why are some russians so racist?

Question

ok...im not talking about the ones from here...im talking about the ones came from russia. some of them are just so racist and rude. they always complain how they don't like our country...like they don't like black people, latinos, asians...or i should just say anyone who isn't white...russian guys always say only girls with blond hair and blue eyes are pretty. they always stick together too. this guy from my school, he said he thinks black people should be slaves again. and how his parents and his russian friends said they want to kill whoever isnt white. he called me ugly because i tan and i have brown hair. seriously, if they don't like our country so much then they should just go back to russia or wherever they came from.

Answer 1

Disclaimer first... my comments might tend to offend my Russian friends. I speak "general culture", which is changing quickly. And I do not refer people with experience with foreigners.

Several reasons they have racism. Mostly because their country was mostly closed to outsiders until 4 or 5 years ago (many cities in Russia are still closed to foreigners). People there simply have no experience with people of different races.

Couple that with the fact that Germany has had a great influence on Russia (and other CIS states). "European Russians" are typically fair haired, tall, with light eyes. These are the people that were influenced by German blood, and were "preferred" during the occupation of CIS states during Hitlers reign. So, in part, it is a taught thing.

And in more recent times, blacks are often used as "field labor" in exchange for a roof over their head, and being fed (yes, read that as "cheap slave labor").

They simply do not have experience with other cultures that show them that what they were taught all their lives is not true. Beliefs such as:

Americans are all rich and uneducated (we don't have knives, and we don't have the color orange), blacks are all jungle men from Africa, Romanians are all gypsies who will steal your money and children, Poles are all snakes, Asians (which they classify Indians and Egyptians) all desire their women, etc.

Their view is really no different than the view in our own country 150 years ago. We have had the opportunity to learn, and accept. They have not. Give them time.

Answer 2

Racist people try to find something to belong to . When you have low self-steem and nothing to be proud of you start being racist to show your existance . Russia has been behind iron walls for years , some of them still have problems mingeling with outside world . You see this kind of racism in other former communist countries as well . Just ignore him because at the end , he is the loser not you , and tell you something people spend so much money to get a dark tan and not everyone with blond hair and blue eyes is beautiful.

Answer 3

I find it ironic that Russians are so racist and have this fixation with blondes etc. Maybe it's a reaction to their own sense of racial inferiority. For the most part I find Russians to be overly aggressive, cynical, bitter, angry little people who feel that the best way to get through life is to get what they can and screw anyone who isn't like them. Maybe the soviet system made them that way, but I think it goes back further than that. Of course there may be exceptions, but I have yet to personally encounter one. I've witnessed anti-semitic tirades, violent outbursts over ridiculous things, and numerous acts of physical and verbal aggression exhibited by Russians. Not a fun bunch on the whole.

Answer 4

I think you will be okay. In Moscow certainly it is quite multicultural with many people of Asian looks and also Muslims and people of African descent. In St. Petersburg there is less diversity but it also is more touristy in the center, and I did meet an Indian man living and studying there once. I think if you wear any sort of religious veil it is more likely to be a problem there, but I live here and I see people of many looks every day just living normally. I think at the societal level there is some racism but once people get to know someone some, they are just normal folks- the paradoxes of everyday life. Have a great trip!

Answer 5

I have a Russian/Ukrainian fiancé who lives in Ukraine and my experience has been similar to Kevin's. Our attitudes towards other races are based on our experiences and teaching. My great-grandmother in Texas once told me, "You better not bring home no black babies" (except she used the n-word instead of "black"). That was the way she was taught. I dated a black woman for a while, because I was not taught in the same era that she was and I have had a wider circle of friendships and acquaintances than she had. The people living in the former Soviet Union will catch up, but it takes time and experience to do so.

Answer 6

The beliefs you attribute to your friends is what defines a racist - and you can find them in France and in Italy, in Ireland and in England, all over the United States.

There is nothing in Russia that is particularly racist. Some are - but there are more in Germany. There are seriously racist Japanese - and some of the most racist people I have come across have been African Americans.

Some Russians are racist - just like everywhere else.

Answer 7

A disenfranchised country, and/or sector of people breeds contempt.

The average income in Russia is about 5k, or something close to that, you can see why they can be a little surly

Answer 8

you really wanna know why we really don't like Americans ............... its simple we think you guys are so pathetic for example my family has been been here for ten years and in those ten years we made 10* more progress in our communities and financial status then lazy Americans in or 20,30,40,50, years !!!