How to look like a Russian girl. Russian beauty through the eyes of foreigners

Any resident former USSR Anyone who travels abroad knows how easily foreigners single out our fellow citizens and unmistakably recognize them as “Russians.” It seems that you speak English well, and have shopped around in local stores, but no, anyway, almost any foreigner, taking a fleeting glance at you, immediately guesses that you are “Russian”.

The “Russians” themselves have many hypotheses why they are so easily “calculated”: here are the eternally preoccupied gloomy faces, and the specific “pink” color of gold jewelry... there are so many hypotheses...

But these hypotheses do not explain anything, because the Swedes, for example, walk around Europe with such gloomy faces that the Russians care about them as they care about the Sahara. And pink “Russian” gold has been at the peak of fashion for many years in Europe and has ceased to be a purely Russian attribute.

To be honest, when I used to travel around the world on short trips, it also bothered me quite a lot, that I would be recognized so easily, and I also built theories about why “Russians” stood out so much.

And only after settling in Europe for good, I understood how this is done, and now I can unmistakably recognize a “Russian” from a distance of 100 steps. However, if you ask me to list specific characteristics in which a “Russian” differs in appearance from a European, I am afraid that I will not be able to do this.

Can you list the specific characteristics by which “pop” music differs from “non-pop”? You won’t be able to list them, but when you hear them, you can immediately identify them. This is approximately how “Russian” differs from “non-Russian” abroad.

Formally belonging to European culture Soviet culture for a long time developed completely in isolation (and even now this cultural isolation continues to a large extent) and eventually acquired such numerous specific touches and nuances in the culture of behavior, appearance, gestures and manner of communication, which, each being insignificant in itself, in total form a very characteristic appearance of a Russian.

• A married couple walks down the street sluggishly quarreling and sorting things out? - Russians!
• Are you arguing at the counter about what type of sausage to buy for dinner and can’t come to an agreement? - Russians!
• The wife lingers at the display window, and her husband impatiently drags her further by the hand - Russians!
• Did you publicly shout at the child or, even more so, spank him? - Russians, definitely!
• A lady is blocking an aisle in a supermarket, people are squeezing past her, and she doesn’t even move or apologize? - Russian, no options!
• Does a person not hold the hotel door when his companion squeezes in with suitcases? - Russian!
• They greeted him, smiled at him, but he doesn’t answer “because they don’t know each other”? - Russian!

The “Russian” generally does not tolerate “fake European smiles”, and therefore smiles only at jokes or at ladies he intends to fuck. Well, or vice versa, for men, if the “Russian” is a lady.

For 100 years, citizens of the Soviet empire were trash, decay and expendable material for the state. This attitude naturally spilled over into the relations of “Russian” citizens with each other.

For a Russian, any other person is a person and a special person, worthy of attention only if he has some kind of personal relationship with this person. If there are no personal relationships, then any stranger for a “Russian” is decay, an empty place that should not be paid attention to. Moreover, even the fact that a Russian has a personal relationship with someone does not mean at all that the Russian will express at least some respect for him.

The specifics of Russians’ communication with each other and with other people are so obviously different from the specifics of communication of both Europeans and Asians that they immediately give away the “Russian” in its entirety as soon as he begins to “communicate.” Or vice versa, as soon as he does not start communicating.

However, a lonely Russian in the bare European steppe will be just as easily identifiable as a Russian in conversation.

The appearance of a Russian gives him away.

A Russian may not even suspect that any clothes purchased at the Cherkizovsky market actively broadcast a signal to others - “this is Russian.” Even if it doesn’t seem to differ in appearance from the same clothes bought in Europe, and even if it has a European label on it.

Let me clarify that when I say “clothes purchased at the Cherkizovsky market,” I mean “any clothes purchased in Russia.” It doesn’t matter where, in the market or in some branded salon, like Zara, Calcedonia or Bershka.

Over the 100 years of isolation of the Soviet empire, world fashion trends somehow reached it in a roundabout way, and therefore, at the very least, Soviet tastes in clothing correspond to European ones. But with specifics.

This specificity arose due to the fact that over the course of these hundred years, semantic gaps in fashion, which invariably arose due to isolation Soviet culture, were filled out based on local realities, local concepts, local tastes and capabilities. As a result, a Soviet style of dressing emerged, which is essentially European, but with a fair touch of Sovietism. This plaque still persists to this day.

Since the beginning of the 90s, global manufacturers of clothes in the “mass ready-to-wear” category, having understood the tastes of the Soviet public, began selling models in Russia adapted to this taste. Not to mention the market know-name, where this taste comes out of all the cracks.

“What are the differences,” you ask?

But who can tell you, this is not a formalized thing. How, for example, does a Van Gogh painting differ from an “imitation of Van Gogh”? Some indescribable, but clearly noticeable touches. It’s the same with clothing. Maybe in some place somewhere there will be more lace and glitter. Or these laces are of a different shape. Or sewn in a slightly different place. Or the buttons are located slightly differently and of a different style. Or some special strip sewn on...

It's difficult to explain. But if you have lived in Europe for at least a year, you will easily acquire the skill of distinguishing “clothes from Russia” at first sight.

However, if a Russian tourist bought all his junk in local European stores, then he will still be different, because he will wear these clothes differently, and combine toilet items in a completely different way than the locals do. No worse, no better, just different.

No English woman, for example, would think of choosing a beach T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops by color and style. Because it's a beach! Casual! So if I see a lady wearing a beach ensemble as an evening dress, that means she’s Russian!

Well, or polka. Only the Polish woman will have a different hairstyle.

Because in all Russian hairdressing salons, both in the cheapest and in the “elite salons,” hairstyles are somehow mystically done in such a way that their wearers bear the mark “cut in Russia.” God forbid, I don’t want to say that haircuts are bad in Russia. They cut hair normally, sometimes even very skillfully and beautifully. But it is identifiable. Maybe there are some special cutting technologies there, I don’t know. But the work of a Russian hairdresser is just as identifiable as the work of a Russian plastic surgeon.

Just like the work of a Russian jeweler.

The color of gold is actually nonsense, pink, not pink, it can be different. But the style - yes! The product of any Russian jewelry factory cannot be confused with anything else. This is again difficult to explain. I could probably again refer to the analogy with Van Gogh, but I will do it differently. Browse the Internet through the collections of different jewelry houses: European, American, Japanese... and then go to any jewelry store in Moscow. You will immediately understand the difference. You can't help but understand!

Well, have you figured it out yet? Why is it useless to ask the question: “What can I do so that they don’t recognize me as Russian abroad?”

But if you do ask it, I will answer: “Nothing can be done. To do this, you will have to permanently settle in Europe and for a long, long time, drop by drop, squeeze out of yourself Soviet man».

Gettyimages/Fotobank.ru

Recently, Russian girls living abroad shared their impressions of the appearance of foreign women. It must be said that our young ladies did not skimp on caustic criticism: they colorfully described how terrible Japanese women looked and how Egyptian women were getting fat. Well, it's time to look at the log in your own charming eye. From the outside. Foreign women working in Russia told me about their vision of “beauty in Russian.”

Erica Orlandi, Italian, 29 years old, executive director of the magazineITALIA. Life as art":

“It’s strange that Russian girls don’t epilate their mustaches”

“Four years ago, when I arrived in Russia, I was simply shocked appearance Russian women - in in a good way. Russians take excellent care of themselves, but between young people and women mature age There is a big difference. Apparently, the second category is not so scrupulous about their appearance: many older ladies do not care about their skin and figure, they dye their hair in strange colors... But for Italians it’s the other way around - women over 40 look much more well-groomed than younger ones.

What I don't understand is why women here don't struggle with... mustaches. It’s also surprising that some of my Russian friends wash their hair every day and say that’s exactly what you should do. But this is wrong and harmful! Another drawback of Russian women is their excessive love for foundation and powder: their face looks like a mask. Russians also go overboard with perfume, but we Italians also suffer from this.

But Moscow is simply a paradise for your hands! Now I can no longer live without Moscow manicure - Italian masters not even close to the Russians. Probably the reason is the climate: Moscow is cold and dirty, so your hands need constant care. The only thing I don't understand here is the popularity of false nails. How to clean the apartment with them? And work at all?

Carmit Dahan, Israeli, 38 years old, cosmetologist, director of the company's instructor departmentSharpLight:

“If all my clients were Russian, I would already be rich”

“There are two extremes among Russian women: some devote all their energy to education and self-development and are almost not interested in cosmetics, others, on the contrary, spend too much money on caring for their appearance. And they succeed.

Russians are very informed when it comes to cosmetics, makeup, and skin care products. While an Israeli woman only applies moisturizer in the morning, a Russian woman uses a full range of cosmetics: regular masks, peelings, salon treatments. In addition, Russians start using anti-wrinkle products early - this is a plus. And they are more responsible with their menu and are able to completely switch to a healthy diet.

The downside is that many women do evening makeup in the morning, as if they were going to a dance. From my point of view, this is unnecessary, and I would advise them to moderate their ardor a little.”

Patricia Robel, German, 32 years old, economist:

“Russians seem to be competing for men’s attention.”

“I came to Russia eight years ago, and my first impression was that there was a competition to win over men. Accordingly, most of the women seemed very, very well-groomed to me: dressed femininely (sometimes too sexy), fashionably combed, but usually heavily over-painted. And the latter was, perhaps, their main drawback. But now Russian women are no longer too different from residents of European cities. Sometimes, however, you are amazed by the length of the skirts in 20-degree frost and the height of the stiletto heels.

What I like about Russians is that they know how to emphasize their advantages - even the notorious false nails look good. But evening makeup in the morning is sometimes annoying - it’s not entirely appropriate. Russians are also very fond of sweet perfumes, and their smell is very strong - it causes discomfort. In a word, I would advise Russians not to overdo it with cosmetics in an effort to please them. Men still value naturalness.”

Dora Kiralhidi, Hungarian, 34 years old, agency business directorLeoBurnett:

“Every Russian has her grandmother’s recipe for a miracle cream”

“Russian women are very beautiful and look very well-groomed. Abroad, I can always spot a Russian woman - they carefully put on makeup and dress up even to go to the beach. Naturalness and the absence of cosmetics are not in fashion here. But Russians actively use makeup base, especially in winter, to protect themselves from the cold and icy wind.

Cosmetics and cosmetologist services are very expensive here, and I’m not sure that middle-income women can afford all of this in full. I suspect that this forces many people to dye their hair at home and do some beauty treatments on their own. I noticed that local ladies love everything natural, and almost everyone has a recipe for grandma’s cream that can be prepared at home. But those who can afford to go to salons do it almost every day. At the same time, there are almost no classical spas in Russia. Apparently, an alternative to them is banya.

It’s hard not to notice that Russian women use a lot of perfume with a very bright, strong sound and constantly update it throughout the day. You can feel it even from a distance! For my taste, it's too much."

So, the diagnosis is obvious: we do too much makeup, wear strong perfume, love manicures and don’t leave beauty salons. But is it really that bad? Perhaps all of the above are essential components of the mysterious Russian soul. What do you think?

The other day I went for a walk with my son. There weren't many people on the playground; we sat on the carousel and slowly spun in different directions. A couple of minutes later two children climbed onto the carousel. A boy and a girl, both four years old. Both are dark and brunette. We sit and spin for a minute or two.

The children look at me so intently that the investigator will be jealous. After another minute they can’t stand it and almost blurt out in unison: “Are you Russian?”

I was even taken aback by surprise. "Does it matter?" - I say. The children became embarrassed and fidgeted. “Well, yes, and you don’t look very much like a Russian, you’re even very non-Russian,” they answer.

As soon as I opened my mouth to ask why they were even interested in this, my interlocutors were called by their parents. Also dark-haired and dark-skinned, they obviously arrived in the capital several years ago from somewhere Central Asia.

People ask me about Russianness, not just often, but regularly. Mostly drunk men Slavic appearance who are drawn to patriotic conversations or dashing alcoholic adventures. Their interest is understandable, either to measure their love for the Motherland and birch trees, or to teach non-Russians about life, or to punch the faces of those who have come in large numbers, as it goes.

I know well how to fight them off and what to expect, but now quite sober children, even the most different nationalities. And I don’t understand at all what to do with this.

About a year and a half ago, a little fair-haired boy in a supermarket pointed his finger at me and asked his father: “Dad, is this black...?” An educational conversation was then held with the child’s father in an extremely harsh tone.

What I was most outraged by was the fact that he was teaching a child to categorize people based on hair or eye color. Dad was sincerely perplexed: “What the hell is this, I teach my child to distinguish my own from strangers, so that he doesn’t get into trouble, I do everything right. Well, I’m sorry for calling you names, it’s not immediately clear who you are.”

Yes, it’s not immediately obvious, with the remains of my hair I’m dark, my skin is dark and I’m not a Finist at all - Clear Falcon. At night you could be mistaken for an Arab.

But the point is not in the color of body parts and vegetation, but in the fact that parents teach their children from an early age to live in a “friend or foe” coordinate system.

Previously, during my Soviet childhood, there was enough nationalism in the country, but it was acquired. By the age of 25, the average Soviet person has developed a dislike for, for example, the inhabitants of the Caucasus, because they sell flowers and they always have money for a restaurant and girls. Mutual hostility was explained by completely everyday reasons.

Today the situation is different. Russian child A person who has lived in the world for five years cannot hate or love any nation. In general, he still doesn’t understand well what it is; the Nenets, Avars or Uzbeks could not do him any terrible harm.

But his parents convince him that he must hate because they are “strangers.” A mom and dad like that can’t clearly explain why, why, who specifically, they don’t have enough brains. Therefore, a simple algorithm for developing targeted hostility is invented - the notorious hair color, eye color, nose shape. Fortunately, these are not all Russians, but there are very, very many of them.

And this forces first-generation Russians to behave in a certain way. Migrants from Central Asia and Transcaucasia who settled in Moscow, Arab countries teach their children to disguise themselves. Pretending to be “Russian-Russians”, appearing uncomplicated to the untrained ear traditional names, and their Russian counterparts, wear clothes with the Russian flag or some kind of double-headed eagle in a prominent place.

Some even change their surnames, as during the Stalinist struggle against cosmopolitanism, so that God forbid someone would point the finger.

That's how we live. Some learn to hate from birth, others - to disguise themselves. Both of them, by their actions, shape each other’s behavior and the rules for building relationships. The authorities are not involved in all this; they are launching federal programs about tolerance and tolerance, introducing exams for guest workers on knowledge of Russian speech. In short, he lives, as always, in a parallel reality, which in no way intersects with the harsh reality.

And four-year-old children gaze intently at strangers on the street, trying to understand whether it’s yours or someone else’s.

Let's play. I just wondered if I was assessing myself inadequately)
Yana is here today ( miumau ) wrote a post about how to recognize Russians and used me as an illustration of this topic.
A photo from a previous exhibition-fair and I claim (as well as my friends) that this is the worst photo I’ve ever seen of myself))) I laughed a lot at it) They caught me like that, my face is twisted with joy, my hands are locked, I’m hunched over, my eyes unkind, bruises and fatigue on the face. Just an illustration of a typical dissatisfied Russian young lady) Yes, with such a photo you can put it on the topic.

But I naively assumed that I wasn’t very good at speaking Russian. I’m Belarusian, and I always smile, I walk confidently, I don’t quarrel with sellers, I’m not rude, I don’t actively and loudly express my position (for me, dissatisfaction with the world around me is characteristic), I apologize if I push anyone. It all sounds very stereotypical, but I quickly snatch Russians out of the crowd (in Berlin they really stand out quickly, Russian tourists). Faces, behavior, clothes. But this does not apply to everyone, of course. Common features faces can also be seen among people who have lived abroad for a long time. But many change their characteristic behavior (though not all, again).

Mostly when traveling I was mistaken for a French woman or an Italian (nose?), and in Berlin they ask me only in German (they don’t ask me in English, much less in Russian), I usually dress in a loose Berlin style (in Minsk I dressed also): faded jeans, black boots with rivets on a large platform, a bear hat, a parka. But as a Russian, I don’t even remember such a case. Maybe in Barcelona on La Rambla in a souvenir shop where the number of Russians is twice as large as the rest.
True, I did not go to particularly Russian tourist places (Türkiye, Egypt). I suppose they would definitely mistake me for a Russian, if only because the sample is large.

I found the only photo from 2015 in full height. I don't take photos often. This photo was taken in Girona during a raid in Catalonia. Tell me what is Russian about me?

I have my own theory, according to which our complexes are equal to our ambitions. Sometimes, trying to analyze my ambitions, I could not find the complexes that would fuel them. I always resorted to standard set: appearance, personal life, career. And there were always enough items in these categories to be satisfied with the search and forget until the next reflection session. That was until today, when the hatred became too much.

In fact, I have a real complex chocks. A stranger.

I think everyone remembers the heightened attacks of tolerance in the 90s. I was born in the north of the country. There were few “persons of Caucasian nationality” in the city where my family lived at that time.
My very first memory of when I was separated based on my ethnicity was back in kindergarten. All the girls in our group, including the teacher’s daughter, applied for the role of Snow White. Contrary to popular belief, my skin is white, so combined with my jet-black hair, I fit perfectly into the Snow White type. No, of course I’m joking, what type is in a kindergarten play? But it was precisely when the hesitations of everyone else forced me to become Snow White that I first heard from the teacher: “these blacks are even turning white here.” Naturally, I didn’t understand anything, but I remembered it forever.

Then at school, when they brought me to form the first class, the teacher looked at my mother with disbelief and asked if I understood Russian. During recess in first grade, I heard the word “khachik” for the first time. To yourself, of course. The girls gave me horns and shouted “khachik, khachik, khachik,” but I fought back and didn’t understand what it was. Then I didn’t know that I would have to hear this for many years to come... I remember coming home in tears and asking my mother what khachik was. Mom couldn’t find an answer to me then.

I remember how in the yard we were playing “rubber band” with the girls and one of them asked me not to play with them. I asked why, to which they clearly answered: “because you are non-Russian.” But I didn’t understand, and asked about Elvira (my sister, fair-haired with blue eyes) - she’s also non-Russian, are you playing with her? “Well... she doesn’t look like a non-Russian, but you do.” My question “why” was not dictated by the desire to play with these particular girls, I had a lot of girlfriends, I just really didn’t understand why they couldn’t play with me?

No, I have never been an outcast in the yard or in class. I've always had beautiful dresses, I studied well, was cheerful, participated in all the activities. But I had to do much more than other children. You always had to be better to be at least equal.

And it was scary.

It’s scary when your neighbor at your desk draws a swastika, and the teacher says with a smile that such things cannot be drawn on notebooks. It’s scary when your neighbor, with whom you return home from school every day, says to you: “Siyan, I made friends with the skins, you understand that now we can’t be friends?” It’s scary when you take tests in class where half of the answers contain the definition of “person of Caucasian nationality.” It's scary when your math teacher directly says: "You good girl, but you are stupid on your own, you cannot be the same as the Russians." Indeed, in her subject I could not, and the only C in the algebra certificate was corrected only by the Unified State Examination, which I passed with an A. It’s scary when in my Norilsk school, which was still relatively tolerant, on the day of the tragedy in the Beslan school, classmates said: “Just think, they shot the Khachas, even though there will be fewer of them.” And all this was always accompanied by the phrase “Siyan, you understand that this is not you.” concerns, we are not talking about you, you are good, but here They..."

No, I never understood, because it concerned me specifically, it was specifically about me.

After school I came to Dagestan. It’s strange, but people still ask me, even just on the streets, if I’m local... I always say “yes.” If only simply because I really forget that I haven’t lived here my whole life.

I know that I cannot live in Russia. They won't accept me. And what difference does it make that I think in Russian, grew up on Russian literature, was brought up in Russian culture... I will always be chock. And I will never stop taking this hatred, hatred of my people, personally.