Culture

In an earlier post I commented on male/female behavioural patterns. This is part of the local culture, but only part. Culture also includes hosting guests, going to the theatre, and all manner of little things. For a start, in Kazan there are two competing cultures – Russian and Tatar. The Tatars take great delight in telling people they are not Russians but Tatars. The Russians, for their part, are proud to be Russian. The Tatars are the first foreigners the Russians conquered. Actually, they marched over the Mordvians, a Finno-Ugric people living south-west of here, and the El-Mari to the north-west (more Finno-Ugrians) before conquering Kazan, but as the other others put up no resistance they weren’t counted. It’s pretty easy to tell Tatars and Russians apart once you get given a name – the Russians have obviously Russian names and the Tatars do not.
Actually, this differentiation into ethnic groups dates back to at least Lenin’s time. Stalin was the first Commissar of Minorities, and people were differentiated by their ethnic groups. I think this was a reaction against Tsar Nicholas II and his “One country, one faith, one people” policy. The nett result is that there are about 25 autonomous regions, republics and administrative units where Russian and another language co-exist as equals.
So far, I’ve been to two high-brow cultural events. The first was the 350th anniversary of the birth of Vivaldi. Lots of Baroque music, played by the Tatarstan National String Quintet (the usual string quartet plus harpsichordist) and guest artists. They were very good, and the concert hall was a work of art. Pity I left the camera at home. Then a week later, off to the ballet to watch “1001 Nights” by Amurov. Gorgeous, well danced, great seats and an afternoon well spent. If you’re a culture vulture, Russia is your country. Both events came to the grand total of 150RR. That’s right, 150RR, or about NZ$10.
The theatres are beautiful, well appointed and well attended. The ballet changes every few days. I could have seen “Spartacus” recently but failed to get off my arse in time. There are at least five large theatres in town, two concert halls, and several “national” artistic institutions – Tatar and Russian. Technically, the Tatars are Muslim, but don’t remind them of the rules. They drink like fish, eat pork, and I’ve only seen one women in full burqa. Most of the women will only put a headscarf on at the mosque.
One interesting feature of any large venue is a free coat check, or garderobe. Checking the coat at the beginning of an event is nice and easy. They take the excess luggage, hang it up and give you a numbered tag. Collecting it at the end of an event, however, resembles a rugby scrum as 5000 impatient Russians all try to get their coat first. After the string quintet it was hell, but after the ballet, the old gal in the garderobe ignored the young ladies all clamouring for service and reached over them to take my tags. This concept of a garderobe is important when the weather forces you to wear one, two, or even three extra layers.
The same concept applied at the Basket-Hall, where I saw the local basketball team thrash a visiting Israeli team (Uniks v. Napoel, 88:66) in a European Super league match (or something, it was basketball). Ticket price was 100RR. The cheerleaders weren’t that great, but they danced their hearts out. Volleyball is held at the same venue and I’m told it’s free. Think I’ll go to a few volleyball games. The press at the garderobe wasn’t – only about 50 people used it, so there was no trouble collecting clothing, or even depositing it.
Of course, Russians love to welcome their guests, and will look for any excuse to have a party, or a drink or something. Tell them you love the country and you go up several notches in their estimation. Tell them you love the people (but don’t make the same mistake President Carter’s Polish translator made) and you’re one step off sainthood. Eat, drink, be merry, and offer a toast or two to your hosts.
The Russians also have a sense of humour and love telling and hearing jokes. Despite the appearance of the oligarchs, Russians are still an egalitarian bunch. Money may talk, but most Russians aren’t impressed by money in and of itself. If you have it, you’re expected to spend it on the deserving poor, your relations, other beggars, etc.
In restaurants, a tip is generally given (~10%) provided of course the service warrants it. Naturally, in food courts, tipping doesn’t apply, nor in restaurants like McD’s. Russians smokers have not been hit by the Health & Safety Nazis, and it is quite common for restaurants to have smoking and non-smoking sections, or even just one section – smoking. In fact, smoking is sufficiently prevalent that hookahs (or water pipes) are common at restaurants. Nobody smokes them on the street, but then, they’re hardly renowned for being portable. Even young ladies will puff away on a hookah and nobody seems to think anything of it. Sort of like cigars after a meal.
We’ve just had a national holiday, 4th November, which celebrates kicking the Poles out of Moscow in 1612. The holiday was introduced to replace the October Revolution celebrations, which were held on the 7th, and kind of became moot after the fall of Communism. Then Tatarstan had a Constitution Day on 6th November, celebrating their foundation. Made for a confusing week. Even Luc the Swiss missed Monday classes; most un-Swiss.
Of course, having talked about restaurants and parties, I’d better talk about food: so next post: Russian Cuisine.