I’m Russian - AMA

[LillyCandC]

I moved here 15 years ago - ask me anything :-)

@diian good questions… i was really surprised to learn that they are ok actually. I guess, again, I cannot speak for the whole population but my friends said at first prices shot up but now that the deals were made with China, prices went frown again. Fuel is abundant in Russia so they don’t worry about it and as for all the foreign brands - there are always dupes or ways of getting original things different way. A lot of money were thrown into tech and IT to keep people working.

@JennyWirral I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your holiday in Russia. A lot of money is thrown into making sure that Moscow is spotless.

@dudsville thank you for your comment 🙏💐

Have you ever been to Georgia? And why are Georgians so dark (hair/eyes) when they used to belong to Russia whereas Russians typically look more Caucasian?

I feel for you. I’m English, and have just 1/16 Russian heritage but my parents in their infinite wisdom not only called me Ksenia but didn’t even use the usual English rendering as “Xenia”. (Will have to name change in MN sooner rather than later now).

This was a nightmare of spelling and pronunciation my whole childhood so I started using my very English middle name at 16, and I legally changed the spelling of Ksenia.

Now since this awful war, I’ve had to switch formally switch the order my names around by change of name deed, ie legally, because I’ve had a couple of unpleasant incidents when I’ve had to wear a name badge with my full legal name.

All of which is a very long way of saying this cannot be at all pleasant for you. Even having an unusual accent or name is a trial. Emigrating is hard even when you’re enjoying it and chose it. Being held responsible for a deranged despot must be awful. So have some solidarity from me.

Did you like the Russian children's cartoon, the Fox and the Hare? I think that was what it was called 😖 about that naughty fox who takes over that rabbit's home and he enlists the help of nearby creatures to help him? Like an Ox, a bear, a rooster.....

anyone? 😂

@WednesdaysChild11 its because Russia is very very big and Georgia, Azerbaijan & Armenia are territorially close to Turkey. USSR included many Republics but it doesn’t mean they were Russian. It’s like England and, say, Scotland and Wales and Ireland. All together Great Britain but with separate cultures and languages.

I have a Russian name @MetellaInHortoEst and have had no unpleasantness. I am very obviously English.

@MetellaInHortoEst thank you for sharing and for your solidarity! I’m sorry to hear that you had some unpleasant incidents at work related to your name. By the way, I love name Ksenia:-)

@RampantIvy maybe it depends on where in the country you are… 🤷🏻‍♀️ some areas are more cosmopolitan than others.

@WednesdaysChild11 i think I know which one you’re talking about. Where the fox took hare’s house and other animals were galling him to get it back? It’s so trippy!

@WednesdaysChild11 forgot to add, the original Georgians are blue eyed and very fair.

I live in a rather uncosmopolitan part of South Yorkshire with very little ethnic diversity.

I have a good radar for arseholes and don't have any friends who would be this unpleasant or unintelligent.

@RampantIvy ha ha well, that explains it then! :-)

Right?! I didn't think about it for years and then something made me think about it a couple years back and I was thinking where the hell did that cartoon come from?! 😄 I think it's awesome! Very unique.

I’m sure it would upset me more if I were actually Russian. It’s just aggravation. I have quite a mixed heritage if you go back a generation so maybe I’m hard to place. I sound very English though.

Maybe it was just the final straw in my long internal name struggle saga!

I do think Russians are all getting it in the neck rather unfairly, though. You can’t assume all Russians are pro-Putin, which is what some people seem determined to assume.

Thank you. I’m glad I kept it as my middle name. I am proud of my heritage and a bit of a Russophile but I couldn’t handle the endless hassle of the name admin (now Putin snark too).

I hope this war resolves are quickly and painlessly as possible and healing can start. All the best to you.

I have just seen this thread. I am also Russian, and Ukrainian on my Mum’s side. Just like OP, I am anti Putin, and anti war, just like all of my Russian friends. I’ve broken up with the ones who support the regime and war, including my best friend of over 20 years. I just can’t be friends with someone who justifies the war. I am so ashamed of what my county is doing. Since the beginning of war, my life just stopped…My Ukrainian cousin is fighting in Ukraine, and I’m so proud of him. It is literally - my Russian blood is attacking my Ukrainian blood. I am actually in tears as I write this…This overwhelming feeling of guilt is unreal. I’m physically ok but I suffered a psychological trauma. It feels like my child done a mass shooting, that is how it feels when your country terrorizes another county and killing civilians... All I want for Christmas is for Russians to pull the f*ck out of Ukraine and leave them alone.

Tell me, please, about how the government and authorities in Russia help people who experience disability. How does it differ to what you know of the situation in the UK?

@missfliss - Unbelievable to accuse disabled people of 'dicky backing' ( whatever that is) on other conditions to avoid working.

When I was a teenager/in my 20's, a 'dicky back' or 'bad back' condition was often used to get out of working. Men often used this to get 'on the sick' and have weeks and months off work to 'rest', mainly as it was difficult to disprove.

Maybe its not every russian supports Putin,but its their president and its up to people of Russia to fight regime they don't like, with demonstrations,strikes, like Ukraine did in 2014 when peaceful demonstration was brutally beaten by police, whole country supported those beaten students etc and Yanukovich escaped etc..
None of this is happening in Russia, there's no mass protests. Russian nation,on the back of this, either supporting war or scared to protest. In any case Ukrainians despise russian weakness.

Apologies in advance if someone has already asked you this,
When you have any contact with Russians, if they believe the Russian propaganda, what is the thing they'd find really hard to believe about how we see the war reported from this side?

Had a Lativan friend who advised me not to visit Russia as I would faced racism (I am Chinese), so that put me off straightaway. I wanted to visit St. Petersburg and the countryside.

Hi. Would you be able to answer this question please? How are those with disability helped in Russia: children and adults.

( I'm thinking of developmental disabilities, such as autism and learning disabilities and physical disabilities.)

Hi,
I'm a primary school teacher looking for advice. How do you think that children of Russian families who live here in the UK, might be finding the situation? Thanks :-)