Kaliningrad. Problem, Threat or Opportunity for Poland?

Ramzan Kadyrow
Emomali Rakhmonov
Suparmurat Niyazov
Gurbanguly Burdymukhamedov
Islam Karimov

-ski = -skiy

What? You didn't know it? They are Russians!!!

If they are Russians, then ... no words ;)

Nope....you can change names as much as you want....but not your skull!

Germans are always ahead of time on these issues ;)

Yes, yes... especially this guy :

Gurbanguly Burdymukhamedov

His name is so russiannnn.....


Yes, but it is changing something inside you, actually it is the first step to russification

You are not alone. I have no clue.

It all depends on the definition of Russian. How does a Russian define Russianness? If someone living in Britain says that they are British, who am I to argue with that? For them to say they are British, they must feel British, otherwise they would probably have found something else to call themselves. I include English, Welsh and Scottish as terms within the British umbrella - to be one, you must be the other. The terms people use to define themselves just show where their priorities lie.

As far as I know, someone can be Russian and something else (Tatar, Mari, Yakut, etc.) or just Russian. Maybe I'm wrong. Are there two different words for this?

- Осёлов

What a horrible thought

As a liberal I reject collective judgements. I can compare individuals regardless of their nationality.

or German

Interesting calculations... :)))
So how would that work out if one has "-ov"-father and "rabinov-ich"-mother?


Gospodin Oslov :))) (I'm laughing cause that sounds a bit weird and may be rendered as a "donkey's master"), English doesn't distinguish Russians in terms of citizenship and actual nationality. "Rossijanin" is a new word for a Russian citizen (I prefer avoid it though using instead "citizen of Russia" phrase) and "Russkiy" is actually "Russian" by nationality. So Tatar can't say about himself "ja russky" (however I met some who said) but can easily say "ja rossijanin". Interpreted in English those two phrases I guess would be the same, whereas they meant two different things.


And I thank you lesser for being so sensible. :)

You would like to see the whole of Europe under former KGB Mr. Putin's oligarchy? Even Stalin recognized that implementing communism in Poland was like trying to put a saddle on a bull!

Given your posting on "similarities" and my comment we are both less sensitive.
So I'm still waiting - name any similarities between us , Russkies and Polacks.
I'm all ear.
But no DNA and language argumentation pls.

Privet, Boris! :) I wouldn't name you any of those, even though I could. But I believe that most of similarities lie on the emotional span. Specifically I mean the way we react on the same things: we hate similar and we love similar, we defend our values with the same aggression (and that's actually why we are not mostly on the same wavelength in terms of politics), our pride of bygones seems very similar as well. That's what I meant. I don't generalize of course just tried to compare and express my view of the average Pole and the average Russian and there you are.

You are both eastwards from me???

:)

Christ ! Eastwards from an Ossie !

The train that runs through my property in Poland also runs through Russian land?

1.Love for strong drinks.
2.Family values
3.Hospitality
4.Slavic soul(big)
5.Powerful appearance and body posture
6.Strong emotions covered by cold face
7.Belief in superstitions and fate
8.Submissive women
9.Same taste in clothes,very similar fashion
10.Love for cosmetics
11.Speaking melodically
12.Ethically unstable and generally loose,in a blue mood complaining often

Of course there are some differences as well but Poles are closer to Russians in mentality in my opinion than they are to Germans or English.

My God, I wanna be a Greek!!!! I don't want to have something similar with Poles, no way!

A polish Ossie is a "Possie" and a russian Ossie is a "Rossi"!

That would make a german Ossi a "Gossi" (or a "Dossi")

*goes back to his beer*

True but it's by far not so important as diferences are.


1. Okay, but the same can be said about Finns or Irish so not typical for Russo-Polish relationship.
2.Definitelly NO. Post-Soviet Russians mostly do not care about family the way we do it.
3.To some extend ...
4.Huh?
5.Superiority of Russians.
6.Covered ?
7.Not common in Poland.
8.Tell it my girlfriend LOL.
9.Hard to say for me but rather not.
10.Standard in more or less civilized countries.
11.Poles ?! With our chrzczdz-sounds ?
12.Agreed.

Some other common features
1.Stubborness
2.Love for parties,dancing
3.Easy going

not correct, germans names traditionally are with the Mann ending were as the jews sepertaed them selves with the one N i Man.....jew spotting is even easy in germany

they want to infiltrate but always leave something there for other jews to notice like Abramovic or Ibrahimovich

I think many of the above listed characteristics are quite individual, so it is very difficult to generalise about those features on a wide scale based on nationality, equally many of those characteristics apply to non-Slavic people(s) as much as they apply to Slavic people.

To be honest, I think on the surface, Russians and Poles probably seem similar much like German and Dutch, but underneath, there is a world of difference.

Czechs/Slovaks & Poles share some visible similarities, but Czechs and Slovaks are by far the most Western European slavic nation, the mort progressive, most open, most cultured and most worldly.

Poland while gradually moving more west, is still quite isolated in reality. While there are many brilliant Poles, there are still a great number of people with the faux-gangster villager mentality which damages the Polish image frequently.

This will change in time, but Poland seems to be still searching for its image.
Polish people often strike as as unsure wheter they wish to be respected for their talent and intelligence, or for their image/coolness and reputation.

Possibly the funniest thing I have found is that Warsawvians have the worst reputation in Poland, but they are easily the nicest and most friendly.

The people from Poznan and Lodz, all of those I've met, I would like to put them on a big space ship and sent them to a different galaxy.

They are by far the least useful, least friendly Poles and very frequently are involved in crime over here.

Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians are somewhat closer to the Russian mentality while but most definitely moving in the opposite direction. (Lithuanian people are nice once you get to know them but appear quite rude if you do not know them).

Ukranian are closer again to the Russian mentality but Western Ukraine is moving in the opposite direction i.e. toward Berlin, Eastern Ukraine becoming increasingly pro-Russian and moving toward Moscow.

Belarus are very close and move toward unison with Russia, probably one of the only European countries which is actually moving into the Russian sphere of influence, mostly due to poverty.

It would appear that the Central Asian nations are very pro-Russian, but this is not unexpected considering the rise of China.

Then there is Georgia. A truely strange country.
They are a very small ship in a very big sea.
The tail wags the dog.
The men are anti-muslim, but as close culturally to Islam as one can get without actually being Islamic.
As a Western European, I often find their views on women very disturbing.
I have found them to be racist and xenophobic, but in truth I have only met their least educated people so it would probably not be fair to comment any more on them.

Then there is Hungary. Geographically it is in Eastern Europe, but they are totally Western European, they remind me of the Norwegians. Very nice people, many highly educated.

I utterly detest Romany gypsies, but find Romanian people quite friendly and a very different mentality from the slavs..

And so we come to Russia and Russian people.
The immediate thing that is apparent about anyone who has ever had a Russian partner or speaks the Russian language or knows their country, history and culture is that it is a land of polar opposites.

They have the richest and the poorest of people.
They have the smartest and the least educated of people.
They have the warmest and the coldest of people.
It strikes me as quite similar to the United States in this way.

The difference is that in the United States, a large number of people fall into the extreme categories, while in Russia, a large number of people fall into the middling and lower categories with only a tiny fraction at the top.

If we took societies such as the UK, France, Germany - these societies are generally well balanced in terms of class and very stable.
Russia is very unbalanced, and seems to be constantly fluctuating.
Change in Russia is inexorable.

Many Russian people are very warm and open and welcoming.
When I learned to speak Polish, many Poles would often laugh at me, try to belittle me or see my ability to understand them as a threat.

In general, Russians are quite encouraging and proud of the fact that you have chosen to learn Russian and seek to help you as much as possible.

It is a lie to say Russians are not family orientated. They are very highly family orientated.
So are Poles.
One of the most striking differences between Poland and Russia or Poalnd & Europe is the strength of Religion in Poland. I was truely amazed to see how seriously the young Polish took their religion, how many attended church services etc.

For someone who grew up during the biggest transition in Irish history which religion is now essentially defunct, it was quite a eye opener and give me insight into what Ireland must have been like 30 years ago.

All in all, I would say Russian people are the most friendly in Eastern Europe, although many of the least educated are patriotic to the point of nausea.

Poles and other Western Slavs would be a close second behind Russia in terms of friendliness, but Polish are generally the most provocative and most patriotic -somewhat understandably- as they feel the need to assert themselves, given their recent history.

If nationalitisim is a tool for brainwashing individuals and building armies, then Poland is civilian army.

The most frustrating thing about Poles for me is that they constantly need to assert themselves. They need to be the best at everything and Poland needs to have the best of everything. They are quite similar to the United States in this way, quite uni-lateral and arrogant/isolated. This is why it can be quite tiring speaking with a Polish man.

Polish women are generally more balanced to be fair.

It is quite ironic that Poles do not understand the mentality of the Russian diaspora.
The Russian mentality is quite similar to the Irish, in that, no matter what country you live in, you will always love the Motherland and always identify with it.

Poles mistake this for aggressive patriotism, but this is not true.
Only the least educated Russians are so openly provocative.
I think most Russians realise that their home country cannot support them and while they love and miss their home and their culture, it is now quite Russian to have 2 countries i.e. Russia and the adoptive country.

==

For the person who asked what territorial claim Russia has over Kaliningrad, you must read about the Potsdam conference.

You also need to understand the buffer which central and Eastern Europe was supposed to provide against future attacks on Russia.
Russia lost 28million people in World War 2, nearly 14% of it population.

Only Poland suffered more with 16% losses, and of course Lithuania which suffered the most and lost an estimated 20% of its population (a large percentage of these murders were committed by Russian communists)

Russians and Poles prefer the same places for vaccations,drink the same and leave the same impressions.Overall they strive for comfort.The Russians do the same things like the Poles and share common views they are just more primitive and direct while Poles are obviously more europeanised.

This one truly is a gem. :)

Still, thank you for the time you spent writing this essay. It was an interesting read.

Hmm, they still think that western europeans are more cultured and progressive... is it true? What is the components of their "culture"? Why these descendants of slave-holders still flatters themselves, without sense of shame they are more cultural?

dannyboy may I ask you a simple question:
What is your knowledge of Russians based on ?

As for me you're totally missing the point with your rather superficial opinions.
I'll say more .
You don't understand them at all.

What you do think about Russians.

I didn't write that.In my opinion the Czechs are the most germanized slavic nation which is normal given the history of the region.