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Discover the Russia You Never Knew

with Greg McNafferson
I left the US for Russia five years ago and now I've realized what Russia is. Russia is not what many people think it is or what the media presents to us. I have decided to create this site for clarification. I think tourists who are going to visit Russia should know the truth about this country.

Look! There are a few sections on the site now >

reports

correspondence

contest

polls

blog

I am an American who has Christian friends in Russia. I have hosted them in my home and found them to be wonderful people. Your Web site embarrasses me. I am red-faced to realize that people in Russia are seeing it. Read on

This site ROCKS! A really great one. Those criticizing it for being untrue and stupid are absolutely dumb and have no sense of humor at all. I feel kinda ashamed of some of us russians. Can’t laugh at yourself? Go f**k bears in subway!

Anonimous

I enjoyed reading your site about Russia. I’ve been surprised with so many antogonizers in your lj-comments. You really do understand something about this country.

Alexei

I absolutely love what you’re doing! I laughed my ass of reading your site.

Oleg

I spent many years in Russia. You are a LIER! Go back to US and kiss Bush’s ass.

Ivan

Thank you for your site, I really enjoyed reading your discoveries. It was the funniest evening I’ve had lately!
Thanks again!

Olga

What is written in most of your artcles is an outrage and an believable collection of made up lies. Have you no shame as some people might actually read this bull shit? It is not funny as the ignorance level of an average American is so high that it can only be topped by the ridiculous negative propaganda of Hollywood… So please, stop this atrocity and leave my country alone.

Ekaterina

I understand you: you would like make the reading more interesting, finding little, but striking details. However, many of them have nothing to do with reality, which is extremely annoying and may be even insulting for Russian people including me… The mistakes are almost in every line of your articles.

Vsevolod

That’s a great site there… I like the idea of reading stories about ordinary daily-down-to-earth living from anywhere in the world. This is the first one of the kind I have seen so far. Hope to see more of this. Big newspapers and media.. lies lies lies and so boring!!! (manufacturing
beliefs and impressions). Keep up the good work.. I will visit regularly!

Edrissa

I find your website neither funny nor clever… Your stories about subway, growing potatoes and cacti in the bathroom, drinking vodka in the morning, shopping, tv and so on, make me believe that you are either on drugs or seriously f**ked up (pardon my French). I think you should stop writing this kind of crap or come back to US, where there is NO subway, tasty food, snow removal, heat in the winter, parking, clubs, fun, life…and I can go on forever.

Rimma

Wow! This is something! It just put me in shock. You are doing a great job man, you are a very good storyteller and artist. If I was a grain more stupid, I would have considered you a complete imbecile. Respect!

Anna

Please, stop telling silly things about Russia. Maybe, you need to get more education?

Vladimir

Personal pronouns: Ice-T vs. plain tea

A few days ago I've got this strange letter from one of my crazy Russian readers:

-- Original Message --
From: Step
To: greg@transformation.ru
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 11:27 PM
>
>
> ты идиот
>
>

The man has risen an interesting topic so I decided to answer.

Dear Step!

Thank you for responding to my website, I am always interested in the comments of those who visit my site; however I was rather taken aback by your confrontational tone. As you are well aware there exist two forms of the word „you“ in Russian, a polite form „V“ and a familiar form „T.“ As Russian custom demands, one is not allowed to refer to people in the „T“ form until one has shared a cup of tea with that person. Although this custom has changed quit a bit since the days of Perestroika, when a few open-minded individuals tried to use the names of popular western soft drinks to replace this antiquated „T“ form.

As you know before 1990 people were forced to drink tea as a way of covering up the bad taste left after the snow was melted to make water. Soviet doctors supposed that tea would also combat the detrimental effects of radioactive black-snow (aka cherno-snow), and the infamous yellow-snow, used as a Fanta substitute.

I have never been able to find out why this yellow snow was so readily available in the Soviet Union, can you tell me?

Problems started to arise when youths started calling each other „iced tea“, a supposed westernism.

As I am sure you know „Ice-T“ is not a personal pronoun in English, but rather the given name of an American cultural icon. This practice came to an abrupt end when Ice-T himself came to Russia to try and free his brethren black Russians (kochegars).

He was so confused that everyone called everyone else „iced tea“, while he [Ice-T] was referred to as „Mr. Mister“…

A scandal followed when President Boris Yeltsin referred to him as „a refreshing black iced tea in a country tired of chifer (local energizing tea based beverage).“ Being afraid of an invasion of black people, nationalist member of the State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky declared that real Russians should always add milk to there tea to ensure it’s whiteness; he even wanted an amendment added to the Constitution. „Our forefathers, with the exception of Pushkin, only drank milky tea!“ he declared in a 1993 speech. Ice-T quickly left Russia convinced of a police conspiracy.

Today things are back to normal, Russians openly drink plain black tea, and once again refer to each other in either the „V“ or „T“ forms. Since you have neither invited me to, nor shared with me, neither tea, coffee, iced tea or any Fanta related drink, I kindly request that you and all other visitors to the site address me in the „V“ form until we share the time-honored Russian custom of sharing a tea with each other.

Thanks for the message. By the way do you know why the form „V“ is used? Does it have to do with „valenki“?

Sincerely,

Greg McNafferson

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