10 Ways Russians are Misunderstood Around the World

[@drarsen33]

Point about language is probably THE stupidest thing I heard in a year or so. Russian writing system is phonetic in nature so you can express with it any bloody thing you want to. You can create any sentence or new word and just put it down and it will work. Slavic languages have complex grammar that allow them to play with words and expressions in the way that is beyond English and phonetic writing system is perfectly suited to deal with it.

[@jakubkoucki8668]

Often russian words are written differently than spoken, just like in french or english. For example спасибо which is pronounced with an "a" at the end

[@drarsen33]

@@jakubkoucki8668 Actually it is not often. There few exceptions and most are tied to O being A like in word for dog. And that in no way supports original point made in video . Russian can change it to спасибa but probably do to some historical convention they keep it in that form.

[@RanmaruRei]

@@jakubkoucki8668, Russian writing system is not phonetic, it's phonemic. Every letter responds to a phoneme. Some Slavic languages also has phonemic orthoghraphy such as Slovene, for instance. Meanwhile English and French orthographies are not phonetic or phonemic. They're historical. Polish orthography, btw, has also some phonemical and historical moments. For instance, "rz" digraph. I'll try to explain, why Russian orthography is phonemic. I speak Southern Russian accent, I pronounce "спасибо" as [spɐˑsibə]. Northern Russian Accent, on the other hand, is closer to actual orthography. In Northern Russian accent, this word will be [spaˑsibo]. Russian orthography is, in fact, a compromise between Southern and Northern dialects. Thanks in some way to Lomonosov that spoke Nothern dialect.

[@ceu160193]

@@RanmaruRei Two letters are not pronounced in Russian language, instead they indicate, that you have to pronounce previous letter softer/harder.

[@alxmetro]

@HerrNilssonTheMonkey Барак Обама или Дональд Трамп

[@abibnoor]

I lived in Russia for 6 years. I expected better than this. This is actually more misleading than helping to combat Russian misunderstanding. You limited everything to Napoleon and poverty. You can do better than this.

[@tomchch]

He really cant. This is the kind of channel you watch if your brain dies before your body.

[@imrichandras5708]

after watching this i believe that you cant explain it you just have to get to know them.. Russia is not a country its a philosophy of life

[@Ululukiful]

As a Russian myself I can confirm that this piece is actually pretty accurate. I encourage you to not shrug it off completely

[@Ululukiful]

@@generationloss1 I can't understand what you're saying :(

[@Ululukiful]

@@generationloss1 now I kinda see what you're trying to say. However I disagree that there was no poverty in USSR, and only oligarchy and corruption of individuals are to blame for poverty now. As it was said in part one of this video - almost no Russian willing to go to jail for standing up to corruption and stupidity of the government.

[@valentinventures]

11:11 Russians don’t have as many words as other languages?? Have u ever studied Russian??

[@jakemars2601]

Russian only has around 130k words. Have you studied Russian?

[@ggsay1687]

@@jakemars2601 one verb can have 27 forms in Russian, English is much easier to learn than Russian.

[@mbtrev]

I heard that russian language has more words than Iatvian I talk both and both are much more complicated than English

[@tiernanmcvickers1269]

Bs are 5s just saying If that isn't art I don't know what is

[@mbtrev]

@@PoonDestruction i talk russian fluidly too -_-

[@kir2847]

This video is like a Russophobe trying to be nice. 10. Define personal freedoms and give examples what freedoms are lacking. In Europe you can't use internet without ID, in US people are told how high their grass should be cut. If government really does not like you, your freedoms will magically disappear in any nation. 9. Russians think differently… c'mon, you are better than that. Don't conflate geography and anthropology. There are lots of federal subjects, most are European and some have significant Asian population and traditions. Asian is too a broad of a term itself. 8. People are not paranoid about Napoleon. Russia is wary of possible invaders, justifiably so. Catholic knights doing mini-crusades to correct wrong type of Christianity, series of migrating steppe people, Polish imperialism in 1600s, Swedish threat, wars with Turkey, Napoleonic wars, freaking Germany 2 times, US with their worldwide ambitions. Russia is not always the victim, but other aggressors are called out much less. 7. Slavophile vs francophiles is a separate case of cultural influence debate, that today is much more relevant for everyone. It is basically - should we mindlessly import anything other cultures offer or try to shield and protect our own. French influence is not special here, we were influenced by Norse, Greek, Mongol, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, US, Japan etc. 6. In modern Russian usually means bad taste, vulgarity. In a more archaic sense - banality, pettiness, triviality. 5. Having a hard life is seen as extremely important? Are you OK? There is some truth to it, generally more pessimistic feeling. If things go south it is seen as we've had worse. 4. Not uncommon at all, read about book Latin and vulgar Latin, same situation. 3. There is a culture of heavy drinking, some are proud of it, some are not. I would simply define it as alcoholism as it is more common in poorer regions. 2. During early pc age everything was pirated due to unavailability and people continue to pirate out of habit. Plus it is simply better service - faster, cheaper, more options in quality, versions etc. If strongly enforced, people will probably just shift to open-source in case of software or abandon in general in case of pop culture. 1. In today day and age almost everything in the media is seen as propaganda. Your video is probably seen as communist pro-Russian propaganda by some and biased Russophobic piece by other.

[@alekshukhevych2644]

Ohh yes, Poor Russia is so misunderstood. They only invade, occupy, kill and destroy whole nations to develop their empire. Which by the way Russia still is. Russians killed dozens of my family members in the 20th century for wanting their own country and being Ukrainian and are again killing them in the 21st. Kyiv, Ukraine

[@artemg11]

@@alekshukhevych2644 You have a civil war, not a war with Russia. Russia provides the people in Donbass food and weapons. Don't try to make the russian role in this war bigger then it actually is.

[@bathell8099]

Yeah, for me author sound like Hitler when he explain why Jews not real humans, that utterly disgusting

[@alekshukhevych2644]

Russians first invaded Crimea, literally invaded into Ukrainian territory, and the soldiers taking part in this operation were not in the navy, they came from mainland Russia. 2 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 1 Russian in this operation. This was an invasion by all definitions and by occurance. As Russian soldiers literally invaded into another country. Then Russians invaded Ukraine from the East into the Donbas. A Russian GRU colonel and one of the main officers on the ground in Crimea was ordered to cross into Ukraine and mobilise the local population into revolting against Ukraine. He partially succeeded. Although mist people rather then help either side chose to simply leave, although many joined both sides. For example battalion DOnbas, Dnipro and Kievska Rus was composed almost entirely of DOnbas residents. Most of the locals who fought in the Russian army against Ukraine were killed off in the 2014-2015 battles, and during these years Russia pariodically sent in regular Russian military battallions. For example the Pskovian airborne paratroopers, and Buryat Tankers. Both were exposed completely, with the Pskovian paratroopers completely annihilated and the Buryat tankers being exposed on social media by vide and others. Again by literal definition, Russia invaded Ukraine. They funded, armed and trained the forces there which was commanded by Russian officers. Periodically deployed regular and special Russian forces. Yes, Russia invaded Ukraine, and for example the taking of Crimea was planned since at least 2006. Although Ukraine and Russia almost went to war over it in 1994, back then Ukraine had a much larger army and Russia backed down. Dozens of Russian regular and special forces men were captured, with hundreds being killed. Just because they try to hide and deny their waging of war against Ukraine, does not mean its not happening. With out Russia there would not have been a war. If Russia decides to leave, the war would literally end on the next day. Russia does not recognise the existence of Ukrainians, even though we have completely different languages, cultures and are different genetically and ethnically. They want Ukraine as their colony, just like the Poles. As there is no such a war in Russian or Polish. IN Russian its " AKRAJNA", in Polish borderland its " Pogranice". In Ukrainian, SLovak, Belarusian, Sorbian, Czech the word " KRAJINA", means country or territory. Ukraine was named by Ukrainians, with the Ukrainian understanding of the word.

[@einar9350]

@Joseph Moukhlisovich Nekhme Yeah, Crimeans are happy because those ones who dares not to be happy are called "terrorists" and immidietely are imprisoned. Just like Oleg Sentzov and moany other. At least they are forced to leave Crimea. Just like Mustafa Dzemilev. All what wrote @Alek about Russia is the right. ukrainians have the right to deicide about their country and Russia has nothing to do with that.

[@wren2900]

Dear Simon, as a linguist I can tell you that Russian or English or German have more or less the same number of words. In the West they include everything into dictionaries: archaisms, medieval words, dialectic words, slang, numbers combinations, particles, word combinations as new units - to get the crazy and fantastic numbers. Professionals understand that this story is only about the counting method. In Russia they take into dictionary only separate contemporary root words that are commonly used at this historical stage - which is more logic. For example there are no words in Russian dictionaries that were used before 17 century and became obsolete - Old Russian - that's maybe 200-250 K words alone - like an example. The same goes for particles, dialectic words, word combinations as units - they are just not indicated as separate word units.

[@hillel6898]

Agree! I had a hard time understanding what the host was getting at. Laypeople, some of them even quite educated, will frequently characterize languages unknown to them as "undeveloped" or lacking in internal linguistic resources capable of expressing what they feel their own languages can. It's a myth. I've never met a language yet (and i've studied many and speak a few not terribly) where it was not possible to express all manner of nuance...it's just that what and how they choose to express may differ. For a quick reference, the host might look at Khlebnikov's "Incantation by Laughter."

[@nikolairubinskii6450]

Can't exactly agree with the Naloleon story. Napoleon just was one of many and not even the worst invader of Russia. We do not really feel as scarred by Napoleon as by Hitler, for example.

[@FikAb]

Tatoro-Mongols were even worse

[@brianmead7556]

However, before Napoleon, the elites spoke French. Afterwards, they switched languages.

[@nikolairubinskii6450]

@@FikAb Agree. We even still have a saying that goes like this: "Uninvited guest is worse than a Tatarin".

[@sziklamester1244]

Russians worst enemy was their leadership. A lot of russians died in the two world war and by the flu aswell. Those peoples really missing there. I am not a russian but I hardly can imagine they fear the foreigners because Russia is one of the few countries where there are a lot of ethnicies and Russia was inhabited with turkic, mongoloid and other kind of peoples. The European part is more populated because of the better climate but the asian part to the kamchatka are much different.

[@kalev60]

If I had to point out invasion of some deeper cultural meaning, yes Hitler and Napoleon are the most resent, but Mongols did a number on Russia that those 2 didn't come close too. With estimates of huge chunks of the population dead, taxation for 2 centuries, and rebuilding efforts that took longer then the invaders rule to fix, but also positive side like joining the Rus tribes and laying the foundation for later empire to form.

[@filipmilosavljevic8316]

Cyril and Methodus were Greek Orthodox Missionaries,not Catholic.

[@jamescurrent8794]

Correct. The Russian Language takes a whole lot from Greek. A lot of the letters look Greek, and it follows the Greek format where a word has 6 different endings based upon usage. That is from my high school Russian 30 years ago.

[@pattis847]

Actually Cyril and Methodius predate (800's) the split between the Greek (Orthodox) and Latin (Catholic) church (1054) so it's probably most appropriate to just call them Greek missionaries.

[@Silkendrum]

Most of the kids I went to high school with (in the early '60s, in a mountain village in Pennsylvania) were either Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox (many of them spoke Russian at home). They considered themselves Catholic, just not Roman Catholic.

[@dragishadracula3961]

@@Silkendrum - Catholic is adjective meaning unity, which is basis of Orthodox Christianity. Bishop of Rome (Pope) usurps that word. According to recent discoveries Cyrillic alphabet is older than Greek one, originated in Asia Minor, as language of Serbs, what was original name for all Slavs. Tale of Cyril and Methodius is attempt of Greek Church to establish ascendancy over Slavs. They are still trying that with forming of "new" Orthodox churches of newly created nations.

[@Tatiana-ej1oc]

Silkendrum your American education on Russian history is garbage

[@alterbart7916]

Poshlost is quite translatable and it means vulgarity. Definitely the kardashians are extremely poshlyje. Beating stereotypes with less common stereotypes is also poshlost.

[@comrademcsalty7676]

Well played

[@JonGee420]

They have created a generation of gopniks

[@balamstudios]

Curiously theres a Mexican words for it (yes, not spanish but mexican). It means vulgarity and bad taste. The word is 'naco'

[@NikolaAvramov]

This video is a hate piece.

[@alterbart7916]

@@NikolaAvramov I am russian and i do not feel it is a hate piece. But it is definitely insisting on defining a nation by a set of clichés, a way to creating misconceptions and hate. Which is rather disappointing to see from a guy who's presenting himself as being above the average iq.

[@stanislavkogan]

The guy is so ridiculously out of touch that it's ALMOST funny. The idiotic drivel he's saying about the origins (and limitations) of the Russian language are simply infuriating.

[@meofamily4]

Aptly and concisely put.

[@spencerburke]

Yes, total drivel. Not just about Russians and their language, but about all languages. He seems to be promoting a form of linguistic determinism - i.e. the language you speak limits the thoughts you can have. Not an idea supported by most linguistics research. Even so, confusing this with written language, and reaching the conclusions he has, is hard to credit. I sniff a degree of chauvinism here more than anything else...

[@tokyoff3474]

Are you a Russian . I'm really interested in Russians . 😜

[@ngnovin]

Wtf did i just watch? As a russian who has been living in Moscow since birth, I certainly call it THE WORST representation of my country. This dude doesn't have a slightest idea of what he's talking about. Him saying that billionares here are being respected by people just shows he has never talked with any russian whatsoever. For 6 minutes I spent there was NOTHING to be interesting or being truth. Guys, we are a modern european nation with ultimate demand for human rights, for which we are fighting every day, we're just the same as any eastern european country. We do have a national pride for our great past, but our eyes are always looking for a bright future with strong connection to other countries. Don't let stupid stereotypes judge a whole nation, especially when you hear it from a channel like "Top Ten things we don't have a clue about".

[@adixmax1558]

then prove it

[@Kitsts]

​@@adixmax1558 what do you want to hear?

[@thehypocriticoath828]

@@adixmax1558 Give a word on how.

[@AdverDoiren]

I would argue with "ultimate demand for human rights". In my opinion the ultimate demand is for order, justice and progress/development. System based around human rights is perceived as one of the ways to achieve those things, but not as the only way. Recent poll showed record high for Stalin's approval rating, that indicates that growing number of people are more or less agree with infringement of human rights if it will fulfill the actual ultimate demand.

[@Russianportrait]

спасибо, Александр! Хочу пригласить Вас на наш канал

[@remyhocage9854]

Very disappointing. RC missionaries ? Napoleon caused their fear of foreigners ? Breath of language ? You need better info. This research is bologna !

[@brettrobinson2901]

Bologna huh? Must be why us lightweight history skimmers EAT IT UP! Mmmmm , easy skeezy history! Slurp,slurp!👄👅😜 GIMMEE MY MCNUGGET HISTORY!

[@nikolairubinskii6450]

Simon did get about half right, which is about half more than the rest of the world does. So I'd still give him a pat on the back for the effort.

[@malizlato]

not even 20 percent did he got right

[@IlliaDoroshenko12]

@@malizlato maybe you can make a video that is 100% right.

[@meofamily4]

It seems to me, @@IlliaDoroshenko12 , that Simon ought to have kept his mouth shut, given how little he knows about either the language or the history of Russia.

[@denispopov3627]

"Russians may not have as many words as some of the languages" What are you on about? Russian literature and poetry can hardly be translated into English precisely because of the fact that English is a much more limited language.

[@vertie2090]

English language has the largest vocabulary on the planet. Not trying to dispute Russian language anyhow

[@throwawayaccount1577]

Well there are enough words in English that is untranslatable to Russian too.

[@vertie2090]

@John Smith Finnish language has well over 10,000 variations of almost every word. The words vary according to context and subtle differences in meaning. Nobody would count those as separate words, otherwise no dictionary could hold even just a few Finnish words. I stand by my original statement

[@daniyarrakhimberdinov1149]

Vertie Well, English is the great language with an interesting history. It is very silly to compare languages with each other. But Russian has much more words than ordinary dictionaries say because any of word can transform and get a new form with new meaning.

[@Grom84]

@@vertie2090 how many there will be left of an actual "english" words if you'll remove all burrowed words from it from greek, latin, french, german languages and so on?

[@OakInch]

Lack of words for expression? I am not even kidding when I say there are 50 forms of every verb. There are literally 50 versions of every verb. Every GD verb. 50 forms. And they all have slightly different uses.

[@tamaraaa993]

i don't know which other Slavic language has them, but we in Balkans have different forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numbers too. "the case system" as they call it. 7 forms in singular and in plural lol

[@quantumedbox4341]

@@tamaraaa993 all slavic languages have it and even number of formes correspond to each other i think, he mean that one root word can have many and many variations due to ability to "build" a word somehow similar to german, for example

[@DrNothing23]

You're missing his point. He said there are few actual words, comparatively to other languages, but acknowledged each one has dozens of meanings potentially. You pretty much parroted exactly what he said. Try and listen rather than half listen and add your own incorrect meaning to the context.

[@OakInch]

@@DrNothing23 No dude. I speak Russian. Russian is known for its powerful abilities to express in literature, song, and poetry. It is NOT known for having only a few words. NOT REMOTELY. It is extremely complex with tons of words, variations of them, and full of words that can be traced many other languages. You need to pay attention and stop attempting to read things out of context. You are SO COMPLETELY WRONG. Just stop talking.

[@poe12]

Declinated forms a of a verb don't count

[@Kondakov]

1. Says that you should try to avoid stereotypes about Russia 2. Goes on to saying 10 stereotypical "facts" about Russia

[@DrNothing23]

Actually the things he says are completely counter to traditional Russian stereotypes. Do you even know that that word means?

[@Kondakov]

Do you? Right at the start, "Russian people never really had anything like democracy..." Throughout history russian people had about the same amount of democracy as the rest of Europe. Certainly more democracy than America had, just because we have longer history to consider. Russians not having any democracy is a stereotype stemming from perceiving Soviet Union as a dictatorship without any personal freedoms. Which is in itself a stereotype and is factually wrong. Soviet Union had equal right for men and women and no racial segregation while at the same time black people in America had to use special bathrooms designated for "colored people". Let's talk about russian people never really having anything like democracy. Riiiight. The rest of the video is on the same level of ignorance.

[@ilialioutov4377]

Indeed

[@phoenix5694]

@@Kondakov Right

[@Hromovlad1]

@@DrNothing23 Are you telling a Russian persona how to be Russian?

[@qayssmonaem]

At first I’m not Russian but I’ve been living in Moscow for seven years, you are talking nonsense,more than half of your facts are made up, so please next read more or ask more people just try to be sure of what you telling.

[@Miabia1000]

It’s funny, the foreigners are more upset about this video over the natural born Russians. Hmmm

[@fUtal1mistake]

Well, people living in places other that Moscow might disagree with you. Moscow is the place where all the money are flowing to. There is plenty of smaller cities and villages, where people might sometimes struggle to get a decent job, just because there are none.

[@christelheadington1136]

In other words, they're human beings.

[@jamjinn786]

Still trying to find the REAL difference to the west (well at least the UK that is)

[@TheTonyahawk]

Amen; 1 Earth 1 people

[@akehapkap6143]

Nono, you don't say? Of course they are.

[@AifDaimon]

Nope, less than that...

[@hemidas]

I know, shocking, isn't it.

[@MrHuman777]

You say - "After all, Russians may not have as many words as some languages, so they often use the same" Just stop talking. You are sad

[@ava3a13]

Well, actually they don't have many words, but Russian grammar makes it easier to conjunct and get a new ones, or make a pronouns much easier, which is seen from XIX literature to nowadays.

[@daniyarrakhimberdinov1149]

AVA3A You are wrong, Russian so has many words and variations of it. Russian include a lot of words from foreign countries and mix it, so the language become incredibly difficult and varied.

[@ava3a13]

@@daniyarrakhimberdinov1149 I don't think you understood me correctly. I said that there are not much words without mixing it or making a small changes, but Russian grammar gives you potential to change them and, also, get a new ones. And also, I don't think we speak about the same "Words". Literature and everyday words differentiate very much and what people like Gogol or Solovyov did to Russian language was accessible by grammatical constructs, not language having words.

[@ava3a13]

​@@daniyarrakhimberdinov1149 Я говорю про эту тему зная Русский язык и его граматику и, тем более, многие Русские словари покажут что есть приблизительно 150к слов. Это нечто если сравнять с Итальянским, Японским или Корейскими языками.

[@daniyarrakhimberdinov1149]

@@ava3a13 Возможно в других языках есть больше конкретных слов для описание некоторых явлений. Но когда мы говорим про богатство языка, здесь больше влияет активный ежедневный лексикон носителей, и по моему опыту в русском больше способов выразить свои мысли. А по поводу словарей, я читал, что например в английском официальном словаре, который считается в примерно в два раза больше чем русский, очень много сленговых и взаимствованных слов, в то время как в русском все намного строже, каждое слово должно пройти официальную комиссию "на принятие в русский язык"

[@Indarussiantv]

Somehow when trying to disprove stereotypes you manage to create new ones, nice. also "Russian lacks words." or "Has fewer words" wtf? Russian is the 5th language with the most words, so I don't even know what that is supposed to mean, with at least 5 to 6 variations of a word, and at least 2 substitutes it creates for a very diverse and rich language .... And, I won't even mention slang

[@richlee3777]

He didn't say that they lacked number of words. He said that the written word that they had didn't always line up with the spoken language. Unfortunately I only really speak English, and I don't really entirely understand how this makes sense, so I'm just pointing out that he was saying something different than your post.

[@gregorythoman8281]

I speak Russian. You are mistaken. It is extremely difficult to convey meaning in Russian when discussing complicated ideas. That is why there are so many "borrowed" words in Russian. Borrowed words occur in many languages. For example there are a huge number of French words used in English. But Russians need borrowed words to convey meaning because there are no words in Russian to convey meaning. Particularly difficult for westerners to understand is the multiple uses of the same word for different meaning. Pravda was used as an example in the video. However there are many other examples. The Russian word for "on" and "in" is the same. So Russians rely on context very heavily to figure out meaning.

[@ВладимирСеров-ч3у]

​@@gregorythoman8281 Stop lying !!! Russian language has a huge vocabulary. The richness of the Russian dictionary allows not only to accurately name a particular object, its features, various actions, etc., but also to Express a variety of shades of meaning, to show how the speaker evaluates the subject of speech. A classic of French literature by prosper mérimée (1803-1870), learn Russian language, said: "a Rich, sonorous, vibrant, flexibility accents and infinitely varied in onomatopoeia, capable of conveying the subtlest shades, endowed, like the Greek, almost limitless creative thinking, the Russian language seems designed for poetry Roerich said: "is it not surprising that the Russian word world is unanimous for both peacefulness and the universe? These concepts are consonant not because of the poverty of the language. Language the rich. They are unanimous in essence. The universe and peaceful creativity are inseparable.

[@AbcAbc-ii8zm]

Do no necesseraly agree with this comment - there are a lot of words with scientific narrative originating from latin and these words are just taken in many languages. There are not a lot of english words borrowed in russian.

[@Abcdefghijklmno4840]

IMHO to me Russian language is very brief. For example when you say I am a man or a woman you say. YA MUZCHINA or YA ZHENSHINA. I think that is the reason why Simon says they use few words.

[@brostoevsky22]

BTW Russian is a very rich language with lots of words. I've only studied it for 7 years. As most people they use only a certain amount of words for daily speech like English speakers. Just read Russian literature in Russian and you'll see how rich the language is. When times get tough, Russians get tougher. ~ Vladimir Pozner

[@user-hi2wu3cf6e]

Pozner isn't a Russian,he is a Jew

[@shamilmakhov6741]

@@user-hi2wu3cf6e you miss a thing. when jew is a nationality only, we have two words for nationality and nation that translate into the same word in english. that is, русский (nationality, 1 of 300+) and россиянин (a russian citizen) are both 'russian' in english. so, in this case, russian is translated as россиянин, not русский. back to the jews. israeli and jews mean different things, thus named differently. somehow it's not the case with 'russian' which means either nationality or citizenship, depending on the context. here, russians are 'russian citizens'

[@bertrano79]

I am not Russian and I have never been there... but I am convinced this is very misleading video as a lot of the "facts" even does not make any sence... for example I cant imagine any typical Russian to feel little bit Asian just because the country reach a vast amount of northern Asia... Canadians also dont feel little bit Innuits... Napoleon? who cares, who remember it? WW2 is the main thing, every family has somebody lost in that time, its still remembered and well documented... Propaganda.. ohh yes.. but look how Americans are being brainwashed... not sure if some lack of democracy really affect the personal freedom of the common citizen and we could talk about personal freedom in the USA too...

[@Russianportrait]

thank you for your comment !

[@burkanov]

Well, there is some "asian" in russians indeed. The thing is... well, the Golden Horde did not disappear, it assimilated and what you see today at the east of St.Petersburg is, in some way, rather western Asia than eastern Europe. Funnily, the real russians - if to judge by national history, are rather people of Poland and Slovakia.

[@KaxMisha]

Russian that grew up in Europe here. Thought this video was garbage, honestly. Stereotypes, generalizations and some outright mistakes mixed together. Don't look at this as some source of deep truth.

[@vertie2090]

maybe you can shed light on some of these things instead then?

[@NataHvid]

@@vertie2090 When all video can be called stupidity. There's no point in explaining where.

[@ВасилийДанилов-у8я]

@@vertie2090 for starters,Napoleon wasn't the most influential source of a "mistrust for foreigners". Mongols and Hitler did as much,if not even more. It was mostly a source of societal and cultural confusion and a reason for most of the political fuckups of Tsars in the 19th century. Read some of the books by Tolstoy if you want to understand why his point about Napoleon wasn't entirely legitimate. Rather,it was a major influence,but in a different way than he described. He didn't study post-Napoleon Russian culture,he studied western articles about Napoleonic invasions of Russia,and that is the reason why it sounds like a game of broken telephone to actual Russians. I can tell more about it if you are interested,though

[@ChaosCrash13]

Да нет, парень, ты для них всегда был и всегда будешь унтерменьшем) Что бы и как бы ты не делал. И для этого всегда найдется оправдание: азиат (кстати, а что такого плохого в людях, населяющих Азию? пока мне этого ни один западенец вразумительно не объяснил)), коммунист, схимник, язычник, варвар и все, что западной нациковской душеньке будет угодно)

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

@@NataHvid then clarify... don’t just complain to the wind

[@shelonnikgrumantov5061]

OMG that was so funny! Although you grabbed some concepts nearly right you twisted and misrepresented almost all facts you mentioned.) Russians are still frightened by Napoleon! (No, Hitler killed 27 million of Soviet people which was more impressive; however you are right that many Russians especially old ones still think “anything but war” - and this drives the nation to build up weapons - but this is not fear, this is the understanding of how bad the war is). Cyril and Methodius invented Russian alphabet! (No, probably, their pupils) and the written Russian language (No, Church Slavonic - based on the language of the South-Western Slavic nations, the closest analogy now is Croatian). They were Catholic monks! (No, the Christian church was divided much later, in 1054). Pushkin and even modern Russians still have trouble with written and oral language being different (No, the use of that invented written language mostly stopped at the beginning of 18 c. and of course some words were incorporated into Russian - the latter actually proved to be easily accumulating useful words from any other language). Slavophiles were opposing Francophiles! (No, Westerners, and the French language and style were not that popular after Napoleonic wars). And of course it was not that simple - both sides had bright people and, eventually, both sides won. And so on so forth.

[@_quit_2507]

I understood nothing you wrote

[@shelonnikgrumantov5061]

Lelouch D. Kazuma That’s ok I wrote in Russian

[@Firronox]

So why war and peace has so much French language in it?) it was and still is popular in Russia to know and use western languages and to adopt western culture. It started mostly after Peter the Great’s reforms.

[@lite4998]

@@Firronox The idea is that French language and culture stopped being popular after Napoleon's invasion. The last pro-european movement died in 1825 when the officers in St.Petersburg tried to seize power but failed. After that point and up to the Russian civil war it was all slavophiles.

[@shelonnikgrumantov5061]

Firronox The war and peace was written more than 50 years after Borodino and capture of Paris. And it was about times when French was THE language of Russian aristocracy who in some instances even preferred it to Russian. A Russian officer behind French lines dressed in the French uniform (like Denis Davydov) could easily join French near fire and talk to them - they were unable to recognize that he was NOT French. But the Westerners as a political and cultural movement formed in 1830s when French language was not very popular - which also does not mean that it was not studied, aristocratic children normally new several languages and French was definitely among them, just not THE language.

[@critictactic7090]

Thanks, Simon! Nice video. As a native Russian speaker, amateur poet and storyteller, I can assure you that Russian is an extremely rich language and saying that there’s a lack of words is outright ridiculous.

[@rko901000]

any tips to learn russian ?

[@fuzzyhair321]

lack of words is a english thing when things are lost in translation

[@MrsMargo97]

something there are no tips I can offer, only hard work, dedication and exposure. Actually, there is one tip: get yourself a Russian boyfriend or girlfriend

[@deezynar]

I didn't hear Simon say there is a lack of words. He said that Russian has fewer words than other languages, so each word has multiple meanings. I don't know if that is true, but that is what he said.

[@catherine_404]

@@deezynar and he was wrong. Russian is no less rich than any other living language; really, long languages are all equal in their expression power. Almost every language takes words from other languages for new concepts, just look at how "pure" English is.

[@idaliakulik]

Having read the comments, it warms my heart to see that a much bigger portion of the people than I'd originally expected understand Russians and Russia (despite the mainstream media coverage). Much better than this video presenter, in fact. Thank you guys, you made me feel better.

[@Russianportrait]

[@marillomontano6604]

I don't know. But Everytime you are taking about Russia/ USSR it always ends up on being a nonsense video.

[@Cookieslayer3000]

Russians are completely European. You can visit the most eastern big city of Russia (Vladivostok) and you'll see that Asian part of Russia is European as well.

[@ЛучшийТанк-ю5т]

Lol but 150 years ago Vladivostok belonged to China.

[@Cookieslayer3000]

@@ЛучшийТанк-ю5т Yeah, and there is no indication of that now so it is irrelevant

[@AlfredoDutti]

@@Cookieslayer3000, Chinese still calls Vladivostok as Haisenwai

[@ФеофанЭтополедолжнобытьзаполне]

@@AlfredoDutti we still call ukranians russians.

[@Cookieslayer3000]

@@AlfredoDutti They can call it whatever they want, as Феофан said, Russians consider Ukrainians as Russians - it does not mean that it's true

[@hukubis]

Sarcastic "pravda" is equal to english "really", that is interchangeble with: "deistviteljno", "neuzheli", "da nu", "v nature", "neuzhto" and about ten other interchangables that really have no analogs in english. So plese, check your sources before actively "pizdetj" (basicaly - lie, or, being more specific yap your moth, but instead of mouth the person in question use his alleged flappy vagina.) Also "poshlost" is something between "lewd"(the negative kind), "nasty" and in much rearer cases "useless"(as if to redicilous to even exist). Btw, I'm sick and tired of youtube algorithms forcefeeding me this bold, gay, illiterate, soy eating person with liberal vievs all the time, despite all of the blockings and dislikes on my part. The fact that our ancestors interbred with population of Siberian population, instead of commiting two centuries long genocide that took place in U.S., forces us to lean towards autoritarian political vievs. Because, if we don't keep them in check, some of the less civilized natives will continue with their practices of "bride stealing", "blood vegence", "women circumsizion"(radical muslims), "early marriges"(like 13-15 years old) and other nasty stuff that are currently being practiced in areas bordering Kazahstan, where all of it is still at large.

[@louis9116]

hukubis this is so true and deserves much more likes

[@marcusaureliusantoninus2597]

13-15 years old is not an "early" marriage. There were cases of as early as 5 years old, that's definitely screwed up

[@RedboRF]

very well said. nothing to add. thank you.

[@imrichandras5708]

a little bit harsh but hard to argue with :)

[@hukubis]

​@@donkeydongle7551 To be fair, the word "duty" also can be summarized both in a few words, and in a Konfucian esse about the right way to build society, but you have to be a very "special" person to bring up the latter in an informall dialog just to get your point across, especcially in a comment section. In Russian there is a proverb/principle. Краткость сеcтра таланта. Look it up.

[@el3m3nt115]

i have a couple russian fellows sitting beside me who would love it if you stopped making videos. however i think you should just understand what your taking about before you represent it as fact

[@quantumedbox4341]

as a suburban russian i don't see diffirences between "europeans" and myself i don't know where you see asian in european part new york is part indian due to migrants? nope people often live in diasporas and influenced each other not that much

[@Kida1367]

to be honest I disagree with the argument about Russian having fewer words. I'm fluent in 4 languages. Russian is one of them (not my native tongue though) and I'm always amazed at its vastness, especially when I try to translate Russian words or phrases into other languages. The most fascinating thing is that it seems more down to earth, since words that are common in Russian, are not that used or are extremely posh in English for example. Just an observation...

[@fivekopeks]

for example, i've been thinking, how to translate the expression "летать, словно птица". Not "летать, как птица", but using the word "словно". Speaking of limitations and poverty of the language

[@ComradKrapiva]

@@fivekopeks Безусловно русский язык богат образами, но если вы когда-либо глубоко погружались в философские, социологические, исторические или экономические тексты на английском или французском языке, то вы точно не сможете отрицать факт, что русский язык несмотря на все заимствования 18-19 века все еще испытывает недостаток в четкости определений многих понятий. И кстати чем like, virtual или наконец say уступают "словно" в приведенном вами выше примере?

[@MyPedorro]

You didn't mention WWI, the revolution, the civil war, and the NAZI invasion. One trauma after another.

[@russianmovieswithenglishsu4128]

And Western people seemingly aren't still aware about what the collapse of the Soviet Union was to the people and the crises that followed it. (hyperinflation, collapse of economy, social institutions and industries, unemployment, Chechen wars, wave of crime that ravaged the nation etc, etc.). I don't think all this was ever explained in popular videos like this one.

[@gryffindork9563]

My Grandfather’s family lost everything because of the revolution and they were sent to Siberia, my Grandfather escaped and eventually end up in Australia with my with my grandmother and Mum My Grandmother lost her daughter and mother because of a man made famine and she never seen them again because she was told everyone had been killed

[@dafttool]

Russian Movies With English Subtitles re: “wave of crime that ravaged the nation” You make it sound like the crime wave is in the past. Russia is a kleptocracy run by the Russian mob, which Putin is The Godfather. He became one of the richest men in the world by stealing from the Russian people, by having his fingers into everything, legal, illegal & everything in between

[@russianmovieswithenglishsu4128]

@@dafttool As a Russian who's lived through the 1990s I don't quite agree with you. And yes, the crime wave is in the past.

[@dafttool]

Russian Movies With English Subtitles You will have to do or say more than that to convince me of otherwise. Might I suggest you look into the “Panama Papers” to see where Putin & his criminal oligarchs have stolen & hidden their illicit funds. And then imagine how much better Russia would be today if those people in power weren’t siphoning away Russia’s wealth

[@joshualieberman1059]

I'm usually quite tolerant towards westerners doing videos like this and trying to understand Russia. But 50% of this is a total nonsense and 30% more is some exaggeration to a point when it makes no sense.

[@steveortiz1026]

i dont trust this guy especially about russia just look at his other videos and channels you will see

[@AVTurkin]

Is Russian simple and limited? I love you. Simple declaration of love in English. I love you (Я люблю тебя). Declaration of love in Russian. I you love (Я тебя люблю). The belief that you love this particular person. You love I (Тебя люблю я). When you convince you that you love, and others do not. In Russian, it is important not only the meaning of words, but also the way of constructing a sentence. So learn the language and read various sources of information before drawing conclusions. The more I watch your channel, the more convinced of the limited outlook of the author.

[@montinyek6554]

Out of the 8 languages that I speak, Russian is by far the most flexible and has the largest vocabulary since all words are generated by stems, with numerous suffixes and prefixes which allows for countless combinations. Also Russian literally has an infinite amount of swear words, you can even make up your own and they will make total sense grammatically.

[@steelbear2063]

As a Russian I would say our language is insanely rich, but not honestly flexible. For example in English you can put -er at the end of a word and that would become a job, doesn't work like that in Russian, as far as the "official" language is concerned. Basically we kinda stopped inventing words

[@steelbear2063]

On swear words I proudly agree

[@montinyek6554]

@@steelbear2063 в плане пластичности Русский намного флексибл чем Английский, ибо в Русском слова в предложении можно менять местами как угодно. Пример: я его увидел, увидел я его, я увидел его. А в инглише - I saw him и хрен че изменишь.

[@SALTrips]

Yes similar to Javanese.

[@patrickchubey3127]

You speak Russian? Maybe you can help me. There are things that Russians say in driving videos and there's no other way for me to understand them other than ask someone who speaks Russian. What these phrases sound like is as follows: Woy you mutt ..... nee who yah ..... ah who yay ..... yee butt. Can you please tell me what those things mean.

[@ljapb179]

Russians don’t have as many words as other languages? run, ran, running = Бежавшей, бежавшая, бежавшую, бежавшей, бежавшего, бежавшее, бегаю, бегающий, бегающего, бегающему, бегающим, бегающая, бегающей, бегающую, бегающею, бегающее, бегающих, бегающими, бегавший, бегавшего, бегавшему, бегавшим, бегавшем, бегавшая, бегавшею, бегавшую, бегавшими, бегите, бежав, убегающая, убегаю, бежать, бежал, бежала, бежали, бежит, бегут, бежало, бег, бегом, бегал, бегала, бегали, бегало, беговым, беговое, беговые, бегай, бегать, бега, убежал, убежала, убежали, убежавший, сбежал, сбежала, сбежали, сбегающий, убегающий, бегущая, бегущие, беговой, беговая, бегаем, бегайте, бегай, бегает, бегаешь, бегают, убегает, убегают, убегал, убегала, убегали, сбегать, сбегал, сбегала, сбегали, сбежались, беге, (у-, с-, в-, за-, при-)бежишь, (у-, с-, в-, за-, при-)бежим, (у-, с-, в-, за-, при-)бежите, бегущему, бегущего, бегущей, бегущее, бегущую, бегущих, , бегущею, бегущими, бегущим, бегущим, (у-, с-, в-, за-, при-)бежавший That's not all)))

[@karenr8539]

Whow, that's kinda discouraging...

[@Denis-mw9jy]

Ахаха

[@angeltensey]

The funny side is its not that complex. U only need to know parts and how to form words using them.

[@ВадимХолодов-з7р]

It's one of the strangest things the author says.

[@XOPOIIIO]

Maybe he meant word roots. Russian has very flexible word formation, using the same basic roots.

[@nickieshadowfaxbrooklyn5192]

A sloppy work, Simon. Way too many inaccuracies, thereby making the whole advocative try nullified.

[@NikolaAvramov]

It's a hate piece.

[@SofaKingShit]

+Nikola Avramov He lives in Tsjekkia. l am from Norway but lived 3 years there. The whole place drips with resentment for being forced to be a part of the Soviet empire, and that is the environment he is immersed in every moment.

[@NikolaAvramov]

@@SofaKingShit Well - the Germans and the British have to distract the Czechs from being robbed blind SOMEHOW, right?

[@lostintashkent]

I don't agree. I've lived among and next to Russians for the past 20 years (even speak Russian at home) and most of what Simon says makes sense to me! What do you find inaccurate?

[@austinsmith3011]

examples?

[@denisbeslimov2279]

Saint Cyril and Methodius developed the Glagolitic alphabet (based on the Greek alphabet). THEY WERE SLAVS and ORTHODOX, not catholic. The Cyrillic alphabet was developed in The Bulgarian Empire by their disciples , this was needed for the Bulgarians to convert into Orthodox religion. The Catholic church later recognized their work. Every Slavic country uses this alphabet, even if some modified it to better suit their phonetics or changed it for Latin alphabet.

[@zarni000]

Simon. have to say not up to your usual standards. This video was really sloppy research. I am sorry but I had to gape when you said "two catholic missionairies called Cyril and Methodius". Cyril and Methodius were neither Catholic nor missionairies. And on top of that they are not the ones that developed the Cyrillic. They were Orthodox monks. The Cyrillic was just named after them by the actual creators of the Cyrilic which were St Naum, St Kliment and some other Bulgarian monks in the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. Cyril and Methodius developed the Glagolithic which has little to nothing to do with the Cyrillic and is not in use for centuries now except in some obscure churches in Croatia apparently..

[@Marazmov]

Wow, your cultural outook seems to be formed back in 1930s, so much prejudice and several layers of propaganda mixed with rusophobia. Please, visit Russia and re-do your video!

[@ПолковникЗайцын]

Most came from Germans in pre-Peter era, then reinforced by Nazi propagandists working for the Third Reich and US and UK during Cold War

[@lanadecker8800]

Having a masters degree in Russian and literature, I can guarantee that written Russian language simply captures phonetic structure of it - not posing any limitations at all. In fact, there is no specific order words need to be arranged in, which allows you full freedom of expression.

[@erniebuchinski3614]

I'm a non-Russian who lives in a country (Finland) that has a lot of anti-Russian feeling because of what the Soviet Union did, and what Putin continues to do, apparently with the support of most Russians. (But who really knows how widespread his support actually is?) I don't share this negative feeling towards Russians, as in my opinion Europeans are among the last ones who should point fingers, given our history. I speak Russian fluenty (having learned it at college) and have studied Russian culture and history quite a bit. As a university lecturer who has taught many Russian students, I have rarely had any in my classes who fit the negative stereotypes that so many here have of Russians. Having said that, from my viewpoint this video seems inaccurate in many places. In addition to being poorly researched, it comes across to me somewhat as the work of an aplogist. We can, and should look at historical reasons to as why things are the way they are, but too often this is used to make excuses for current realities. (They're only like this because . . . ) Usually I like Simon's videos, as they are, at least to me, some of the more interesting ones out there. But this one should have been made more accurately and objectively. Perhaps the all-important "thumbs up" dynamic played too big of a role here, and substance was sacrificed for style. But what the hell - we all have our off days.

[@alth000]

As an insider, prior to 2014 (after which things started to wobble wildly) I made this estimation: 5~10% of ardent pro-putinist/pro-imperialists, 5~10% of ardent oppositionists, the rest - apolitical/dumb (but still were presented by the government as the consonant ones (by the means of statistical manipulations)).

[@carbrained]

Yep, as a Russian I agree 100%. And I can assure you that it's mostly the uneducated rural folk who are gullible enough to believe his puppet media. But their numbers are shrinking, and soon he won't even have 20% of public support after the new taxes come around next year. Russians are both lazy and scared to go out and do something about it... Up to a point

[@NikolaAvramov]

Simon is obsessed with racist hate pieces about Russians. I think this is a 3rd one that I've seen.

[@tolvajakos]

I think he meant to level the grounds by going overboard. But I agree, it does seem like an apologist perspective. Watch his "giving too much credit to the nazi army" or something like that video as well. I had the same feeling. However, objectivity is really hard to achieve, in fact, I don't think it exists. You can try to produce content that overrides your bias, but you can only do it as much as you see it. But if you saw that you were biassed, you would not be biassed in the first place. Do you get what I mean? I believe this is how people with even the best intentions end up creating content like this one. I see it happen all the time and I am quite sure I make the same mistake myself.

[@NikolaAvramov]

@@tolvajakos "Top 10 reasons to fear Russia". Reason no. 7: "Russians are hard to kill". Simon. On this channel. Is it really that hard to not think that the world needs a nation killed?

[@dieterbruls4091]

‘10 ways the Russians are misunderstood by TopTenz’ would have been a more appropriate title. After watching the video I got the feeling that you are thinking about Russians as some kind of a breed of dogs.

[@eugeneganshin2934]

Well, jews really don't like Russians.

[@dieterbruls4091]

Eugene Ganshin Simplifying the behaviour of people to their ethnicity is called racism. Did you know that?

[@eugeneganshin2934]

@@dieterbruls4091 what can i say if they really don't like Russia? I never met a single jew that likes my homeland.

[@ОльгаСибирская-ш1т]

Ну да, евреев же русские прокляли..... Или нет?, Ах, да, это сделала Европа, католики, я и забыла......

[@Kitsts]

@@eugeneganshin2934 I`m russian, and my friend is jew. All of her family live in Russia and in France, and all of them love Russia very much. Особенно Тарусу и места рядом с Окой, у них там дача. Если тебе будет особенно интересно проверить эту информацию лично, могу познакомить.

[@-----Alcatraz------]

7:43 They were Eastern Orthodox(Greek Orthodox to be precise) not Catholic . Seriously who was doing the research for this subject?

[@kappapride6332]

Being used to hardships only worsens the ableism in Russia. And not to mention mental health problems. It becomes a competition of who has it worse the moment you talk about your struggles. When you have an "invisible condition" and are undiagnosed you cannot escape ableist remarks whatsoever. Doesn't help that we have a very low awareness of these conditions and some like autism are not diagnosed in adults. "Yes, things are hard, but I worked hard and turned out fine", "Well, be thankful you don't experience X", "I was X but I did it and so can you"

[@heritagecosmos5371]

Well, wathing this video, i understand that education on West is quite bad, since Cyrill and Mephodiy are Caltholics, and 5 % nomadic asian tribes living in Arctic in tents who didn`t have their own alphabet when russians came, had influence entire Eastern European culture ( since all Slavic people share the same more or less mentality). Linguists will be dissapointed too knowing that russian language is poor, and probably disagree too)

[@wren2900]

I do not think Russia is controversial . I think you are controversial.

[@NostalgicMem0ries]

if russia in controversial, then i have no words to describe usa or uk....

[@Hand-in-Shot_Productions]

The comment sections seem to agree! I have not met anyone from Russia, but I can say that judging by the consensus of this comment section, "Russian-ness" is more complicated than even this video says, and a world more complicated than the "Slavic", dictator-loving, vodka-drinking caricatures that populate the American films and memes!

[@hamzaferoz6162]

Thank You Russia. For the great torrents

[@pteppig]

and crypto currency. Cheap nuclear energy and easy to cool in winter.

[@Chris-es3wf]

Russia didn't invent crypto currency bruh

[@10kkk_24]

You're welcome.

[@ascendedbro1828]

++ Have you guys heard of Russian great game torrent makers called R.G.Mechanics?

[@hamzaferoz6162]

@@ascendedbro1828 Nope

[@rqasob]

I bet, you've never seen real Russian :) As well you dont really know their history and culture.

[@Avroveks]

Про русский язык Пётр Петрович Петухов, поручик пятьдесят пятого Подольского пехотного полка, получил по почте письмо, полное приятных пожеланий. «Приезжайте, - писала прелестная Полина Павловна Перепёлкина, - поговорим, помечтаем, потанцуем, погуляем, посетим полузабытый, полузаросший пруд, порыбачим. Приезжайте, Пётр Петрович, поскорее погостить». Петухову предложение понравилось. Прикинул: приеду. Прихватил полуистёртый полевой плащ, подумал: пригодится. Поезд прибыл после полудня. Принял Петра Петровича почтеннейший папа Полины Павловны, Павел Пантелеймонович. «Пожалуйста, Пётр Петрович, присаживайтесь поудобнее», - проговорил папаша. Подошёл плешивенький племянник, представился: «Порфирий Платонович Поликарпов. Просим, просим». Появилась прелестная Полина. Полные плечи прикрывал прозрачный персидский платок. Поговорили, пошутили, пригласили пообедать. Подали пельмени, плов, пикули, печёнку, паштет, пирожки, пирожное, пол-литра померанцевой. Плотно пообедали. Пётр Петрович почувствовал приятное пресыщение. После приёма пищи, после плотного перекуса Полина Павловна пригласила Петра Петровича прогуляться по парку. Перед парком простирался полузабытый полузаросший пруд. Прокатились под парусами. После плавания по пруду пошли погулять по парку. «Присядем», - предложила Полина Павловна. Присели. Полина Павловна придвинулась поближе. Посидели, помолчали. Прозвучал первый поцелуй. Пётр Петрович притомился, предложил полежать, подстелил полуистёртый полевой плащ, подумал: пригодился. Полежали, повалялись, повлюблялись. «Пётр Петрович - проказник, прохвост», - привычно проговорила Полина Павловна. «Поженим, поженим!», - прошептал плешивенький племянник. «Поженим, поженим», - пробасил подошедший папаша. Пётр Петрович побледнел, пошатнулся, потом побежал прочь. Побежав, подумал: «Полина Петровна - прекрасная партия, полноте париться». Перед Петром Петровичем промелькнула перспектива получить прекрасное поместье. Поспешил послать предложение. Полина Павловна приняла предложение, позже поженились. Приятели приходили поздравлять, приносили подарки. Передавая пакет, приговаривали: «Прекрасная пара».

[@denislushch6905]

Nicely done! I would reply in a similar fashion in English but sadly that is not possible.

[@danchkovckoe]

Эй! Там много приставок "По" - нечестно! Это подоплёка!

[@NatalyaPD]

The story is written in words with the same russian letter " п"

[@danchkovckoe]

@@NatalyaPD by the way... подоплёка... под-о-плёка. What is плёка?

[@Maxsell96]

@@danchkovckoe подоплёка - the underlying cause, the basis, the essence of something.

[@BUCHACHO1900]

Author, I speak below in Russian, all the words in this verse begin with the letter "P". The rules of language and grammar are observed correctly. Throw me the same thing in English.Go... Пётр Петрович Петухов, поручик пятьдесят пятого Подольского пехотного полка, получил по почте письмо, полное приятных пожеланий. «Приезжайте, - писала прелестная Полина Павловна Перепёлкина, - поговорим, помечтаем, потанцуем, погуляем, посетим полузабытый, полузаросший пруд, порыбачим. Приезжайте, Пётр Петрович, поскорее погостить». Петухову предложение понравилось. Прикинул: приеду. Прихватил полуистёртый полевой плащ, подумал: пригодится. Поезд прибыл после полудня. Принял Петра Петровича почтеннейший папа Полины Павловны, Павел Пантелеймонович. «Пожалуйста, Пётр Петрович, присаживайтесь поудобнее», - проговорил папаша. Подошёл плешивенький племянник, представился: «Порфирий Платонович Поликарпов. Просим, просим». Появилась прелестная Полина. Полные плечи прикрывал прозрачный персидский платок. Поговорили, пошутили, пригласили пообедать. Подали пельмени, плов, пикули, печёнку, паштет, пирожки, пирожное, пол-литра померанцевой. Плотно пообедали. Пётр Петрович почувствовал приятное пресыщение. После приёма пищи, после плотного перекуса Полина Павловна пригласила Петра Петровича прогуляться по парку. Перед парком простирался полузабытый полузаросший пруд. Прокатились под парусами. После плавания по пруду пошли погулять по парку. «Присядем», - предложила Полина Павловна. Присели. Полина Павловна придвинулась поближе. Посидели, помолчали. Прозвучал первый поцелуй. Пётр Петрович притомился, предложил полежать, подстелил полуистёртый полевой плащ, подумал: пригодился. Полежали, повалялись, повлюблялись. «Пётр Петрович - проказник, прохвост», - привычно проговорила Полина Павловна. «Поженим, поженим!», - прошептал плешивенький племянник. «Поженим, поженим», - пробасил подошедший папаша. Пётр Петрович побледнел, пошатнулся, потом побежал прочь. Побежав, подумал: «Полина Петровна - прекрасная партия, полноте париться». Перед Петром Петровичем промелькнула перспектива получить прекрасное поместье. Поспешил послать предложение. Полина Павловна приняла предложение, позже поженились. Приятели приходили поздравлять, приносили подарки. Передавая пакет, приговаривали: «Прекрасная пара».

[@maps9]

Дринкингс дело говорит..)

[@sighberian5463]

A bunch of backhanded compliments delivered in a patronizing tone, wouldn't expect any less from this guy.

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Traditionally, Russians have been great lovers of poetry. The grammar of the Russian language makes it particularly suitable for poetry, e.g., because of the word endings for many grammatical cases. Russians also have a great mathematics and engineering tradition. A major boost was the long-term employment in St. Petersburg of Swiss mathematicians Euler and two of Bernoulli's mathematician sons. Some great Russian mathematicians, such as Lyapunov, wrote their technical papers in French, and the Russian nobility often also used French. Russian philosophy often had major Asian influence, as some philosophers did some traveling Eastward. Gurdjieff being one of the better traveled of these philosophers. Many Russians love their vodka, and during the Soviet breakup, the shortage of vodka was often on the Kremlin's agenda to resolve. Finally, at the conclusion of WWII, Stalin hosted a reception for the British diplomats. At each place at the banquet table there was a new, sealed bottle of vodka. Before long, the invitees were drunk and shooting-off their mouths. Churchill offered a toast to Stalin as the most humane man in the room. The British ambassador sitting near Stalin collapsed on the table and accidently picked-up Stalin's vodka bottle and drank from it. It was water. That is so Russian. Stalin was soberly taking it all in. This particular account was published by a member of that diplomatic corps in American Heritage magazine a dozen or so years ago, as I recall.

[@nickieshadowfaxbrooklyn5192]

Robert Schlesinger so it happens that I stole Stalin's trick? I play every trick to avoid vodka anywhere where there's water nearby.

[@anonuser4806]

Trauma? LOL. Us Russians didn't get " traumatized " we just got stricter. And no, we " don't like to drink ", their are people who drink and people who don't and that goes for every country.

[@vertie2090]

Russia has statistically the 4th highest alcohol consumption per capita in the world. I believe it's high enough for a rough generalization that "Russians like to drink".

[@mstislawaaoo733]

@@vertie2090 Who made those statistics and how?

[@belkas8829]

Yes, it was 10 years ago. Now Russia has statistically the 15th highest alcohol consumption per capita in the world

[@Jr.Casper]

Dear residents of this Glorious Planet !!! Do not give in to political propaganda! Not a single person from my environment, my Country (Russia), wishes anyone evil and war! There are both evil and envious people, as in all countries of the world! Love each other without nationalities! Best regards from Russia!

[@ChaosCrash13]

Ну и дурак. Беззубых презирают, жестоких - боятся и уважают. Для примера, против Вилкобритании и британцев, давно лишившейся силы, но в свое время творившей знатный беспредел, не вякает ни одна падла. Тогда как против России и русских, все время какую-то дурацкую политкорректность соблюдающих и жалеющие чужих (а почему не своих?), не высрались только что пингвины в Антарктиде.

[@hiroyoshi00]

Wow, the bit about the language is totally wrong from start to finish!! Even Wikipedia is a better source of information than this. I studied history of Russian language at university and this is almost kind of insulting to hear.

[@bobilyan]

What does make you think that Saint Cyril and Methodius were Catholics monks?! They were Byzantium monks lived in the time long before Christianity became divided on Orthodox and Catholicism. And I will share you a secret, they didn't create the Cyrillic Alphabet but the so-called Glagolica (Glagolitic script). Who and when created Cyrillic Alphabet worths to be a topic for some of your next video clips. Another hint, they weren't Russians.))) Thank you for enlighting us on topics that we didn't imagine to exist!

[@FelixMerivel]

Yup, the actual Cyrillic alphabet we use today looks pretty much nothing like the alphabet Cyril and Methodius created. Now it looks almost... how shall I say it. Greek.

[@bobilyan]

FelixMerivel, maybe, but don't tell the Russians that it is a Greek invention. First, it isn't true. Second, it doesn't sound Greek to Greeks either.)))

[@45032024230240]

bobilyan an alphabet ? doesn’t ? sound ? C O M E O N!

[@bobilyan]

Max Skibitskiy help me as I am lost. How to say: "It's all Greek to me." if you are Greek?

[@ShamanKish]

@@bobilyan "Spanish villages"!

[@hamzaferoz6162]

Russians are one Hardy Nation. They never gave up They never caved in. That's why they are so strong.

[@realramas]

Hamza Feroz well they gave up quite a few times, for example when they tried to capture and invade Finland, Finland kicked comunist asses very hard and they run back home with tail between legs

[@averagejoeschmoe9186]

They have given up a plenty of times but they could adapt and just put up with it.

[@Loreless]

@@realramas are Finns really believe in it? Russia won the Winter war and then Continental war as a parts of ww2. Karelia is Russian part now

[@realramas]

A Malevolent Finland is russia? you crazy? its independand normal country like any other western europe country with payments 10 times higher compared to russia, freedom and so on.

[@c-b.s.7624]

​@@averagejoeschmoe9186 when taking into account that one WWII German soldier killed 6 Russian soldiers there is not so much which a Russian can be proud of. Its like a street fight where 6 guys are beating up one. I am proud that we Germans managed to withstand and fight 6 years with a whole bunch of nations. Thats real strength.

[@adamhradil7923]

Cyril and Methodius were Greek Orthodox, not Catholic.

[@basiroffvlad]

Hello friend. I'm Russian from Moscow. In Russian, you can make a story of only 10 pages of verbs and it will make sense and will be very interesting. And you can make a story where all the words will start with the same letter. Say it again in English??????? ))))))))))))

[@waltertaljaard1488]

Sorry, but did the author of this video ever made an attempt of studying the Russian language? I did and can tell you that it is at least as rich as French and as precise as German. On the other hand very poetic and imaginary, with an abundance of nuances and a vulgar idiom which is hilariously obscene and devastatingly insulting. The late great R. Lee Ermey in ''Full Metal Jacket'' could actually have learned a thing or two from a Russian collegue NCO in this respect.

[@alicemusurivschi9629]

aahahhahhhhhahahahah, 100%

[@BigChiefWiggles]

Hard times breed hard men and Russia went through some of the hardest times on the planet almost nonstop for well over 100 years, do not poke the bear, never poke the bear, the bear isnt mean by nature but if you make him mad he will rip you apart and eat you alive ... because he is a bear.

[@dmitrynutels9340]

Nearly 1000 years. Mongols, Teutonic knights, various imported czars who despised all things Slavic, Sweden, Napoleon, Germany #1, Germany #2, Bolsheviks/Communists, oligarchy

[@pashapasovski5860]

Pravda means justice and Russian language is one of the richest most beautiful languages! Just check out the great number of Russian writers!

[@berlinlooks]

One of the biggest issues with this video is, that Russians, being Europeans/Slavs don’t consider themselves being Asians at all. For most of them it’s an insult. The larger part of this “Asian” thing is German WW1 and WW2 Hitler propaganda about the “Asian hordes” etc. which was later simply adopted by the US during the Cold War. It is fundamentally wrong, insulting and super russophobic. This video is completely BS.

[@michaelfokin5500]

how on Earth a video designed to be educational regarding misinformation can be full of so many stereotypes and inaccuracies is beyond me

[@gershonbass6004]

it's amazing how can talk such drivel with such smart look

[@olgamihajlova3577]

I am Russian, but I live in Holland and I can assue you that in Russia they have more freedom of speech than in Western Europe. And what a stupid thing it is to say that Napoleon scarred Russians forever! What a naive video!

[@ОльгаСибирская-ш1т]

Это русские оставили французам "Бистро"...

[@hugochaviz79]

Боже, дай ему мозгов...

[@morgothbauglirthemasteroft4354]

To od boga nema bratko Rusi :)

[@t.on.y]

@@morgothbauglirthemasteroft4354 )

[@НимайКараваев]

From russian point of view, that was a pile of cliché and missunderstatements which kinda agrees with topic. Second world war is by far most influencing for Russia among any others and Napoleon mentioned often in context with Hitler. Uh, I can correct almost every one point...

[@Tatiana_Poplevina]

Скажу по -русски, в силу, как ты заявляешь "скудности" моего языка: Ты безграмотный и неумный человек. Если не разбираешься в теме, нечего лезть в неё. Учи материал, прежде чем. что-то рассказывать про страну.

[@Russianportrait]

это хайп!

[@bobbymelancholic7621]

Мне тебя жалко.

[@ПАУК-о2я]

Красава

[@ПАУК-о2я]

ахахах, сука, орнул в голос xD

[@Sprite_525]

He really said “they may look like us, but their minds are sort of Asian” bruh lol 😆

[@artyomyug3495]

Только что я придумал слово, для своей ЖЕНЫ. Позвонил и сказал ей, "Приеду с работы и ЗАОБНИМУЧАЮ ТЕБЯ" :). Русский язык на столько многообразен, что любой может придумывать слова. И каждый сможет понять его значение.

[@Freez_Izzy]

I'm from Russia. We people and we the same. Mostly misunderstanding is in cultural and social difference. And that video sounds like "propoganda" from tv-expert who barely know subject. Good try, but nope.

[@augiegirl1]

My Husband's best man, who, like my mom's family, is of mostly Scandinavian ancestry (my dad has 100% German ancestry), said one time that people of northern-European ancestry (which would include Russians) GENETICALLY have a high tolerance for alcohol.

[@adamralica4968]

Its so cute when one of the biggest russian hatters try to explain them :D This is a great step forward for him

[@ddiesel1836]

I have been to Russia and it is right up there in terms of beauty, security and safety with it's Western European counterparts. Maybe even more so. But not when it comes to Tourism. While there are many tourists in Russia (mostly Chinese and from India) ; there should have been much more. I blame the Western Media's negative portrayal of Russia that contributes to this. Just watch one of the BBC's featured specials on Russia and you'll know what i'm talking about

[@UhtredOfBamburgh]

Russia keeps its big cities nice for tourists with money. Its a nice distraction for the other 12000 kilometers long of land they stole from other nations and the bordering countries they've committed massive genocides in.

[@billiondollardan]

Poshlost is like that commercial where the Russian guy had a tiny giraffe as a pet. Opulence, I has it

[@Pingolinou]

Poshlost exists (albeit as a different word) in other Eastern European countries too. Bahat in Serbian for instance - Sponzorusha for female who chases money. Also, the Russian mindset to struggle I think comes from history....The Mongol Horde, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Swedes, French, Germans, Turks, English........all of these nations invaded them, controlled them.....but I think their biggest source of this 'ethos' is from serfdom. 90% of Russians were all serfs. Its actually quite fascinating, how when you speak to many Russians, they have no idea of their lineage before say, the Revolution. Only the ones who were of the wealthy, tsarists lineage would have photographs or portraits........ So yeah, when you were a serf for half a millennia, that sort of gets drilled into your DNA to be OK with little and be OK with struggle day to day without much complaint. As for not wanting to do any confrontation with the government....this is more or less true but its changing with the new generation who mostly only knows of peace. Also, I do not think its really part of their Ethos, but more part of the generations that lived under the communist rule. You simply cant say that it is, because at the end of the day, there was a revolution against the Tsar - which ended up more bloody than that of the French Revolution (The Civil War). Also Russians are way too scarred to do anything against the government anymore. The collapse of Soviet Union, The revolution, its just way too much. Most Russians just want a form of stability and for them not to worry about whether they have the roubles to buy bread tomorrow or not. Only the millennial's do not know of this pain, the rest of generations alive today however do. And nobody wants to go back to that by challenging Putin. So, Putin to many can get away with a lot of things....let him. At least the country is stable, and we ain't starving + Bonus we are back on the world stage. Woo.

[@MyPedorro]

5 stars

[@user-hi2wu3cf6e]

Многа букаф

[@user-hi2wu3cf6e]

@Aleksei Gribko Битва при Молодях* Учите матчасть

[@ceu160193]

Most of that is true, and yes: Putin is unchallenged, because 90-s were a nightmare for many, so people don't want returning to it.

[@JudeNance]

Thanks 😊

[@stephenparallox]

My mother lived in Soviet controlled Poland, and told me there was a saying, roughly translated: There is no Pravda in Pravda.

[@MrHuman777]

Dude... you really know nothing about us...

[@UKinQ8Gaming]

I actually like russians from what ive studied about them. Id feel safer in russia than some parts of europe. They know how to deal with outsiders who dont tow the line. Its such a vast and beautiful country also. A lot of the west have been brainwashed into thinking they are all commies' but theres probably more dangerous commies' in europe.

[@ericthompson3982]

This aged... interestingly.

[@ozgurerdogan3328]

I lived in Russia, 1 year I studied Russian language in a Russian university. What I think about Russian people. Firstly yes they are little bit cold but it is not due to cold weather. Russian people are very sceptical and trust someone is too hard to Russian people. But after trusting someone then they became your best and trusted friend. Secondly Russian people are generally not prejudiced. I think it is because there are more than 100 different ethnicities live there and also Russian people are very aware of propoganda. What is pity that in Europe and America people are really so stupid who are easily affected by propoganda. I met many Russians and believe me they are very very careful people and to deceive them so hard. All time in western main media say Russian propaganda but what this western media do is pure propaganda. What I saw in Russians, they are very sincere, they don't act like actor, very direct and openminded people. Agressive Russian man is succesfull western propoganda. Of course there are some negative sides of Russian people but which nation in world is perfect? Noone is perfect. My conclusion is that Russian people mostly trusted, sincere and normal people.

[@russellwatkins3170]

Freedom and democracy aren't synonymous. That there is often a correlation doesn't mean one naturally follows the other. One can vote to be enslaved.

[@guapelea]

I guess you prefer freedom AND dictatorship. There are many dictators saying their peoples are free. All of them, in fact.

[@xSPiTFiRE42x]

Having a Russian background, I agree with some things, but there are other things that the video doesn't talk about that I feel should be in top 10. E.g. many oligarchs got their wealth from the break up of the Soviet union, so the government owned companies went to individuals and the wealth wasn't distributed to the people. Corruption is cultural in Russia, you can buy your way through college or bribe an officer, which is also a byproduct of the struggles through socialist times.

[@xillOllix]

Corruption is cultural in Russia and you can buy your way through college? You mean just like Felicity Huffman and many others who were involved in a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal in US? Corruption exists everywhere. In countries with better policing it tends to be a lot more sophisticated.

[@xSPiTFiRE42x]

@@xillOllix Of course it exists everywhere, but in some places it is normalized and accepted, to a point that you don't need to know one famous case, it is expected from everyone. Bribing is very common, you can expect to be able to bribe any cop that stops you.

[@mariapetrova8671]

Wow, how predictable it is, a westerner creating more lies while talking about existing stereotypes on Russia.

[@EasedBluntman]

9:00 wrong, for answer see. alcoholism (noun)

[@vzhurkin]

So many understanding below this video about misunderstanding... Love you guys!) Who needs barriers between us in nowadays?))

[@renesajan]

A very stimulating and genuinely novel video. Well researched, thank you.

[@eviljods]

That was very interesting :)

[@gurchtschalllly]

SADLY THIS VIDEO CREATES MORE STEREOTYPES THAN it debunks:(

[@sushestvobezvolnoe]

Cyril and Methodius aren't catholic missionaires. Poshlost translates as vulgarity pretty strictly. Overall the video is dumb

[@bukkaratsuppa6414]

11:14 > After all, Russian may not have as many words as some other languages, so they often use the same word to mean many different thigs? Really? Are you freaking serious? Is this coming from an arab or a chinese? Now tell me, egghead, what's the difference between 'pravda' and 'istina'? In English, yes.

[@organaizerorgan9693]

I'm from Russia. This guy sounds like he has read some books but what he is saying just shows that there is a big mess inside his head. This video has something but little of connection to reality

[@RussianLearnsYou]

Dude, we've got a lot of words what the hell

[@afraniy]

Can you please provide the reference to a study that shows how Russian language makes it harder for speaker to articulate what he intends to say? That fact was a surprise for me. I leave in both Russian and English languages. I don't see a difference in expression power of these two languages.

[@meofamily4]

Face it, this entire video is pretty useless.

[@afraniy]

@@meofamily4 Yep. I would say these "facts" are gross oversimplifications of incredibly complex issues. Take for example the fact 9. There is a indeed an old debate in Russian culture about identity: are they Europeans, Asians or are on some unique path. Already In 18 century they were talking about this. It is question of morals, political system, about value of freedom and human life etc. This question goes deep into Russian culture. Reducing it to mere geography doesn't explain anything. It is just misleading.

[@hicknopunk]

As a country person, struggling and getting by is an American cultural value....maybe it is just a country value? Also, I am used to a life of very few options and being happy with what I have. I have only had wired internet for a few years for example as there were no phone lines in the area and it was very expensive to have them created to get to your property.

[@Shiljamannn]

Cyril and Methodius were Greeks/Byzants , and weren't catholic, as in their time (9th century) there was no catholicism as it is since 11th century. They were representing the orthodox christian fate.

[@fgjjdgb3949]

2:33 Here it is worth adding that in our ENTIRE history, there have been attacks and occupation by European and Asian aggressors, in addition to the mentioned ones, there were also Tatar-Mongols, Swedes, Poles, Teutonic knights, the Kaiser and others. We are not paranoid, a rich military history and harsh conditions have taught us to defend our lives, freedom and independence, we are proud and do not want to prostrate ourselves before those who have sharpened their grudge against us for so many years, the more we defended ourselves and the more the stakes rose, the more pressure was put on us by other countries, to recall at least the notorious US and its plans for the nuclear erasure of ALL OF US. That's why we have the principle that if for an American or a European, freedom is when your personal life and the market are free, then for us, freedom is when we are not pushed around by foreigners exploiting or punishing.

[@guapelea]

Yes, you are the chosen people. Always the victim of external evil. 😢

[@fgjjdgb3949]

@@guapelea No, we are not a chosen people, this does not happen in life, we have full of our own shortcomings from corruption and unwillingness to develop the state, to the conquests in the past, the horrors of Avgan and the shameful Finnish war, as well as the moral decline of the population and the problems of society. Everybody has been talking about the folly of God's chosen country for a long time. I am for scientific understanding of the world and modern humanistic ideas. And we certainly don’t want to feel like a victim, cultural depression is a problem of our entire society, but I don’t want to feel like a victim, and even more so to associate external opponents with “evil”, this is not scientific again, everyone has different reasons, first of all political and economic, I hope we will all be able to deal with the excessive non-normative arbitrariness of individual systemic personalities.