\u0413\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d, \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0449 \u2013 \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0439 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043a? <\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s that old dilemma again \u2013 how do you approach a Russian in a courteous and politically correct manner? Saying \u2018comrade\u2019 to anyone anywhere after 1992 without feeling a tinge of irony is impossible, and even though the titles used before the October Revolution, such as \u00ab\u0433\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d\u00bb<\/i> [mister] and \u00ab\u0433\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430\u00bb<\/i> [miss, mrs], have started their return back into society, they have yet to shed that touch of sarcasm against the upper-class so common during 70 years of Soviet Union. Anyone who has survived at least a slender course of the basics in Russian language can\u2019t spend a month in Russia without coming face to face with this dilemma. For example: you ask a male stranger standing with his back turned against you what the time is by using the common phrase: \u00ab\u041c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0439 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043a, \u0432\u044b \u043c\u043d\u0435 \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0436\u0435\u0442\u0435, \u043a\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0440\u044b\u0439 \u0447\u0430\u0441?\u00bb <\/i>[Young man, won\u2019t you tell me what time it is?] The \u201cyoung man\u201d turns around and it becomes clear that when he actually was a \u201cyoung man\u201d the standard phrase used for talking to strangers was indeed \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0449. You smile an awkward smile as if you meant it as a compliment while he tells you, as if nothing happened, that it\u2019s a quarter past five. While shopping over the counter in smaller grocery shops the very same thing will happen \u2013 with the opposite sex. The first couple of times when you direct the question: \u00ab\u0414\u0435\u0432\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0430, \u0441\u043a\u043e\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0441\u0442\u043e\u0438\u0442 \u0432\u043e\u043d \u0442\u0430 \u0448\u043e\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430\u0434\u043a\u0430?\u00bb<\/i> [Girl, how much does that chocolate bar over there cost?] to a woman clearly long since ready to retire may be uncomfortable and sometimes you might almost want to say \u00ab\u0436\u0435\u043d\u0449\u0438\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/i> [woman] <\/i>instead. This is, however, not to be recommended. Either you accept that in public every Russian citizen has the right to be eternally young, or you switch to using the more suitable, from a Western point of view, phrase for opening a conversation: \u00ab\u0418\u0437\u0432\u0438\u043d\u0438\u0442\u0435\u2026\u00bb<\/i> [Excuse me\u2026].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u0413\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d, \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0449 \u2013 \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0439 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043a? It\u2019s that old dilemma again \u2013 how do you approach a Russian in a courteous and politically correct manner? Saying \u2018comrade\u2019 to anyone anywhere after 1992 without feeling a tinge of irony is impossible, and even though the titles used before the October Revolution, such as \u00ab\u0433\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d\u00bb [mister] and \u00ab\u0433\u043e\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430\u00bb…<\/p>\n