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Human Nature, Russia

Russia – the streets without white bears

posted by Aleksandra Wisniewska
Jul 16, 2018 3469 0 0
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Metallic sounds of trombones and a rhythmic beat of drums. Loud cries in a foreign language. White and green wigs and jerseys in the same colours. The large crowd of supporters of the Nigeria national team celebrates their victory in the match against Iceland. The white and green wave floods Moscow’s Red Square.

June and July in Russia are all about the FIFA world cup. Hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the globe are coming over to support their teams, but also to see Russia with their own eyes. This “bear” of the East, which is as frightening to many as it is impressive and mysterious.

It is the same for me. I know Russia only from stories heard or read. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them – pejorative. Before, me and my husband, set off on our journey “in the ambulance” around the world, we had ears full of warnings. About the border control, whose checks would stop us for at least two days; about corrupt police who are fishing for bribes; about the roads, or rather the lack of such; about Russian hooligans, who are equal to bandits and, finally, about racist and hostile – especially towards Poles – citizens of the country.

Considering the historical and even present turmoil in Poland and Russia relationship, I was afraid the most of the latter.
The first opportunity for a nationalist clash appeared in the fan zone in Moscow. On a dozen giant screens hung against the background of an impressive university building, we watched the pre-Poland games. Of course, we were sporting white and red jerseys and proudly displaying our national flag.

“Oh! You from Polsza”, we heard behind us.
“Da, from Polsza.”
“Let’s go and get a drink, then. For your victory!”

We followed our new friend who introduced us to the next and the next one. And so it went. We drank together for the victory over the Colombians. Together, we drowned sorrows when it turned out that it’s not going to happen. Together we took photos with fans of Nigeria, Colombia, Japan and England. On faces, forearms and wherever there was a free spot we exchanged streaks of national colours.

The only stir in the newly established international relations was the question:

“And our monuments in Polsza? Why do you destroy them like that?”, one of our new pals inquired, clearly embittered.

While his companion tried to tell him to let it go and drink some more instead; while the fury of justice started to swell inside me, Andrzej simply answered:

“What do you mean, ‘why’? After all, it is your army that against the German attacked us in 1939, and then for almost 45 years, you held us in a steel grip.”

An expression of utter surprise and confusion fell on our interlocutor’s face. And myself? I got a moment of quite an epiphany.

How can I get mad at a man, maybe only about a decade older than I am, who was brought up in the ignorance imposed by his own country? How should I argue with a man who was taught from the early age, that the Second World War – or, as he knows it, the Great Patriotic War – began in 1941, when Hitler suddenly attacked his ally. That the Red Army was the hero of the nations because it stopped the Third Reich. That after the war, the USSR had to “take care” of the countries of the Eastern Bloc because they were too weak for independent functioning.

The decades of being fed with twisted facts – no matter how bad you want it – you cannot fix within 10 minutes. Even over a beer.

The debate has not progressed any further. What remained of it were utter astonishment on one side and an empathic understanding on the other.

That day, or any other in that matter, we did not encounter any racism or banditry of Russian fans or anyone else. There were many potential opportunities. We were at the stadium during the Poland – Japan match, and we were in many fan zones throughout the country.

Someone may argue that it was the atmosphere the event and sports rivalry that worked its magic. I must admit that similar thoughts also crossed my mind.

But then we got to tiny pubs in local neighbourhoods. Places brilliant in their functional simplicity. Several taps protrude from a wall above the bar counter. Each of them with a different type of beer: local or a foreign one, to your liking. The beer is poured into plastic bottles of the selected capacity – usually one and a half litres. At the bar – glassy fridges with dried fish, smoked cheese, etc. Everything so salty that you have to order a beer, again and again, to wash down the salty snacks. These goodies are in a takeaway option or consumed on the spot at the tables sticking with beer and on chairs nearly glued to the floor. Amazing place!

In quite a few such places, among the inhabitants of local blocks of flats, we watched the games. The atmosphere? Fantastic.

Our table was crowded continuously with younger and older customers of the joint, who wanted to practice their English, have a chat or a drink – or everything at once. Dima gave us good advice before the trip to Lake Baikal, the waitress was jokingly teasing merry-drunk customers, and the college student offered:

“Brother, sister do you want to smoke some marijuana? Very good Russian marijuana!”

‘Blood brothers’, ‘Balkan brothers’, are the most common terms we have been described with. It was, about the ties that unite us – rather than about what divides us – father was telling his son in the Moscow’s fan zone. There were tears in his eyes when he was saying the words to his son clad head-to-toe in Russian national colours.

So far, we have not encountered any manifestations of racism or aggression. What we have encounter instead is human empathy and kindness in the form of offered fruits, smoked fish, moonshine and bitter chocolate. Or a free stop on a guarded parking lot and a mechanic service paid for us by a complete stranger – just because you have to help one another in a simple, human way.

We passed border control in the blink of an eye. The police never stopped us demanding a bribe. The roads are in place – and they can compete with ours. And there are no bears on the streets … A part which I was quite hoping for.

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[English below] Trzydniowa Japonia w pigułce rozn [English below]
Trzydniowa Japonia w pigułce rozniosła nam głowy. Kilka lat później przeprowadziliśmy się do niej na sześć miesięcy. Kraj przez pół roku konsekwentnie i nieodwracalnie przepalał nam styki. Dlatego nie zdziwiliśmy się wcale, kiedy kilka lat później w Wołgogradzie po meczu Polska-Japonia kibice naszych rywali zabrali się za porządkowanie stadionowych trybun. Co kiedyś mogłoby wywołać uśmiech politowania i wymowny gest posuwisto-zwrotny palcem wskazującym w stronę czoła, dziś było tak oczywiste, że aż trzeba się było dołączyć. Wcale nas nie zdziwiło, że przed stadionem rzesze japońskich fanów gratulowało Polakom tak żarliwie, jakbyśmy wcale nie grali o pietruszkę. Przy tym wszyscy byli tak urzekająco szczęśliwi naszym… hmm… szczęściem, jakby sami właśnie wygrali puchar. Wymianom szalików, koszulek nie było końca. Andrzej wrócił chyba z trzema. W tym jedną vintage z rozgrywek w latach dziewięćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku. Co prawda juniorska, ale przynajmniej na jedno z nas pasuje.
-----
Three-day Japan, in a nutshell, blew our minds. A few years later, we moved in there for six months. The country has been consistently and irreversibly frying our brains for half a year. That's why we weren't at all surprised when, a few years later, in Volgograd, after the Poland-Japan match, our rivals' fans started cleaning up the stadium stands. What once might have caused a smile of pity and a back-and-forth gesture with the index finger towards the forehead was now so obvious that we had to join in. We were not at all surprised that in front of the stadium, crowds of Japanese fans congratulated the Poles as passionately as if we were not playing for honour at all. And everyone was so charmingly happy with our… hmm… victory as if they had just won the cup themselves. There was no end to the exchange of scarves and T-shirts. Andrzej came back with at least three, including one vintage from the 1990s. It's a junior size, but it fits at least one of us.
[English below] Tak, jak obiecał, przyszedł w po [English below]
Tak, jak obiecał, przyszedł w poniedziałek z samego rana. Przyszedł jak zwykle elegancki. W jasnej koszuli w kratkę, w spodniach w kancik, w idealnie wypolerowanych okularach, z wypielęgnowaną skórzaną torbą przerzuconą przez ramię. Snuła się wokół niego mgiełka nienachalnej serdeczności i zaraźliwego spokoju. Wystarczyło stanąć obok, żeby nim przesiąknąć. Jak zapachem. Ale zapachu Andrieja nie pamiętam. Wydaje mi się jednak, że pachniał mydłem. Takim zwykłym, szarym. Każdego ranka krótkim, grubym pędzlem nakładał mydlaną piankę okrężnymi ruchami na twarz, żeby zmiękczyć zarost. Potem zmieniał żyletkę w ciężkawej srebrnej maszynce do golenia i uważnie przesuwał nią po policzkach, brodzie, szyi. Na koniec chlustał w dłonie wodą kolońską ze szklanej odkręcanej butelki i wklepywał ją w podrażnioną ostrzem twarz. Na pewno szczypało. Tak, Andriej musiał pachnieć szarym mydłem i wodą kolońską. Tak pachniał mój dziadzio. Tak pachniał mój tata. Tak pachniała dobroć. 
(Cały tekst pod linkiem w bio)
-----------------------------
As promised, he came on Monday morning. He arrived elegant as usual. In a light checkered shirt, in crease trousers, in perfectly polished glasses, with a well-groomed leather bag slung over his shoulder. There was a mist of unobtrusive cordiality and contagious calmness around him. All you had to do was stand next to him to be soaked in it, like in the fragrance. But I don't remember Andrei's scent. I think he smelled like soap, though. Just plain grey soap. Every morning, he used a short, thick brush to apply soapy foam in circular motions to his face to soften the stubble. Then he changed the razor blade in the heavy silver shaver and carefully ran it over his cheeks, chin, and neck. Finally, he splashed cologne from a glass screw-top bottle into his hands and patted it on his face, irritated by the blade. It definitely stung. Yes, Andrei must have smelled of grey soap and cologne. This is what my grandfather smelled like. This is what my dad smelled like. This was the smell of kindness.
(The whole txt under the link in bio)
[English below] Wołgograd nijak ma się do Moskwy [English below]
Wołgograd nijak ma się do Moskwy, ale ma swój przydział potężnych rzeźb. Smutne to rzeźby. Pełne cierpienia, rozpaczy. Rzeźby żołnierzy dźwigających rannych kolegów. Rzeźby twarzy wykrzywionych męką, mięśni rwanych wiecznym bólem zakrzepłym w kamieniu. Ten umęczony szpaler prowadzi do stóp Matki Ojczyzny. Matka jest potężna – ma osiemdziesiąt pięć metrów wzrostu, krótkie rozwiane włosy i powłóczystą szatę. W prawej uniesionej ręce ściska nagi miecz i nim wzywa. Do czego? 
(Cały tekst pod linkiem w bio)
---
Volgograd is nothing like Moscow but has its share of massive sculptures. Here, sculptures are sad. Full of suffering and despair. These are sculptures of soldiers carrying wounded colleagues. Sculptures of faces twisted with torment, muscles torn by eternal pain congealed in stone. This tormented row leads to the feet of Mother Motherland. The Mother is huge - eighty-five meters tall, with short wind-blown hair and a flowing robe. She holds a naked sword and calls with it in her raised right hand. Calls to what? 
(The full story under the link in bio)
Instagram post 18199135858260048 Instagram post 18199135858260048
Szpakowaty ojciec z kilkuletnim synem podchodzą z Szpakowaty ojciec z kilkuletnim synem podchodzą zaraz po meczu. W stroboskopowych światłach imprezy na strefie kibica błyskają malutkie rosyjskie flagi wymalowane na ich twarzach. Podchodzą nieśmiali.
- Bardzo przepraszam, ale mówiłem synowi, że wy z Polszy i mamy do was taką prośbę – stara się wykrzyczeć w nasze uszy szpakowaty ojciec.
- Bo on by chciał, żebyście sobie obok waszych polskich, rosyjskie flagi namalowali. O tak, jak my – szpakowaty pan pokazuje przedramię swoje i syna, gdzie widać małe znaczki flag obu krajów.
Chłopczyk odziany od stóp do głów w barwy narodowe Rosji patrzy na nas okrągłymi oczami. Przestępuje z nogi na nogę. Ściska ojca za rękę. I już nie wiadomo, który z nich się bardziej denerwuje – ojciec czy syn.
A Szpakowaty pan mówi dalej. Mówi, że on synowi o Polsce od zawsze opowiada. Żeby wiedział, że przecież nas więcej łączy, niż dzieli. Że między nami bardzo silna więź, bo w naszych żyłach płynie ta sama krew. Słowiańska. Że jesteśmy bracia Słowianie. Bracia krwi. Szpakowaty pan opowiada. Opowiada i ma łzy w oczach.
--------
A grizzled father with a few-year-old son approaches right after the match. In the strobe lights of the party in the fan zone, flash tiny Russian flags painted on their faces. The two of them approach shyly.
“I am very sorry, but I told my son that you are from Poland, and we wanted to ask something of you", the grey-haired father tries to shout into our ears.
“He would like you to paint Russian flags next to your Polish ones. Here, just like we did," the grey-haired gentleman shows his and his son's forearms, where we can see small stamps of the flags of both countries.
A boy dressed from head to toe in the national colours of Russia looks at us with round eyes. He shifts from foot to foot and squeezes his father's hand. We no longer know which of them is more nervous – the father or the son.
The grey-haired man continues. He says that he has always been telling his son about Poland. To let him know that there is more that unites us than divides us. That there is a very strong bond between us because the same blood flows in our veins. That we are blood brothers. He explains and has tears in his eyes.
[English below] Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów [English below]
Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów dalej pozwalamy sobie wierzyć, że to nie jest żaden podstęp. Że naprawdę nas wpuściła. Że już nic „nas ne dogonyat”.

Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów później zauważamy jaka Rosja jest piękna. Przynajmniej jej początek.

Jedziemy pod łukiem powitalnym z szerokiej tęczy, co łączy, przecięte gładziutką szosą pola soczyście żółtego rzepaku. Nad rzepakiem – bezkresne błękitne niebo.

W 2018 Rosja wita nas kolorami Ukrainy.
(Cały tekst pod linkiem w bio)
----------
Only a few dozen kilometres further, we allow ourselves to believe that this is not a trick. That she really let us in. That they really ‘nas ne dogonyat’.

Only a few dozen kilometres later, we notice how beautiful Russia is. 

We ride under the welcome arch made of a broad rainbow, connecting the juicy yellow rapeseed fields cut by a smooth road. Over the rapeseed stretches an endless blue sky.

In 2018, Russia welcomes us with the colours of Ukraine.
(the whole text under the link in bio)
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[English below] Trzydniowa Japonia w pigułce rozn [English below]
Trzydniowa Japonia w pigułce rozniosła nam głowy. Kilka lat później przeprowadziliśmy się do niej na sześć miesięcy. Kraj przez pół roku konsekwentnie i nieodwracalnie przepalał nam styki. Dlatego nie zdziwiliśmy się wcale, kiedy kilka lat później w Wołgogradzie po meczu Polska-Japonia kibice naszych rywali zabrali się za porządkowanie stadionowych trybun. Co kiedyś mogłoby wywołać uśmiech politowania i wymowny gest posuwisto-zwrotny palcem wskazującym w stronę czoła, dziś było tak oczywiste, że aż trzeba się było dołączyć. Wcale nas nie zdziwiło, że przed stadionem rzesze japońskich fanów gratulowało Polakom tak żarliwie, jakbyśmy wcale nie grali o pietruszkę. Przy tym wszyscy byli tak urzekająco szczęśliwi naszym… hmm… szczęściem, jakby sami właśnie wygrali puchar. Wymianom szalików, koszulek nie było końca. Andrzej wrócił chyba z trzema. W tym jedną vintage z rozgrywek w latach dziewięćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku. Co prawda juniorska, ale przynajmniej na jedno z nas pasuje.
-----
Three-day Japan, in a nutshell, blew our minds. A few years later, we moved in there for six months. The country has been consistently and irreversibly frying our brains for half a year. That's why we weren't at all surprised when, a few years later, in Volgograd, after the Poland-Japan match, our rivals' fans started cleaning up the stadium stands. What once might have caused a smile of pity and a back-and-forth gesture with the index finger towards the forehead was now so obvious that we had to join in. We were not at all surprised that in front of the stadium, crowds of Japanese fans congratulated the Poles as passionately as if we were not playing for honour at all. And everyone was so charmingly happy with our… hmm… victory as if they had just won the cup themselves. There was no end to the exchange of scarves and T-shirts. Andrzej came back with at least three, including one vintage from the 1990s. It's a junior size, but it fits at least one of us.
[English below] Tak, jak obiecał, przyszedł w po [English below]
Tak, jak obiecał, przyszedł w poniedziałek z samego rana. Przyszedł jak zwykle elegancki. W jasnej koszuli w kratkę, w spodniach w kancik, w idealnie wypolerowanych okularach, z wypielęgnowaną skórzaną torbą przerzuconą przez ramię. Snuła się wokół niego mgiełka nienachalnej serdeczności i zaraźliwego spokoju. Wystarczyło stanąć obok, żeby nim przesiąknąć. Jak zapachem. Ale zapachu Andrieja nie pamiętam. Wydaje mi się jednak, że pachniał mydłem. Takim zwykłym, szarym. Każdego ranka krótkim, grubym pędzlem nakładał mydlaną piankę okrężnymi ruchami na twarz, żeby zmiękczyć zarost. Potem zmieniał żyletkę w ciężkawej srebrnej maszynce do golenia i uważnie przesuwał nią po policzkach, brodzie, szyi. Na koniec chlustał w dłonie wodą kolońską ze szklanej odkręcanej butelki i wklepywał ją w podrażnioną ostrzem twarz. Na pewno szczypało. Tak, Andriej musiał pachnieć szarym mydłem i wodą kolońską. Tak pachniał mój dziadzio. Tak pachniał mój tata. Tak pachniała dobroć. 
(Cały tekst pod linkiem w bio)
-----------------------------
As promised, he came on Monday morning. He arrived elegant as usual. In a light checkered shirt, in crease trousers, in perfectly polished glasses, with a well-groomed leather bag slung over his shoulder. There was a mist of unobtrusive cordiality and contagious calmness around him. All you had to do was stand next to him to be soaked in it, like in the fragrance. But I don't remember Andrei's scent. I think he smelled like soap, though. Just plain grey soap. Every morning, he used a short, thick brush to apply soapy foam in circular motions to his face to soften the stubble. Then he changed the razor blade in the heavy silver shaver and carefully ran it over his cheeks, chin, and neck. Finally, he splashed cologne from a glass screw-top bottle into his hands and patted it on his face, irritated by the blade. It definitely stung. Yes, Andrei must have smelled of grey soap and cologne. This is what my grandfather smelled like. This is what my dad smelled like. This was the smell of kindness.
(The whole txt under the link in bio)
[English below] Wołgograd nijak ma się do Moskwy [English below]
Wołgograd nijak ma się do Moskwy, ale ma swój przydział potężnych rzeźb. Smutne to rzeźby. Pełne cierpienia, rozpaczy. Rzeźby żołnierzy dźwigających rannych kolegów. Rzeźby twarzy wykrzywionych męką, mięśni rwanych wiecznym bólem zakrzepłym w kamieniu. Ten umęczony szpaler prowadzi do stóp Matki Ojczyzny. Matka jest potężna – ma osiemdziesiąt pięć metrów wzrostu, krótkie rozwiane włosy i powłóczystą szatę. W prawej uniesionej ręce ściska nagi miecz i nim wzywa. Do czego? 
(Cały tekst pod linkiem w bio)
---
Volgograd is nothing like Moscow but has its share of massive sculptures. Here, sculptures are sad. Full of suffering and despair. These are sculptures of soldiers carrying wounded colleagues. Sculptures of faces twisted with torment, muscles torn by eternal pain congealed in stone. This tormented row leads to the feet of Mother Motherland. The Mother is huge - eighty-five meters tall, with short wind-blown hair and a flowing robe. She holds a naked sword and calls with it in her raised right hand. Calls to what? 
(The full story under the link in bio)
Instagram post 18199135858260048 Instagram post 18199135858260048
Szpakowaty ojciec z kilkuletnim synem podchodzą z Szpakowaty ojciec z kilkuletnim synem podchodzą zaraz po meczu. W stroboskopowych światłach imprezy na strefie kibica błyskają malutkie rosyjskie flagi wymalowane na ich twarzach. Podchodzą nieśmiali.
- Bardzo przepraszam, ale mówiłem synowi, że wy z Polszy i mamy do was taką prośbę – stara się wykrzyczeć w nasze uszy szpakowaty ojciec.
- Bo on by chciał, żebyście sobie obok waszych polskich, rosyjskie flagi namalowali. O tak, jak my – szpakowaty pan pokazuje przedramię swoje i syna, gdzie widać małe znaczki flag obu krajów.
Chłopczyk odziany od stóp do głów w barwy narodowe Rosji patrzy na nas okrągłymi oczami. Przestępuje z nogi na nogę. Ściska ojca za rękę. I już nie wiadomo, który z nich się bardziej denerwuje – ojciec czy syn.
A Szpakowaty pan mówi dalej. Mówi, że on synowi o Polsce od zawsze opowiada. Żeby wiedział, że przecież nas więcej łączy, niż dzieli. Że między nami bardzo silna więź, bo w naszych żyłach płynie ta sama krew. Słowiańska. Że jesteśmy bracia Słowianie. Bracia krwi. Szpakowaty pan opowiada. Opowiada i ma łzy w oczach.
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A grizzled father with a few-year-old son approaches right after the match. In the strobe lights of the party in the fan zone, flash tiny Russian flags painted on their faces. The two of them approach shyly.
“I am very sorry, but I told my son that you are from Poland, and we wanted to ask something of you", the grey-haired father tries to shout into our ears.
“He would like you to paint Russian flags next to your Polish ones. Here, just like we did," the grey-haired gentleman shows his and his son's forearms, where we can see small stamps of the flags of both countries.
A boy dressed from head to toe in the national colours of Russia looks at us with round eyes. He shifts from foot to foot and squeezes his father's hand. We no longer know which of them is more nervous – the father or the son.
The grey-haired man continues. He says that he has always been telling his son about Poland. To let him know that there is more that unites us than divides us. That there is a very strong bond between us because the same blood flows in our veins. That we are blood brothers. He explains and has tears in his eyes.
[English below] Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów [English below]
Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów dalej pozwalamy sobie wierzyć, że to nie jest żaden podstęp. Że naprawdę nas wpuściła. Że już nic „nas ne dogonyat”.

Dopiero kilkadziesiąt kilometrów później zauważamy jaka Rosja jest piękna. Przynajmniej jej początek.

Jedziemy pod łukiem powitalnym z szerokiej tęczy, co łączy, przecięte gładziutką szosą pola soczyście żółtego rzepaku. Nad rzepakiem – bezkresne błękitne niebo.

W 2018 Rosja wita nas kolorami Ukrainy.
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Only a few dozen kilometres further, we allow ourselves to believe that this is not a trick. That she really let us in. That they really ‘nas ne dogonyat’.

Only a few dozen kilometres later, we notice how beautiful Russia is. 

We ride under the welcome arch made of a broad rainbow, connecting the juicy yellow rapeseed fields cut by a smooth road. Over the rapeseed stretches an endless blue sky.

In 2018, Russia welcomes us with the colours of Ukraine.
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