How to Be a Russian: Distinguishing East from West

Abstract

Now we turn to a discussion about how the inhabitants of the Kola Peninsula distinguish themselves from people on the other side of the East-West border in the region. What’s their opinion about the Nordic countries, what do they know about people there and how they live? How are they different from Russians? Which stereotypes exist, and what narrative resources are at hand for north-west Russians to define themselves as Russian as opposed to Scandinavian northerners. And what has the opening of the border implied in this respect? Again we start with three relatively long interview extracts. To retain the character of each interview, I have kept most of the discussion about northerners vs. southerners in two of the interviews.¹ I have, however, removed sections specifically dealing with the topic of our next chapter, notably nuclear safety. In the ensuing discussion, I quote my interviewees more frequently than I did in the last chapter because, as we shall see, opinions are more widely divided on the issue of East vs. West, than on that of northerners vs. southerners.²

In Russia driving through the red light when the police is not watching is an acceptable practice; there, public opinion would be more critical of eating ice cream on the subway, a practice classified as foreign or ‘uncultured’ behaviour. (Boym, 1994, p. 289)