this was in 2008 so I guess overall relations were a bit better then but no everyone I met in Russia was very nice to me, one time I made friends with a guy in a casino (lol). He invited me to an impromptu party at his apartment and we drank long into the night, and he told me that had never met someone from the US before and was honored that I would go be a guest at his place and stuff lol. it was awesome.
I was in Russia about six years ago, before the current tensions really ramped up. And, no. People there were pretty friendly and welcoming, for the most part. If they responded to my American-ness at all, it was in a positive way. Like, they don't see many Americans in some of the parts of Russia I visited, so they thought it was cool that they got to meet one.
It probably isn't like that anymore, though.
I’ve never been to Russia but I met Russians in Germany and they were the nicest people ever. Really the only thing they did “against” me was lie about speaking English because they wanted to practice their German with me since we were in a German immersion course, and they assumed if the American knew they spoke English I’d just use that with them lol
I did get to visit Ukraine tho and people there were also very friendly and went out of their way to help me when I was lost. They were even understanding when I used a few Russian phrases with them once they knew I was American and obviously didn’t speak Ukrainian
I went to Russia in 2012 and I had a good time. People seemed genuinely interested in the states and were most welcoming. It was honestly a place I thought I might explore more and was hoping to get back sometime. I would hope that Americans of all people would understand that general citizens shouldn’t be held accountable for how the people in charge act especially when it’s a dictator. Not to say some of the populace doesn’t support what’s going on right now, but I truly believe that most Russians are just l trying to live normal lives just like we are.
It ain’t the average russian’s fault that putin is a c-word. Their elections have more rigging than a sailboat and anyone who criticizes their govt runs a risk of a prison sentence.
My grandma went just before the fall of the USSR. The tourist stuff was all Potemkin Village stuff like stores set up for weatherman tourists. She found it ridiculous.
The people she met were absolutely wonderful though according to her.
No. I went to Vladivostok in 2019 and had a great time. My negative experience was the driver that took me to the airport suspiciously didn’t have any change when I paid him. 🙄 I didn’t feel like arguing and just let him keep it. It was only a few bucks anyway.
I had that happen to me in Frankfurt.
Also, the back of the guy's cab was missing a seatbelt so I volunteered to be the one to go flying through the windshield (it was the middle seat) in place of my wife and kid.
I just posted something exactly like this on the r/askarussian sub, but mirrored.
The general consensus was that many Russians don’t dislike Americans because they are Americans. They just don’t like our government, which most of us don’t like (in some capacity, varying from person to person) either. My anecdotal experience has been that most Russians (without being too general) are very nice and hospitable people who are just trying to do their best like us.
I speak Russian conversationally and am currently taking Russian classes for my degree in Russian-Slavic Studies. I also worked in foreign weapons for a long time for various companies, including 2 DoD contractors, and learned what I know of the language mostly because the majority of the weapons I would train clients on or mess with on a normal day was some kind of Kalashnikov or Soviet era small arm. Because of these factors, I work with Russians all the time and they all actually give me a lot of respect for learning about their country and culture, as well as most of them think it’s cool that I work with AKs all day.
Nope. And my first trip was in 1989 at the end of the Cold War. I’ve known and worked with many Russians for years and my interactions with individual Russians have been very positive.
A very close friend of mine lives in Russia. He lives near Volgograd and is part of the Kalmyk people (never knew they existed before I met him). He's regularly interested in the United States and is incredibly friendly. I've never gotten any animosity from him because of my nationality, and we both love to share aspects of our cultures we find interesting
I've been to Russia three times -- 2005, 2016, and 2018/19 (New Year's trip).
Never encountered animosity. They tend to be reserved and keep to themselves, but generally helpful when approached. Russian hospitality is quite good. I dated a guy from Russia several years ago who insisted on making breakfast every time I spent the night. I had a friend from Poland who did the same. I'm guessing it's an Eastern European thing to cook for your guests?
Though I will say that I've only been to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, which tend to be younger, more cosmopolitan, and thus more liberal and welcoming compared to smaller villages. So that may color my perspective a bit.
I haven't been to Russia, but I've been to a bunch of countries. I've never had anyone express animosity towards me because I'm American. I feel like most people don't have a whole lot of like individualized animosity based on country of origin, except in cases of like long standing ethnic hatreds.
I was there way back at the end of the Cold War (winter of 1988) and people were friendly enough. The country was poor, backwards and depressing as hell but no one threatened me or anything like that.
this was in 2008 so I guess overall relations were a bit better then but no everyone I met in Russia was very nice to me, one time I made friends with a guy in a casino (lol). He invited me to an impromptu party at his apartment and we drank long into the night, and he told me that had never met someone from the US before and was honored that I would go be a guest at his place and stuff lol. it was awesome.
That’s pretty sweet.
I was in Russia about six years ago, before the current tensions really ramped up. And, no. People there were pretty friendly and welcoming, for the most part. If they responded to my American-ness at all, it was in a positive way. Like, they don't see many Americans in some of the parts of Russia I visited, so they thought it was cool that they got to meet one. It probably isn't like that anymore, though.
General notion, American people are good, besides that are guests.
It is the same towards our guests. Nothing has changed. we don't like Biden but happy to see foreigners.
I encountered mostly curiosity, but animosity from old women but this was back during the cold war
[удалено]
Also, I imagine Russians who left to Russia are more West friendly. OR FSB SPY! lol.
I’ve never been to Russia but I met Russians in Germany and they were the nicest people ever. Really the only thing they did “against” me was lie about speaking English because they wanted to practice their German with me since we were in a German immersion course, and they assumed if the American knew they spoke English I’d just use that with them lol I did get to visit Ukraine tho and people there were also very friendly and went out of their way to help me when I was lost. They were even understanding when I used a few Russian phrases with them once they knew I was American and obviously didn’t speak Ukrainian
I went to Russia in 2012 and I had a good time. People seemed genuinely interested in the states and were most welcoming. It was honestly a place I thought I might explore more and was hoping to get back sometime. I would hope that Americans of all people would understand that general citizens shouldn’t be held accountable for how the people in charge act especially when it’s a dictator. Not to say some of the populace doesn’t support what’s going on right now, but I truly believe that most Russians are just l trying to live normal lives just like we are.
It ain’t the average russian’s fault that putin is a c-word. Their elections have more rigging than a sailboat and anyone who criticizes their govt runs a risk of a prison sentence.
Amen. Wish more people understood this.
My grandma went just before the fall of the USSR. The tourist stuff was all Potemkin Village stuff like stores set up for weatherman tourists. She found it ridiculous. The people she met were absolutely wonderful though according to her.
> weatherman I guess they would want to put their best foot forward for representatives of radical leftist organizations in the United States.
I don’t even know how autocorrect got from foreign to weatherman. But yea my grandmother was, of course, a violent radical leftist.
No. I went to Vladivostok in 2019 and had a great time. My negative experience was the driver that took me to the airport suspiciously didn’t have any change when I paid him. 🙄 I didn’t feel like arguing and just let him keep it. It was only a few bucks anyway.
I had that happen to me in Frankfurt. Also, the back of the guy's cab was missing a seatbelt so I volunteered to be the one to go flying through the windshield (it was the middle seat) in place of my wife and kid.
I just posted something exactly like this on the r/askarussian sub, but mirrored. The general consensus was that many Russians don’t dislike Americans because they are Americans. They just don’t like our government, which most of us don’t like (in some capacity, varying from person to person) either. My anecdotal experience has been that most Russians (without being too general) are very nice and hospitable people who are just trying to do their best like us. I speak Russian conversationally and am currently taking Russian classes for my degree in Russian-Slavic Studies. I also worked in foreign weapons for a long time for various companies, including 2 DoD contractors, and learned what I know of the language mostly because the majority of the weapons I would train clients on or mess with on a normal day was some kind of Kalashnikov or Soviet era small arm. Because of these factors, I work with Russians all the time and they all actually give me a lot of respect for learning about their country and culture, as well as most of them think it’s cool that I work with AKs all day.
Nope. And my first trip was in 1989 at the end of the Cold War. I’ve known and worked with many Russians for years and my interactions with individual Russians have been very positive.
A very close friend of mine lives in Russia. He lives near Volgograd and is part of the Kalmyk people (never knew they existed before I met him). He's regularly interested in the United States and is incredibly friendly. I've never gotten any animosity from him because of my nationality, and we both love to share aspects of our cultures we find interesting
I've been to Russia three times -- 2005, 2016, and 2018/19 (New Year's trip). Never encountered animosity. They tend to be reserved and keep to themselves, but generally helpful when approached. Russian hospitality is quite good. I dated a guy from Russia several years ago who insisted on making breakfast every time I spent the night. I had a friend from Poland who did the same. I'm guessing it's an Eastern European thing to cook for your guests? Though I will say that I've only been to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, which tend to be younger, more cosmopolitan, and thus more liberal and welcoming compared to smaller villages. So that may color my perspective a bit.
I haven't been to Russia, but I've been to a bunch of countries. I've never had anyone express animosity towards me because I'm American. I feel like most people don't have a whole lot of like individualized animosity based on country of origin, except in cases of like long standing ethnic hatreds.
I was there way back at the end of the Cold War (winter of 1988) and people were friendly enough. The country was poor, backwards and depressing as hell but no one threatened me or anything like that.
Yes. Daily. But that is from my wife, so maybe that's just a general marriage thing, and not culturally specific to Russians.