We all know that there are 1001 differences between Russians and Americans. You don’t have to take tours of Moscow and St Petersburg to notice how different our realities are. Here we share with you our observation and stereotypes about Americans through the eyes of Russians.
Stereotypes about Americans
- We picture the Hollywood as a surrealistic place with movie stars walking around and giving autographs to everyone;
- We think all teenagers in USA get their cars before graduating from school and they need their cars to get to parties in the town;
- We imagine Texas as the land of cowboys, cactuses and desert and were surprised when we found out people actually live there and one of them came to Russia to be our tourist on a city tour St Petersburg;
- All Russians know Kansas state thanks to the fairy tale «The Magician of Emerald city» about the girl Dorothy who lived there. Some of us who are a bit more advanced know that Kansas is a land where popcorn is produced. That’s probably one of the cutest stereotypes about Americans;
- Russians are sure that all Americans eat in McDonald’s every day, at least once a day, and drink diet cola to keep fit;
- We think Americans are absolutely crazy about Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts and have coffee with donuts at least 3 times a day. Russians don’t believe in donuts, a sandwich with caviar is our cup of coffee;
Starbucks in Beverly Hills
Russian sandwich
Dunkin Donuts in NYC
- Many Russians are surprised that Disneyland is originally American thing. Talking about Disneyland we usually imagine the one in Paris;
- Russian young people adore American TV shows! Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip girl – we love it! It seems some Americans have degrees in eloquence and sarcasm;
- And all American girls, of course, live on Upper East Side;
- USA is the example of absolute democracy and freedom for us. We also think that all Americans are born patriots and have millions of rights they are aware of. Russians should learn from Americans here;
- Many people in Russia think that New York City is the capital since it is the big city and is a center for everything;
- We imagine an American party as hanging out in swimming pool wearing swimming suits and drinking cocktails. A typical party in Russia would be to drink up all the bar and fall asleep under the table in the club;
- Russians love American pizza. Some of us believe American pizza (like Papa John’s) is even better in Russian than in America;
PieOlogy in Los Angeles
- Children love American cartoons like SpongeBob and Simpsons, but their parents will make them watch old Soviet fairy tales which were popular in their childhood, believing that these cartoons will make their kid a kind and humble person;
- Usually young people listen to American rap and respect it more than Russian. We also think that Justin Bieber or Justin Timberlake are the two pillars of American pop music;
- We know that Americans travel around their own country a lot. The only 2 cities in Russia Russians travel to are Moscow and St Petersburg;
- We love American literature. We read Dreiser, Hemingway, O. Henry and others. We are happy when our tourists ask us about Nabokov’s Master and Margarita and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. As you noticed, there’s always some “and” in Russia;
- We like Beverly Hills diner and think that all cafes in America look like this;
Brooklyn Bridge
- We know that American families meet each other once a year to celebrate Thanksgiving day, eat Turkey and talk about how glorious this life is. Most Russian relatives meet once in a blue moon when somebody marries to tell all the guests what a naughty little boy the groom once was and needed new nappies 20 times a day;
- We noticed Americans believe in the power of the name calling their sports teams like San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, Sacramento Kings. We were wondering if the trick works?
- We also noticed Americans love to feel the bit of the nature in their blood when playing for their teams like San Jose Sharks, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Bulls, which sometimes totally scares us away. At wait… that’s the point, right?
- All Americans always smile and it freaks us out, because you are not supposed to smile to strangers in Russia;
- Beware: If you smile too much, a policeman may come to you and ask if you are ok.
- Russians are surprised it’s almost never below 30F (0 C) in America during winter. Why call it winter then? It’s autumn, right? Argh, sorry… fall!
Russian breakfast
