Russian symbols: balalayka, samovar, matreshka, fur hat.

There were the times when samovar, balalayka and matreshka were unbelievably popular in Russia. There was a samovar in every house otherwise it was impossible to drink tea. There was a balalayka almost in every house because a holiday without music is not a proper celebration. Matreshka was the simplest and the most common toy in every family. Today things changed: you will hardly find a balalayka or a samovar in a Russian home, and matreshkas are bought only by foreigners.

Howeveryou can still hear the balalayka in folk music groups. It is a small musical instrument with three strings that are strung on a triangle body. In Russia the clear sound of balalayka is known since the 18th century. The word balalyka sounds similarly to the words "balagurit'", "balabolit'" that mean to chat, to talk about unimportant things.

Obviously balalayka was so popular amoung ordinary people because it is very easy to play. It was good to provide accompaniment for the singers and dancers. It was especially good with "chastushka" - short and easy humorous rhymes that were often improvised. For example, something like:

Samovar

Samovar is an ancient device for boiling water and cooking tea. The system was invented in China but in China nobody cooked tea with the help of samovar.

There is a tube in the middle of samovar into which one puts material for burning: coal, wood, etc. Water is between the tube and samovar itself. To make good burning process one puts a pipe on top of samovar. Water remains hot for a long time in samovar. This water is used for making tea in a small tea pot.

First samovars appeared in Russia in the town of Tula at the end of the 18-th century. Tula is a famous place of armory workshops. One of the craftsmen made the first samovar in his free time. Samovars became popular and production of samovars started to grow. A samovar producing factory appeared in Tula. In the middle of the 19-th century there were 28 samovar producing factories only in Tula. They produced 120 thousand samovars each year! Samovars were different: for 3 liters of water, for 5, 10 and even 25 liters!

Today people don’t use samovars often, but samovars are still produced in Tula. Today these are electrical samovars. If you ever come to Tula, visit a samovar museum, where you can find lots of different types of samovars and learn their history.

Matreshka

Matreshka appeared in Russia not a very long time ago, it is about 100 years old. A Japanese doll that was made according to matreshka concept when a smaller figure is inserted into a bigger one was presented to a Moscow doll factory. The Japanese doll reperesented a figure of one of the Seven Lucky Gods - Fukurokuju. One of the Russian masters who worked at the factory was so impressed with the present that he had produced his own doll. It was composed of figures of girls and boys. The artist by the name of Sergey Milutin painted these dolls. The main doll was a girl who was wearing a national Russian costume - a sarafan (sundress), a shawl and an apron; the smallest figure was a baby. The doll was called Matreshka - it is an affectionate diminutive form from the Russian name Matrena (that derives from the latin word matrona - mother).

People liked Matreshka dolls a lot. Many workshops of the small town Sergiev Posad started its production, the orders for matreshka kept rolling and the imagination of the artists does not run dry even today.

A fur hat with flap ears -"ushanka"

A fur hat with flap ears is truly popular men's headdress in Russia. It is usually called a flap hat, or "ushanka" in Russian, because it covers ears (ushi). It also covers one's forehead when it is windy outside. The hat is constructed in such a way that when it is warm the ear flaps can be tied up on top of the cap or tied below the chin to protect the ears from the cold. There is a concept that this style of hats had been introduced to Russia from Scandinavia, from Finland to be more accurate. However there is no proof for that. The fact is that this hat is usually associated with Russian clothing style. Probably because it is perfectly good for our climate. From 1940 flap hats are official winter hats of the army and police.

Today you can see flap hats of very different styles in the street - from cheap rabbit fur hats to expensive ones made from luxurious furs by fashion designers. But the fact still remains that there is no better headdress for the men in winter than this one!

Men and women in Russia

When the foreigners are asked what they like most about Russia, the most common and rather strange answer is "Russian women" (of course, this answer is given by men). However, there is quite a lot of truth in this humorous answer. The statistics proves that the number of Russian women who get married to foreigners is growing every year. Russian women get married to European and American men, to Chinese or Japanese. In this regard two questions arise - why Russian women are so popular and what's happening to Russian men?

Russian women are beautiful, it's true, but it is not the most important issue. It is more important how they behave and what they prefer in life. Historically there are fewer men than women in Russia (and it was especially true in the 20th century). Russian women "genetically remember" about this fact and draw their own conclusions: that they have to do everything so that men like them, they think that they need to win him over because the competition is so severe especially if you are in your middle ages.

The very first and the most important thing the women pay attention to is their looks. Russian woman pays a lot of attention to her appearance, the clothes she wears, the make up. Even in winter the majority of Russian women wear high heels. They think a lot about how to look beautiful and attractive and simply forget that high heels are extremely uncomfortable and dangerous for their legs. The desire to be attractive explains bright fashionable clothes, catchy make up, a lot of jewellery on the hands, neck and ears. Beauty at any expense and the desire to be loved are the things that men like about Russian women and what flatters them most.

Russian women are modest, hard-working and sympathetic.

Women all over the world are emotional, Russian women are very emotional and romantic. They fall in love desperately and often behave in an unpractical manner. This romanticism and passionate temperament of the Russian women win the hearts of men.

Despite the revolutions, wars and other disasters in Russia the role of a woman in life of her family and society is still conservative. The leading role of a man is indisputable, the role of a woman is considered to be preservation of the family hearth and bringing up children. Of course, in Russia a lot of women work nowadays, but that doesn't mean that career is extremely important for all of them. Family remains the most important thing: husband, kids, home and housekeeping. Women usually do not crave bright political or business careers. Who would let them in anyway? They themselves are usually sure that it is not their mission.

What about Russian men? Russian (and other men) face the hard times.

On the one hand Russian boys are brought up to be courageous, noble and honest. Boys shouldn't hurt girls because "real" men never do it. Boys shouldn't cry because "real" men don't cry. There are a lot of restrictions around a boy. A "real" man should be fit, strong, confident, reasonable, active and even agressive - these are taught as the proper masculine qualities. When a boy turns into a teenager he starts smoking in protest, shouts, drinks beer, uses bad language in order the show that he is a "real" tough man. That is his naive and shallow understanding of what "real" man is.

On the other hand, not everyone can be a hero and very often it is impossible for a man to admit an all-too-human foible and his lack of self-confidence. In Russia it is not common for a man to express sympathy, to take compassion, to express his feelings in publiс or in a company of other men.

Men who were brought up to take a leading role in all aspects of social life nowadays often feel confused. Especially in big cities where women often earn as much as men do and sometimes even more. And even if a woman doesn't reproache her husband on this subject, the man himself feels very uncomfortable. Everything becomes even worse if there si trouble at work for him. It is impossible for Russian men to switch over and to start taking care of his family, to help his wife with the chores because it is considered to be not his social role. Men can hardly handle the psychological stress and turn to the most well-known remedy in Russia that is vodka.

Howevernot everything is as bad as it seems. Russian men like Russian women are hard-working, emotional, passionate and romantic at the same time. These features of men's character were best described in Dostoevky's prose. If a man loves a woman he is ready to do anything it takes to win her heart over. He will court her, shower her with flowers, pay compliments and give expensive gifts and he will do it regardless of time and money.

There is also the men's friendship in Russia. Obviously, men can be friends in any country but in Russia this friendship is extremely important for them, especially for young ones. Colleagues, pals and acquaintances are not considered as friends. Real friends are usually few, and very often only one or two people can be named as close friends. A friend is a person who is often closer than the father or the brother. A friend will help you in need, you can come to a friend any time and ask for help, you can tell him everything about yourself, share all the secrets. Such friendship often starts in childhood and is preserved for many years in spite of the changing circumstances. There are a lot of songs and poems written about this friendship, all Russian boys believe in it. However, not all of them can keep their friendship through the lifetime.