The Unofficial Chaotic Guide to Russia

Oct 20, 2012

Russia is a crazy place and thereâ??s no denying that. This article will explore some stuff Russians have done or are known for.

Even the Nazis Were Scared of Russians

During WWII Nazis were scared of Russians. One of the reasons was that the Russian soldiers wouldnâ??t cry out when shot. Also Russia itself is a cold and scary place. Youâ??d have people like Vlad and Dmitry shooting at you in the freezing weather. In fact the Russians fought against the Germans with the same determination the Germans had; that in itself was scary for the Germans.

Vodka

Vodka means â??Little Waterâ? in Russian. Itâ??s hard to deny a stereotype when your national drink means little water.

The average pure alcohol consumption of Russians aged 15+ is 15.76 liters per capita per year. This puts Russia in 4th place in the world for highest alcohol consumption. Russia also has the highest rate of alcohol addicts. 17.61% of males aged between 18 and 65 are dependent on alcohol. Similarity Russia has the highest alcohol-related mortality rates in the world. A Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health presented by WHO states that:

By far the highest proportion of alcohol-attributable mortality is in the Russian Federation and neighboring countries, where every fifth death among men and 6% of deaths among women are attributable to the harmful use of alcohol.

Creative Protestingâ?¦

A feminist pun-rock band named Pussy Riot became active in Russia in 2011. Their band isnâ??t really about music but rather about getting a message out there. Pussy Riotâ??s main message is that they donâ??t like the president of Russia, Putin.

As you can tell from this video their music isnâ??t the best. It actually gave me goose bumps.
I may not understand Russian but I understand that their music is horrid and I have a feeling that so is their message. Some of the members have been arrested and others fled fearing prosecution. I donâ??t blame the government at all. Even with all the winter ear muffs it should be a crime to let the Pussy Riot play in public.

Others have been inspired by the Pussy Riot and have even created their own protests. One of these protests was the touching of 1000 boobs in Moscow.

After watching this video for 20 minutes video I posted specific seconds of the video where you could clearly see underage girls being touched. One even looked as if her mother was making her get her boobs touched by this â??protesterâ?.

I got a response saying that thereâ??s no age of consent in Russia. After researching it, it turns out to be 16. Ironic enough thisÂ protesterÂ was protesting against a corrupt government while touching some underage girlsâ?? breasts in public. Iâ??m sure itâ??s going to raise the self-esteem of all those ladies! Iâ??m also sure this is improving Russian reforms!

Other Crazy Stuff

From the videos Iâ??ve seen on YouTube, it seems like a common thing for bears, dogs, and other beasts of nature to attack people on the streets of Russia.

If itâ??s not a video of animals attacking humans itâ??s a video of Russians car curling down snowy roads.

Weather

Winters in Russia are terribly cold. The average temperature is -4 Fahrenheit. Russian winters have been known to thwart invasions on many different accounts. One of them was a failed invasion by Napoleon in 1812, and also Hitlerâ??s invasion in 1941. In both cases the Russians were better equip against the conditions; possibly because of their strong spirits. Maybe itâ??s the combination of alcohol and cold weather that causes them to do crazy stuffâ?¦

In general it seems the Russian people have become accustomed to doing crazy things, cold weather or not. The crazy Russians below are in shorts butÂ they’reÂ not satisfied until they put their lives at risk. The pedestrians walking byÂ don’tÂ even show that much interest indicating that Russia is crazy on the average day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSDQlqhNHrg&amp

I also have a small inclination the weather isnâ??t cold enough in Russia. Who makes a pool in the middle of a frozen lake? Russians, thatâ??s who. Why? Because itâ??s just not cold enough.

Russians and Guns

I think this goes without saying but Russians also love guns. They get the best of all worlds, alcohol, oil reserves, and guns.

Dmitri may not be Russian. But he calls himself a professional Russian and has made Russian promotion mainstream. He deserves a mention with his video of shooting guns while pepper sprayed.

Planning Your Trip to Russia

Russians at heart are very friendly people. You might have to look out for gun wielding Russians, and people fighting off polar bears with bear cans, but you will definitely enjoy your stay there. Russia has many beautiful places to visit. It would be a great experience to go swimming in ice water or skiing on mountains. Thatâ??s definitely something you can brag about to wherever it is youâ??re from. Just make sure to plan your trip ahead so you donâ??t end up with a handful of surprises.