History Main / GloriousMotherRussia

* In Zangief's ending in ''StreetFighter II'', Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to congratulate Zangief, and suggests they celebrate "in our traditional way." They immediately start doing the dance.

Then there are tall fluffy hats, the Cossack dance, [[strike:borscht]] borshch, vodka (''[[VodkaDrunkenski lots]]'' [[VodkaDrunkenski of vodka]]), and everyone constantly being miserable and cold, which is why they drink the vodka. These tropes seem permanently associated with the area. In recent years, [[SensualSlavs the Russian bride]] has started to turn up a lot. Chernobyl has also become very important in the outside world's views of the country, even though it is in Ukraine. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/RedSquare_SaintBasile_%28pixinn.net%29.jpg This building]] will probably show up, too. No, it's [[IAmNotShazam not the Kremlin.]]

[[AC:MMORPGs]]

* The political simulation video game ''RepublicTheRevolution'' takes place in "Novistrana" ("New Country"), a post-Soviet East European republic. While explicitly not associated with Russia (first of all, Novistrana is too small to be it), the game goes a long way to reconstruct most of the archetypal Russian flair.

Then there are tall fluffy hats, the Cossack dance, [[strike:borscht]] borshch, vodka ([[VodkaDrunkenski ''lots'' of vodka]]), and everyone constantly being miserable and cold, which is why they drink the vodka. These tropes seem permanently associated with the area. In recent years, [[SensualSlavs the Russian bride]] has started to turn up a lot. Chernobyl has also become very important in the outside world's views of the country, even though it is in Ukraine. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/RedSquare_SaintBasile_%28pixinn.net%29.jpg This building]] will probably show up, too. No, it's [[IAmNotShazam not the Kremlin.]]

[[caption-width:350:Russia must be swept clean of capitalist swine ...which may or may not also be the reason, why they ran out of bayonets halfway through the war.]]

'''Some useful notes:'''
* While Russian winters are indeed infamously cold, summers, on the other hand, are hot (and with a lot of peat wildfires spewing nasty smoke). Even in Siberia. (The climate of Moscow and environs is roughly equivalent to that of the United States' Upper Midwest -- Minneapolis, Milwaukee, places like that; meaning it is intensely unpleasant, just sometimes it's really hot.)
** According to Russia's weather office, Moscow's North American weather twin is Calgary.
** There is one simple reason for this -- Moscow is inland, making its summers hot and winters cold for its latitude.
* The title of "Premier" is apparently supposed to mean "Prime Minister", but the position of the head of government never had much prominence on its own. This title was never prominently used in the Soviet Union itself. Since Stalin, all the real power always belonged to the Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Most, but not all, Secretary-Generals were also heads of state or government; this, however, never was relevant.
** In the '70s the Prime Minister WAS made the head of state, but by that time this post was already customarily held by Secretary-General of CPSU, so that was basically the same thing.
* Whatever the real agenda of the Soviet leaders was during the ColdWar, the ordinary people never wanted a world revolution, which only promised more wars for an already war-devastated country. (But then, isn't this true for every country?) During the rule of Stalin, who came to power on the platform of "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Socialism in one country]]", revolution was not even endorsed by the government, leading to the [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness removal]] of Trotsky and his followers who supported war.
* The vodka part is pretty much true. The average lifespan for men is currently 58 years in Russia (women: 74 years), due to widespread alcoholism.
** [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou In Soviet Russia, you consume vodka. In post-Soviet Russia, vodka consumes YOU!]]
** The glass smashing thing wasn't generally done in the USSR. Waste of good vodka glasses; rather it was a custom of [[TsaristRussia Czarist nobility]] in the pre-revolution days but ONLY after a toast to the Czar, so the glasses which served for such a 'noble' purpose could not be used for any other toast. As many quirky habits in the world of tropes that one happened to be 'slightly exaggerated'.
** Though, it seems, nowadays vodka becomes less popular among young people. They mostly drink beer and "cheap" alcoholic cocktails now.
*** The Russian Government has made consistent efforts to wean young Russians off hard drinks like vodka and on to [[LighterAndSofter 'softer']] forms of alcohol.
* The word "comrade" was predominantly used in the military, where it is ''still'' the standard form of address, followed by rank (e. g. "comrade sergeant" or "comrade lieutenant"). Soviet civilians, for the most part, used the word "citizen", although this form of address is pretty much extinct in contemporary Russia.
** "Comrade"--''tovarishch'' in Russian, a word which also means an acquaintance, ''drug'' meaning an intimate friend--was also the mode of address to and between Communist Party members, and probably still is (the Communist Party still exists in Russia and is strike:the part of the principal remaining opposition to the Putin government).
*** Not much by now. Their electorate, mostly pensioners, is slowly dying off, and the factional struggle within the party weakened it considerably.
*** As an aside, ''drug'' is pronounced [[ItIsPronouncedTropay "droog"]], which is how it appeared (and was immortalized) in the Russian-peppered slang of AClockworkOrange.
** "Citizen" is a part of ''kantselyarit'', a particularly obnoxious form of newspeak made up and used by Soviet bureaucrats. See RussianLanguage for more info about forms of Russian.
*** "Citizen" (''"Grazhdanin"'') was (and is) a mode of address used mainly by cops ("militiamen") towards other people (e.g., "Citizen, show your documents!"). "Kantselyarit" is just the Russian version of bureaucratspeak (which I guess exists pretty much in every country), which originated long before the Soviet era.
**** Not exactly. Kantselyarit is the ''Soviet'' bureaucratspeak, actively created in early USSR. The Imperial bureaucratspeak is all but forgotten, and it never was as pervasive and obnoxious as kantselyarit is.
***** Though the term "kantselyarit" was created by K.I.Chukovskiy during the Soviet era, it denotes any kinds of bureaucratspeak, specifically when it's used out of place (that is, outside of bureaucratic procedures). In creating the term Chukovskiy was encouraged by the writings of A.P.Chekhov, who vocally complained about the coldness and soullessness of bureaucratspeak. Chekhov wrote about the pre-Soviet version of kantselyarit; and, in fact, that's where most dull and obnoxious word-forms of Soviet kantselyarit stem from.
** If visiting Russia today, it is probably best to use the pre-Revolutionary mode of formal address to strangers: ''Gospadin'' ("Sir") or ''Gospazha'' ("Madam").
*** Not quite so. ''"Gospodin"'' (pronounced ''"Gaspadin"'') is the analog for "Mr.", and ''"Gospozha"'' (pronounced ''"Gaspazha"'') - for "Ms." E.g., ''"Mr. Ivanov and Ms. Ivanova"'' = ''"Gospodin Ivanov i Gospozha Ivanova"''. But if you want to ''address'' a stranger (e.g., ''"Sir/ma'm, could you please etc."'')... well, there's a problem. You see, pre-Revolutionary forms of address are outdated, using ''"tovarish"'' would mean you're a communist, and ''"gospodin/gospozha"'' aren't used as a form of address. Quite a problem here. So, Russian people mostly use such words as... "man" (''"muzhchina"''), "woman" (''"zhenshina"''), "girl" (''"devushka"''), "young man" (''"molodoy chelovek"'') etc. (). E.g., ''"Man, could you please move a little?"'' or ''"Woman, who's the last one in the line?"'' or ''"Girl, how much does a bottle of "Baltika" cost?"'' :) Note that these words are used only to address unknown people! These forms of address began to circulate during the Soviet era; nowadays many people start to think "man" and "woman" are a bit rude. And "young man" is mostly used by the middle-aged/elderly. So. The best course is to use... nothing at all! E.g., ''"Could you pass the salt, please?"'' or better ''"Excuse me, could you pass the salt, please?"'' ''Maybe'', if you're talking to a young/middle-aged (''[[MaamShock especially]]'' [[MaamShock middle-aged]]) woman, you may use "devushka" ("girl"), though it's not universally-liked, too.
*** And, by the way, ''"gospodin"'' and ''"gospozha"'' are fine, but if you know the person's name and ''otchestvo'' (paternal name) (e.g., ''Ivan Ivanovich''), it's usually considered best to call them that. It won't be considered rude at all. E.g., ''"Ivan Ivanovich, I want to marry your daughter!"'' Bonus points if said Ivan Ivanovich doesn't like "liberals" and "democratic reforms" much - the words ''"gospodin"/"gospozha"'' are still widely associated with the changes in the 90s (not all of which were positive...). And, in schools/universities it's customary to call teachers by "name/paternal name". Note that "name+paternal name" is a form of address, too! However, it seems the business society prefers ''"gospodin"/"gospozha"'' and may consider using "name+paternal name" as a familiarity. E.g., ''"Gospodin Ivanov, let's discuss structural investment in micromanagement franchises"''.
**** This full-name form of address is parodied in the anime ''{{Karin}}'' when one character is reading a Russian book, where ''every single line'' is a hideous mishmash of complicated Russian names, given in their full form every single time.
** If you don't mind being formal, use gospodin/gospozha and some kind of trait: "Gospodin Ivanov" or "Gospodin passenger". If you don't know such a trat or don't want to use it all the time, just use ''Sudar''' / ''Sudarinya''. Bonus points: If you use Sudarinya while talking to a girl, you [[strike:will immediately get laid]] are a gentleman.
*** Or, more likely, get looked at funny and marked as a show-off/weirdo.
** In official correspondence maybe used "Uvazhaemnij (respected) <insert name here>"
* The Russian bride is true to an extent (our page ads illustrate that). The main reason is poverty and chaos which dominated the Soviet economy and then the Russian economy pretty much throughout the 1990s. Many ex-Soviet women sought to marry up financially by finding a foreigner. Nowadays this phenomenon seems to be fading as Russia gets more stable.
** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from [[{{Ruritania}} other poorer ex-USSR countries]] like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.
* The claim that everything in Russia is miserable could be because of the slightly odd Russian sense of humour: A Russian joke has an American and a Russian in American and Russian Hells respectively. They are told their lives will be comfortable, but in American Hell everyone must eat a bucket of manure every day, and in Russian Hell everyone must eat two buckets. They later meet and the American complains about having to do this. The Russian laughs, and says "It feels like home! Either the manure hasn't been delivered, or there's not enough buckets to go around!" And [[RussianGuySuffersMost historically speaking, poor Russia has had it bad.]]
** Russian sense of humor prominently [[AccentuateTheNegative displays the negative]] and makes fun of people.
* The Cossacks weren't a uniquely Russian organisation: during a few centuries, large Cossack communities were part of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth (the Zaporozhian Sich in Ukraine). Neither were they a significant portion of the population of Russia (by the way, not all Cossacks were even Russian/Ukrainian by nationality). But national stereotypes are national stereotypes... You could say much the same of the "American cowboy".
** There actually were even ''Persian'' Cossacks -- in fact, the father of the last Shah was a Cossack regiment commander. Apparently, one of a Russian-Persian wars the then current Shah was so impressed by the Cossacks' performance that he quickly established a similar institution back home. Cue a couple of decades later when one of his Cossack commanders stages a coup d'état and becomes a Shah himself.
* [[JustifiedTrope The fluffy hats are true.]] The stereotypical ''ushanka'', though, is worn mainly by soldiers and cops during winter (senior officers wear papakhi instead). Civilian ushankas usually have fake, non-flapping ears, and female fur headgear is even more diverse (and often even more fluffy).
** What? No. Fluffy hats are a very rare thing. They were worn mostly by high-ranking Party officials in winter; and another type of fluffy hats was and is still worn by some people in the Caucasus. But the majority of the Russian men usually wear (in winter) one of these: tied ushankas (untied ushankas are mainly worn by farmers or very poor people), flat caps (the type Lenin wore), other types of caps, and most commonly, the type of hat [[SouthPark Cartman and Stan]] wear (with some variations). Russian women wear fluffy hats more than men (but only in winter, too), but they mostly wear other types of winter headgear.
** Both fake ears and true ushankas were (and probably still are) popular. Ears are usually tied up on top unless you are:
*** a kid (so you won't lose the hat or forget to pull ears down if the weather gets worse).
*** a yard/street cleaner or a peasant (traditionally in cheap ushanka, with ears flapping around).
*** anyone in bad weather or on an extremely cold day (with ears tied under the chin).
** Ears are connected at the back with each other, so on some hats when ears are pulled down, the hat forms a fur helmet around the head, protecting it from the wind and keeping snow out of your collar. The front of the hat though, covered with a separate flap of fur (with a star or cockade on military or police hats) does not move. Fur hats are less popular in densely built cities because this protection from the wind and extreme cold is rarely needed there; however in rural areas they are very practical.

Many {{Ruritania}}s fall into this.

** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from [[Ruritania other poorer ex-USSR countries]] like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.

** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from [[Ruritania]], other poorer ex-USSR countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.

** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from [[Ruritania other, poorer ex-USSR countries]] like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.

[[caption-width:350:Russia must be swept clean of capitalist swine
...which may or may not also be the reason, why they ran out of bayonets halfway through the war.]]

[[caption-width:350:Russia must be swept clean of capitalist swine ...which might as well be the reason, why they ran out of bayonets halfway through the war.]]

Then there are tall fluffy hats, the Cossack dance, strike:borscht borshch, vodka ([[VodkaDrunkenski ''lots'' of vodka]]), and everyone constantly being miserable and cold, which is why they drink the vodka. These tropes seem permanently associated with the area. In recent years, [[SensualSlavs the Russian bride]] has started to turn up a lot. Chernobyl has also become very important in the outside world's views of the country, even though it is in Ukraine. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/RedSquare_SaintBasile_%28pixinn.net%29.jpg This building]] will probably show up, too. No, it's [[IAmNotShazam not the Kremlin.]]

[[caption-width:350:Russia must be swept clean of capitalist swine]]

->''Remember the CCCP? What about the USSR? No? Hmmm. How about ''{{Rocky}} IV?'' Yeah, well that's all over now.''\\

*** As an aside, ''drug'' is pronounced [[ItIsPronouncedTro-PAY "droog"]], which is how it appeared (and was immortalized) in the Russian-peppered slang of AClockworkOrange.

The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), America's sworn enemies during the ColdWar, has gone through several periods of stereotyping. The most famous is the [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou Cold War Communist Russia]]. Everyone's red, calls each other "comrade", and is trying to tear away the freedom of the world in the name of [[DirtyCommies Communism]]. Of course, with the fall of Communism in the country, this one is pretty dead. [[OrIsIt Then again, Putin made his name in the KGB.]]

Then there is tall fluffy hats, the Cossack dance, borscht, vodka (''lots'' of vodka), and everyone constantly being miserable and cold, which is why they drink the vodka. These tropes seem permanently associated with the area. In recent years, the Russian bride has started to turn up a lot. Chernobyl has also become very important in the outside world's views of the country, even though it is in Ukraine. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/RedSquare_SaintBasile_%28pixinn.net%29.jpg This building]] will probably show up, too. No, it's [[IAmNotShazam not the Kremlin.]]

* Whatever the real agenda of the Soviet leaders was during the ColdWar, the ordinary people never wanted a world revolution, which only promised more wars for an already war-devastated country. (But then, isn't this true for every country?) During the rule of Stalin, who came to power on the platform of "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Socialism in one country]]", revolution was not even endorsed by the government, leading to the removal of Trotsky and his followers who supported war.

** In Soviet Russia, you consume vodka. In post-Soviet Russia, vodka consumes YOU!

*** The Russian Government has made consistent efforts to wean young Russians off hard drinks like vodka and on to 'softer' forms of alcohol.

** "Comrade"--''tovarisch'' in Russian, a word which also means an acquaintance, ''drug'' meaning an intimate friend--was also the mode of address to and between Communist Party members, and probably still is (the Communist Party still exists in Russia and is the principal remaining opposition to the Putin government).
*** Not much by now. Their electorate, mostly pensioneers, is slowly dying off, and the factional struggle within the party weakened it considerably.
*** As an aside, ''drug'' is pronounced "droog", which is how it appeared (and was immortalized) in the Russian-peppered slang of AClockworkOrange.

** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from other, poorer ex-USSR countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.

** Russian sense of humor prominently displays the negative and makes fun of people.

** There actually were even ''Persian'' Cossacks -- in fact, the father of the last Shakh was a cossack regiment commander. Apparently, ain one of a Russian-Persian wars the then current Shakh was so impressed by cossacks performance, that he quickly established the similar institution back home. Cue a couple of decades, and one of his Cossack commanders stages a coup-d'etat and becomes a Shakh himself.
* The fluffy hats are true. The stereotypical ushanka, though, is worn mainly by soldiers and cops during winter (senior officers wear papakhi instead). Civilian ushankas usually have fake, non-flapping ears, and female fur headgear is even more diverse (and often even more fluffy).
** What? No. Fluffy hats are a very rare thing. They were worn mostly by high-ranking Party officials in winter; and another type of fluffy hats was and is still worn by some people in the Caucasus. But the majority of the Russian men usually wear (in winter) one of these: tied ushankas (untied ushankas are mainly worn by farmers or very poor people), flat caps (the type Lenin wore), other types of caps, and. most commonly, the type of hat [[SouthPark Cartman and Stan]] wear (with some variations). Russian women wear fluffy hats more than men (but only in winter, too), but they mostly wear other types of winter headgear.

*** anyone in a bad weather or on extremely cold day (with ears tied under the chin).
** Ears are connected at the back with each other, so on some hats when ears are pulled down, the hat forms a fur helmet around the head, protecting it from the wind and keeping snow out of your collar. Front of the hat, though covered with a separate flap of fur (with a star or cockade on military or police hats), does not move. Fur hats are less popular in densely built cities because this protection from the wind and extreme cold is rarely needed there, however in rural areas they are very practical.

For obvious reason, the ''Sovetskiy Soyuz'' (and later ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya'') have been subject to a lot of CaliforniaDoubling over the years, although there are a number of late eighties films (such as ''The Russia House'') actually filmed in Moscow, because of ''glasnost''.

** This strange robot comes from the Russian rocket series known to NATO as [[ReportingNames FROG]] (it's an [[FunWithAcronyms acronym]] meaning Free Rocket Over Ground).

** There is one simple reason for this- Moscow is inland, making its summers hot and winters cold for its latitude.

-- '''Yakov Smirnoff''' (The original, really)

* Most everything in the ''MegaMan'' fan community involving the fourth game and Dr. Cossack falls under this trope.

*** And of course, the '''K'''iller '''G'''loves of '''B'''oxing.

* ''TaleSpin'' had Thembria, a snowy and desolate country populated by blue boars based on this.
** For a while, The Disney Comics Universe had Brutopia, the anti-capitalist international foil to Scrooge McDuck.
* In Zangief's ending in ''StreetFighter II'', Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev arrives to congratulate Zangief, and suggests they celebrate "in our traditional way." They immediately start doing the dance.
** It's a FunnyAneurysmMoment when you play it nowadays, considering it was made only months before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Gorbachev talking about how the "Soviet spirit will overcome all obstacles". It's almost sad, really. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVwUUNdc1HU Look how earnest he is when he talks about it]]! It makes you understand why Soviet nostalgia is more common than you think.
** This might be a subtle TakeThat, given the state of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian-Japanese_relations Russian and Japanese diplomatic relations]].

* Russia, an anthropomorphism of the country, from ''AxisPowersHetalia'' is a PsychopathicManchild who loves vodka and often wishes to leave his cold, unforgiving homeland. He also claims that one day, [[CatchPhrase "everyone will be one with Russia."]] (No fuzzy hats or Cossack dances, though, oddly.)

* The first part of the 20th Century Fox animated film ''{{Anastasia}}'' fits this to a T, especially during the song "Rumour in St. Petersburg".
* A complete aversion comes surprisingly in one of RagnarokOnline's island maps (which debuted from none other than the russian rRO servers), being the peaceful and early czarist Moscovia, complete with a dungeon and monsters based on Russian folklore.
* The nation of Khador in IronKingdoms is essentially a SteamPunk FantasyCounterpartCulture of Soviet Russia. They dress in red, wear fur hats, and their Warjacks share the shame design philosophy as Soviet tanks (heavily armed and armored, not very sophisticated but extremely reliable).

* The six-part finale of ''ArbyNTheChief'' features Agent Smirnoff, a fiercely loyal Russian KGB agent determined to stop a drug smuggler that ends up as the roommate of the eponymous characters' owner.
--> '''Agent Smirnoff''': He fucked with Mother Russia. If you fuck with Mother Russia, you have to fuck with me. AND NOBODY FUCKS WITH ME!

<<|UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}|>>

* The Russian bride is true to an extent (our page ads illustrate that). One reason for this is that there are quite a lot more women than men in the Russian Federation (0.86 men to every 1 woman). This is a long-standing demographic impact of the GreatPatrioticWar (the 65 and over population is ''two-thirds'' women), where most of the 20 million Soviet citizens killed were men and the vodka problems still have an impact.
** isn't that demographic unbalance between men and women balanced out relatively easily?
** Russian ladies have had a reputation for sexiness for a couple of centuries. The fact the place is discovering BlackBraAndPanties probably helps.
*** Not true ''at all'', at least in North America. Russian ladies had a reputation in ColdWar America for being complete and total super-ultra-{{Gonk}}s, to the point that their purported extreme hideousness became a stock joke for American stand-up comics. Old joke: "the only thing heavier and uglier than a Russian girl is her tractor." This only changed in the 80s after the movie ''TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. The vitriol spewed at Slavic women by American comedians in the 60s and 70s would shock the average Russian, and perhaps the average European.
**** Perhaps the reason for that is that for centuries before the Revolution there were two separate stereotypes for Russian women: the stunningly beautiful noblewoman and the hideously masculine peasant woman. There were no nobles left in the country after the Revolution.
**** It's probably more that Russian women had a reputation of sexiness among all the people who'd actually seen them; an American would be far more likely to only see the [[DidNotDoTheResearch televised versions]] than someone from Europe. And a country filled to the brim with extremely sexy women would probably not have made for the best RedScare propaganda...
** The main reason for the Russian brides phenomenon is poverty and chaos which dominated the Russian economy pretty much throughout the 90s. Many ex-Soviet women sought financial stability and a decent life by marrying a foreigner. Nowadays this phenomenon seems to be fading as Russia gets more stable.
*** In fact, most "Russian" brides nowadays originate from other, poorer ex-USSR countries like Ukraine, Belarus, Balkan states etc.
*** Not to mention the Czech Republic. [[IncrediblyLamePun Czech mates]] are quite the hot commodity these days...
** Keep in mind, though, that many Russian bride companies (like 90% these days) are actually run by con artists.

** This troper recalls reading an article that said part of the reason Russians (at least European Russians) seem so grim is that they tend to only smile when they mean it. An insincere smile (i.e. a smile from a relative stranger or in a business environment) gives the impression of dishonesty, or condescension, or just plain silliness. Apparently Russians smile plenty when with their friends or family. Of course... that's probably not the whole reason, as mentioned above.
*** Totally true. There is an old proverb saying "Laughter without a cause is a sign of stupidity"
** This (another, and Russian) troper confirms both -- Russian sense of humor prominently displays the negative (and makes fun of it), and insincere expression of interest toward strangers is usually a bad move. For example, "Kak dela?" (approximately, "How are you?" or "How is your life going") is an inappropriate form of greeting unless you actually expect a person to describe how his life is going, plus produce plenty of exaggerated and often humorous complaints. Typical short response (when a person is not in a mood of sharing or describing details) is "It's white like soot!", and it's perfectly acceptable in a situation when the question itself is appropriate.

* Elbonia, the fictional country in ''{{Dilbert}}'', is a parody of how--according to Scott Adams--"Americans view countries that don't have cable TV". But the clothing, and the accents in the short-lived animated series, seem to be direct parodies of post-Cold War Russia.

->''Remember the CCCP? What about the USSR? No? Hmmm. How about ''{{Rocky}} IV?'' Yeah, well that's all over now.''
-->--'''''[[TheDailyShow America: The Book]]'''''

->''In America, you can always find a party. [[InSovietRussiaTropeMocksYou In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find you!]]''
-->--'''Yakov Smirnoff''' (The original, really)

<<|UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}|>>)

*** Not quite so. ''"Gospodin"'' (pronounced ''"Gaspadin"'') is the analog for "Mr.", and ''"Gospozha"'' (pronounced ''"Gaspazha"'') - for "Ms." E.g., ''"Mr. Ivanov and Ms. Ivanova"'' = ''"Gospodin Ivanov i Gospozha Ivanova"''. But if you want to ''address'' a stranger (e.g., ''"Sir/ma'm, could you please etc."'')... well, there's a problem. You see, pre-Revolutionary forms of address are outdated, using ''"tovarish"'' would mean you're a communist, and ''"gospodin/gospozha"'' aren't used as a form of address. Quite a problem here. So, Russian people mostly use such words as... "man" (''"muzhchina"''), "woman" (''"zhenshina"''), "girl" (''"devushka"''), "young man" (''"molodoy chelovek"'') etc. (). E.g., ''"Man, could you please move a little?"'' or ''"Woman, who's the last one in the line?"'' or ''"Girl, how much does a bottle of "Baltika" cost?"'' :) Note that these words are used only to address unknown people! These forms of address began to circulate during the Soviet era; nowadays many people start to think "man" and "woman" are a bit rude. And "young man" is mostly used by the middle-aged/elderly. So. The best course is to use... nothing at all! E.g., ''"Could you pass the salt, please?"'' or better ''"Excuse me, could you pass the salt, please?"'' ''Maybe'', if you're talking to a young/middle-aged (''[[MaamShock especially]]'' [[MaamShock middle-aged]]) woman, you may use "devushka" ("girl"), though it's not universally-liked, too. So... yeah.

**** Perhaps the reason for that is that for centuries before the Revolution there were two separate stereotypes for Russian women: the stunningly beautiful noblewoman and the hideously masculine peasant woman. There were no nobles left in the country after the Revolution, SoYeah...

*** There is old proverb "Laughter without a cause is a sign of stupidity"

* While Russian winters are indeed infamously cold, summers, on the other hand, are hot. Even in Siberia. (The climate of Moscow and environs is roughly equivalent to that of the United States' Upper Midwest -- Minneapolis, Milwaukee, places like that; meaning it is intensely unpleasant, just sometimes it's really hot.)