needed to buy a notebook for school you lined up for 4 hours. If you heard that a store in town got candy in (not chocolate candy of course) you lined up for 4 hours and bought as much as you could afford. Biscuits came in huge bags by the kilo and I had to go get milk twice a week and bring our own container. And another container for sour cream. My mother got a chocolate bar once and we ate it one tiny square a day. Chocolate, like oranges, was once a year if I was lucky. Maybe less.
You went to the stores to buy milk and bread, and nothing much else - they were all empty.
Everything else could be purchased from the markets from private sellers, who were nervous about selling things especially if they were clothes obviously imported from overseas.
So that's the way it was... My clothes were hand me downs from my mum (although I did get my very own pair of leather sneakers, it was a big event) and my favourite thing was to browse through German sewing magazines where everything was shiny and amazing looking.
Nobody worked too hard because there was no need to put in effort. You were going to get a salary for as long as you were employed and if you worked for the Communist party, your job was guaranteed forever and so was your salary. My father did that - his job was to go drink with his buddies daily in his office and get a salary and that's what he did. When the regime broke down he was left with 0 skills and 0 chance of employment anywhere. I suspect that the shortage of everything was because of this very same reason - no one worked and produced anything because they didn't have to. They would still get paid whether they did or not.
I don't talk about it much because I am ashamed of where I come from. I'm not proud to be Russian. I feel ashamed of my country and ashamed of my people. What have they achieved? An extraordinarily corrupt, poor and immoral culture? A poverty level that millions had to suffer through for decades? Art, music, literature - where is it? Am I supposed to be proud of a handful of poets and artists during the 19th century? Bask in the past glories of a forgotten culture while ignoring the reality of the failed and miserable culture of the last 100 years, yeah right. I hate it when people tell me that I still have a Russian accent. I also hate it when my mother tells me to be proud to be Russian because of Pushkin or Tchaikovsky. Like, whatever. I like what Americans did with their country better, thanks. They maybe be wrong politically sometimes but at least over there no one has to line up for 4 hours to get a roll of toilet paper.
It's so weird to think that the only reason I'm here is luck and chance and I could be living a hopeless life in a small mining town in rural Russia, probably married and with a couple of kids by now. Working somewhere and dreaming about being elsewhere and wondering and wondering. Or, I could have gone to Moscow and tried to land a western businessman, that's always a possibility. Honestly I don't know which path I would have chosen in my life and neither of those seem appealing.
Yet here I am in Australia about to go live in America with all the freedom and promise in the world. I can earn money, I can travel, I can buy a house, I can do anything and go anywhere. Except if I go to Russia they'll be disappointed that I'm not one of the new Russians and deem me a failure.