I'm busy grading quizzes and responding to journals again, so this will be short. Being a teacher is a lot of work. Here is a picture of some very Russian cartoons on a vacant house near the center of town. The top cartoon contrasts the evils of money with the nobility of hard work (money and the pursuit of wealth is traditionally regarded as dirty and sinful in Russian culture). The second cartoon says "Whoever smokes, drinks wine and beer is the devil's helper." And the third advocates for supporting young people again drinking and smoking. I like the very direct style of these pleas, left on this house by an unknown and well-meaning person.
hmm most people associate the anti-pursuit of wealth and promotion of hard work with the Soviet Union and not the Russian federation. Do you think that pre Soviet Union Russia had that same element to their culture...against the pursuit of wealth?
ReplyDeleteYes definitely! I think a lot of Americans (and even academics) think that the philosophy of the USSR was a radical shift from Russian culture, but actually there are a lot of similarities between traditional Russian culture and Soviet philosophy. The ideas of collective labor, sharing, and community go way back long before Lenin or Marx were alive. And money and wealth has always been suspect in Russian culture. Also, calling someone ambitious in Russia is not a compliment. Oh I rambled on haha--in short, yes!
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