The public is no longer buzzing about it - which is to say, the government has lost any reasons to keep the Crimea situation afloat in the mind of the public. Much more attention is now given to the situation in Ukraine as a whole, with accusations of corruption of the Ukrainian leader (what's his name, Yatsenyuk? I don't keep up: I don't watch TV) and war crimes abundant on the waves. Only sometimes do the narrators tell how Crimea continues to adapt to the Russian lifestyle (using Russian ruble as its main currency, using Russian for the documents and so on) or how the evil Ukraine cuts some sort of access (electricity was the one I heard of) to the republic. In the meantime, people are actively taking trips to the newly-acquired peninsula: from the Soviet times people believe that Crimea is a major relaxation destination, much like Sochi was (or is - I've been there a long time ago and didn't keep up). No idea how true it is still, but people seem to be eager. The majority, I'm afraid, is on the side of the war. The public image is that the separatists in Ukraine - the newly-formed Ukrainian republics - are fighting against the oppressive Kievan state, for reasons completely forgotten, and we ought to support them because they're the underdogs fighting against the big brother, or somewhere along those lines. Vladimir Putin actively denies Russian involvement in the separatist war, even though there are plenty of evidence against it beyond the national news outlets - if only people cared enough to look for it instead of being happy being fed already chewed thoughts and ideas. Still, there are plenty of people who's speaking up against the war and the Russian invisible war effort. It mostly happens online, because the Russian government is notorious for its arrests of anyone who opposes the current regime. With a better government, Russia could be such a wonderful place.How are things going in Russia, after the annexation of Crimea?
I suppose there are a large majority of people who don't support war but can't really voice it, is this what it's like?
Oh, certainly! But I know for certain that Russia could, because I've seen the problems the government lays on our shoulders without giving much back, which is why I said so about Russia specifically. Did you know that students are heavily encouraged (which is a local euphemistic phrase for "You better do it, or else Big Brother won't be happy") to take part in pro-government rallies? I was outraged when I heard about it - as well as about finding out that students are, again, heavily encouraged to vote for the Putin's political party United Russia. I never voted in my life (partly because local political parties are all full of shit, partly because I was pressured to), and neither have I took part in the rallies. At least getting a scholarship is fairly possible if you apply yourself. And that's not talking about the food prices, the governmental corruption, the... *sigh* I think you get the point.
I don't know. I never thought about it. Food for thought, I suppose. Relationships between people here are polarized: if you do well with each other, you're greeted with a sincere smile; if you don't or are neutral, most people will ignore you, only giving you attention if you ask for it (for example, by asking which way is to such-and-so-place). That being said, people generally won't refuse help, especially the older ones. The same goes for neighbours. It's a generally accepted idea that helping out your community - in this case, your podyezd* - is a good thing, though most people wouldn't take initiative to change things if they're good enough to walk on and such. "Why fix it if it ain't broken" is a philosophy applicable to an ordinary Russian citizen. People in Russia - men, mostly - have a certain zeal for football (even though it's unversally agreed upon that the prominent Russian teams' players are shit, especially when compared to the international players) and hockey (which is partly a Soviet legacy - the Soviet team was very good - and partly because the Russian team is very good, too). Many people also enjoy biathlon and tennis for the same reason as hockey. Basketball, swimming and figure skating has its following, too. I'm not a man of sport, so I can't tell you more. Music, well... The same as everywhere, I suppose: people enjoy the sort of music that they do and are eager to visit their favourite bands' live concerts. Video games are not yet a prominent part of the Russian culture, and are mostly considered children's toys, even though there are some online games that even my father's colleagues - mine workers in their thirties, no less - enjoy playing, like the infamous World of Tanks. On the positive side, video games don't cause such controversies as they do in the US, which is a boon for the youngsters. The age restrictions are not - or were not, the last time I bought a physical disk - imposed, so anyone could buy, say, GTA V, no questions asked. I'm not a car person, but from what I know, the relationships with the local brands - VAZ (especially the "Zhiguli" 2107 model), UAZ, KAMAZ, all stemming from the names of their respective automobile factories (AvtoZavody in Russian) - range from vehement appreciation (patriotic in nature) to outright disgust. The bleaker end of the spectrum is due to the perceived quality and/or value of those compared to the superior imported brands. As the Russian economy got better, more and more imported cars started to appear - and with it, came financial status stereotypes: for example, people who drove big, bulky cars were considered rich (and fuck me, one such car today could cost as much as a single-room apartment). Since then, people have been competing among themselves for the social status, possibly going into debt just to own a "respectable" car. Around 2010, the financial difference became less of an issue, and as such, far more imported brand cars were on the streets. Prominent brands include Mercedes, Honda, Chevrolet, Hundai, Toyota and some else. Still, old-timers appreciate their old cars - Volgas, for one, which were in the Soviet Union an apex of the local automobile industry and expensive as such - and take good care of them. One of such cars stands parked in front of the house. * Podyezd is a part of the house. Multi-storey houses - mostly khruschovkas, built under the rule of Nikita Khruschov - are separated into podyezds - the word for which literally means a place to drive close to - for example, to pick someone up as they leave the house. However, nowadays people refer to the whole part of the house they can access through a single entry door at the first floor (we count floors from the ground, so the European/American first floor would be our second) as a podyezd.What things do you like about Russia?
Are your neighbors neighborly?
Do guys have a zeal for sports? Music? Video games? Car culture?