Thinking about travelling to Russia? We address some of the top stereotypes and misconceptions we’ve heard or read about Russia lately and what WE thought about each after visiting first hand this past summer!
Please note: This list is NOT meant to offend anyone, it is strictly a list of a few stereotypes we have heard over the years about Russia in general. We found none of it to be even remotely true and the Russian people to all be so amazing and welcoming, so we hope to share that and get rid of some of the thoughts people have!
Travel to Russia is not complete without first addressing the Russian stereotypes!
Here’s our list of stereotypes that are SO not true about Russia!
1. No one speaks English? NOT True, there is always someone who can help translate or you can use Yandex Translate!
2. Russians are not friendly. NOT True! They may not always smile, but when you speak with them or sit down to visit, they are all so very welcoming and friendly.
3. Politics are awkward - For the most part, the people we met did not even discuss politics and we met and chatted simply as people, not discussing one country’s politics to another. This was great, as everyone was so friendly and we never had to get into any awkward debates about political views. Just spoke to one another as people interested in each other’s life story.
4. Russia Bears walk the streets and people carry around AK47 guns.This was more a funny joke than a point to mention, as many Russians we met said ‘we dont have bears walking around and we dont carry guns everywhere!’ This was never something we thought, but I know it is a stereotype which we wanted to discuss not being true!!
5. Russia Military is everywhere, media is censored, and you are being watched - We never saw much Military, just at some of the major sights, which was no different than any other city with tourist sights. The media did not seem censored, we could watch all of our TV channels, access social media, etc. There were the odd random websites blocked, but very few! And as we imagine some censorship does exist, it was NOT something we noticed. Also, we never felt watched anywhere we went.
6. Russians are the villains and the mob and mafia will be out to get you! NOT True, we never experienced this at all. TV Shows depict them as villains, but life in Russia is no different than anywhere else. Living in Russia would be lovely and we highly recommend visiting. We never encountered ‘mafia’ or anything — it was no different than any other city in the world.
So with this video we hope to address is it safe to travel to russia, is moscow safe, is russia dangerous, russia mafia, is russia safe, life in russia, and more!
Stay tuned for the next video on Russia -- wrapping up our full series before continuing on to Italy and Greece travel adventures!!
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Filming Gear & Electronics:
Canon G7X Mark II - http://goo.gl/fYPTmi
Apple Iphone 6s 64GB - http://goo.gl/Z1MRGA
Joby Gorillapod - http://goo.gl/LCCP8v
Apple MacBook Pro 15.4" (2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 512GB Retina Display) - https://goo.gl/GtggyT
Seagate Backup Plus 4TB Portable External Hard Drive - http://goo.gl/x1c5qG
Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones - http://goo.gl/yTJIu1
What type of suitcases do we use?
26" Travelpro Rollaboard Suiter (Crew) - http://goo.gl/Tq707Z
25" Expandable Spinner (Maxlite) - http://goo.gl/dezcDV
What type of Carry-ons do we use?
20" Travelpro Business Plus Rollaboard (Crew) - http://goo.gl/ecxIlN
Black Diamond Nitro 22 liter Backpack (Hiking) - http://goo.gl/M9Q9At
Eagle Creek Universal Traveler Backpack RFID (Mark) - http://goo.gl/KbQTRm
Herschel Supply Co Little America Backpack (Katie) - http://goo.gl/zU1Lgi
What type of camera do you use for filming? Canon G7X Mark II
What program do you use to edit your videos? Adobe CS6 Premier Pro
