In Soviet times, Russia and India had a strategic partnership and trade relations. There are points of contact even today: many Indians, as before, study at Russian universities, our tourists spend their holidays in Indian resorts. What do the inhabitants of a distant southern country think about Russians? Indians approve of the ability of our compatriots to spend money easily and carelessly. “Only Russians buy big fish, tiger and king prawns, and at the same time they hardly bargain. Good people, our business is based on them,” says a fish saleswoman in Goa. “Usually Russians don’t have money, but when they have, they spend it heartily, and this is very good for business,” a taxi driver from the resort village shares his observations. But fast food vendors think that Russian tourists haggle too much, even when they buy shawarma.
Fact 1: They are generous
Fact 2: They are hospitable
< p>Indian students of Russian universities speak with one voice about the friendliness of their Russian acquaintances. “It feels like I've found my second home here. Everyone is trying to help me, to suggest something, to treat me with something. Friends invite to visit, take them to different interesting places,” says Kuntaka Dutta, a student from Krasnoyarsk. Pragya Rathore, who has lived in Russia for 4 years, elaborates: “It is considered impolite to turn down their invitations. If you are offered a drink, never refuse, they find it offensive.” “My Russian teachers sometimes invited us to their homes, and my landlady treated me and my friends to dinner. She even taught us how to cook Russian food,” recalls Rashmi Soni, who studied at PFUR.
Fact 3: They don't speak English
Indians are convinced that Russian people and English are incompatible: “Russians do not learn English, they only speak their own language and think that everyone should learn Russian,” complains Vicki Kanjia from Western India. This is especially true for older people: in markets, shops and restaurants, they prefer to speak Russian and get offended when the locals do not understand them. “Few Russians bother to learn English: those who were born after perestroika make an effort, but the older generation rejoices in their native language,” writes Rajiv Dar on the Quora forum.
“Russians don’t learn English, they only speak their own language and think that everyone should learn Russian,” laments Vicki Kanjia from Western India.
Conjecture 1: The Russians invented communism
Dreamers, philosophers and thinkers – such an idea of Russians is common in India. Without really delving into history, the Indians believe that the idea of universal equality and brotherhood was born precisely in Russia, and they consider Lenin to be the Russian Buddha, who called to love all the disadvantaged. In Kerala, children are often named after Soviet leaders – Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev. And in the middle of the last century, one of the local villages was renamed Moscow with the approval of the authorities.
Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Tamil Nadu
Followers of Ayurveda even explain our troubles and illnesses by the habit of thinking too much: “This causes problems with alcohol, drugs, mental disorders. They have too much energy, which is not directed in the right direction, so the liver and pancreas hurt, ”says the hereditary Ayurvedic doctor Ashok Kumar.
Conjecture 2: Russians don't freeze and don't drown
Every Indian knows that Russia is a “cold, cold place”, which means that its inhabitants are frost-resistant from birth. “They think that you and I are a bit of X-men and do not know the feeling of cold. It was very annoying during the filming in Delhi in winter (temperature +10…+15 °C): you stand in the studio in a light dress, ask for a heater, and the team for you – you are from Russia, how can you be cold? ”, Complains Russian woman living in Mumbai. Beach lifeguards give Russians another superpower: “Russians don't drown, mostly Indians drown.”
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Conjecture 3: All Russian women are beautiful and affordable
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The first association Indians have with Russia is slender and beautiful women: “A lot of Russian actresses act in Bollywood, they are very beautiful”, “The girls have very fair skin, I would like to have such a skin,” locals write on the forums. But in India, traditions are still strong, according to which a young beauty should not leave the house unaccompanied and communicate closely with men. So there was a stereotype about Russian girls who are accustomed to greater freedom: their openness and simplicity in communication are often mistaken here for accessibility, reinforcing this opinion with not the most decent proposals.