What technological innovations in Russia surprised you

[Markje]

I'll go first.

Even though Western Europe is pretty advanced on a tech-level, other countries can still surprise us with some innovations not seen here (or are common).

I first noticed that the brand-new iphone would never be popular in Japan, they were lightyears ahead of us already.

So likewise, I encountered some things in Russia that surprised me even though they might sound simple.

- My mother in law has an old phone (house) with large buttons a receiver connected by wire and the thing looked sovjet-aged.
But !!!! If someone calls her on it, it shouts out the last 5 digits of the caller and my mother in law thus needn't get up if the caller doesn't interest her

I didn't hear of that in the West, we all have fancy phones with DECT technology but some idea so simple as to shout out those numbers, was so convenient and profound It surprised me.

Of course, this was in the pre-smartphone era.

[msmoby]

Can't really say I've seen anything recent that impresses - just that Russia makes some of the best satellite dishes ( well designed and made to last ) but they don't even want to export them as 'too much trouble' ...

[Olga_Mouse]

- My mother in law has an old phone (house) with large buttons a receiver connected by wire and the thing looked sovjet-aged.

But !!!! If someone calls her on it, it shouts out the last 5 digits of the caller and my mother in law thus needn't get up if the caller doesn't interest her

I didn't hear of that in the West, we all have fancy phones with DECT technology but some idea so simple as to shout out those numbers, was so convenient and profound It surprised me.

I don't know the legislation base for it in UA (when the phone was presumable purchased and installed) - here in Moscow it was first forbidden (because, presumably, the caller number's tracing has "overloaded" the traffic on the landline  ) - and then, IIRC, it was allowed only after reporting it to the telephone company and paying additionally.

[Olga_Mouse]

In general, Russia is - opposite to USA - a "techno-optimistic" country per se.

It is due to the several reasons:

a) people don't trust other people, especially authorities, and hope that a robot is less corrupt than a policeman or a judge of flesch and blood;

b) the remnants of Soviet "progressivist" educational system.

In Russia the majority answers positively a question "do you think that you will get a fairer sentence if judged by a robot than a living judge?". In USA, funnily enough, only black people answer positively to that question... 

[AvHdB]

Will need to do some research, first coffee, but there is a Russian firm that developed a 3-D printer for a poured concrete home. Simply amazing.

It should be noted that except for a small segment of the population American's are a very techno-optimistic nation. This not withstanding the balls up that was mobile foons ten years ago.

[AvHdB]

Will need to do some research, first coffee, but there is a Russian firm that developed a 3-D printer for a poured concrete home. Simply amazing.

It should be noted that except for a small segment of the population American's are a very techno-optimistic nation. This not withstanding the balls up that was mobile foons ten years ago.

As promised ~ this video is 3 years old.