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Author Topic: 2 Russias  (Read 5052 times)

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Offline msmoby

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2 Russias
« on: July 31, 2015, 11:15:38 PM »
I have never been a fan of big cities ...nice to visit - not to stay

Moscow is no exception to that rule and probably the best example of why I feel this way.

SC lived in Moscow and escaped to Sochi. The pace of life is slower, less stress.

If you want to 'get on' in Russia business wise - Moscow is where it is at...If you want some thing you've ordered off the internet delivered the same day - you want Moscow.

I am sharing life with her - testing how we fit and already feel a sense of 'frustration' - that outside Moscow - everything moves at a slower pace.


I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Iriska

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2015, 11:29:24 PM »
Hello! I am Iriska. I am new here.I think, Moscow is separate the country in Russia. Outside Russia not only everything moves at a slower pace, but also poverty.

Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2015, 01:52:38 AM »
Hello! I am Iriska. I am new here.I think, Moscow is separate the country in Russia. Outside Russia not only everything moves at a slower pace, but also poverty.

Welcome, Iriska. True, whenever i speak of Russia, my Russian friends correct me: "you are talking of Moscow." I've heard Finland is like that, that everything is concentrated in the capital; where i am, Montenegro, it's more-less like that too, except for the coastal belt.
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Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2015, 02:52:08 AM »
Welcome , Iriska  :thumbsup:

Do you take your name from Irina or the sweet / candy  ?  :chuckle:


Our 'little village' - Sochi is playing host to the wedding of Putin's press secretary -Dmitry Peskov and ice dancer Tatiana Navka



SC took the bus into town - 20 roubles  :laugh: - and went to the central market - while I did some work... She called from the ride home - she had persuaded a Kurdish Turk to bring her for ''the price she sought fit'' and spent an hour in an non air-conditioned Lada - thanks to the road closures.

Now we know why Putin is in 'town'.


Moscow came to Sochi  ... another reason I dislike big cities - traffic chaos  :coffeeread:
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Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2015, 03:00:37 AM »

Moscow came to Sochi  ...

It's because you are there!!! They read your travel reports!  :eeekk:



p.s. i enjoyed reading your post, thanks ;)
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Offline Iriska

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2015, 03:13:42 AM »
Thanks! You are right! In our country of everything is concentrated in the capital only in Moscow and Krasnodar region!

Iriska is name of my cat and my sometims......:party0011:

Offline Iriska

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2015, 03:30:40 AM »

Moscow came to Sochi  ...

It's because you are there!!! They read your travel reports!  :eeekk:



p.s. i enjoyed reading your post, thanks ;)

Tell me, please, about what travel reports you speak ???

Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2015, 03:41:22 AM »
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

Spurious claims about 'seeing action' with the Blue Berets are debunked >here<

Here is my Russophobia/Kremlinphobia topic

Offline Iriska

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2015, 03:52:29 AM »
Volshe refers to my reports on

1/ Sochi,http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,22697

2/ 'Abkhazia'/ Georgia http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,24517, and

3/ Turkey / Greece. http://ruadventures.com/forum/index.php/topic,24262.0.html
Thank you! It is interesting! I want to read and look.......

Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2015, 03:54:49 AM »

Thank you! It is interesting! I want to read and look.......

Pozhaluista  tiphat

A westerner's perspective ...  :chuckle:

PS Thanks to Volshe, for the compliment ... WHAT is the status of the 'official language' of your country..Is it Serb-Croat or  Montenegrin ..I was asked - second time - if I was Serbian, today  :chuckle:
I have never claimed to be a Blue Beret

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Offline sparky114

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2015, 05:36:55 AM »
Well i say long live the little shops and the go hunting for things in way out place's  part of the reason i like being in Russia....so you have to wait 7-10 days for things to arrive well just plan ahead its ok  :) you get used to slowing yourself down a feeling after living in this "nuts must have now"!! society that we call the UK
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Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2015, 06:31:03 AM »
Well i say long live the little shops and the go hunting for things in way out place's  part of the reason i like being in Russia....so you have to wait 7-10 days for things to arrive well just plan ahead its ok  :) you get used to slowing yourself down a feeling after living in this "nuts must have now"!! society that we call the UK

so-called "откладывание приятного", i grew up like that... it's the opposite that still confuses me  ;D

first time grocery shopping in USA (suburbs of Chicago),  upon hearing my accent, most ask 'when did you arrive from Russia", and switch to великий и могучий,
i ask: where do i get hummus? (in Monte i have to make my own from scratch, it is not sold);
smiling shop assistant points out in the direction of a whole wall, maybe 100 or 150m long, stuffed with hummus from the bottom to the top shelf?! 
for goodness sake, how am i supposed to choose which one i want?!  :eeekk:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."
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Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2015, 07:46:56 AM »
the 'big wedding'

''Navka and Peskov have invited Putin to their wedding wedding and more than 100 VIP-guests ''

Our invitation most have got lost in the post  :chuckle:

http://vistanews.ru/society/17125-navka-i-peskov-priglasili-na-svadbu-putina-i-esche-bolee-100-vip-gostey.html
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Offline Anteros

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2015, 08:22:16 AM »
Hello! I am Iriska. I am new here.I think, Moscow is separate the country in Russia. Outside Russia not only everything moves at a slower pace, but also poverty.

Welcome to our forum, Iriska.  :)
Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

Offline Anteros

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2015, 08:24:27 AM »
Well i say long live the little shops and the go hunting for things in way out place's  part of the reason i like being in Russia....so you have to wait 7-10 days for things to arrive well just plan ahead its ok  :) you get used to slowing yourself down a feeling after living in this "nuts must have now"!! society that we call the UK

Although I do not like to wait 7 to 10 days for stuff I don't miss the traffic of the larger metropolitan area which I left, a slower and more tranquil pace is much better.   :coffeeread:
Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

Offline Boris

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #15 on: August 01, 2015, 08:50:37 AM »
Well i say long live the little shops and the go hunting for things in way out place's  part of the reason i like being in Russia....so you have to wait 7-10 days for things to arrive well just plan ahead its ok  :) you get used to slowing yourself down a feeling after living in this "nuts must have now"!! society that we call the UK

Natasha and I spent hours looking everywhere for an electrical adapter in Kharkov. Finally found one in one of those underground kiosks. I saw much of the "real" city I wouldn't have seen otherwise and we had a blast. I do miss the adventure part of the search. I think guys miss out on a lot by getting ferried about in taxis and eating at vetted restaurants. Get on a marshutka. Walk around a bit. You'll only be lost for awhile :-) I always managed to run into nice people if I needed assistance.

Offline Chris

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #16 on: August 01, 2015, 10:18:17 AM »
Well i say long live the little shops and the go hunting for things in way out place's  part of the reason i like being in Russia....so you have to wait 7-10 days for things to arrive well just plan ahead its ok  :) you get used to slowing yourself down a feeling after living in this "nuts must have now"!! society that we call the UK

Natasha and I spent hours looking everywhere for an electrical adapter in Kharkov. Finally found one in one of those underground kiosks. I saw much of the "real" city I wouldn't have seen otherwise and we had a blast. I do miss the adventure part of the search. I think guys miss out on a lot by getting ferried about in taxis and eating at vetted restaurants. Get on a marshutka. Walk around a bit. You'll only be lost for awhile :-) I always managed to run into nice people if I needed assistance.

I once spent some time cruising the Metro in Kharkov with a lady, carrying a 1 metre long courgette with me that an old couple out in the country had given me, don't ask  :chuckle:

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Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2015, 11:20:38 AM »
Our invitation most have got lost in the post 

 :(

I always managed to run into nice people if I needed assistance.

It's because you are nice, alike attracts alike  :)
I once spent some time cruising the Metro in Kharkov with a lady, carrying a 1 metre long courgette with me that an old couple out in the country had given me, don't ask 

Looked up courgette in the dictionary...  :ROFL:

I don't miss the traffic of the larger metropolitan area which I left, a slower and more tranquil pace is much better.   

Probably the only thing i don't miss about Moscow are probkas, its' notorious traffic jams  ;)
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Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2015, 02:54:42 PM »
Could one eat out..  6.5 people... for 35 GBP.. inc beers ..at least 2 each .. for 4 persons.. and 3 courses
In a pleasant restaurant with decent live music in Moscow?)



You can tell it is Sochi by all the white cars ..!

.
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Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2015, 03:10:51 PM »
Could one eat out..  6.5 people... for 35 GBP.. inc beers ..at least 2 each .. for 4 persons.. and 3 courses
In a pleasant restaurant with decent live music in Moscow?)

Of course not, luckily, otherwise pleasant Muscovite restaurants would be crowded with people who can't afford 50e per a single entree ;)

for comparison, Pushkin cafe price list: http://cafe-pushkin.ru/#2
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Offline Manny

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2015, 03:29:29 PM »
You can tell it is Sochi by all the white cars ..!

White cars is a Russian status thing somehow. They have a name for them that translates as something like "snow queen". Your other half will probably know.

A bloke in Russia once told me the status thing is not only that you have a shiny, new, white (preferably expensive) car, but as its white, you want to keep it white, and the frequent valets cost money, so that shows other folks you have disposable income. You know what many Russians (in Russia) are like, people like to show off. Women in £300 shoes that cant afford dinner, blokes in 20 metre apartments on the 12th floor with a 40 grand car outside. Psychologically, I am told, one drives a white car in Russia also to surround oneself with cleanliness, a kind of antidote to the dirty, muddy streets. Similarly, dirty money may feel cleaner if it buys a white car.

White has been on the up here for the last year or two as well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10285991/Why-white-is-the-new-black-for-cars.html

Back when I used to sell cars, white was the colour of Transit vans, and Transit vans only.
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Offline Volshe

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2015, 03:40:38 PM »
You can tell it is Sochi by all the white cars ..!

White cars is a Russian status thing somehow. They have a name for them that translates as something like "snow queen". Your other half will probably know.

A bloke in Russia once told me the status thing is not only that you have a shiny, new, white (preferably expensive) car, but as its white, you want to keep it white, and the frequent valets cost money, so that shows other folks you have disposable income. You know what many Russians (in Russia) are like, people like to show off. Women in £300 shoes that cant afford dinner, blokes in 20 metre apartments on the 12th floor with a 40 grand car outside. Psychologically, I am told, one drives a white car in Russia also to surround oneself with cleanliness, a kind of antidote to the dirty, muddy streets. Similarly, dirty money may feel cleaner if it buys a white car.

White has been on the up here for the last year or two as well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10285991/Why-white-is-the-new-black-for-cars.html

Back when I used to sell cars, white was the colour of Transit vans, and Transit vans only.

That was interesting to read, Manny, thanks. We are old-fashioned, i guess, the only white 'cars' around are the emergency vehicles  :innocent:
Btw, Moscow's are the dirties cars in existence,  it's close to impossible to keep them clean (whereas in Monte it's, like, a matter of one's personal decency lol).
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Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #22 on: August 01, 2015, 09:20:13 PM »

Of course not, luckily, otherwise pleasant Muscovite restaurants would be crowded with people who can't afford 50e per a single entree ;)

for comparison, Pushkin cafe price list: http://cafe-pushkin.ru/#2

Thanks, an interesting comparison

I expected the prices to be much higher..Such is the weakness of the rouble - this would be good value in London  :o

Lovely interior


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Offline msmoby

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #23 on: August 01, 2015, 09:24:25 PM »


White cars is a Russian status thing somehow. They have a name for them that translates as something like "snow queen". Your other half will probably know.

I'll ask..you know RU W....sleep is everything.. :hidechair:

I am told, one drives a white car in Russia also to surround oneself with cleanliness, a kind of antidote to the dirty, muddy streets. Similarly, dirty money may feel cleaner if it buys a white car.

White has been on the up here for the last year or two as well: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10285991/Why-white-is-the-new-black-for-cars.html

Back when I used to sell cars, white was the colour of Transit vans, and Transit vans only.


I think you may have described the mentality, perfectly ....
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Offline sparky114

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Re: 2 Russias
« Reply #24 on: August 01, 2015, 11:35:09 PM »
Yep sold both black cars....way out of fashion now..

Shogun in Russia was the first to go (to be honest the repair bills from daughter driving it was a major factor) not replaced this yet but maybe in a couple of weeks i will see whats around :coffeeread:

Brought a  little "White" Kia Pro Cee'd for wifey (auto)  now she has passed her test in the UK having got rid of the "Black" Citroen DS3 as it was a manual

Yes have washed her new white car twice in 10 days for her  :biggrin: :chuckle:
Today is only one day in a life of happiness

Mark